Page 15 of Laird of Flint
“Huh.” He waved his arm at the goods stacked on shelves. “Ye need parchment?”
“Nay.”
Bernard licked his lips and eyed his axe. “Then what are ye here for?”
“A few questions.”
Bernard’s gaze flitted nervously to the door. “Is this about the laird’s daughter?” he blurted. “I only sold her parchment. I swear. If anyone said ’twas anythin’ else…”
Hew lifted his brows. Was everyone entangled with Lady Carenza? “Nay.”
“Oh.” Bernard’s shoulders dropped in relief. “What is it then?”
“The local prior told me you provide parchment to the monastery.”
“Aye.”
“You take it there yourself?”
“I do the delivery, aye.”
“Directly to the prior?”
He shrugged. “Sometimes the prior. Sometimes a monk.”
“You go to the scriptorium?”
He shook his head. “They meet me at the gate. But why do ye want to know all this?”
“I’m staying at the monastery, trying to make myself useful,” he invented. “If I can save you the trouble of carting your wares to the monastery…”
“’Tis no trouble,” Bernard assured him, adding quietly in confidence, “and just so ye know, the cost is the same, whether I deliver it or not. I’m already givin’ the abbot a good price.” He glanced at Hew’s weapon again. “Ask anyone.”
“Of course.” Hew nodded. “Thank you for your time.”
Bernard seemed like an untrustworthy sort. But it was probably true he’d given the abbot a good price. A man as paranoid as Bernard would likely try to buy his way into heaven.
So far, Hew was not convinced any of the vendors were guilty of the thefts. None of them were in the habit of entering the monastery. But interviewing everyone on the prior’s list was the only way to eliminate suspects.
Mabel the cloth merchant only delivered goods to the monastery twice a year. She was a pious woman who walked with a crutch and considered the trip a pilgrimage of sorts. Hew mentally eliminated her.
The next two frequent visitors to the monastery were Brother Cathal, who collected the alms from Kildunan to distribute to the poor, and Father James, who oversaw the monastery with a monthly inspection. They would naturally be given free access to the monastery. Their presence in the most private chambers would never arouse suspicion. Indeed, Hew was rather surprised the prior had put them on the list at all.
Still, logistically, they were likely suspects. And Hew wanted no loose threads. Not only did they have access. They might have worked as a team, which would have made the thefts easier. And the fact that they both traveled widely, collecting alms and making inspections at various monasteries, meant they could hide their plunder almost anywhere.
They weren’t in the village at present. A servant at the church said they had gone together to see the construction of the new monastery at Kilwinning.
That aroused Hew’s suspicions even more. He began to wonder if Kildunan wasn’t the only monastery to have treasures go missing. If all the monks were as secretive about the loss of valuables as the abbot of Kildunan was, there might well be serial robberies taking place.
As he left the church, Hew spotted the butcher shop where he’d purchased the ham. The village butcher was the last entry on his list.
When he swung open the door of the shop, the butcher waved his bloody hand in greeting.
“Ye again,” he said with a wink. “Did ye finish off the ham already?”
Hew laughed. “Not quite. I’ve come to ask you a few questions.”
“Questions?”
