Read Online Unholy Innocence by Stephen Wheeler - Free Book Online

I’m sorry, Walter. I didn’t manage to get to bed at all last night. Events have been unfolding so fast I am losing track of who knows what. All right, let’s go back to the beginning. Boy martyrs, yes.’ He winced and shifted his weight to his other buttock. ‘As you say, there have been a number of them in recent years – William of Norwich was the first, I think. Then there was the child Harold in Gloucester - I believe he was the youngest. And our own blessed Saint Robert the most recent of all. There have been others here and in France. They had certain attributes in common – all were boys, all pre-puberty and all killed in a grotesque parody of Our Lord’s Passion, it has always been assumed, by Jews.’
    Here I felt the need to interrupt. ‘Why?’
    He frowned impatiently. ‘Why what? Why did they do it, you mean?’ Samson inhaled deeply shaking his tonsured head. ‘Who knows? Mockery, jealousy. Something about returning to Jerusalem.’ He snorted up at Jocelin. ‘Not that there’s any chance of that at the moment.’
    ‘No,’ I said. ‘I meant, why would the Jews be blamed in this case?’
    Samson lowered his voice almost to a whisper. ‘Because of where the body was found, of course.’
    ‘Which was where?’
    Samson frowned again and looked at me as though he could not believe I did not know. Fortunately Jocelin saw the danger and coughed lightly to clear his throat. ‘I-in the garden of a prominent local Jew.’
    I said carefully and deliberately: ‘The garden of a Jew? I thought all the Jews in Bury had been expelled some time ago, by your order, Father Abbot.’
    Samson shifted uncomfortably in his chair again. ‘They had. Most of them. Anyway, that’s beside the point now. You saw the response of your brother monks this morning at the mere suggestion that the boy might have been martyred by Jews. I’ve no doubt the reaction of the townsfolk will be the same. It’s a highly emotive subject. People…react.’ He glanced at me. ‘We need to be discreet but we need a quick resolution. The longer we delay the greater the chance of some…unpleasantness.’
    By ‘unpleasantness’ I presumed he meant the Palm Sunday riots and murder of fifty-seven human beings. An interesting use of the word.
    Samson suddenly exploded: ‘God damn the boy! Why did he have to choose now to get himself killed? The King here. ’ He pointed a fat finger at me. ‘We must do all we can to ensure King John is not given any excuse to take over the investigation - which he will, mark my word, given half the chance. At the first sign of faltering he will put in his own men and that cannot be allowed to happen. The honour of Saint Edmund is at stake.’
    The honour of Saint Edmund. Is that what was really bothering Samson, I wondered? The saint’s honour resided in the hands of his champion-in-chief here on earth who was the Abbot of Edmundsbury, of course. Could it be that Samson’s main concern over this boy’s death was the threat it posed to his own authority? Or was I being uncharitable?
    ‘Why woul d the King want to do that?’ I asked naively again. ‘Interfere I mean. Surely he has more to worry about than the death of a miller’s son?’
    Samson looked at me with amazement. ‘Anything to do with the Jews is the King’s concern, Walter. They have no status other than at the King’s behest.’ He snorted. ‘I should have thought you of all people would have known that.’
    I looked up rather too quickly. Was he referring to my connection with Joseph? I didn’t think he knew anything about that. I could feel my cheeks start to redden and burn. All I could do was nod stupidly, which he evidently took to signal my agreement.
    ‘Good, well that’s settled then. Unless you have any more questions?’
    ‘Just one,’ I said. ‘Why me? Bearing in mind our last conversation on the subject of miracles, I would have thought you’d regard my approach as being too….scientific?’ I was referring to