Deliver us from Evil (10 page)

'You asked where Sir Charles was.' Faustus gestured. 'His remains are mingled with the earth you see there.'

Captain Foxe took a step forward. Again he bent down, and ran the soil through his hands.

'What will you do, Captain? Will you dig up the soil and pan it, so that Sir Charles' dust may be anatomised, and exposed to your godly retribution?' Faustus laughed; he turned and, still laughing, walked across the cellar floor away from Captain Foxe. His footsteps faded until at length, there was silence.

Captain Foxe stood alone. He breathed in deeply. The sweetness still seemed to linger in the air; and when he kicked at a mound of earth, he felt his terror rising inside him even more, for again it seemed to suck and feed on his soul. He paused, irresolute; then shuddered, and turned. As he hurried through the cellars, he did not look back.

'For the true Mathematical Science, is
that which measureth
the invisible lines, and immortal beams, which can pass through clod, and turf; hill and dale. it was for this reason, it was accounted by all ancient priests the ch
ie
fest science; for it gave them power, both in their words and works.'

Dr. John Dee,
Mathematical Preface

‘
I

he sense of horror hung dense over Captain Foxe's spirits for several days afterwards. Not until almost a week had passed did he prepare to inform Colonel Sexton of the failure of his investigation; but by then, although the horror still lingered, determination had replaced his initial despair. For Captain Foxe was not a man given to a sense of hopelessness; his faith in the workings of God, which he found expressed every day in the existence beside him of his beloved wife and son, fortified him also in his belief that evil could be conquered. For days he had been appealing to God, speaking in his prayers as he might speak to a friend, asking that the murderer be uncovered and stopped; and he believed that God, like any friend, would surely answer his requests.

He set out, then, on the morning of his visit to Colonel Sexton, with his sense of hope undiminished. For part of the way, he was accompanied by Sir Henry, whose news, given as they rode together, only increased Captain Foxe's resolve. It appeared, from Sir Henry's report, that several of his farmhands had been recruited by the Hall, tempted by the promise of abundant rewards - for the men who had driven the carts there had been paid with bags of coins, and Sir Henry knew this to be true, for he had seen the money with his very own eyes. Captain Foxe's questioning of them had not been welcomed; nor his warning that they should keep away from the Hall. For what was such advice, Sir Henry asked, when set against the promise of further gold?

Captain Foxe brooded on this question. He did not care to think that men he had always known, men from his own village, might so easily be bought; and yet in his heart he could not be surprised, for he was a militiaman and had seen repeatedly in the course of his investigations how life was but a highway through Vanity Fair, in which the lure of money was hard to resist. Such greed, he had always believed, would bring its own punishment; yet Captain Foxe dreaded to think what the lure of Wolverton gold might bring in its wake, for he knew for certain that if the Devil tempted, then it was only to damn; and it was the Devil whose servants he had seen in the Hall. So convinced of this was Captain Foxe, that when he met with Colonel Sexton, he would not admit to even a glimmering of doubt; and when he was pressed by the Colonel, he would only challenge his superior to do as he had done, to venture into the cellars and feel the Devil's breath against his face. Colonel Sexton sighed at this; but he did not attempt to contradict his officer any further, nor did he deny him license to continue watching the Hall. 'You should know, though,' he warned, 'that
I
have already started to receive complaints, from my own superior and from the mayor. It appears this man Faustus has well-connected friends. They do not approve of your interest in him.'

'
I
have already discovered, sir, that Faustus is not averse to spending his gold.'

Colonel Sexton shrugged. 'Find what you are searching for quickly, Captain.
I
may not be in a position to protect you for much longer.'

'
I
will find him, sir.'

'You have a course of action prepared?'

Captain Foxe paused. His brow creased faintly, 'God will aid us,' he said at last.

'Let us hope so,' murmured Colonel Sexton, rising to clasp his officer's hand. 'Take care, though, John.' He nodded, a gesture of dismissal. 'For God's sake - take care.'

Captain Foxe saluted, then strode through the Council Hail back towards his room. His mood had turned bleak once again. He pondered the silent admission which his colonel had wrung from him, that he was helpless before the killer, that he knew neither where to find him nor how to stop him killing once again. 'Captain Foxe!' a voice called out suddenly; he froze. He looked up the stairs to see a trooper standing there; and at once, he knew what had happened, what the trooper had to say. He was only glad, he thought, as he hurried up the stairs, that Robert and Emily were not with him this time. 'Very well, then,' he said, meeting the trooper's eye, 'tell me the worst. Who is it this time? Where has the body been found?' The trooper looked puzzled. 'Sir?'

Relief, in a sudden flood of gold, bathed Captain Foxe. 'No murder?' he asked.

The trooper continued to look puzzled. 'No, sir,' he said. 'There is a man in your room.'

'And that is all you wanted to report?'

'Yes, sir.' The trooper looked so baffled by now that Captain Foxe began to laugh. He turned, and hurried towards his room. His despair had vanished as completely as it had arisen; and he was confident once again of God's guidance in his task. As he entered his room, he almost tripped up over a jumble of papers and books; he looked about him in surprise, and recognised the back of Mr Aubrey, who seemed perfectly oblivious to him, crouching over a map. Captain Foxe offered up a silent prayer of thanks, that his faith in God's assistance had been justified so fast; then he cleared his throat. 'You have discovered something which may help us?' he asked.

Mr Aubrey looked round, startled. '
I
hope so,' he nodded, as he saw who it was. He jabbed a finger down at his map. '
I
believe
I
know when and where the killer may be trapped.'

