The gods remained silent, so he shook his head and continued his journey. At his son’s house, he hesitated at the big wooden door before knocking.
“Bring me to your mistress,” he ordered the slave who opened the door.
“Who should I announce?” he asked, confusion etched on his young face.
“Bring me to her. I am Marcus Tiberius Numida, and your Master is my son,” he thundered.
“Of course, Master,” he said, guiding him to Claudia in the garden. “Mistress, please forgive me…” the slave apologized as Marcus Tiberius came in front of her.
“Disappear, slave. Leave us alone,” she said.
“You don’t need this aggressive intrusion into my house to see me. You know you are the most welcome person.”
“I’m sorry. I need to talk to Flavius. Where is he?” He pretended he didn’t know anything about him and Saul.
“I-Marcus, your son hasn’t returned from his journey. I am worried, too.” She feigned desperation and brought her hands to her mouth.
Marcus Tiberius regretted barging into her house. Maybe she didn’t want anyone to worry before she was sure of what happened to Flavius.
“Claudia, why haven’t you told us anything? We would have helped you.”
“Marcus, believe me, I wanted to, but how could I tell you that your son is missing? I know I should have. I felt like if I told you…I don’t know, I am so frightened.” She turned her shoulders to him. “Moreover, I was threatened. A few days ago, I received a message that Flavius had been kidnapped and a ransom was asked for his release. I paid for it, and they assured me that, by tomorrow, Flavius will be back home. I had to wait until then to alert you and Flaminia.” She dabbed her eyes. “I didn’t want to scare you as well. I know I might have acted foolishly, but it was the only way I could see to get Flavius back. I’m sorry.”
Marcus Tiberius remained standing, unable to speak. Flavius was traveling with three slaves, and he knew to keep a low profile. How could this happen?
“Claudia, this sounds impossible. Who are those people, and what was the real reason for them to kidnap Flavius? I don’t believe the story of the ransom. To ask for it, they would have known beforehand who he was. Those people should have known him very well to know of his family, his wealth, and his social position. They must have followed him since the beginning of his trip. I can’t believe they picked a random person for money. There must have been another reason,” he said, trying to make sense of the story.
Claudia looked at him, afraid. She should have led him to a different conclusion, or her plan would miserably fail. She would have a hard time explaining that everything was set up to get revenge on Saul.
She tried to explain, “A Roman citizen traveling with three slaves is not a plebeian. Besides, his slaves wore collars bearing his name; it would have been easy for them to know about his family. I don’t know if he had enemies in Rome who had an interest in keeping him away. Marcus Tiberius, this sounds much too elaborate, and besides, he has no enemies; he is not a politician. He is just a lawyer. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“How about Saul? Is he with my son?” he asked.
“No, he was sick when Flavius left, so Dionysius went instead of him.”
“Can I see him? I might need him for some translations.”
“He…well, he had an accident last night, and now he is in Julius’ ambulatory to recover. It seems the gods are against us all,” she replied, hiding her face in her hands.
Marcus Tiberius tested her. “I’m going there, then I will bring him home with me,” he said as he stalked toward the entrance.
“But…you can’t.”
“I need it; I take it. This is the deal between Flavius and me,” he replied, opening the door.
Flavius looked around his prison. His captors stood outside, arguing. He could not hear what they were discussing, but he would have given anything to understand what was going on, who these men were, and what they wanted from him.
He couldn’t say whether they had kept him prisoner for one day, one week, or one month. The only certainty was that they could kill him as they had his slaves.
The door opened abruptly, and the two men came inside the house wearing scarves to hide their faces.
“Tomorrow, you are going to join your family. They paid the ransom, and we don’t have any interest in keeping you. Your presence has annoyed us enough,” one of them said, closing the door behind him.
Flavius remained speechless. He was going to be free again, returned to his family, and loved ones. It seemed like a dream from which he didn’t want to wake up.
One man offered dried meat and water to Flavius.
“This is going to be your last meal here, so enjoy it,” he said, chuckling.
Flavius couldn’t believe that, soon, he would be eating a proper meal with his family. He wanted to reject that lousy food, but he knew he might have regretted that decision, so in silence, he started to eat.
That night, sleep evaded Marcus Tiberius. He thought about the story of the kidnapping of his son, Saul’s accident, and all the details that didn’t fit one with the other. He wanted to tell Flaminia, but he would cause her unnecessary pain.
Needing someone to talk to, he called for Rufus.
“What’s bothering you, Master?” he asked.
“Many things about what happened today do not make sense. My son is missing, kidnapped by strangers who have been threatening Claudia over the past two weeks. She kept everything for herself. Meanwhile, someone intruded in their house and blinded Saul, injuring him irreversibly. If it weren't for his insistence and the slave’s disobedience to Claudia, I would still be in the dark. I can’t understand her behavior. Why did she act like that? Do you know something? I think that the two events are connected somehow, and the same people who kidnapped my son injured Saul. Do you think it is an absurd thought?” he asked.
Rufus remained silent for several moments, then said, “I have to say that it sounds like a bizarre coincidence. At the same time as your son was kidnapped, Saul, his favorite slave, the one he cares about over anything else, was attacked. Are you suspecting a conspiracy? What do you intend to do?”
Marcus Tiberius shook his head, pacing the room.
“I don’t know what to think, but I would give anything to know who injured Saul. I am not going to let this slip away like nothing ever happened. I will get justice for my slave, of that you can be sure, but I need more details from Saul. I am afraid he is hiding something. He must remember more than he declares, and I am going to get the truth out of his mouth in one way or another.”
“Master, don’t get upset with Saul. He is the one who asked for your protection,” Rufus said, trying to calm his Master.
Marcus Tiberius sighed. “Maybe I am tired. Come with me; we’re going to get Saul from Julius’ ambulatory. I know I won’t find any peace until he is safe in my house.” You can take care of him.”
Rufus followed him. After the recent events, he feared that Saul’s life could be in danger.
In the middle of the night, at the light of their oil lamps, they walked to Julius’ ambulatory. The lights that filtered through the curtains on the windows and door revealed that Julius was still there, together with Saul.
As they entered the ambulatory, Julius greeted him, “Marcus Tiberius, I wasn't expecting to see you at this time of the night. I thought I would see you again tomorrow morning.”
“This is Rufus. He is a physician as well. Please instruct him about Saul’s condition, then we are taking my slave home,” Marcus Tiberius ordered.
“Of course. Come, Rufus. I'll show you your new patient,” Julius said, guiding him to the backroom, where Saul slept.