Speaks The Nightbird Part 28

"Then I went outside to spew," Garrick said. "But before that didn't you pause to put on your coat and boots?"

"I... well... yes sir, I must've, but I can't rightly recall it."

"How many gold b.u.t.tons," Matthew said, "were on the front of Satan's cloak?"

"Six," Garrick answered.

"Six? Of that number you're positive?"

"Yes sir." He nodded vigorously. "I seen 'em s.h.i.+ne in the moonlight."

"It was a full moon, then?"

"Sir?"

"A full moon," Matthew repeated. "Was it a full moon?"

"Reckon it had to be. But I don't recall ever lookin' up at it."

"And even with this bright moonlight-which enabled you to see a figure crossing a distant field without a lantern-you were unable to see Satan's face?"

"Well sir... the Devil was wearin' a cowl over his head."

"That may be so, but were not the b.u.t.tons on the front of his cloak? If the bright moonlight made those six gold b.u.t.tons so memorable, could you not see a portion portion of his face?" of his face?"

"No sir." Garrick s.h.i.+fted uneasily on the stool. "It weren't his face that caught my sight. It was... that terrible big thing the witch was suckin' on."

"Covered with thorns, I think you've already told us?"

"Yes sir, it was."

"Satan spoke to you, did he not? In fact, he called you by name?" Garrick nodded. "Did you not look at Satan's face when he spoke to you?"

"I believe I did. But... there weren't nothin' there but dark."

"Did Rachel Howarth ever turn her face toward you?"

"No sir, she didn't."

Matthew paused to lay aside his quill and ma.s.sage his hand again. He glanced once more at Woodward, and saw that the magistrate was still motionless but his eyes were open and his breathing was steady, if very labored.

"Mr. Garrick!" Rachel suddenly said, standing at the bars. "What have I ever done to you, to cause you to make up these lies?"

"They ain't lies!" Garrick hugged the Bible for protection. "You know I seen you, out there givin' service to your master!"

"I was never behind that barn, doing such a sin! And I never consorted with such a creature! If you're not lying, your mind has invented a fantasy!"

Woodward loudly slapped his hand upon the table for order, and immediately Matthew said, "Silence, please! Madam Howarth, I speak for the magistrate when I say it's in your best interest not to disrupt the testimony."

"Her best interest?" interest?" Garrick sounded amazed. "Have you taken the witch's side?" Garrick sounded amazed. "Have you taken the witch's side?"

"No, Mr. Garrick, I have not. I'm only pointing out to Madam Howarth that it is your right to speak without interruption." Matthew started to pick up the quill again when Nicholas Paine entered the gaol bearing a basket.

"Pardon the intrusion, but I have your tea." Paine came into the cell, placed the basket before Woodward, and opened it. Inside was a simple white clay pot and a single cup. "Compliments of Mrs. Zeborah Crawford."

"My thanks," Woodward whispered.

"Will you be needing anything else?"

Woodward thought about it. He patted the desk in front of him. "Poppets," he said.

"The poppets? You wish to see them?" Woodward nodded. "Now."

"They're at my house. I'll go directly and fetch them." Paine cast a quick glance in the direction of Rachel and then hurried out.

Matthew had his quill in hand once more, and a fresh sheet of paper before him. "May I continue, sir?" he asked Woodward, who was pouring himself a cup of dark brown brew, and he received a slight nod as a signal to proceed. "Mr. Garrick?" Matthew said. "Think hard on this next question, if you will. Put the image of Satan's six gold b.u.t.tons in your mind, and tell me if they were fixed on the cloak six in a straight line or three side by side?"

There was a sharp clatter of crockery. Matthew looked to his left to see that Woodward had spilled his tea. The magistrate was staring at him as if the clerk had taken leave of his senses.

"It is is a pertinent question, sir," Matthew said. "I do think it deserves an answer." a pertinent question, sir," Matthew said. "I do think it deserves an answer."

"It's foolish," Woodward whispered, his gray face stern as a rock.

"Might you reserve your opinion until after the question is answered?"

"What kind of question is it?" Garrick asked, visibly agitated. "I thought I was brung here to tell you 'bout the witch, not about b.u.t.tons!"

"You were brought here to tell us whatever is necessary for the magistrate to weigh his judgment," Matthew countered. "Remember, sir, that you hold a Holy Bible, and that you've vowed to speak only the truth. Remember that G.o.d is listening to your answer." He paused a few seconds to let Garrick reflect on that p.r.o.nouncement. "Now: were the six b.u.t.tons arranged in a single line, or were they three side by side?"

