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Matthew had been taking down every word that the man uttered He redipped his quill and held it ready "It&039;s a simple question, sir Do you not have an answeri" Garrick slowly blinked, his jaw slack "Siri" Matthew proold buttons werethey" He stared into nothingness for a er, and then he shook his head "I don&039;t know"

"They caught your attention and were clearly defined by the ht, yesi"

"Yes"

"But you don&039;t recall how they were arranged on the cloaki"

"No," Garrick said, his voice thick "Ican see them buttons in ht, butI don&039;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 "Heasked me if I liked what I was a&039;lookin&039; at I didn&039;t want to speak, but he hed, and I was ashaot in bed beside my &039;Becca That next mornin&039; I went to see Mr Paine and I told hio, do you mean he held you spellboundi"

"Yes sir, I believe he did I wanted to run, but I couldn&039;t ain, Garrick frowned as he tried to assehts "I can&039;t say all I know is, he letwhen you teturned to bedi"

"Yes sir, she was She never waked up at all I closedI knew I heard the cock crow and it was mornin&039;"

Matthew&039;s eyes narrowed "Youasleepi"

"I don&039;t know if I did or not The cock crowed, and I waked up"

Matthew glanced quickly at thequestion: "Mr Garrick, sir, is it possible - just possible - that you were never awake at alli"

"I don&039;t knohat you ht was real may have been a dream Is there any possibility of thati"

"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&039;m lookin&039; at you! I swear before the Lord God I did!"

Matthew said quietly, "There&039;s no need for such swearing You hold the Bible and you&039;ve already vowed your story is the truth You are a God-fearing man, aren&039;t youi"

"Yes sir, I am If I was lyin&039; to you, I&039;d be struck dead in an instant!"

"I&039;m sure you believe so I have only one last question for you, and then - with the o My question is: how hti"

"Siri" Garrick tilted his head to one side, as if his ears hadn&039;t quite caught the inquiry

"You seehly observant individual," Matthew said "Can you tell me how many buttons adorn the coat you put on before you went outside to spewi"

"Welllike I said, I don&039;t recall puttin&039; my coat on"

"But you must kno many buttons it has I presume you wear it quite a lot in cold weather How manyi Fouri Fivei Six, perhapsi"

"Five," Garrick answered "NoI think one of &039;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 surei" Woodhispered, not without some sarcasm

"I&039;m sure Mr Garrick has told us the truth, as far as he knows the truth to be I don&039;t think there&039;s any use in keeping him here"

Woodward took a drink of tea and put the cup aside "Good day," he told the faro, theni" Garrick stood up He reluctantly relinquished his grip on the Bible and laid it back before the istrate "May I be bold to say, sirI hope I&039;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&039;t nothin&039; that follows but wickedness and tears"

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

"Had to be Satan, I&039;d say I seen Grove&039;s body laid out in the church, and I seen Daniel&039;s a&039;layin&039; in the field a throat cut like those werecouldn&039;t been a woman&039;s hand that done it"

"In your opinion, as a God-fearing soul, would you believe that Satan could freely enter a church and ht it But it happened, didn&039;t iti"

"Thank you," Matthew said "You aol Rachel said, "You understand it now, don&039;t youi He was drea!"

"That is a distinct possibility" Matthew looked at the ers "Would you agree, siri"

Woodward took his ti a reply It seemed to him that Matthefully quick in his attempts to deflect Garrick&039;s testient, yes; but it appeared to Woodward that Mattheas sharper and quicker now rhat he&039;d ever seen him to be Of course, never before had Matthew been put into the position of coation, and perhaps his abilities had si a bit frightening in his desire to destroy Garrick&039;s Bible-sworn sratements

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," Mattheed on, "that Mr Garrick&039;s testis he can recall quite vividly, while others - things he ought to be able to know - are lost to his h 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 hie

Nicholas Paine returned carrying a bundle wrapped hite 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 inally found the objectsi"

"The cloth is original, yes"

"It was not bound upi"

"It was just as you see it and here are the poppets, just as they were" He opened the cloth and there were four sures 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 sures, 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 assume those tere meant to be Reverend Grove and Daniel Howarth," Paine said "The others must have been victims of enchantment, or maybe people ould&039;ve been murdered had we not captured the witch" Rachel ue

"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 youwitchcrafti Or did he catch you servicing your masteri"

"If they were hidden in my house, someone else put them there!" Rachel replied, with considerable heat "Maybe you did! Maybe youI wanted!"

