‘There is a young apprentice printer living on the street who is known as a fiery young radical. As is often the case with such young men, he has contact with other radicals among the servants at court. I went to him, told him I had hold of something the Queen’s councillors should know about. He told me of a servant I should approach at Whitehall, and thus I was led to Lord Parr himself.’ He shook his head wonderingly.

‘Is this boy friendly with Elias?’

‘No. Elias tended to mix only with Master Greening and his circle.’ Oakdene passed a hand across his brow. ‘It is hard to find oneself suddenly inside Whitehall.’

I smiled sympathetically. ‘It is.’

‘It was – frightening.’ He looked at me. ‘But I must do what I can, for conscience’s sake.’

‘Yes. Lord Parr is grateful to you. He has asked me to take up the investigation into the murder, which the coroner has all but abandoned. I have told the constable and everyone else – including my own pupil, whom I have set to search the gardens behind Greening’s shed – that I am acting on behalf of Greening’s parents. I took the liberty of questioning Goodman Huffkyn, and I would like to speak to Elias as well. I understand he thwarted an earlier attempt to break in.’

‘So he says, and Elias is truthful, if unruly.’

‘You must not speak of that book to him or anybody else.’

He nodded emphatically. ‘By our Lord, sir, I know how much discretion this matter demands. Sometimes good Christians must speak with the wisdom of the serpent as well as the innocence of the dove, is it not so?’

‘In this matter, certainly. Now, would you tell me in your own words what happened that night?’

Okedene repeated what Huffkyn had told me about hearing a noise and rushing outside. ‘As I ran up to the shed, I heard Master Greening call out to someone to leave him alone. I think he was fighting them. I tried the door and found it locked so I put my shoulder to it. It gave way at once.’

‘It was locked from inside?’

‘Yes, Master Greening lived there, as you know, and would lock the door at night. I can only guess the people who attacked him knocked at the door, pushed their way in when he answered, then locked the door behind them.’

‘Huffkyn gave me a description of them.’

‘Yes, I only caught the merest glimpse.’

‘He seems a clever old man.’

‘Poor fellow, he has a bad chest, as many of us in the trade do. I am afraid I took the chance, when poor Greening died, to take on Elias and put John Huffkyn to lighter work.’

‘Probably a good arrangement for everyone.’

‘I hope so.’

‘When you entered, apart from that glimpse of the attackers, what did you see?’