‘Do not take me for a fool, Shardlake,’ Rich said impatiently. ‘You are acting for the Queen on this.’ I did not reply. He thought for a moment, then said, ‘Let me guess what you have found. Greening was part of a little group of religious fanatics, probably Anabaptists. One of their members, Vandersteyn, is a Dutch merchant, and we know that Anabaptism still festers over there. And another is Curdy, a merchant from an old Lollard family – and we know how many of them have been seduced by the Anabaptists in the past.’ He raised a slim hand and ticked off a series of names on the fingers of the other – ‘Vandersteyn, Curdy, Elias Rooke, apprentice, McKendrick, a Scotch soldier turned preacher, and – ’ he leaned forward – ‘Leeman, a member of the Queen’s guard, no less. And finally – ’ he took a deep breath – ‘it seems, a gaoler from the Tower, called Myldmore. Six of them, all vanished into thin air.’

I took a deep breath. He knew much, then, but not that Elias had been murdered or that Lord Parr had Myldmore in custody. There were four missing men, not six. I said, ‘So you, too, are seeking Greening’s murderer?’

He leaned forward, linking his hands. ‘No,’ he said firmly. ‘I am looking for a book. An important book to me, and perhaps to her majesty the Queen.’

A book. One book. But I had learned from Myldmore there were two – the Lamentation and the Examinations of Anne Askew. And the Examinations spoke of Rich’s torture of her. What if he did not know about the Lamentation? ‘A book by Anne Askew,’ I ventured. ‘About her time in the Tower?’

Rich leaned back. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘We have it out in the open. Yes, the lies and ravings of that wretched woman. So you know about it. How?’

‘I spoke to the apprentice Elias before he disappeared, and he told me Greening had it,’ I lied. ‘Tell me, was it because of that book that your men attempted to break into Greening’s premises before he was murdered?’

Rich frowned. ‘Where did you get that information from? Oh, the boy Elias, I would guess. Yes, those two were trying to break in and retrieve Askew’s writings, but they were disturbed. And shortly after someone else killed Greening.’

‘How did you know Greening had it, Sir Richard?’

‘The gaoler Myldmore. Who has disappeared as well now. He knew certain things about Anne Askew’s time in the Tower, never mind how, and I had him followed.’

‘By Stice?’ I asked.

‘No, it was Gower. You wouldn’t think it to look at him, but following people surreptitiously is something he excels at. And he reported back that Myldmore had called on Greening, with a small satchel on his shoulder that was full when he went in and empty when he came out.’

‘I see.’