‘But wasn’t that a risk? Suppose that someone recognised his face?’ Alfredus Allius asked.
I shook my head. ‘That brother sold himself when he was very young — no one was likely to recognise him now. I was the only person likely to connect him with the house. I’d briefly glimpsed him there when he was copying the text. That’s why they wanted to be rid of me.’
‘What about Marcus’s land-slaves? They would have seen him while he was working there.’
‘They never leave the property, except Georgicus perhaps, and even he would not have known the amanuensis well. Besides, they thought that he was dead. If they were looking for anyone, it would be the gatekeeper! It isn’t easy to persuade a witness that someone isn’t dead when they are convinced they’ve seen the corpse. And I think that is why the other household slaves were massacred as well. One body without a head does not attract attention where there are a dozen others in the pile. But I’m sure we’ll find the brothers are together now. So, if we’ve finished talking, it is time for you to take Maximus back home and I’ll go and see if I can find our suspects before the gates are shut.’
But even as I spoke there was a clamour from the town.
TWENTY-SIX
As Junio turned to leave us, Alfredus tugged my sleeve again. ‘Citizen,’ he said, ‘do you hear what I can hear? There’s disturbance in the town. If you wish to catch these people you must go at once — and your son must have a proper cart to take the servant in so you can have the mule to ride home afterwards. Don’t shake your head like that. I have an interest in solving this affair as well.’ His flat tone made the statement a more surprising one. ‘I’ve agreed today to underwrite a loan to Scipio for the purchase of the household items that I told you of. You know the law: “the buyer must beware”. If, for some reason, the purchase of the Egidius house was not what it appears, he stands to lose a lot of money — some of which is mine. If I had not helped you with the transport of your slave, I could only blame my ill-luck on myself for not obeying what the wise-woman advised. Accept my offer and let me do this to propitiate the Fates.’
Put like that, I could not well refuse. ‘In that case, thank you councillor,’ I said.
‘Vesperion!’ Alfredus Allius was decisive now. ‘Go to the hiring stables over there and arrange a cart. Have them bring it to the gateway here. The fastest one they’ve got. And a driver with it, as soon as possible. Tell them I will pay them twice the normal rate — double if they get it here before the tuba sounds again. Tell them to send help to load the bier onto the cart, and for good measure, they can take care of the mule until its owner comes to call for it.’
Vesperion looked startled, ‘But the stable-owner-’
‘Will do as he is asked for a curial magistrate,’ Alfredus told him, flatly. ‘And he will not try to cheat by asking an unreasonable sum. I can rely on my amulets for that.’ He touched them as he spoke.
I only wished I had his confidence, though, truth to tell, my own had sparked a useful train of thought. ‘Councillor, I can’t express my thanks for what you’ve done. I won’t forget it — but now I’ll have to go. You can still hear the noises from the town. If this goes on, they’ll put the soldiers in the street, and I won’t be able to find the men that I am looking for.’ I turned to Minimus. ‘You’d better come with me. I know you’d rather ride with Maximus, but I may have need of you.’
Minimus abandoned the mule to Junio and came trotting obediently to my side, then calling a farewell to Villosus — who was at his post again — I began to hurry back towards the city and the docks.
‘Don’t go without me, citizen!’ I turned to find Alfredus Allius hastening after me, rearranging his sombre toga into neater folds. ‘Vesperion will catch us — he knows where we’re going. He would be returning to the warehouse anyway.’ He fell into step beside me as he spoke.
‘You will accompany me?’
Alfredus looked surprised. ‘Naturally, I’ll come with you, citizen. You may need witnesses and as a councillor I can call out the town watch if they’re required. Anyway, as I say, I have an interest. And I am intrigued by what you say. I’d heard that you were clever, but I never dreamed of this. What made you so certain that the caller was Egidius?’
I made a rueful face. ‘I didn’t work it out until I’d heard about the heads — but looking back there were a lot of things which I should have noticed at the time. For one thing, there was the colour of his skin. I noticed it was reddened, but I did not think of sunshine as a cause for this. But if he was exiled on an island in the Inland Roman Sea, of course that would explain it perfectly. And he as good as told me that he had. He said he’d bought his servant as a boy “in one of the poorest islands of our sea”. I thought he meant the waters round Britannia, but I should have realised. Mare Nostra — our sea — is what the Romans call it, and that’s where Commodus always sent his exiles. No wonder Cacus has such golden skin.’
Alfredus nodded, not looking much impressed. ‘This is the best way to the docks from here.’ He led the way around the corner to the street which offered the most salubrious route down to the river quay. It was virtually deserted, the shops were closed and shuttered, entry doors were shut, and even the tavernas had no lamps alight inside. Our footsteps on the cobbles seemed unnaturally loud. It was positively eerie, the more so since — from the direction of the forum not very far away — there was now the muted but unmistakable roar of angry crowds. I glanced at Alfredus Allius but he seemed unconcerned.
‘So it was Egidius himself who sold the villa, after all? I suppose it would have been restored to him when he was pardoned, since it had not been sold before.’ I nodded ‘And he shrewdly turned it into gold and silver straight away. I saw the bracelets on his arm.’
‘I don’t suppose he cared to live in the old house himself. But it’s a legal sale.’ He sounded much relieved.
‘He wouldn’t have the money to repair it anyway,’ I said. ‘He only gets the part of his fortune which remains, and there was not much of that. It was all forfeited to the Emperor. That’s why one brother sold himself to slavery. And, of course, they blamed Marcus, who found against them in the courts.’ I shook my head. ‘I can’t imagine why I didn’t wonder more about the gatekeeper who wasn’t there. But now I understand. They dressed him in the distinctive tunic the amanuensis wore — and you see what you expect to see, as your wise-woman said.’
The mention of the wise-woman caught his interest. ‘And the fact that the amanuensis had access to the house …?’
‘Of course, it made it easy for him to make the list. And he had constant access to Marcus’s writing desk. No doubt he stole the seal-ring — or had a copy made — and he, of all people, could construct the messages purporting to instruct the staff to load the goods. And I’m sure we’ll find he took the message to the land-slaves too — telling them to construct that useless woodpile and keeping them busy a long way from the house. Another forged letter which he could produce. Of course, they would believe that it was genuine.’
‘And you think he killed the slaves?’
‘Not personally, perhaps. He’d hired the thugs and carters — they may have done the job. It would not even be a very serious crime, if they thought they were working for the owner of the place. No doubt the carters thought the house was his — they don’t ask questions, provided they get paid, and some of Marcus’s treasure would have seen to that. He had a space under the pavement in his office-room, where he kept a money-box, and there was nothing in it when I was there today.’
We had reached the corner of the docks by now, and were about to turn onto the quay when the clatter of following footsteps stopped me in my tracks. In the unnatural silence of the empty streets the sound was ominous. I had not forgotten that my quarry was a murderer, and I pulled Minimus into the shadows of a portico with me.