‘There’s no need to threaten Mother Pigbone,’ said Nicholas, touching the barrel of the musket to lower it. ‘I’m sure that she understands the seriousness of the situation. All that I wish to do is to put two very simple questions to her.’
‘What are they?’ grunted the old woman.
‘You’ve heard them both before.’
‘Shall I jog her memory, Nick?’ asked Elias.
‘No, no. Mother Pigbone will oblige me in time. She’s an intelligent woman. She’d much rather talk to me here than face the same questions in front of Sir Michael Greenleaf when he dons his robe as a Justice of the Peace. Which is it to be?’ he asked, dismounting to stroll across to her. ‘A polite conversation here at your home or a more thorough examination by a lawyer?’
‘I’ve done nothing!’ she protested.
‘Apart from setting that wild beast on Nick,’ said Elias.
‘Beelzebub is not wild.’
‘I wouldn’t let him curl up in my lap.’
‘Leave this to me, Owen,’ said Nicholas. ‘Mother Pigbone knows the law. I fancy she’s had many brushes with it over the years. She’s aware of the penalty for withholding evidence. Aren’t you, Mother Pigbone?’
She glared at him, transferred her hostility to Elias then looked towards the sty.
‘Ask your questions,’ she said at length.
‘What sort of dealings do you have with Doctor Winche?’
‘I sell him a potion or two.’
‘To kill or cure?’
‘To cure,’ she said defiantly. ‘That’s where my skill lies. Whatever they may say about me, I’m no witch. I don’t cast spells. But I know the trick of lifting them. That’s why I was able to give a voice back to your friend,’ she boasted, hands on hips. ‘Doctor Winche had no medicine for that complaint. I did. That’s why he turned to me.’
‘Does he often turn to you?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘He has no need.’
‘But other people come in search of remedies?’
‘It’s how I live.’
‘Are any of these people bewitched?’ asked Nicholas.
‘They believe they are and that amounts to the same thing.’
‘Why do they call you Mother Pigbone?’
Elias wrinkled his nose. ‘I can tell you that, Nick.’
‘Let’s talk about the poison.’
‘What poison?’ she said.
Nicholas met her gaze. ‘The one that Sir Michael Greenleaf will ask you about if you come before him in court. If you’d rather discuss it under oath, you can. But a lawyer will be more ruthless than I am and squeeze you hard until the truth comes out of you like pips from an orange.’ He gave a cold smile. ‘Do you understand, Mother Pigbone?’
There was a long pause. ‘I may have sold poisons in the past.’
‘To whom?’ mocked Elias. ‘Bored wives who want to kill off their husbands?’
‘To people who want to get rid of vermin.’
‘I know a few husbands who’d fit that description.’
‘This is no place for levity, Owen,’ scolded Nicholas. ‘A man’s life was taken against his will. The least that we can do is to find out why. Do you want his widow to go to his funeral thinking that he simply had a heart attack?’ His eyes flicked back to Mother Pigbone. ‘When was the last time you sold a poison?’
‘Some time ago.’
‘This week? Last week? Be more precise.’
‘I can’t be.’
‘Then you’d better come with us,’ he said brusquely. ‘This crime took place under Sir Michael’s own roof so he’s more than willing to issue a warrant for your arrest. Lock up your house, Mother Pigbone,’ he ordered. ‘You may be away for some time.’
‘No!’ she cried.
‘I’ve tired of your lies. Come on.’
‘Wait!’ She pushed away his hand as he tried to reach out for her. ‘If I tell you what I know, will you go away?’
‘Yes,’ said Elias, ‘before we die of the stink.’
Nicholas held his ground. ‘I’ll tolerate no more evasion. We’re talking about murder here, Mother Pigbone. If you deliberately provided the poison to kill Master Robert Partridge, then you’re an accessory.’
‘I didn’t, I didn’t!’ she yelled. ‘I swear it.’
‘Then what did you do?’
She hung her head. ‘Supply a compound to a gentleman.’
‘For what purpose?’
‘To kill off rats, he said. Or I’d not have sold it to him.’
‘When was this?’
‘Two days ago.’
‘What was the man’s name?’
‘I don’t know, sir. I’ve never seen him before.’
‘Have you any idea where he lives?’
‘None whatsoever. Spare me, please,’ she begged, taking his arm. ‘You know everything now. He bought what I sell. That’s all there is to it. I didn’t even get a proper look at the man because he kept his hat pulled down over his face.’
Nicholas stepped back. They had learnt all that they were going to from Mother Pigbone. After issuing a stern warning that they might return, he rode off with Elias. When they were well out of her earshot, Nicholas turned his friend.
‘You threatened to shoot her boar,’ he said.
‘I had to, Nick.’
‘But that musket is broken.’
‘We know that but Mother Pigbone didn’t.’
‘What would you have done if she’d set Beelzebub on to you?’
‘Run like hell,’ confessed Elias with a laugh. He became serious. ‘You really scared her with that talk about a warrant for her arrest. It forced the truth out of her.’
‘Part of the truth, Owen. My guess is that she and Doctor Winche work more closely than she was ready to admit. Why a doctor should fall back on the remedies of a wise woman I don’t know but there’s some connection between them.’
‘Do you think it was the doctor who bought that poison?’
‘No, it was a stranger. I believed Mother Pigbone on that score.’
‘Was it the same poison that killed Master Partridge?’
‘In all probability.’
‘Then why did Doctor Winche say the man died of a heart attack?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Nicholas thoughtfully. ‘The answer may lie in this odd friendship he has with Mother Pigbone.’
‘Do you remember what he said when he brought that potion for Lawrence?’
‘Yes, Owen.’
‘The doctor said it came from the house of last resort.’
‘Mother Pigbone.’
‘I wouldn’t touch any of her foul concoctions.’
‘Don’t disparage them, Owen. She helped to bring back a lost voice.’
‘Yes, but she silenced another one for ever.’
‘Not deliberately,’ said Nicholas. ‘I think that Mother Pigbone sold that poison in good faith to get rid of vermin. She didn’t know how it would be used.’
‘Didn’t know and didn’t care.’
‘Oh, I think she cared a great deal. If it was used to kill a human being, it could easily be tracked back to her. Mother Pigbone wouldn’t want that. But what really puzzles me is why Doctor Winche didn’t recognise the signs of poisoning when he examined the dead body.’
‘He must be incompetent.’
‘No,’ decided Nicholas, ‘there’s another explanation, I feel. Could it be, in some obscure way, that he was trying to protect Mother Pigbone?’
‘Why should he do that?’
‘It’s one of many things we need to find out, Owen. But we mustn’t lose sight of our main task. Hunting for muskets and searching for a source of poison are important, I know, but there’s another mystery to solve first.’
‘Yes,’ said Elias with a sigh. ‘Where is Davy Stratton?’
When he heard footsteps on the staircase, he dived swiftly back into his hiding place beneath the bed. Davy Stratton waited with apprehension. Discovery would be a disaster for him. When the latch was lifted, he closed his eyes tightly and prayed that nobody would look under the bed. His fears were imaginary. The visitor did not even come into the room. Something was pushed hastily inside before the door was shut again and the footsteps retreated. Davy relaxed. When he opened his eyes again, he saw something that made him crawl out of his refuge at once. Bread and cheese were lying on a wooden platter. Snatching it up, he sat on the bed and began to eat his first meal of the day. It tasted good. Davy was content. He felt wanted.