‘Here it is,’ said Sudrenus, tapping a tablet, ‘just the Lebadea in on that day. Arrived from Paphos in the morning and left bound for Halicarnassus in the afternoon.’
‘Go on.’
Cassius was sitting on the other side of Sudrenus’s high, marble desk, at right angles to the door, with Simo and Indavara standing behind him. The only thing the well-appointed office had in common with the harbour master’s was the bronze plaques on the wall. The tiled floor was covered with thick, oriental rugs and there were two little statues — one of Zeus, one of Poseidon — mounted on miniature columns at the back of the room.
‘Er … the cargo was a load of red clay and … what’s that? Ah yes, grain. That cretin Herma — I can hardly read his writing.’
‘The load isn’t important,’ Cassius replied sharply. ‘Passengers.’
‘Yes. Three men gave payment.’ The Greek looked up. ‘I insist a record is kept, so that none of the captains take backhanders.’
‘And?’
‘First, one Carius Asina. Wife and family included. Paid and signed.’
‘You know the name?’ asked Cassius.
‘Can’t say I do.’
Without turning round, Cassius pointed at the door. ‘Simo, go and repeat the name Carius Asina to that lot outside. Somebody might know it. Next, Sudrenus?’
‘No name. Just one initial — D. No signature.’
Cassius leant forward over the desk and looked at the D.
‘That could be our man. Who did you say was manning the office that day?’
‘Herma.’
‘Where does he live?’
‘No idea.’
‘What? One of your employees?’
Sudrenus shrugged. ‘What do I care where he lives?’
‘Excuse me, sir,’ said Simo from the door. Knowing the Gaul wouldn’t disturb him without good reason, Cassius got up and walked over. All eyes were on him as Optio Clemens came forward.
‘Sir, Carius Asina is a member of the Rhodes Assembly. From one of the old families. Has a lot of land around Hippoteia.’
‘Where’s that? Close?’
‘No, sir. Middle of the island.’
Cassius heard a curse from inside the office.
Sudrenus slapped the tablet. ‘Bloody Herma! Useless little worm!’
‘What’s the problem?’ asked Cassius, returning inside.
‘The third passenger was Drusus Viator. I expressly told my staff not to allow that man to set foot on one of our vessels.’
‘Why?’
‘He was charged with theft and tax evasion by the municipal court earlier in the year.’
Cassius was smiling as he hurried back to the door and waved the city sergeants forward. ‘Anyone know a man by the name of Drusus Viator? A thief, apparently.’
Two of the men shook their heads. The third man spoke: ‘I was with the arrest party. We had to chase him halfway across the Great Harbour.’
Annia had climbed down from the carriage and was now listening intently to the conversation. ‘This man,’ she said. ‘It was him?’
‘I don’t think so,’ replied Cassius. ‘But another man on the ship didn’t leave a name, and this Viator might have seen him. If he was on the ship with him all the way from Paphos he may even have spoken to him.’
He turned to the sergeant. ‘Do you know where Viator lives?’
‘I do, sir. Little townhouse not far from Helios.’
‘Where’s that?’
‘He means the statue of Helios,’ said Annia impatiently.
Cassius resisted the urge to order her back into the carriage.
‘Right,’ he told the sergeant. ‘You shall take us there at once. Clemens, I need you to find out what you can about this Asina fellow — he may not have returned home immediately. If he or any of his family are still around we need to speak to them at once. Tell the rest of your men to keep looking. Just because we have a lead here doesn’t mean there aren’t others. And we now know something else — our man might have gone by a name beginning with D. Also, I need two of your men.’
‘Sir.’
Clemens took the other two legionaries with him and marched away along the street. Cassius led the other two into the office.
Sudrenus looked up.
‘These men are going to find your slave,’ Cassius said. ‘Give them all the help you can — I need to see him at once.’
‘Very well,’ the Greek replied wearily.
‘You get hold of him, you bring him to me,’ Cassius told the legionaries. ‘I don’t care if you have to drag him out of bed.’
Once back outside, he found Annia questioning the sergeant about Drusus Viator. Cassius held up his hand before the sergeant could answer. ‘That’s really none of your concern, miss. I did ask you to leave this matter in my hands.’
Annia gestured to the carriage. ‘Please, Officer. We can get you to the Helios in no time.’
Cassius looked around. As well as Simo, Indavara and the three sergeants, Trogus, the driver and Annia’s maid were also standing there, listening in.
‘Give us a moment,’ Cassius said irritably. As the others moved away, Annia stared back at him, arms folded across her chest. Cassius could quite happily have slapped her, but settled for leaning in close and addressing her in an urgent whisper.
‘Miss, I do not intend to try and apprehend a known criminal by arriving at his house in a carriage with two women in tow. It is time for you to remember your place and stay out of my way.’
Annia matched his whisper but replaced urgency with defiance.
‘You, sir, are not in a position to tell me what my place is. The only man capable of doing that is dead.’
Cassius straightened up and took a breath. The girl really was quite infuriating.
‘I ask you again, miss, will you just allow me to do my job?’
Annia took a long time to reply. ‘Very well.’
She aimed a finger at Trogus. He, the driver and the maid climbed back on to the carriage.
‘But I want to know something,’ Annia added. ‘It’s possible the assassin has already left the island, yes?’
‘Several vessels departed yesterday. We must establish whether he was on one of them.’
‘And if he was? Will you charter a vessel and follow that ship?’
‘That is one possibility, yes. We might also look to the navy for assistance.’
‘I see. I apologise for getting in your way, Officer. Knowing my place has never been a great strength of mine.’
This first flash of humility came as a surprise to Cassius. He followed Annia the few steps to the carriage, then offered her his hand as she climbed up.
The driver waited for a rider coming up from the harbour to pass, then turned into the road and followed him. As the carriage trundled away, Cassius glanced at Indavara and rolled his eyes.
‘Women, eh, sir?’ said one of the young sergeants. Cassius knew he should admonish him for his cheek but he couldn’t resist the reply.
‘Ladies are worse.’
Crouching behind a cart loaded with bundles of dried reeds, Cassius, Indavara, Simo and the three sergeants looked across the street at Drusus Viator’s villa. It was situated in a mainly residential area on the slopes above the Little Harbour; the third of three identical properties squeezed in between a bakery to the left and a tree-lined sanctuary to the right. The columns on either side of the front door seemed rather grandiose for a one-storey building with probably only three or four rooms.
‘Sure it’s that one?’ asked Cassius.
‘Definitely, sir,’ replied Auspex, the sergeant who’d arrested Viator before. ‘He went flying out the back when our men rang the front-door bell.’
‘Indavara, remember the glass factory in Antioch?’
The bodyguard pointed to a little scar on his neck.