He stretched out his legs to the fire. ‘We heard, of course, about Master Packington, but I had no idea that you were involved in that terrible business.’
‘He was my truest friend and I am ashamed to say that only now am I beginning to realise just how much I owe him.’
‘That is often the way,’ Ned reflected. He stroked his chin and I noticed that he was letting his beard grow longer. ‘We appreciate things most when we have lost them. Life in the cloister could be tedious and there was certainly too much petty bickering and rumour-mongering. Jed and I suffered much from sniggering innuendos. It was malicious tale-telling that made it easy for Cromwell’s men to accuse the community of heinous sins, contra bonos mores, and threaten to close us down. Our abbot took the hint — and a sizeable bribe. So, those of us who elected not to be transferred to another house ended up back in the world. Only now do I realise how much I relied on — and needed — the holy routine and the fellowship of brothers who, like me, were certainly not perfect. Master Packington was, by repute, an honest man of charitable disposition, though some of the City clergy had him marked for a heretic. I sympathise with your loss.’
‘Have you heard any more of the Seagrave affair?’ I asked.
‘Oh aye, I doubt his people will let that rest for a while yet. The coroner questioned several of our St Swithun’s friends after the discovery of the body back in the summer but they told him nothing, of course. It was left to Seagrave’s family to seek out the facts. They used different tactics.’
‘Threats? Bribery?’ I suggested.
‘Nothing that subtle. More truth lies at a knife’s point or the business end of a quarterstaff than you’ll find in a court of law.’
‘They came with armed retainers?’
‘Oh not they! Gentlemen of the court don’t dirty their own hands with score-settling. They hired an expert — a man called Doggett. Fortunately, those of our number who were involved in Seagrave’s… removal heard that Doggett was on their — ’
‘Doggett!’ I exclaimed. ‘Lizzie mentioned his name. Who is he?’
‘John Doggett is a useful friend and… well, you wouldn’t want to discover what he’s like as an enemy. How best to describe him?’ Ned paused and sipped his wine thoughtfully. ‘He comes of good family; his forbears were vintners. Their business still exists in East Cheap. John is a man of some style and education but he turned his back on a tradesman’s life. Too humdrum for him, perhaps. Or it may be that he simply stumbled upon easier ways to make money than in importing wine. Whatever the reason, he has set himself up as a princeling among the outcast and base community. You may not realise it but there is a hierarchy in the criminal world as fixed and immovable as the one that holds together the society of honest men. To take but one example, all highway robbers and travelling beggars ply their trade by courtesy of the “upright men” who ordain who may operate in each locality. Now, if the upright man is a noble of the open road, Doggett is king or emperor over an even wider domain. The Howards and the Brandons are effectively the rulers of East Anglia and the Percies and the Nevilles control the northern counties. In the same way Doggett treats Southwark and its hinterland as his realm. He has a band of rakehell servitors, known, inevitably, as “Doggett’s Dogs”. They police the Stews and the gambling houses. They decide which beggars and thieves may operate. They sort out disputes. And for all these services they collect their dues.’
‘They rob from the robbers.’
‘Aye, and kill the killers. Criminals are more afraid of the Dogs than they are of any magistrate.’
‘I don’t like what I’m hearing about this Doggett fellow.’
‘Among the human leys of Southwark he provides something that passes for law and order but he is certainly someone to be avoided by honest men.’
‘But if the Seagraves have set him on my trail…’
‘I think they are more interested in the men who actually killed their family member. They know you are innocent of that crime. As long as you keep out of Doggett’s way…’
‘I cannot do that,’ I said. ‘I must seek this fellow out and talk with him.’
Ned’s eyes opened wide and he almost dropped his glass. ‘I trust you are jesting,’ he gasped.
‘I fear not.’
I told him about the inconsistencies surrounding Robert’s death, the inconclusive evidence given to the coroner, my visit to Hemmings and my conversation with Lizzie. ‘It was she who — very reluctantly — advised me to make contact with Doggett,’ I concluded. ‘She suggested you might provide an introduction. But now you tell me that he is working for the Seagraves, as their agent of vengeance.’
Ned set down his empty glass on the hearth, covered his face with his hands and shook his head. ‘Oh, Thomas, Thomas, Thomas. What a labyrinth you have wandered into.’
‘Exactly, and as in a labyrinth there is a point at which return to the beginning is impossible, so I must now go on.’
‘Pray God you do not lose your way.’ He sighed. ‘When we came to Southwark, Jed and I, we were shocked by what we discovered. We seemed to have fallen into a melting pot where all the seven great sins were stirred together. It is not the place I would wish to introduce an honest gentleman like yourself.’
‘Yet you have survived,’ I urged.
‘Oh, aye. We have been accepted because those who hold sway there think we have talents to offer. I have taught Jed something of my medical skills and, in a place like Southwark, we lack not for patients. But those who venture there for their own private reasons are like to find themselves covered in leeches — and not for the sake of their health.’
‘Are you saying you won’t introduce me to Doggett?’
He shook his head and sighed again. ‘I know not what to do for the best. My instinct tells me to advise you to meddle no further.’
‘But — ’
He held up a hand. ‘I know — you feel you cannot disentangle yourself. You may be right. But how to proceed…’ He stirred one of the embers with his foot.
‘Perhaps we can make enquiries without involving Doggett,’ I suggested.
‘That is what you most certainly cannot do. He will know of your presence within the hour. He does not like strangers asking questions.’
‘Then I must go firm-footed into the Dogs’ kennel and risk getting bitten.’
‘Not so hasty; this wants careful thinking.’ He stared at me long and hard, the reflected firelight giving his eyes a glow of added intensity. ‘What exactly is it that you are hoping to discover?’
‘Simply what Doggett knows of a professional assassin, possibly foreign, who is an expert with handguns. There cannot be many such.’
‘Doggett is certainly the one man who will know the answer to that question. Lizzie was right about that. But what if the murderer you seek is someone to whom he has extended his protection?’
‘Then, I suppose, he will tell me nothing.’
‘More likely he will prevent you asking questions — for ever.’
‘Lizzie said I should not risk my life trying to find out who killed Robert.’
‘You would do well to heed her. She is wise and has learned her wisdom the hard way.’ Ned paused. ‘However if we must pursue this matter — and I do say “if” — we must take a more oblique approach. Perhaps I should go to Doggett in the first instance.’
‘I would not want you to take risks on my behalf.’
‘Oh, Doggett will not harm me. I nursed his favourite doxy through a fever.’
‘But if he has been commissioned by the Seagraves to kill me?’
‘We would have to keep your name out of our enquiries — at least until we knew the lie of the land.’
‘Do you think that possible?’
Ned shrugged, his rubicund features quite bereft of their usual bonhomie. ‘If Doggett felt I was deceiving him… making a fool of him…’ He drew a finger across his throat. ‘As soon as I broach the business he will have his hounds out, sniffing for information. One way or another he will have the truth ere long.’