Without mercy or hesitation, the three alleged culprits were thrown into the same austere cell, with stone walls dripping with moisture and mould, partitioned by heavy iron bars. A faint glow of light filtered through a loophole and was reflected in a small silver mirror on the wall, below which two buckets had been placed. One was filled with brown water, the other with a foul odour, and together they created a squalid space for the prisoners to wash.
"Luxury," Wendel quipped as he sat down on one of the two bunks in the cell, which was clearly not designed to accommodate three visitors. Deberry lay down on the second bunk with a sigh, and Evans had no choice but to stand, trying to stay as far away from the toilet area as possible. He wondered how he had come to be here, having simply come to sell his master's goods in the capital. If only he had gone to another inn, he would have been setting up shop in one of the Parisian markets, instead of having to huddle against the cold bars of a cell.
After a long moment of silence, Evans turned to his two fellow prisoners:
"What are we going to do now?" he asked, desperate.
- Wait for the truth to be found," replied Wendel, trying to persuade himself. We can only trust Judge Cardot.
-You are naive, Wendel," replied Deberry. He has no idea what could have killed the innkeeper. He will choose one of us, and make him confess anything by torturing him. Then it will be the scaffold.
-What if it was the innkeeper's daughter? She was quick to accuse me, even though I am innocent.
-It's not her," said Deberry without hesitation.
-And how do you know that?" asked the young craftsman.
-I know," Deberry replied simply. And I also know that it is not a man.
-What then?
-Many creatures could have made such a carnage. A ghoul, a lycanthrope, a demon...
-Don't be ridiculous," interrupted Wendel. None of these fabrications exist.
-You'd be surprised how many of these 'fabulations' haunt our cities.
-Poppycock. Please spare us these tales.
-Just because you are ignorant doesn't mean that what you don't know can't attack you in your sleep. The world you think you know is much bigger than what you see."
As Deberry and Wendel exchanged beliefs, Evans suddenly felt dizzy.
"Are you all right?" asked Wendel.
-How the hell do you stand the smell?
-What smell?" asked Wendel and Deberry in unison, looking surprised.
The young craftsman had no time to answer: Judge Cardot arrived on the other side of the bars. He ordered the guards to seize Evans, and had him taken to another room in the fortress, where he was placed on a padded chair. The judge then sat down opposite him and began to question him.
"I will now listen to your testimony.
-I am innocent!
-It is not for you to say whether you are, Mr. Duez.
-Did you search the other rooms?
-It is not for you to ask the questions either. Are you prepared to cooperate?
-Yes, I'm sorry.
-Then start at the beginning. What are you doing in Paris?
-I came to sell my master tailor's wares, and...
-Very well, then. Now tell me what happened last night. Specifically, your dispute with the victim.
-The word "quarrel" is a bit strong, Your Honour. We just had a disagreement, because I couldn't afford to pay for fifteen nights. When he refused to let me stay for one night, accusing me of being a bad payer, we started to raise our voices.
-How did the discussion end?
-Mr. Deberry stepped in and offered to pay the difference. After that, I went up to my room, and that was it.
-Was this before or after you attacked Miss Clothilde?
-I did not attack her!
-She said you were after her honour.
-I was not. I only wanted to talk to her...
-Even though her father had forbidden you to. Isn't that so?
-I did nothing wrong, I was just clumsy.
-I see. And so, after this incident, you went up to your room?
-Yes, I did. I remember hearing your dogs, then I fell asleep. I was woken up by the screams, I got dressed, and you were all already there when I arrived.
-Do you swear to the Lord that you just told me the truth?
-I swear it.
-All right, then. Before you go back to your cell, I have one last question for you. Who do you think did it?
-Clothilde. She tried to frame me, it's very suspicious.
-Why would she kill her own father?
-I don't... I don't know.
-Let's keep this between us. The girl didn't sleep in her room last night. Her sheets were still made up, and we found some of her clothes by Mr. Deberry's bed.
-You mean to say that...?
-She was fornicating.
-And she dares to say I have no honour...
-If anyone has no honour, it's Mr Deberry. We found blood on her sheets.
-How could he have committed the murder if he... If he was with Clothilde?
-The poor soul confessed to us that he fell asleep after his sin. There's no reason why the scoundrel couldn't have left the room during that time."
Evans didn't know what to think. What if Deberry had been lying to them all along? The innkeeper was protective of his daughter. If he had found out what he had done to her, the situation could have escalated, and Charles would have killed him...
The young man was escorted back to his cell, smelling the putrid odour of the cell, while Wendel was escorted to be questioned in turn. Evans sat down on one of the now unoccupied bunks opposite Deberry, who seemed to have fallen asleep. After a few minutes, Wendel was brought back, and the third was taken to the judge. With Deberry absent, Evans took the opportunity to tell Wendel what the judge had told him. The scientist then seemed convinced of his guilt, and offered to confront him when he returned. A long hour passed, when Deberry was finally taken back to the cell.
As soon as the guards had left, the other two pounced on him.
It was you all along!" Evans shouted angrily. You lied to us.
-I hope you confessed," added Wendel, more composed.
-What are you talking about?
-We know that you fornicated with the innkeeper's daughter," replied the young craftsman. The father surprised you, attacked you, and you killed him.
-And now we are both paying for the crime you committed," added the scientist.
-That's not true," Deberry replied, grabbing Evans by the collar. I'm paying for your room, and this is how you repay me?
-I don't need a lecture from a murderer," he retorted, pushing him away.
Deberry threw himself upon our Evans again, and struck him violently in the face. Evans responded by kicking him in the crotch, but Charles did not seem to be overly affected, and followed up with a headbutt. Peter felt a warm liquid coming from his nostril. He was bleeding. This seemed to make his opponent even hotter, and the two prisoners continued to fight, under the desperate gaze of Wendel who did not dare to intervene.
Suddenly, a crack sounded. Evans had torn off Charles' clothes, and was stunned. A woman's breast. The fight stopped, as Deberry covered her breast.
You are..." stammered Evans.
-Shut up," Deberry replied curtly.
-Another lie," opined Wendel tartly. Is there anything else you're hiding, 'madam'?
-I'm not your lady. And I didn't kill that innkeeper.
-You are a woman," finished Evans.
-A woman who fornicates with other women," added Wendel in a disgusted tone.
-I told you, the world is bigger than you think," Deberry replied, annoyed.
-Is Deberry even your real name?
-Charlotte Deberry.
-Why do you disguise yourself as a man?
-Women all live in a cell like this, even if you can't see it. I want to be free.
-Free to fornicate and sin," Wendel replied.
Charlotte exploded and began to shout at the German. The sun was already setting, and the moon had appeared, as full as the day before. As she screamed at Wendel, Deberry saw her expression change from disgust to terror. She turned, and saw the beast.