'Then that is glad news indeed.' Captain Foxe crossed to join him, picking his way through the scattered piles of books. '
I
see you have brought the materials of your research with you,' he observed.

Mr Aubrey coughed modestl
y. 'There was a great deal to be tracked down,' he agreed as he gazed round at his books. He reached for one of them, smoothed it out, then blew away the dust. 'You see, Captain,' he asked, 'why it is said of we antiquaries that we wipe off the mouldiness we dig, and remove the rubbish?' He reached for another book; he patted it; there was a second cloud of dust. 'These had lain undisturbed a long time on my shelves, with all my father's books, and my grandfather's and my great-grandfather's too, for we have always been a family of collectors. Sadly, however - and you may have observed this for yourself, Captain - ordering these possessions has never been my strength.' He gestured self-reproachfully at all his scattered books and papers. 'It took me time to find these - hence the delay.'

‘
No, no,' said Captain Foxe, shaking his head, 'you have been remarkably quick.'

Mr Aubrey blushed a pleased shade of pink. 'It was the mention of Prague,' he said, 'which gave me the hint.'

'Of Prague?' frowned Captain Foxe.

Mr Aubrey nodded. He looked around. 'Now curse the thing, where is it?' He began to search through his books, creating a blizzard of papers before he finally found a small vellum-bound manuscript, which he brandished below Captain Foxe's nose. 'You remember?' he asked. '
I
showed it to you before. It has the pictures of women bathing in blood.'

'Yes,' said Captain Foxe, nodding slowly. 'It had belonged to a doctor
...
Queen Elizabeth's astrologer?'

'Yes, yes, Dr John Dee, who lived at Mortlake, not a mile distant from my great-grandfather at Kew, with whom he was a very intimate acquaintance, and had great discussions on magical topics; so that when Dr Dee was accused of sorcery, he gave many of his books to my great-grandfather, by which means
I
have them now.' Mr Aubrey paused for breath and shook his head sternly. '
I
told you this before, Captain.'

'
I
am sorry. Clearly
I
mistook its significance.' Captain Foxe shrugged. 'Nor do
I
fully understand it even now.'

'Why, sir,' said Mr Aubrey, flicking through the small vellum book, 'it is said that Dr Dee had penetrated the mysteries of the universe, and sought to discover the philosopher's stone. It was to that end that he travelled to Prague, which as
I
also told you before, Captain -
I
remember mentioning it quite specifically - is the world's university for the magical arts. In the Jewish Ghetto there was a book which had only just recently come to light, though in mysterious circumstances - for how and from where it had appeared no one could say - and it was rumoured to reveal how the dead might be raised. Yet no one could read it - and this greatly frustrated the learned men amongst the Jews, who longed to master the knowledge the manuscript contained, and penetrate the secrets of the very grave. Learning that Dr Dee was in Prague, and knowing of his reputation, the leader of the Jews invited him to inspect the manuscript, which the Doctor did, making a copy of the book, with great expense of effort, so that more than one man might study it at a time. But the Jew, when he discovered what Dr Dee had performed, mistook his intentions and complained to the Emperor, who greatly loved the Jew and so banished Dr Dee. The Doctor's revenge, however, was to take his copy of the manuscript with him -and here it is, in my library today.'

Mr Aubrey had been speaking with increasing speed, and as he reached his triumphant conclusion he waved the book in the air again. Captain Foxe took it, and scanned the opening page. He did not recognise the script; he frowned. 'Is it Latin?' he asked.

Mr Aubrey shrugged. '
I
do not have the remotest idea,' lie replied.

'You mean you cannot read it?'

'No.' He laughed cheerfully. 'No one can.'

'But
...
I
thought . ..' Captain Foxe shook his head. 'What about this Dr Dee?'

'No, nor him either. For the rest of his life, after his expulsion from Prague, he tried to decipher the script, but it was all in vain.'

"Then of what value is it to us?
I
do not understand, Mr Aubrey, why you have raised my hopes only to dash them in this way.'

'Patience, Captain, patience! Just remember what we do know about this book.' He beamed, and tapped the side of his nose. 'One -it deals with the raising of the dead. Two - it was copied from an original still in Prague. You will understand, perhaps, why my interest was aroused when you described the man you believed your murderer to be: a man who appeared to have risen from the dead - and who was very recently a resident of Prague.'

'Yes, yes,' said Captain Foxe impatiently, 'but the coincidences are merely tantalising, and nothing more, if we cannot read the book.'

'It is true that Dr Dee failed to decipher it - but he appears to have come exceedingly close.'

'How close?'

Mr Aubrey gestured at his scattered papers and books. 'As
I
said -
exceedingly.'

'These are the materials of his research?' "The materials - and the fruits.'

Very slowly, Captain Foxe sat down in his chair. 'Tell me, then,' he said at length, 'what it is that you have found.'

Mr Aubrey almost skipped across to join him. He scooped up an armful of volumes and maps, and spread them out on the table; then he picked up the books. 'These are histories of the Ancient Britons,' he began. '
I
have never come across their like before, and indeed would have considered them the merest knavery, for the arguments they contain are exceedingly strange, had not certain passages been marked by Dr Dee.' He opened one of the books, and passed it across.

Captain Foxe studied it. There was an illustration in black ink, of symbols connected by a single straight line. 'And now look at this,' said Mr Aubrey. He opened the vellum-bound manuscript and again, Captain Foxe studied it. An illustration had been drawn in the margin of the page, and when he compared it with the first book, Captain Foxe saw how the two were virtually the same.