The Secret Healer (27 page)

“Sit down immediately and wait until it’s your turn to take the floor.”

Johannes let himself fall back into his seat angrily.

“Please continue, Master von Balge.” The sheriff nodded at Andreas.

“Thank you.” He turned to the witness again. “Now, Roswitha, my lady, you said that at the beginning, my client only gave your husband herbs and sent them with you, so that you could help him yourself.”

“Yes, my lord. Sander wasn’t my husband yet, but that’s true. She didn’t want to come with me.”

“And did she demand something from you in exchange for her herbs?”

“No, my lord.”

“And how did it come about that my client took over the treatment?”

“Well, this happened at the time that I served Agathe as a maid. Agathe knew that I could care for Sander until he was healthy again or until it was all over.”

“And what did my client have to do with that?”

“I think she just wanted to see whether he was getting better. Or she came to check on me. I hadn’t returned to my mistress’s house after several days. I’d been taking care of Sander the whole time.”

“Was there no one else who could have helped you?”

Roswitha shook her head. “Sander has a sister; her name is Mechthild. But she’d lost all hope and could not stay away from work any longer. She left me alone with him.”

“His only sibling?” Andreas lifted an eyebrow.

“Yes, my lord.”

“And then what happened?”

Roswitha took a deep breath. Even now, the memory of that time was hard for her. “I prepared the herbal brew the way Madlen had showed me. But he got worse and worse. I ran out of frankincense. I had no more strength, and Sander’s cough wasn’t getting any better. He had a convulsion because his fever was so high; I imagine his internal organs were burning up.”

“Probably because the devil’s soul was mixed in with the herbs,” Johannes cried.

Andreas just looked at him. “Are you done now, or would you like to entertain us with another unsubstantiated anecdote?” Johannes lowered his head.

“Let us continue. You just told the court that he had convulsions and a high fever?” Andreas turned to Johannes again, as if he wanted to be sure that he wasn’t going to make another outburst. But the lawyer sat silently.

“Yes, my lord.”

“And what happened then?”

“At some point, Madlen came in. Sander had another convulsion and couldn’t breathe. Madlen told me to get some frankincense and prepare some fresh herbal brew, so that’s what I did.”

“And did you leave the room?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“And when you came back in, did you see what you described to my colleague earlier—Madlen swaying the candle back and forth?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“What did you think?”

“I . . . I don’t know. I was amazed.”

“And were you also scared?”

“Yes, a little. I didn’t know what Madlen was doing.”

“Did it seem threatening to you at all?”

“No, my lord.”

“But . . . ?”

“Well, it was just foreign to me. But I saw that it helped Sander calm down. And”—she held up her finger—“Madlen was reciting psalms and passages from the Bible. I’ve often heard the priest say them during Mass.”

“During Mass? Did you get the impression that she was reciting these psalms in some sort of blasphemous way?”

“No, my lord. Exactly the opposite. She sounded like our priest. It calmed my Sander. And it calmed me, too.”

“When you think back on that moment, how would you describe the feeling that my client gave you?”

Roswitha pondered a moment; she seemed to want to remember it exactly. “Peaceful. A feeling of peace came over me.”

“And Sander?”

“She can’t know how he felt,” Johannes objected.

“Good. I’ll reword the question: After my client used the candlelight, similar to that which surrounds us here in this beautiful church, and recited the same psalms and prayers that are recited here in the house of the Lord, did Sander seem to get better?”

“Yes, my lord. He did get better.”

“Thank you, Roswitha. I have no further questions for you at the moment.” He turned to Johannes. “Psalms and prayers from the Holy Bible are now works of the devil? I do believe that you might be a bit confused, my lord.”

With that, he went back to his seat, sat down, and winked at Madlen.

“Do you have any further questions for the witness?” the sheriff asked.

“She should keep herself available,” Johannes replied. “I might very well have questions for her later.”

Andreas shrugged impassively. “If my colleague questions the witness again, I reserve the right to question her, too. Although I do not believe that anything will come up that will support the prosecution’s untenable charges.”

“Though you may believe that we could just as well end the trial now, I consider myself just at the beginning,” Johannes shot back.

“And you seem to be doing well indeed,” Andreas said sarcastically. The audience laughed.

