ed to kill the Tartars the night of the
Filippeschi uprising. What do you know about him?"

"I know little about the uprising, Signore, since I was not here. I was
in Perugia."

"Why Perugia?"

"To speak with several silk merchants."

"Are there those in Perugia who will vouch for you?"

"Certainly," said Daoud, feeling uneasily that d'Ucello was not
deceived.

"I will write to the podesta of Perugia and ask that your witnesses be
examined," said d'Ucello. "Give me their names."

Daoud had a struggle to remember the names of the witnesses. Lorenzo had
given them to him months before, members of the Ghibellino network who
were willing to perform this service for Manfred. The clerk's pen
scratched rapidly as he haltingly brought out the names of five men.

"When did you return from Perugia?"

The clerks, Daoud recalled, had been removed from the town gates at the
end of May.

"Sometime in June," Daoud said. "Forgive me, I did not think to bring my
journal with me, and I cannot tell you the exact date." He tried a weak
smile.

"Where is your man Giancarlo?"

_On his way here from Siena with an army, Insh'Allah._

"I sent him on from Perugia," Daoud said. "He travels to Rimini, then
Ravenna, eventually to Venice, looking for those who would be interested
in receiving shipments of silks and spices from Trebizond. He had not
been punctilious about writing to me, or perhaps his letters have been
lost, so I do not know exactly where he is now."

"I thought you were in competition with the Venetians."

Daoud essayed another smile. "That is why I sent Giancarlo."

"And where were you the night the French cavaliere was murdered?"
d'Ucello asked.

"I was with a woman."

"What was her name?"

"I do not think I ever knew it." He tried a flash of sarcasm. "If I had
known there was to be a murder that night, I would have asked her
name."

"Everyone was with a nameless woman that night," d'Ucello sighed. "Yes,
you should have taken more care to arrange for proof of your innocence,
Messere."

He gestured to the clerk, who picked up a small bell on the table beside
his ink pot and shook it, a silvery clangor.

Two broad, leather-faced men in the yellow and blue tunics of the watch
came into the room. They took a few steps toward d'Ucello and stood
awaiting orders like a pair of mastiffs.

"Take him down," said d'Ucello.

"Wait! Will you torture me? I have tried to tell you the truth. Do not
do this, I beg