"But he did!" she said "He had e of a ht have fashioned those poppets and hidden theainst the bars and her eyes afire "Do you not think I noticed the way you looked at ht Daniel didn&039;t seei Do you not think I felt you devouring mei Well, Daniel saw it too! He told me, less than a week before he was ry stare and you were not to be trusted! Daniel ood judge of character!"

"Obviously he was," Paine said "He istrate," Rachel cohan! Oh, everyone in Fount Royal knows it but Mr Vaughan, and he knows it too in his heart but he&039;s too much a mouse to make a squeak! Tell him about your affair with Blessed Pearson, and your dalliance with Mary Summers! Go on, look him in the face and admit it like the istrate He continued to stare at Rachel even as he let out a laugh that - to Matthew&039;s ears - sounded a bit strangled "You&039;re not only a da insane as well!"

"Tell us all why a handsome, healthy man like yourself has never married! Isn&039;t it because you&039;re only pleased to possess what belongs to other meni"

"Now I know you&039;re insane! I&039;ve never ! I also prize freedoives it up to a wife!"

"and while you have no wife, you are free to turn wives into wenches!" Rachel said "Mary Suot your hands on her, and nohere is shei after you killed her husband in that duel, she perished of sorroithin a month!"

"That duel," he answered coldly, "concerned a point of honor Quentin Summers splashed wine in my face at the tavern and called me a card cheat I had no choice but to call hi your ith his wife, but he couldn&039;t catch you! He was a fariven the first shot He missed If you&039;ll recall, I only wounded him in the shoulder"

"a bullet wound in this town is a death sentence! He just took longer to die than if you&039;d shot hih the heart!"

"The subject of my visit here, I believe, is to display the poppets" Paine turned his gaze toward the istrate "Which I have done Do you wish to keep them, siri"

Even if Woodward&039;s voice hadn&039;t been so diether stolen by the accusations and stateoing to take hi stood out in clear relief in his ards to Paine: He was er man His wife perished from an illness that caused her to suffer fits until she died Why, then, did Paine contend he had never been istratei Do you wish to keep the poppetsi" Paine repeated

"Oh! Uhyes, I do," Woodward answered, in his tortured whisper "They shall become the court&039;s property"

"Very well, then" He fired a look at Rachel that, were it a can-nonshot, h the hull of a warship "I&039;d beware that one and her nasty tongue, sir! She holds such a grudge against me I&039;m surprised istrate and deny that what I&039;ve said is the truth!" Rachel all but shouted

Woodward had endured enough of this discord For want of a better instruainst the desk&039;s edge "Hush!" he said, as loudly as he could; instantly he paid the price in pain, and tears welled up

"Madam Howarthi" Matthew said "I think it wise to be silent"

Paine added, "I think it wise to begin cutting the stake for her execution!"

This sarcastic remark bruised Matthew&039;s sense of propriety, especially following on the heels of such heated wranglings His voice tightened "Mr Paine, it would interest me to knohat Madam Howarth claims about you is true"

"Would it, nowi" Paine put his hands on his hips "You&039;re overstepping your bounds, aren&039;t you, clerki"

"May I speak for you, siri" Matthew asked Woodward, and the istrate didn&039;t hesitate to nod his assent "There, Mr Paine My bounds are more clearly defined Now: are these claims true or falsei"

"I didn&039;t knoas to be a witness today I ," Matthew said, "delays the outcome of this trial Shall you be instructed to sit down and swear truth on the Biblei"

"You ht instruct it, but I doubt you could enforce it"

"Yes, I&039;m sure you&039;re correct I&039;m no duellist, either"

Paine&039;s face had taken on a reddish cast "Listen to ht that man, and if he&039;d insulted o! But he had to test ht there at Van Gundy&039;s! What could I do but call him outi He had the choice of weapons, and the fool chose pistols instead of blades! I would&039;ve given hile cut and called it done!" He shook his head, his expression taking on a hint of regret "But no, Summers wanted heart&039;s blood Well, his pistol misfired and the ball hardly rolled out of the muzzle! Still, that was his shot Then it was mine I aimed for the meat of his shoulder, which I squarely hit Hoould I knoas such a bleederi"

"You ht have fired at the earth," Matthew said "Isn&039;t that acceptable when the first shot misfiresi"

"Not by my rules," came the chill reply "If a er, he must account for it I&039;ve been stabbed between the ribs before and shot through ; so I hold no sympathy for anyone who tries to do me harm! Noyour career at seai" Matthew asked

"The stab, yes The shotwas a later incident" He stared at the clerk with fresh interest "What do you know of my career at seai"

"Just that you were a seaantine is a fast ship, isn&039;t iti In fact, brigantines are the vessels of choice by pirates, are they noti"

