Death and the Devil

The argument had been going back and forth for some time now. After Daniel had returned, wounded and scarcely able to stand, they had hastily called a meeting. None of them could get to sleep that night anyway. They agreed to meet in Rheingasse, on the first floor, where it had all begun. Only Blithildis was absent. It was not that she objected to being carried there in her chair at that time of night; she simply could not understand the fuss. For her there was no doubt that everything would go ahead as she had planned.

Johann, on the other hand, was having more and more doubts.

“Everything’s getting out of hand,” Theoderich agreed. “When I heard we had a hostage, I thought for a moment Urquhart had things back under control. Now we’re up the creek without a paddle.”

“We’ve not achieved anything,” said Heinrich von Mainz gloomily, “not a single thing.”

Matthias leaped up. “That is not true. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Are you suggesting we give up now, so close to success? We’re almost there.”

“And what are these great achievements, pray?” asked Johann with bitter scorn.

“We—”

“We got rid of Gerhard Morart,” said Theoderich, “that’s all. The rest has been a shambles. It would have been better if Urquhart had simply left the redhead alone.”

“If he’d left him alone half the city would know by now.” Matthias started to pace up and down angrily.

“Nobody would have believed a good-for-nothing like that.”

“That isn’t true. We don’t know what Gerhard whispered to him. We had no choice.”

“Correct me if my arithmetic is wrong,” said Johann deliberately, “but with the Fox, the dean, and his niece, that’s at least three who represent a danger to us. Plus all those we don’t know about. Each one of them had—still has—plenty of opportunity to hawk their knowledge around the city. Then there’s that Bodo Schuif. The dean let slip something that made him think.”

“Bodo’s an imbecile,” Theoderich declared.

“Not enough of an imbecile to dismiss it as the ramblings of a drunken priest. Are we going to kill Bodo as well?”

“If it’s unavoidable,” said Matthias.

“But that still wouldn’t solve the problem, Matthias. It’s too late to silence people. We must give up. Go and tell Urquhart to clear out of the city. With any luck that’ll be the end of it. No one knows we were behind the murders. They can’t prove we had anything to do with it and with Urquhart gone there’s no murderer. We must abandon the plan as long as there’s still time.”

“Abandon it?” Matthias snorted. “The same whining and wailing all the time. What difference would that make? You can’t undo Gerhard’s murder, but you can create the risk they might be able to prove we ordered it. All honor to your high-mindedness, Johann, but in the light of what we have already done, what happens tomorrow is completely irrelevant.”

“It has nothing to do with high-mindedness. I’m just trying to stop the worst from happening.”

“The worst has already happened. You can call off the whole thing, but that won’t stop a few morons from running around the city saying the patricians killed Gerhard.”

Johann started to speak, then breathed out slowly and shook his head.

“I agree with you,” Matthias assured him. “We can’t let it come to a bloodbath. But we’ve gone too far. There was a point when we could have turned back, but we passed that long ago.”

“With Gerhard.”

“Precisely. With Gerhard. Gerhard is dead. There was a witness. Agreed, not everything has gone as planned, but if we give up now, everything will have been in vain. The people will have died in vain. Gerhard will have died in vain.”

Johann remained silent.

Matthias sat down and looked at them one after the other. “I think there is one chance. If we can show that the redhead is a liar and a thief, then people won’t believe those he’s told either. That leaves just one person who’s a real danger to us.”

“Kuno,” Daniel murmured.

All eyes turned toward him.

“You will keep quiet,” growled Johann. “You’ve done enough damage already.”

Daniel leaned forward. He looked terrible. His face was swollen and partly covered in blue bruises, his nose just a shapeless lump. But the gleam of hatred in his eyes was unchanged.

“I know what I’ve done,” he said calmly. “Nevertheless, if Matthias goes to see Urquhart, he should impress on him the need to get rid of Kuno.”

“We’re not going to sacrifice another person just to please you!” Johann shouted. “Once and for all, there have been enough—”

“That is precisely what we will do,” Matthias interrupted. “For once I agree with Daniel. If Kuno decides to give evidence against us, we really do have a problem, a bloody big problem.”

“Why should Kuno do that?” asked Heinrich.

Daniel gave a hoarse laugh. “Why? Because I damn near killed him, that’s why.”

“As long as I preside over this alliance—” Johann began to say.

Matthias shot up. “But you no longer preside over it.”

“I don’t? Who says so?”

“I do. If there’s anyone to whom we owe responsibility, it’s your mother, Blithildis.”