“We need to interrupt the trial,” the sheriff announced after a moment. “There has been an incident at your home, Matthias Trauenstein.”
“What?” he asked as he stood up. “What happened?”
The sheriff glanced over at Madlen, who wasn’t sure how to interpret his look. “Come with me,” he said to Matthias.
“If it has something to do with the case, I should come, too,” Andreas said.
“I’m not sure yet whether it has something to do with it or not,” the sheriff said, thinking aloud. “But yes, I think you should come, Master von Balge.”
“And me?” Johannes asked.
“I don’t think it matters if one more or less comes now. Come with me. We’ll resume the trial early tomorrow morning. All can go for today.” He turned his head quickly. “Except for you,” he added as he looked at Madlen.
Matthias’s eyes widened. “Why is my front door wide open?” He stepped quickly up the steps to his house.
The sheriff, Andreas, and Johannes followed him along with eight guards.
“What happened?” Matthias shouted as he stormed inside the house and confronted a throng of mostly unfamiliar faces.
“That’s what I would like to know, too.” The sheriff looked to a constable.
“These women here”—the constable pointed at Agathe and Reni—“contacted us because they claim to have heard a woman screaming.”
Andreas and Johannes looked at each other, puzzled.
“And those two there”—the constable pointed at Elsbeth and Otilia—“were waiting in front of the house when we arrived.”
“There was no woman screaming here because, except for the cook, there are no women living in this house,” Matthias snapped. “Your people entered without my consent and without grounds.”
“Not without grounds,” the constable asserted and pointed at Kilian, who the sheriff, Johannes, and Andreas hadn’t yet noticed because he stood behind one of the other officers.
“What happened to him?” Andreas went over to Kilian; his face was red, bloody, and swollen. His left eye was so bruised and puffy that he couldn’t see through it.
“I had every right to do it,” Matthias’s guard, Ditz, declared. “He snuck into the house.”
“And that’s why you beat him half to death?” Andreas snapped. “As I live and breathe, you will pay for this.”
“No, he won’t,” Matthias asserted. “Mangy low-life thieves deserve to be beaten. The best thing would be for him to hang right along with his sister, so we can be rid of this sort once and for all.”
“Curb your tongue, sir,” the sheriff shot back.
“And you?” He looked at the women. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
“They helped him get into the house,” the guard said.
“Is that true?”
Andreas stepped up. “You ladies don’t have to answer any more questions.” He looked at Kilian. “And you, either.”
“For the life of me, I can’t fathom what’s happened here,” the sheriff said. “But you’ve all heard the lawyer. There’s nothing to do but sort out the whole thing in court.”
“So that’s it? This gang breaks into my house and you don’t have anything to say except that we’ll have to figure it out?”
“You heard von Balge. The way I see it, he is the defense attorney for”—the sheriff swept his arm out—“well, all of them. It’s their right to be questioned in court.”
“Heidelberg has degenerated into a city of rogues and do-nothing public officials. And you, Sheriff, will be one of the first who will soon not have a say here.” Matthias approached him threateningly.
The sheriff was just about to snap back when his gaze fell past Matthias onto a young woman who was shaking and pale as she entered the rear part of the house. Her eyes were glassy, and it looked as though she might collapse at any moment.
“What is this?” The sheriff hurried over to her as she dropped like a stone.
“Where did you come from?” Matthias snapped.
“I found her,” Irma whispered, her teeth chattering.
“What? What did you say? Who did you find?” Andreas asked.
“Barbara,” Irma continued. “The barrels in the basement . . . her hair and dress. She’s there.” Then she fainted.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The seat at the prosecutor’s table where Matthias Trauenstein had been sitting yesterday was empty. The sheriff, the members of the jury, Andreas, and Johannes all agreed that every moment the defendant was incarcerated was simply an additional undeserved punishment. They even included the archbishop in their deliberations to dismiss the charges of healing in the name of the devil. But Andreas insisted on getting an acquittal from the court on this matter. He didn’t want the faintest shadow of a doubt to loom over Madlen ever again.