‘And sneaked up behind them to listen to their words?’ I said angrily. Yet another piece of foolishness, I realized instantly. By saying that I’d half-admitted guilt.
Gauis turned reproachful eyes on me. ‘Of course he had no inkling that it was His Excellence. He imagined that the master would be inside the house — in conference in his study, as you would expect — so, supposing that the speakers must be merely slaves, he skirted round and went to talk to them. But as he drew nearer he realized it was indeed the voice of Marcus talking to his guest. Once he’d discovered that, he backed away, of course, but not before he’d had time to overhear.’
‘Then he must know that we were not talking about robbing anyone,’ I said.
‘On the contrary. As Porteus has said, my slave is skilled at learning messages by rote. And since these words were rather startling, even an amateur could have remembered them. I made a careful note.’ Slowly, Gaius took a writing-tablet from his belt, undid the binding and held it up for me to see. ‘My fellow councillors have already heard this, citizen, but I will repeat it for your benefit. These are the very words of Marcus Septimus. “If you have my letter they will have to let you in and that will give you the opportunity to talk to the steward. He’s the one responsible for seeing that the lictor’s treasure — when it comes — is taken off the cart, so he knows exactly what it is and what it’s worth. He may even have witnessed how it was acquired and what favours it is — or was — intended to repay. In any case I’m sure you’ll manage to get it out of him. I know you, Libertus, you are skilled at things like that. I am quite certain I can rely on you.” There you are, citizen, you may read it for yourself.’
I shook my head. There was no point in reading it. I recognized the words. Of course I could try denying everything — it would be my word against the messenger’s — but I dismissed the thought. Marcus might thoughtlessly confirm what he had said — in which case my denial would make bad matters worse: lying to the authorities is a significant offence. At the very least, I’d have lost my reputation as an honest man — which, admittedly, did not appear to count for much among these councillors.
Gaius was shaking his thinning locks at me. ‘What can that conversation mean, citizen pavement-maker, except that you and Marcus already knew about the theft?’
‘But how could we possibly have known about it in advance? We had that conversation shortly before noon, and the robbery did not take place till after dark!’
‘Did it, citizen?’ Porteus was standing up again, his pockmarked face wreathed in an ugly smile. ‘Thank you for that information. I am sure that the garrison will be pleased to know. That, as these other councillors are aware, was the commander’s guess, but since all the occupants of the cart were dead and the road was unfrequented, there was no proof what time the raid took place. And thank you also for the confirmation that Gaius’s courier was correct in his account.’
Too late, I realized what I’d admitted to. ‘I did have that conversation with my patron,’ I said desperately, ‘but it did not mean what you have twisted it to mean. It is true that he was interested in where Voluus got his wealth, but that was simply in order to decide whether or not it would be wise to accept the invitation to his feast. His Excellence thought the steward would have information on the point. That is all I was attempting to find out. Ask my patron. Ask Calvinus himself.’
‘Oh, we intend to ask your patron, believe me, citizen.’ Porteus’s manner was nastier than before. ‘And we are already asking Calvinus. He is a prisoner at the jail, being questioned as we speak. Of course they cannot interrogate him to the full — not until his master gets here anyway — but I have no doubt that in the end he’ll tell us everything.’ He sat down noisily.
I blanched. I could guess the methods Porteus had in mind — and no doubt Calvinus, as the steward of a professional torturer, had an even clearer picture of what might lie in store. Poor Calvinus! I did not especially like the man, but he had done nothing that I knew of to deserve a fate like that.
‘But there isn’t anything to tell,’ I murmured hopelessly, though that would not help the steward, when it came to it. Like the page-boy that Voluus once accused of theft, he might well end up confessing falsehoods just to make the beatings stop. And one thing was becoming very clear to me: if I was not careful, I would be the next. Highway robbery is a capital offence and, though as a citizen I’d be protected from the worst and (unlike Calvinus) was in little danger of being crucified, all the same this preposterous affair might prove to be extremely serious.
I had been worried about getting home betimes, but if this went badly I might never see my home again. Nor indeed my wife! I could find myself in exile for the remainder of my days, deprived of ‘water and fire’ throughout the Empire — and that was if the magistrates were fairly lenient. I did not care to dwell on what might happen otherwise.
Florens was speaking. ‘We have already questioned Calvinus about you. It was the first thing we asked him. He says you threatened him.’
‘Threatened him?’ I was incredulous.
He made a tutting nose. ‘Citizen,’ he said impatiently. ‘We’ve been through this before. You told him privately that he’d be held to blame, and publicly that he’d be lucky to escape. People on the stairwell will testify to that. And they will also swear that you had some kind of fight — though Calvinus is still persisting in denying it. What were you doing, citizen? Arguing over how to divide up the spoils?’
‘Fight?’ I was turning into Echo, doomed — like the nymph — to repeating everything.
‘We are told that when you went back into the flat, there was some sort of altercation, ending in a crash. We have at least a dozen witnesses to that.’ Florens twisted his pudgy fingers as he spoke.
It was astonishing how unrelated facts could be interpreted. I said dully, ‘A vase was shaken from its stand by someone running up the stairs. Nothing to do with any robbery. Look in the midden pile outside the house, and no doubt you’ll find the shards.’
‘A valuable vase?’ Porteus looked around triumphantly. ‘No doubt taken from the treasure-cart.’
I sighed. ‘I assure you it was not. Ask the messenger who brought the news about the theft. He must have noticed it — it was a most distinctive piece and it was in place when he was there, so clearly it could not have been stolen from the cart. I did not arrive until after he had left — your own witnesses will testify to that — and anyway, there wasn’t any fight. Hearing a crash is no proof of anything.’
Titus Flavius spoke up in my defence — or what he obviously took to be in my defence. ‘The citizen is right. Even if there had been a scuffle in the flat, that does not suggest collusion in the robbery. Quite the contrary. Like everything else that we have heard today, it would point not to this man and his patron having taken part in any raid, but to their having learned that the steward was involved, and were now attempting to blackmail him in consequence. In that case, would you not expect a heated argument?’
The rest of the councillors were on their feet by now, and talking all at once. Florens gained silence by tapping on the bench. ‘One person at a time. I can’t hear all of you. Porteus, you were the first, I think.’
Porteus had turned blotchy and his ears were red. ‘Titus is talking nonsense. This man and his patron were begetters of the crime. You heard the words yourself from Gaius’s messenger. Calvinus was to be responsible for unloading the treasure from the cart, and this man was sent to “get it out of him”. Libertus clearly went to claim their portion of the stolen goods — though evidently he did not succeed in taking any away. Perhaps Calvinus thought to cheat them too, since we know the treasure has been hidden somewhere else.’ He turned to me. ‘But we shall find it, citizen, you can be sure of that. And we will be the ones to instigate the search, not your precious patron, as you clearly hoped. You have already told us — haven’t you, you wretch? — that you actually promised Calvinus that Marcus would take charge of investigating this. It isn’t difficult to see the reason why! So that the theft would be attributed to brigands in the woods — as you yourself were ready to suggest — or some other conclusion favourable to yourselves?’