The sheriff ignored the banter and turned to Roswitha. “You can go now.”

“Yes, my lord.” Roswitha stood and walked out of the church.

The sheriff looked at the parchment that lay before him. “Now the court would like to call up the next witness,” he announced and sighed. This was going to be a very, very long trial.

Chapter Thirty-Five

By noon, fourteen Wormsers had testified about being treated by Madlen for the deadly cough. Among them was Reni, Otilia’s daughter, who could confirm that it was Madlen, the defendant, who had cured her. All the others could only report that they’d been treated by a woman with a cloth over her face. But the treatment had been exactly as described by Roswitha each time.

“We can speed things up,” Andreas said. “I’m sure we can all acknowledge and agree that it was my client that cured these people.”

“Have you any objections to dispensing with the questioning of further witnesses, Prosecutor?” The sheriff seemed exhausted.

“If the rapid conviction of the accused is so important to opposing counsel, I have no objection,” Johannes said.

“Conviction for what?” Andreas shot back. “For giving people back their health with no remuneration whatsoever?”

“She’s not a doctor!” Johannes spit.

“No, and she never claimed to be. You heard it from some of your own witnesses. There were also people that she couldn’t help.”

“Because the devil failed when these desperate wretched souls resisted him!”

“The only failure here lies in your complete lack of faith,” Andreas shot back. “How you can presume to credit such power to Lucifer while your God, our God in fact, you credit as weak and helpless, unable to give a woman, one of his flock, the help she needs to cure another?”

“How dare you!” Johannes smacked his hand loudly on the table. “How dare you suggest that God gave her the gift of healing!”

Andreas stood, turned away from Johannes, and gazed at the spectators. “Was this prosecutor listening? I can hardly believe it! Here is a young woman, just like you, eager to learn about the rich diversity of herbs that the dear Lord grows among us so that she can use this knowledge along with the Holy Scriptures to bring about healing. But that man there”—he turned around to face Johannes—“talks of Lucifer? Tell me, is this man in his right mind? I can’t believe that you would freely admit to such a delusion in front of your archbishop.” Andreas shook his head as he sat back down in his seat.

Johannes remained rooted to his seat, struggling for words.

“We will break for lunch,” the sheriff announced. “The trial will continue in exactly one hour.” He stood and indicated that the members of the jury should rise.

Matthias Trauenstein left his table and walked over to Johannes. “I thought you would be better at this, but even if you cannot convict her on this charge, in the end she’ll hang for murder. You can be quite sure of that. The little bastard that sprang from your loins will bring no shame to you. Just like his whore of a mother, he’s as good as dead.” Matthias left.

Johannes glanced furtively over at Madlen, who sat behind two guards posted to ensure she did not escape. She spoke with Andreas, but seemed to notice her husband looking over at her. She met his gaze. Johannes’s heart broke. He was overwhelmed by the desire to walk over to her and hold her in his arms. But that wasn’t going to happen right now. She looked at him uncertainly. Could she really believe that he had not meant even one word of what he said during the trial when he dragged her through the muck? At the moment that his lips formed words, the guards indicated that she needed to come with them. Andreas nodded, as she followed the guards through one of the side doors of the church. Andreas gathered his papers together and briefly looked over at Johannes. Their shared look betrayed the mutual agreement between them. Andreas went outside, too.

“Do you really know what you’re doing?” Agathe went to Andreas’s side as he left the church. She guided him firmly out from the middle of the crowd to avoid prying ears.

“Johannes seems to want to see Madlen hang.” Agathe looked worried.

“And that’s exactly the impression we want to create so that no one gets suspicious. We know exactly what we’re doing.”

“Good.” She sounded relieved. “If I didn’t know better, I would think that Johannes hates Madlen so deeply that he can’t wait to see her swing from the gallows.”

“He’s much more persuasive than I thought he’d be, I’ve got to admit.” He smirked. “It’s fun when he makes assertions I can rip apart. I’m enjoying this trial.”

“What’s going to happen next?”

“Frankly, I don’t know. I’ve never attended a double trial.” He made no mention at all of Madlen’s first trial. “As it currently stands, I believe we can cease questioning the witnesses in regard to the so-called devil healing. Then the hard part begins.”

