It was simple enough to glide through the city unnoticed. Wrapped heavily against the weather he could be any one of the anonymous figures on the street. He’d seen the men placed so obviously around the judge and followed their movements.
He’d even spotted the others surreptitiously watching the watchers. That gave him pause. He knew the judge’s routine by now and where all his guards would be, although Dobbs himself seemed unaware of their existence.
Spiriting him away wouldn’t be easy, but with care he could manage it. He had ideas, a plan that would leave them all wondering what had happened. But that was for when he was ready.
It amused him to walk past those meant to catch him. Bundled like this, with just his eyes showing, he was almost invisible. The weather had been his friend this winter, its cruelty matching his own. As long as he was careful — and he was always careful — he had the freedom of Leeds.
He’d followed the Constable too, at a wary distance. He knew the man’s routines, he’d seen his family, discovered his loss. By watching and waiting, exercising the patience that had served him so well these last years, he’d been able to build up his picture, t o put all the pieces in place. Soon the time would be right again. Soon.