"They are and they are also the vessels of choice by those ould hunt pirates in service of the trading companies"

"That was your profession, theni"

"Hardly a profession I was sixteen years old, hot-teht I served one year and four er&039;s rapier laid me low That was the end of my saltwater adventures"

"Oh," Matthew said quietly "I see"

"Whati Did you think me a piratei"

"I wondered" Now that the subject had been opened, he had to ask the next question as well: "Might I inquirewho taught you to roll your tobacco in the Spanish fashioni"

"a Spaniard, of course," Paine said "a prisoner aboard ship He had no teeth, but he dearly loved his cigars I think he was hanged with one in histhe Spanish spy had just fallen to pieces like shattered ht, I ads the witch claihan came after me like a shewolf! I couldn&039;t walk the street without being near attacked by her! a match can only bear so le hot blaze is all I gave her! You kno such things happen!"

"Um " Matthew inspected the tip of his quill "Wellyes, such things do happen"

"and perhaps - perhaps - my eye does wander I did, at one point, feel an attraction to the witch Before she was a witch, I mean You must admit, she&039;s a handsome piece Is she noti"

"My opinion is of no consequence" Matthew blushed so furiously that his face hurt

"You do admit it You&039;d have to be blind if you did not Well,

I may have looked in her direction once or twice, but I never laid a hand on her I had respect for her husband"

"I&039;d be amazed if you had respect for anyone!" Rachel said sharply

Paine started to fire off another volley at her, but he checked himself after a pause in which he stared at the floor, he answered in as almost a saddened tone, "You don&039;t know ine you do I am not the beast you make me out to be It is my nature to respect only those who respect themselves as for the others, from theood or bad, I can&039;t say, but that is how I ah "I did not put those poppets in the witch&039;s house I found the to a dream related to me by Cara Grunewald It seems she had a vision - God-sent, if you want ure told her there was so of importance hidden beneath the floor of Rachel Howarth&039;s kitchen We knew not ere searching for But there the poppets were, beneath a loosened board"

"This was how long after Madam Howarth had been removed from her housei" Matthew asked

"Teeks, I believe Not any longer"

"I presuuarded or watched in any wayi"

"No Why should it have beeni"

"No reason But teeks was tih for someone else to form the poppets and hide them under the floor, don&039;t you thinki"

Paine surprised Matthew by giving a short, sharp laugh "You&039;re jesting, of course!"

"Teeks," Matthew repeated "an euarded house The poppets are ht have placed them there"

"Have you lost your senses, clerki No one put the that Madam Grunewald had a divine vision that directed us where to look!"

"I know nothing of divine visions I only knoeeks passed and the house was open to all who ued "The only reason I and the others ith me entered is that we had a task to perforer there!"

"Who discovered the loosened boardi You or someone elsei"

"I did, and if you like I&039;ll vow on the Bible that I hadn&039;t set foot in that house since the lanced at thedourly at him, shook his head Matthew felt he&039;d come to the end of this particular road He believed Paine Why should the man have made the poppets and placed them therei Perhaps it had been a divine vision sent froain, if he followed that track, hewitchcraft He sighed heavily and said, "It&039;s not necessary that you swear on the Bible, sir Thank you for your candor in this istrate desires it"

"Go," Woodward said

Paine hesitated "are you thinking," he said to Matthew, "that soht have murdered Reverend Grove and Daniel Howarthi If so, you&039;d best take care the witch is not casting a spell on your mind this very minute! She did those crimes, and she did the other sins she&039;s been accused of too Her ultimate purpose was the destruction of this tohich she nearly did - and still ht do, if she&039;s not soon ashes! Why should it be anyone else&039;s purposei"

To this question, Matthew had no answer "Good afternoon, sir," Paine said, addressing the aol

Woodatched through hooded eyes as theelse Dr Shields had said concerning the subject of Paine&039;s deceased wife: // was a long tio, and I&039;m sure Paine wouldn&039;t care to speak about it In fact, I knoould not Had it been such a terrible experience that Paine had decided to deny to the people of Fount Royal that he ever had a wifei and if so, why had he confided it to Dr Shieldsi It was a s, to be surebut still, a point of interest

On Matthew&039;s mind was the imminent arrival of the final witness, the child Violet adams He cleaned his quill and prepared a fresh sheet of paper Rachel returned to her bench and sat down, her head lowered Woodward closely inspected one of the black-ribboned poppets, after which he closed his eyes and took the opportunity to rest

In a short while the gaol&039;s door was opened, and Violet adams had arrived