"Magistrate Pendelton!" Julian sneered, completely ignoring the armed guards. "I am Julian Sterling. I demand to know by what authority you have arrested Zachary Vance! He is a gentleman of the highest standing, and you are treating him like a common cutthroat!"
Arthur remained seated, his expression turning to stone. "He is a convicted murderer, Master Sterling. The authority I hold is the King's. If you take issue with it, you may petition the Crown."
"Do not play word games with me, Pendelton!" Julian snapped, stepping closer to the bench. "You are new to this Shire. You do not understand how things work here. You cannot simply execute a man of Vance's pedigree based on the whinings of a few dirt-poor farmers. You are overstepping your boundaries, and I promise you, I will see to it that your career ends in disgrace!"
Arthur stood up slowly. "Are you threatening a Crown Magistrate in his own courtroom, Master Sterling?"
"I am promising you consequences!" Julian spat. "Release Vance immediately, or I will mobilize the regional council against you!"
Arthur looked at the arrogant aristocrat with profound disgust. "Captain Carter. Escort Master Sterling out of my courthouse. If he resists, throw him in the cells for contempt."
Julian's face turned purple with rage as two guards grabbed his arms. "You will regret this, Pendelton! You haven't seen the last of me!" he roared as he was dragged out into the street.
Arthur sat back down, rubbing his temples. The Viper was caged, but the political fallout was just beginning. He dispatched Detective Miller and Liam Thorne to lead the raid on the Vance estate, hoping they would find Fiona Fletcher alive.
Arthur expected to spend the rest of the day buried in paperwork, finalizing the execution orders. But in Oakendell, peace was a fleeting illusion.
Less than an hour after Julian Sterling had been thrown out, the courtroom doors opened again. Two men, both looking extremely nervous and agitated, were escorted inside by a guard.
They were ordinary working men, dressed in simple cotton tunics and trousers. The man on the left had a dark complexion and an honest, weathered face. The man on the right was slightly younger, shifting his weight anxiously from foot to foot.
"State your names and your business," Arthur commanded, suppressing a weary sigh.
The darker-skinned man stepped forward, bowing respectfully. "My name is Tobias, My Lord. I am a carpenter from the village of Riverbend. I have brought this man here to confess to a terrible crime, before I am accused of hiding it."
Arthur leaned forward, his interest piqued. "Go on, Tobias."
Tobias pointed to the nervous man beside him. "This is Arthur 'The Jester' Higgins. We call him that because he's always making terrible jokes and telling tall tales in the taverns. Last night, I was walking home from the lumber mill when I ran into him. He looked panicked, sweating heavily. I tried to calm him down, asked him to buy me a pint of ale."
Tobias swallowed hard. "We went to the local tavern. I asked him where he had been, as I hadn't seen him in days. He leaned across the table, his eyes wide and crazy, and told me he had just come into a massive fortune. He pulled two heavy pouches of silver from his coat."
Arthur focused his gaze on the nervous man, Higgins. "And where did this silver come from?"
Tobias answered for him. "He told me, My Lord, that he had murdered a man at the old Crossroads Inn. He said he killed him, stole his silver, and dumped the body down the old abandoned well behind the inn. I was terrified! I didn't want the silver, and I didn't want to be an accomplice. So, I grabbed him this morning and dragged him here to confess to you."
Arthur turned to Arthur "The Jester" Higgins. "Is this true, Higgins? Did you murder a man at the Crossroads Inn?"
Higgins immediately fell to his knees, waving his hands frantically. "No! No, My Lord, it's a misunderstanding! A terrible, stupid joke! That's why they call me The Jester!"
"A joke about murder and a bag of stolen silver?" Arthur asked skeptically.
"Please, let me explain!" Higgins begged. "I am just a simple errand boy, My Lord! My uncle is a wealthy merchant in the capital. He sent me to Riverbend to finalize the purchase of sixty acres of farmland from a local man named Master Gregory. The agreed price was four hundred and eighty silver pieces."
Higgins pulled the two pouches of silver from his coat and placed them on the floor. "My uncle had to return to the capital urgently, so he left me with a hundred pieces of silver to give to Master Gregory as a down payment to secure the deed. I went to Gregory's estate yesterday evening, but his servants told me he was out visiting friends and wouldn't be back until late."
"So I kept the silver," Higgins continued, his voice trembling. "I was walking back to my rented room when I ran into Tobias. He started pestering me, asking where I'd been. I wanted to impress him. I wanted to sound dangerous and rich. So, I made up the story! I showed him the down payment money and told him I killed a man at the Crossroads Inn and dumped him in the well. It was just a stupid, drunken boast! I swear on my life, I haven't hurt anyone! You can send a rider to Master Gregory to confirm the land deal!"
Arthur stared at the kneeling man. Higgins looked genuinely terrified, and his story, while incredibly foolish, was plausible. Men often boasted in taverns to seem larger than life.
"You are a profound idiot, Higgins," Arthur sighed, shaking his head. "Your 'jokes' waste the court's time and terrify honest citizens."
Arthur was about to dismiss the men and order Higgins to be locked in the stocks for public nuisance when the heavy courtroom doors burst open once more.
Two local wardens from the Crossroads district ran into the room, both of them gasping for breath, their faces pale with horror.
"Magistrate Pendelton!" the older warden yelled, ignoring protocol entirely. "Forgive the interruption, but we have an emergency at the Crossroads Inn!"
Arthur stood up, a cold feeling of dread settling in his stomach. "What is it?"
"It's the old abandoned well behind the inn, My Lord," the warden gasped. "A woman went to draw water from it this morning... and she found a dead body floating at the bottom!"
The entire courtroom fell dead silent.
Arthur slowly turned his head, his piercing gaze locking onto Arthur "The Jester" Higgins, who was still kneeling on the floor, his face completely drained of blood.
The boast in the tavern was no longer a joke. It was a confession. And Arthur Pendelton was about to plunge into yet another labyrinth of murder.
(To be continued...)