“Defending Madlen against the charges of murdering Adelhaid Trauenstein?”

“Correct. Matthias is on a mission to see Madlen hang. As far as I know from Kilian, it’s not really about the death of his wife. He wants a position on the city council when the city wars settle. To be awarded this kind of political office would be of great benefit to him, quite apart from the status and recognition.”

“And do you know how you’ll fight these allegations?”

“It’s going to be difficult,” he said evasively. He didn’t want to admit that he had few ideas on how to effectively defend Madlen in this regard. He hoped for a way to prove that Matthias Trauenstein was lying, as he’d done with great success in the first trial. But the evidence against Madlen was overwhelming; of this he was all too aware. “If only I could find the maid, Barbara.”

“That doesn’t sound good to me,” Agathe confessed. “But I know you’ll do your best.”

“Of that I can assure you, my lady. And now, if you’ll please excuse me. I would like to get something to eat and prepare myself for what’s next.”

“Thank you for everything.” Agathe nodded. After Andreas left, a feeling of hopelessness overwhelmed her. What did he say? If only he could find this maid, Barbara? She decided to speak to Kilian again. She would leave no stone unturned.

“Believe me, we’ve done everything to find her,” Kilian replied, every word tinged with despair. “It’s as if she disappeared from the face of the earth.”

“That might have been exactly what happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“From what I heard of the first trial, Matthias was furious with her.”

“Yes.” Kilian still rued the day that he’d followed his father’s orders to work in the woodshop rather than support Madlen in the courtroom. “Matthias must have been beside himself with rage.”

“Do you believe he could have done something to the maid?”

“He would be quite capable of doing so.” He thought about it. “That evening, Barbara was still at the Trauensteins’ house. Madlen said she was in the same room where Adelhaid lay dead in her bed.”

“Has anyone seen her since then?”

“I don’t know. We all had our hands full ensuring that Madlen escaped from the city safely.”

“Damn!” Agathe winced at her own curse. “I’m sorry. It just angers me to not have thought of this earlier.”

“What exactly?”

“Think about it. Barbara incurred the wrath of her master during the trial. Hours later, he forced her to be there when he entrapped Madlen. What if he doubted that Barbara would be able to testify without falling apart again? He couldn’t risk it.”

“So you think . . .” Kilian didn’t finish his sentence.

Agathe nodded. “Matthias knew that Barbara might say something wrong that could cast a bad light on him and end up costing him his own head. He killed her.”

Kilian swallowed hard. The idea had occurred to him recently; she’d disappeared without a trace. Even Irma and her friends had asked about Barbara’s whereabouts again and again; unfortunately, all their efforts to find her had been in vain.

“What was it like here in Heidelberg after the incident with Adelhaid and Madlen?” Agathe asked, pulling him away from his thoughts.

“The whole city was searching for Madlen. That’s why we had to get her out of Heidelberg.”

“So Matthias wouldn’t have been able to get Barbara’s body out of the city at that time, right?”

Kilian got a lump in his throat thinking of the woman’s corpse; he’d known Barbara since childhood. “Correct,” he confirmed. “Matthias wouldn’t have risked it.”

“Of course, later, when everything had calmed down again, the opportunity to do so could have presented itself.” Agathe thought about it. “But I don’t believe that’s what happened. I think he buried her somewhere.” She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. “If you had been in his place, where in Heidelberg would you hide a body?”

“I don’t know.” He squinted his eyes in thought. “Maybe in the forest near the castle?”

“Could he have brought her there unnoticed?”

Kilian shook his head. “On the day of the murder, that would have been impossible. But it’s been many months.”

“Matthias is the type of man who wants to control everything. He wouldn’t risk the possibility that the maid’s body could be found.”

“What if he threw her in the Neckar?” Kilian suggested.

Agathe shook her head. “The corpse would eventually surface. It would have to be a place that he knew well and where he could be sure that no one would ever discover it.”

They both thought it over, then lifted their heads at the same time. “His house?” Kilian asked.

“That’s exactly what I thought. Are you familiar with it?”

“Yes, of course. It’s made from stone.”

“What does this Trauenstein do exactly?”

“He’s a merchant.”

