Julian played the fool flawlessly. "Ah, good sir! Are you interested? I have a strict policy: if a man has the matching boot, I will sell this one to him for a fair price. If he doesn't, I'll buy his single boot to make a pair! I found this one abandoned in a ditch near the city gates."
Leo's eyes lit up with greedy relief. "I have the match! I lost my other boot weeks ago in a drunken brawl! Wait right here, peddler. Let me fetch my silver!"
Leo turned to limp away, completely unaware that he had just walked into a trap set by the White Stallion's best men.
Marcus the Iron Fist stepped out from the shadows of the oak tree, blocking Leo's path. "You aren't going anywhere, Leo."
Leo realized he was surrounded. He reached for a concealed dagger in his belt, but Marcus moved with terrifying speed. The giant brawler grabbed Leo by the collar, lifted him entirely off his feet, and slammed him against the trunk of the oak tree.
"You're coming with us," Julian said, dropping the peddler act entirely. "The Magistrate wants to speak with you about a pair of boots and a headless woman."
An hour later, Julian and Marcus dragged "Quick-Fisted" Leo through the doors of the Oakendell Courthouse. They threw him onto the floorboards before Arthur's elevated desk.
Arthur looked down at the terrified thug, then at the matching boot on his foot. The physical evidence was undeniable.
Just as Arthur was about to speak, the heavy doors of the courtroom were pushed open again. The scruffy yellow dog trotted inside. It walked directly over to Leo, bared its teeth, and let out a vicious, furious snarl, snapping at the hem of the thug's tunic.
"Call off the beast!" Leo screamed, kicking wildly at the dog.
"The dog recognizes the scent of its mistress's killer," Arthur said coldly, raising a hand to calm the animal. The yellow dog immediately sat down, its eyes fixed on Leo with intelligent hatred.
Arthur turned his piercing gaze to the thug. "Your boot was found by the grave of Mary, a servant woman who was brutally murdered and decapitated. You are wearing the match. Do not waste the court's time with lies, Leo. Confess, and I may spare you the heavy cane."
Leo looked at the fierce Magistrate, the towering vigilantes guarding the doors, and the snarling yellow dog. His bravado crumbled entirely.
"Mercy, My Lord! I'll talk!" Leo wept, pressing his forehead to the floorboards. "But I didn't plan it! I was hired!"
Arthur leaned forward, the truth finally within his grasp. "Hired by whom?"
Leo pointed a trembling, desperate finger at the arrogant scholar standing nearby. "By him! By Master Edward!"
Edward stumbled backward, his face turning a sickly shade of gray. "He is lying! He is a common thug trying to save his own neck!"
"Quiet!" Arthur roared. He focused entirely on Leo. "Tell me exactly what happened the night Mary died."
Leo swallowed hard, his voice shaking. "Master Edward hired me for protection, My Lord. He was drinking heavily that night. He went to the servant's cottage. He wanted the woman, Mary. I stood outside."
Leo closed his eyes, shivering. "I heard them fighting. I heard her slap him. Master Edward came stumbling out, furious and humiliated. He told me to go inside and 'teach her a lesson'. He said he would pay me ten silver pieces to make sure she never spoke of his advances."
"So you went inside," Arthur prompted.
"I did," Leo sobbed. "I struck her. I hit her too hard. She fell and hit her head against the stone hearth. She died instantly. I panicked! I ran outside and told Master Edward. He was terrified of a scandal."
Leo looked at the scholar with bitter resentment. "Master Edward came up with the plan. He said if we cut off her head, no one could prove it was her, and he could blame it on a random highway robbery. We buried the body in his sorghum field that night. But it was muddy... my boot got stuck in the deep earth. I couldn't pull it out without waking the other servants, so I left it there."
The courtroom was dead silent. The truth was ugly, cowardly, and entirely devoid of the intellectual superiority Edward claimed to possess.
Arthur looked at Master Edward. The scholar's brilliant mind could offer no defense against the overwhelming weight of the physical evidence and the direct confession of his hired thug. Edward collapsed to his knees, burying his face in his hands, weeping like a broken child.
Arthur stood up, his black robes billowing slightly as he delivered the final judgment.
"Master Edward," Arthur pronounced, his voice echoing with absolute authority. "You used your wealth and your intellect not to uplift your community, but to prey upon your servants. You orchestrated a murder, mutilated a corpse, and allowed a terrified old man to murder his own daughter to save your cowardly neck."
Arthur turned to Leo. "And you, Leo, traded a woman's life for ten pieces of silver."
Arthur picked up his wooden gavel. "You are both found guilty of murder and conspiracy. The sentence is death by hanging. Take them to the deep cells."
As the screaming scholar and the weeping thug were dragged away, Arthur turned to Old Silas. "Silas. You murdered your own child. Your crime is horrific, but the court recognizes the immense, corrupt pressure applied by your master. You will spend the rest of your days in the monastery in the northern mountains, praying for the souls of Mary and Agatha."
The courtroom slowly cleared, leaving Arthur alone with William, the broken husband, and the scruffy yellow dog.
William fell to his knees, weeping softly. "Thank you, Magistrate. You brought her justice."
Arthur stepped down from the bench and knelt beside the yellow dog, gently scratching the animal behind the ears. The dog let out a soft whine, licking Arthur's hand.
"Justice is rarely clean, William," Arthur said quietly, looking at the loyal animal that had broken the case. "But sometimes, the truth refuses to stay buried."
Arthur stood up, looking out the high windows at the setting sun. The shadows of Oakendell were long, but the Magistrate's light was finally beginning to pierce the darkness.
(To be continued...)