SEVENTEEN
Secundus, it turned out, was free, and like he’d said, being the boss had certain perks, so we adjourned to a corner table in Tasso’s. I ordered up the Massic and a plate of nibbles, and hit him with the four names. He asked me the same question Surdinus Junior had asked.
‘What’s this all about, Marcus?’
I shrugged and gave him the same answer. ‘Probably nothing. Even so, I need some background here, pal. Anything you can do to help?’
‘Well.’ He settled down with his cup of wine. ‘Longinus you already know about, I’ve nothing to add there. Appointed Asian governor just under a year ago, been back here for less than half a month.’
‘And you’ve no idea why he was recalled.’
‘No. I told you. The emperor gave the order personally, and if he didn’t care to offer a reason, that was his privilege. There was nothing obvious, though, at least as far as I know; like I said, Longinus seemed to be doing a good job, and he’d kept his nose clean. He’s well-connected, too; his brother Lucius was married to Julia Drusilla.’ Gaius’s favourite sister — dead, now, these two years. ‘He’s a pretty straight-down-the-line guy, Longinus. But of course, if you’ve met him, you’ll know that.’
‘Yeah.’ He’d given that impression, anyway, and it chimed with Perilla’s opinion of him. Still, I’d’ve liked to know why he’d had his governorship revoked. I had my suspicions, sure, but that was all they could be without hard confirmation from an external source. ‘What about the others? Graecinus, for example?’
‘I don’t know much more about him than you probably do.’ Secundus took an olive from the dish. ‘He’s from Narbonensine Gaul originally; Fréjus, to be exact. This is his first year in the senate, as one of the foreign judges. Again, from what I hear he’s pretty straight. A bit too straight for his own good, perhaps.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘You remember Junius Silanus?’
‘Sure I do.’ Gaius’s erstwhile father-in-law and advisor, who’d been charged with treason three years before and forced into suicide.
‘Word is’ — and here Secundus glanced around and lowered his voice; I remembered the last time we’d talked — ‘Caesar wanted Graecinus to handle the prosecution, and he wouldn’t do it. Silanus was a personal friend, he said, and it went against his principles. Not many people have the guts, or maybe you’d call it the stupidity, to say no to the emperor, but that’s just what the guy did. Didn’t make any difference in the end to Silanus, of course, but Graecinus had blotted his copybook good and proper. A lot of people were surprised he was even allowed to run for praetor after that, but evidently the emperor’s decided to forgive and forget after all.’
Uh-huh. I was beginning to get a glimmer of something here, not that where Surdinus’s murder was concerned it made any kind of sense. And it definitely wasn’t the sort of glimmer I wanted to see being encouraged.
‘Asiaticus,’ I said.
‘Another Narbonese Gaul, from Vienne. Family’s big among the Allobroges, which is the local tribe. Quite a trailblazer in his day; he was the first Narbonesian to make it as far as the consulship. That was five years ago; suffect, sure, but even so. Since then, a bit like Surdinus, he’s tended to stay out of things, which is fair enough, because he’s already rich as hell — he owns the villa and gardens that once belonged to old Lucullus — and very well-connected socially. Or at least he was; his wife’s Lollia Saturnina, Paulina’s sister.’ Gaius’s third wife, married four years before but divorced six months later. ‘He’s still well in with the emperor, though. Or again, so I believe. I’ve heard nothing to the contrary, anyway. And he’s also pretty thick with the Claudians, for what that’s worth. He’s been a close friend of Caesar’s Uncle Claudius for years.’
Shit; we were certainly moving in high society here. Which fitted, unfortunately. I was beginning to get a very bad feeling about this. ‘OK,’ I said. ‘Last one. Anicius Cerialis.’
‘Can’t tell you much there, I’m afraid. I know the name, and I might even be able to fit a face to it at a pinch, but that’s about all. Oh, he’s a senator all right, but he’s pretty much a backbencher. Certainly nothing special.’ The same phrase as Junior had used. Obviously not someone who got himself noticed, was Anicius Cerialis. ‘I’m sorry, Marcus, but if you want to know anything beyond the surface stuff, you’ll have to ask someone more qualified.’
I’d been beginning to think that myself. As a likely if probably reluctant informant, my muckraking acquaintance Caelius Crispus came to mind.
‘That’s OK, Gaius,’ I said. ‘Don’t worry about it. You’ve helped me a lot. Thanks.’
Secundus grunted, picked up his cup and, instead of drinking, turned it round and round in both hands and set it down again.
‘Marcus,’ he said finally. ‘Level with me, right? Is this thing getting political?’
Bugger; he might be slow, but like I said, Gaius Secundus was by no means thick. I crossed my fingers, hoped like hell I wasn’t lying, and said: ‘’Course not. Why should it be? It’s just a straightforward murder enquiry, that’s all.’
‘Only the situation’s changed these past few months.’ He lowered his voice again, so I had to lean right forward just to hear him. ‘I told you. About the emperor. You can’t take anything for granted now, and all the bets are off. Messing around with politics, shoving your nose in and asking too many questions, it’s just not safe any more. You get me?’
I grinned. ‘Has it ever been?’
He didn’t grin back. ‘A hell of a lot safer than it is at present, boy, I’ll tell you that,’ he said. ‘You can get hurt, seriously hurt, maybe even fatally if you really step out of line. You remember the Sejanus years, don’t you? Well, read my lips, because I know what I’m talking about: this is fucking worse.’
I could feel the icy knot forming in my gut, but I forced myself to hold the grin. ‘Come on, pal!’ I said, topping up our cups. ‘That’s enough! Lighten up and forget it! Tell me all about Furia Gemella’s temporary successors.’
We shot the breeze for another half hour or so and finished the wine and most of the nibbles, by which time Secundus had to get back to running the empire.
Yeah, well, I thought, as I chewed on the last olive, since I was in this part of town anyway I might as well go the whole hog, get it over with and pay that call on Caelius Crispus at the foreign judges’ office. See what dirty linen my four possibles were hiding under the bed. If any.
I hadn’t liked the sound of Secundus’s warning about the dangers of furkling around in the grey areas of current politics, mind. I hadn’t liked it at all. Unfortunately, and pace what I’d told him, I had a very strong suspicion that was the way this case was going.
Things, to put it mildly, were not looking good.
‘Oh, shit,’ Crispus sighed as the public slave who’d taken me to his office opened the door and stood aside for me to pass. ‘What is it this time?’
‘Hi, Crispus,’ I said, as the slave closed the door behind me. ‘How’s the boy?’ Then I noticed the purple stripe on his squeaky-clean mantle. ‘You’re an equestrian?’
‘As of a few days ago, yes, as it happens. The emperor has graciously agreed to my elevation to that rank.’
Gods! The whole fabric of society was beginning to unravel. If I needed any more proof that Gaius was completely out of his tree, then this was it. Yet another rung of the ladder — and not an inconsiderable one — achieved in the slimy bastard’s climb towards social respectability and, indeed, eminence. Or maybe another few inches on the greasy pole would be putting it better.
‘Congratulations,’ I said.
‘Thank you,’ he said. He picked up a stylus from the desk. ‘Now, I’m extremely busy, Corvinus. Please state your business in as few words as possible so I can tell you to fuck off out of my life.’
I went over to the desk, pulled up a stool, and sat down.
‘Come on, sunshine!’ I said. ‘Is that any way to treat an old friend and neighbour?’