"They were..." Garrick suddenly stopped. His tongue flicked out again, wetting his lips. His fingers tightened on the Bible, his knuckles whitening. "They were..." Again he faltered. His face seemed threatened by conflicting currents that moved beneath the skin. He took a long breath, in preparation to make his decision. "Six gold b.u.t.tons," he said. "On the black cloak. I seen 'em. s.h.i.+ne in the moonlight."

"Yes, sir," Matthew said. "But what arrangement were they in?" Garrick frowned; his mouth worked, but no sound emerged. His right hand began to rub in small circles on the Bible. He stared blankly at nothing, his eyes glazed and the pulse beating harder at his temple. Matthew realized that Woodward had leaned slightly forward and his expression had become keen.

"It was a silent town," Garrick said, in what was almost a whisper. A glaze of sweat glistened on his forehead. "Silent. The whole world, afeared to breathe."

Matthew had been taking down every word that the man uttered. He redipped his quill and held it ready. "It's a simple question, sir. Do you not have an answer?" Garrick slowly blinked, his jaw slack. "Sir?" Matthew prompted. "An answer, please?"

"The six gold b.u.t.tons were... they..." He stared into nothingness for a moment longer, and then he shook his head. "I don't know."

"They caught your attention and were clearly defined by the moonlight, yes?"

"Yes."

"But you don't recall how they were arranged on the cloak?"

"No," Garrick said, his voice thick. "I... can see them b.u.t.tons in my head. I see 'em s.h.i.+nin' in the moonlight, but... I don't know if they was straight down or three by three."

"All right, then. Tell us what happened after Satan spoke to you."

"Yes sir." Garrick lifted a hand from the Good Book and wiped his damp forehead. "He... asked me if I liked what I was a'lookin' at. I didn't want to speak, but he made me say 'yes.' He made made me. Then he laughed, and I was ashamed. He let me go. I ran home, and I got in bed beside my 'Becca. That next mornin' I went to see Mr. Paine and I told him the whole story." me. Then he laughed, and I was ashamed. He let me go. I ran home, and I got in bed beside my 'Becca. That next mornin' I went to see Mr. Paine and I told him the whole story."

"When you say he let you go, do you mean he held you spellbound?"

"Yes sir, I believe he did. I wanted to run, but I couldn't move."

"Did he release you with a word or a gesture?"

Again, Garrick frowned as he tried to a.s.semble his thoughts. "I can't say. All I know is, he let me go."

"And your wife was still sleeping when you returned to bed?"

"Yes sir, she was. She never waked up at all. I closed my eyes tight as I could, and next thing I knew I heard the c.o.c.k crow and it was mornin'."

Matthew's eyes narrowed. "You mean after that experience you had no trouble falling asleep?"

"I don't know if I did or not. The c.o.c.k crowed, and I waked up."

Matthew glanced quickly at the magistrate before he posed the following question: "Mr. Garrick, sir, is it possible-just possible- possible- that you were never awake at all?" that you were never awake at all?"

"I don't know what you mean, sir."

"I'm asking if what you thought was real may have been a dream. Is there any possibility of that?"

"No sir!" Garrick clutched the Bible tightly once more. "It all happened like I said! I woke up with stomach trouble and had to spew, and I went outside! I seen that devil and the witch there behind that barn sure as I'm lookin' at you! I swear before the Lord G.o.d I did!"

Matthew said quietly, "There's no need for such swearing. You hold the Bible and you've already vowed your story is the truth. You are are a G.o.d-fearing man, aren't you?" a G.o.d-fearing man, aren't you?"

"Yes sir, I am. If I was lyin' to you, I'd be struck dead in an instant!"

"I'm sure you believe so. I have only one last question for you, and then-with the magistrate's approval, of course-you may go. My question is: how many b.u.t.tons are on the coat you wore that night?"

"Sir?" Garrick tilted his head to one side, as if his ears hadn't quite caught the inquiry. Garrick tilted his head to one side, as if his ears hadn't quite caught the inquiry.

"You seem to be a highly observant individual," Matthew said. "Can you tell me how many b.u.t.tons adorn the coat you put on before you went outside to spew?"

"Well... like I said, I don't recall puttin' my coat on."

"But you must know how many b.u.t.tons it has. I presume you wear it quite a lot in cold weather. How many? Four? Five? Six, perhaps?"