“A merchant, yes,” Agathe repeated thoughtfully. “So he had an office?”

“I believe so, yes.”

“It was probably in his cellar, where he puts products that have to be kept cool.”

“Of course. But wouldn’t the servants notice a corpse?”

“Who knows? This Trauenstein is a devious, cunning man. I’m sure it’s not the first time that he had to make someone disappear.”

“We have to get inside that house,” Kilian said with renewed determination.

“Exactly. How lovely that we know that Matthias is in court right now.”

“But there will be guards there,” Kilian argued.

“Of course.” Agathe’s eyes lit up. “I think I have an idea.”

“This could be very dangerous,” Kilian warned.

“I know. But we have to try. Madlen’s life depends on it.”

“Where is Agathe?” Elsbeth whispered to Otilia as the seat between them remained empty.

“I don’t know. She’s probably been held up somehow.”

“But the trial’s resuming soon.”

Suddenly, Agathe appeared out of nowhere. “Don’t ask why, just come with me.”

Elsbeth and Otilia followed her outside, confused, as the spectators looked on and whispered. As soon as they left the church, the sheriff and the jury members came back in. Shortly thereafter, the defendant was led in through the side door. Her gaze fell on the empty places in the first row, where her aunt, mother-in-law, and Otilia had been sitting. She felt uneasy, but she couldn’t think about that now; she had to focus on saving her life.

“Before we continue, I would like to make an announcement,” the sheriff said. “We’ve already heard the testimonies of many Wormsers who all said the same thing. If no one objects, I would like to propose that we waive the examination of the remaining witnesses.”

“I have no objection,” Johannes said after he stood up. “The plethora of testimonies that have already been given before the court gives a clear enough picture of the defendant’s activities.”

Andreas stood up, too. “The defense has no objection.”

“Good, good.” The sheriff looked up to see Otilia coming into the church, running up the middle aisle toward Andreas.

“Who are you and what do you want, my lady?” the sheriff asked indignantly.

“I ask the court for a moment of patience.” Andreas leaned over toward Otilia, to better hear what she had to say. He nodded several times as she whispered something in his ear. Not even Madlen, who sat right next to him, could make out the words.

“My apologies to the court.” Andreas nodded to Otilia, who mumbled an apology and immediately left the church. “I believe that it is now of the utmost importance that we hear from more witnesses.”

“But didn’t you just agree not to?” The sheriff seemed visibly upset.

“There’s new evidence,” Andreas replied, stalling for time.

“New evidence? What kind?”

“I’m not at liberty to reveal the exact nature of the evidence in open court at this time,” Andreas said.

Johannes stood up. “In order to abide with the rule of law, the prosecution does not object. The defendant can bring in as many witnesses as she cares to. It will do her no good. No one will be able to say that we didn’t honor the letter of the law.” Johannes sat down again.

“What are you doing?” Matthias hissed as he jumped up, glaring at Johannes. “It’s already been decided. How can you allow this man”—he pointed at Andreas—“to carry out this travesty of justice? It seems to me that no one here, not even the prosecutor, wants to have this whole thing over and done with.”

Johannes stood up again. “My good man! I understand your desire to see that justice is quickly served, but you are not a lawyer. We must undeniably establish that the trial is conducted in the manner prescribed by law, so that this woman”—he nodded in Madlen’s direction—“cannot say that she did not get a fair trial. For this reason, the prosecution sees no reason to rush through these proceedings. It’s far more important that guilt is firmly established beyond a shadow of a doubt. Whether we have to take another day or two is of no consequence.” Johannes smiled and took his seat again.

“Thank you for your comments, Prosecutor,” said the sheriff. He waited until Matthias had taken his seat again. “So, defense counsel, call your next witness.”

“The name is there on the list,” Andreas explained amiably. “Please, let’s hear each witness, one after the other, as listed there.”

“What? You don’t have any new witnesses except for what’s here on the list?”

“That is correct, my lord. As you’ve just said: justice must be served by following the letter of the law.” He smiled earnestly, keeping his gaze firmly on the sheriff, who bristled with hostility.

“If that is your wish,” he grumbled.

“It is, indeed,” Andreas confirmed as he looked briefly over at Johannes, who he could tell was trying as hard as he could to suppress a grin.