Standing by a desk in one of the outer offices of the Polizeiwache, Alois Pech looked relieved as he watched the Sergeant count out the silver coins, check them twice and then hand them over with a grin and sneer. Although the police depended heavily on the services of informants such as Pech, they hated to admit it and hated even more the people who carried out these services.

On this occasion, however, there were no arguments or problems over payment. A clear reward had been issued for information leading to the discovery of the whereabouts of the Hussite traitor Katerina Novotna, and Pech had now earned that reward. His fortunes had started to look up once again.

It had not been easy, but Pech had always felt that the secret lay with the monk Klacel. Brother Matthew knew where the woman Novotna was hiding and would one day reveal that secret to a patient man like Pech. Although the informer knew he didn't have many virtues, the ability to out-wait any man was certainly one of them.

He had been right. For many weeks Brother Matthew had not gone anywhere near the pivnice where either the woman was taking refuge, or where the two of them exchanged information, but last night that had all changed.

After taking a lot of precautions to avoid being followed, the monk Klacel had left the monastery late at night. Passing through the porter's gate, he had then set off into one of the less desirable parts of Old Brno behind the brewery and vanished into a warren of alleyways further down the slight hill.

With Pech on his heels he had finally arrived at a low, broken wall near an open sewer in which vile liquids still oozed despite the frigid temperatures. Following a careful check to see that he was alone, the monk had then taken a small package out from under his thick coat, put it behind some of the bricks in the wall, and then hurried home to his warm bed and uncertain future.

For in that package Pech had found, and read with glee, a message to the woman Novotna! This piece of paper was now the most valuable possession that Untercommandant Heinrich Darmstaedter had in his extensive dossier on Klacel, and was certainly enough evidence to convince a Judge and the Bishop to allow his arrest for treason. He had him!

As he counted his money yet again, Pech saw that the Untercommandant had two new visitors; the Monsignor from the Bishop's Palace and Brother Timothy from the monastery. Without seeming to, Pech slid over, stood beside the open door to the inner office and listened to the greetings.

"I've got him!" Darmstaedter almost shouted when he saw who his guests were, and then explained about Klacel's last indiscretion.

"This is excellent," the Monsignor said smoothly, and took off his coat. "We too have good news. Your letter worked better than we could have expected, and our Brother, here, is well on his way to becoming the next Abbot of St. Thomas".

It was then he noticed the open door, and closed it before continuing. "In the last vote Brother Timothy doubled his total and Mendel lost ground. He appears to have a new hobby and has lost interest in becoming Abbot. We have persuaded the monk Anselm Rambousek to withdraw from the race, so all his votes will now swing to Brother Timothy. We will win on the next round of voting".

"It gets better," Darmstaedter said with glee, "one way or another the Hussite Klacel will be arrested soon. I now have solid evidence that he has been meeting with, and conspiring with, the traitor Novotna. I will bring it to the Bishop right away. With his permission we will take Klacel as soon as we can get the appropriate warrants".

"This is good," Monsignor Schrattenbach agreed, but with more circumspection. "However, you should wait until after the election. A sudden arrest of Klacel could be very disrupting and possibly change its outcome. Wait until Brother Timothy is the next Abbot, then do what you want with Brother Matthew".

So it was agreed.

"The forged letter was a master stroke, was it not?" Darmstaedter reminded them.

"It certainly seems to have tipped the balance in Brother Timothy's direction," Schrattenbach agreed. "Even the ink was not noticed".

During the creation of the phony letter, the forger had used Brother Timothy's words and Abbot Napp's paper, pen and handwriting, but the ink had been a problem. In life, Abbot Napp had used a very characteristic ink which was sent to him by his sister. No one in Brno used exactly the same ink, and it was not generally available in stationers. This had upset the forger, who claimed, quite rightly that a major difference in ink would be noticed at once.

At Monsignor Schrattenbach's suggestion, however, the forger had then taken several different inks and blended them together to create a color that was very, very close to the original. This blended ink had been used to write the final copy of the letter, the one that Brother Timothy had then carefully placed in Abbot Napp's old desk. At the time, the issue of the ink had caused concern, but now that danger had passed.

Pech left the confines of the Polizeiwache looking very thoughtful. In his pocket were the coins that would keep him and his family alive for the rest of the winter, and if Novotna was ever captured, a lot more would be coming his way. He fingered the silver disks and walked slowly along the streets thinking. There was no need for him to do any more. He could return home, forget the monks in the monastery, forget Klacel and concentrate on finding a new assignment.

Letter? What letter? The words spoken by the Vicar General before he had closed the door kept coming back into his mind. Obviously a letter was playing some grand role in their schemes, but what? And why? It did not make sense. He shook his head and continued his walk. But suddenly he noticed that he was going in a different direction.