"Five," Garrick answered. "No... I think one of 'em broke off. It must be four."

"Thank you," Matthew said, and he put his quill aside. "Magistrate, I would suggest that Mr. Garrick be freed to go home."

"Are you sure?" sure?" Woodward whispered, not without some sarcasm. Woodward whispered, not without some sarcasm.

"I'm sure Mr. Garrick has told us the truth, as far as he knows the truth to be. I don't think there's any use in keeping him here."

Woodward took a drink of tea and put the cup aside. "Good day," he told the farmer. "The court thanks you."

"I'm free to go, then?" Garrick stood up. He reluctantly relinquished his grip on the Bible and laid it back before the magistrate. "May I be bold to say, sir... I hope I've helped send that witch to the fire. Reverend Grove was a right good man, and what I knew of Daniel he was a Christian too. But when Satan slips into a town, there ain't nothin' that follows but wickedness and tears."

"Mr. Garrick?" Matthew said as the man started to leave the cell. "In your opinion, was it Rachel Howarth or Satan who committed those murders?"

"Had to be Satan, I'd say. I seen Grove's body laid out in the church, and I seen Daniel's a'layin' in the field. A throat cut like those were... couldn't been a woman's hand that done it."

"In your opinion, as a G.o.d-fearing soul, would you believe that Satan could freely enter a church and murder a man of the Lord?"

"I would never have thought it. But it happened, didn't it?"

"Thank you," Matthew said. "You may go."

As soon as Garrick left the gaol Rachel said, "You understand it now, don't you? He was dreaming the whole thing!"

"That is a distinct possibility." Matthew looked at the magistrate, who was stroking his unshaven chin with his fingers. "Would you agree, sir?"

Woodward took his time in offering a reply It seemed to him that Matthew was awfully quick in his attempts to deflect Garrick's testimony The boy was very intelligent, yes; but it appeared to Woodward that Matthew was sharper and quicker now that he'd ever seen him to be. Of course, never before had Matthew been put into the position of commanding an interrogation, and perhaps his abilities had simply risen to the challenge, but... there was something a bit frightening in his desire to destroy Garrick's Bible-sworn statements.

It was a fervor, Woodward decided, that bore careful watching. He sipped the bitter tea and whispered, "This court is not yet adjourned. Let us keep our opinions in rein."

"It seems to me, sir," Matthew plowed on, "that Mr. Garrick's testimony bears all the signs of being a dream. Some things he can recall quite vividly, while others-things he ought to be able to know-are lost to his memory."

"Though my voice is weak," Woodward said, "my ears are still in order. I heard exactly what you did."

"Yes, sir." Matthew decided he should retreat on this subject. "Pardon my manners."

"Pardon accepted. Now be quiet." Matthew took the time to clean his quill. Woodward poured himself a fresh cup and Rachel paced back and forth in her cage.

Nicholas Paine returned carrying a bundle wrapped with white cloth. Instantly Rachel stopped her pacing and came to the bars to watch. Paine placed the bundle on the desk before Woodward and started to open the cloth.

"A moment," Matthew said. "Was that how you originally found the objects?"

"The cloth is original, yes."

"It was not bound up?"

"It was just as you see it. And here are the poppets, just as they were." He opened the cloth and there were four small figures formed of straw, sticks, and what appeared to be red clay. The poppets were human-shaped, but bore no attempt at facial features; the red clay of their heads was smooth and unmarked. Two of the figures, however, had thin black ribbons tied around the sticks that would represent the human throat. On closer inspection, Woodward saw that the stick-throats had been gashed with a blade.

"I a.s.sume those two were meant to be Reverend Grove and Daniel Howarth," Paine said. "The others must have been victims of enchantment, or maybe people who would've been murdered had we not captured the witch." Rachel made a sound of disgust, but was wise enough to hold her tongue.

"You can deny it all you please!" Paine turned toward her. "But I myself found these under a floorboard in your kitchen, madam! Under the very boards that your husband walked upon! Why did you murder him? Because he found you doing witchcraft? Or did he catch you servicing your master?"

"If they were hidden in my house, someone else put them there!" Rachel replied, with considerable heat. "Maybe you you did! Maybe you murdered my husband, too!" did! Maybe you murdered my husband, too!"

"I'm sure he had nothing I wanted!"

"But he did!" she said. "He had me." me."

Paine's face froze with the last vestige of a mocking smile on his mouth.