They walked through the gardens behind the praetorium, toward the rear end of the villa, where Rufinus’ favourite haunts lay, including the abandoned theatre with the view across the plains. The young guardsman drew a nervous breath, preparing himself. It could be dangerous making enquiries of the captain, but every ounce of information on recent events might be of use when he met up with Dis.
‘What happened with Fastus?’ he asked quietly, a slight involuntary tremor in his voice.
Phaestor snorted. ‘Snivelling little shit. Dis had him all tied up ready to interrogate. I know Dis, too. The traitor would have sold out his mother when Dis got started with the pokers. But after the first blow, the little runt’s damn heart gave out. I was there and I’ve never seen such a thing in my life.’
Rufinus nodded, his heart aching for the poor innocent Fastus.
‘Tied there, hanging from the ceiling. Dis gave him a clout round the side of the head just to warm him up. Not even a hard one, and the man just convulsed, drooled and died there that very moment.’
They walked on in silence for a moment while Rufinus pictured the scene unhappily. The Frumentarius must have slipped some sort of poison or drug to the man to free him from the inevitability of torture. At least that was a small mercy. He…
‘Just why did Dis send you to the city?’
The question caught Rufinus off guard and he tried to hide the panic thrilling through him.
‘I’m not really sure.’ It was another gamble, deliberately misunderstanding the question. ‘He could have sent anyone. Maybe to keep me out of the way while he dealt with Fastus?’
Phaestor frowned and Rufinus’ heart started to pound so loud he felt it must be audible in the crisp, cold air. The captain regarded him with interest as they left the flagged and gravelled paths of the garden and crossed the lawn that ran parallel with the vineyard, the grass still white with frost where shadows had kept the sun from warming it.
Uncomfortable, Rufinus turned his head to face the pale, cold sun, drinking in the pathetic warmth it gave off, aware of the captain’s penetrating gaze on the back of his head. They walked on in an increasingly uncomfortable silence and ducked into the woodland that occupied the southern end of the estate, an area rarely patrolled due to the terrain and the lack of anything worth protecting. It would naturally be the best hunting ground, full of wildlife and hiding spots.
Following a game trail clearly already known to Phaestor, they crunched deeper into the woodland, Rufinus moving carefully so as not to catch his sling on the jutting branches and twigs.
‘Dis?’ Phaestor called quietly. ‘Dis? It’s Phaestor and Marcius. Don’t get too twitchy with that bow if you see something moving.’
The only answer was the rustle of leaves and the faint whistle of the wind through the trees. Then, somewhere up ahead there was the deep, throaty bark of a large dog. Phaestor nodded to Rufinus and they turned onto a side track that ran through the deeper woodland, barely a man wide, hoof prints of a young deer tracking through the hard mud. Briefly, they crossed a small, grassy clearing, the grass white and stiff with frost, shaded by the trees and untouched by the sunlight, then they were back into the stygian gloom of the woods.
The trail curled and twisted through the woodland and Rufinus was increasingly grateful that Phaestor had taken the lead, since the man’s almost accusatory stare was becoming most uncomfortable. After a few moments they turned a sharp bend in the path and strode out into a wide strip of grass that ran across the woodland. As they passed out into the open, they crossed the crumbled remains the estate’s boundary wall, now untended and fallen in heaps.
Phaestor was peering off to left and right for any sign of the huge black dogs. Rufinus’ gaze, however, was drawn directly ahead.
‘Phaestor…’
‘You’d think you’d at least be able to see those damn monster dogs crashing around.’
Rufinus reached out with his good arm and grabbed the man’s shoulder, turning him to face across the grassy swathe. ‘Phaestor…’
Finally, a little confused, the captain’s gaze followed that of his companion and fell on the sight that had so transfixed Rufinus. He made a small gasping noise and then started to walk slowly across the grass, white blades crunching underfoot.
Rufinus followed him towards the body on the edge of the forest opposite, partially obscured by the hanging foliage. Dis hung ingloriously, toes two feet from the ground, each wrist strapped to the bole of a tree with leather bindings. He was naked to the waist, hanging limply like a crucified man. How Rufinus knew immediately it was the Frumentarius, he couldn’t say, since the head had dropped down on to the chest and all they could see was top of his head, but somehow he knew.
The swathe of crimson on the man’s chest told them everything they needed to know. The amount of blood and its location were the product of a cut throat – both men had seen it before.
‘Oh, shit.’
Rufinus was moving faster now, ducking under a projecting branch and closing on the body. Phaestor was at his side a moment later as they reached Dis’ hanging corpse.
Gingerly, Phaestor reached out and lifted the head to confirm what they already knew. It was definitely the captain’s second, his hollow eyes now devoid of life. His throat had been severed with a deep rent, hacked rather than sliced, by a strong blow. Probably backhand, judging by depth, shape and angle. With a growl of anger, Phaestor lowered the head once more. Gloopy, half-clotted blood fell away from the disturbed wound.
The captain turned, his face like thunder. ‘If I find out you had anything to do with this…’
But Rufinus was already moving closer to the body. The huge red slick of blood coating the man’s torso was covering more than simple skin. Taking a deep breath, Rufinus reached for the canteen of water that hung from his belt. Lifting it, he unstoppered the top and threw the contents at the slick of blood, watching as the water washed the torrents down into the corpse’s already blood-soaked breeches.
Phaestor stared at him. ‘What the hell are you…?’
Rufinus held up a hand to interrupt him and then turned it to point at the body. The slick gone, rivulets of red winding down the torso, it was now much easier to see the word carved across the man’s chest with a sharp knife.
FRVMENTARIVS
Phaestor stared for a long moment and moved closer, his eyes picking out every detail, reaching out to touch the carved skin and pausing just short.
‘More than just a simple attack, sir’ Rufinus said quietly to Phaestor.
‘I want to find who did this and cut them into very thin strips, Marcius.’
The man straightened. ‘Perhaps your bandits on the road were a little more than that? What if they were looking for Dis? And where are his damn dogs, then? They never leave his side unless he tells them to. Surely they’d protect him?’
Rufinus pointed into the woods to their left, where a large, black shape lay, purple glistening innards in a pile beside it.
‘Oh, Hades, Tarterus and bollocks.’
Rufinus stepped back out of the trees, looking up and down the grassy meadow.
‘The blood’s only recently started to congeal. This was done recently. Not more than a quarter of an hour or so ago.’
Phaestor nodded as he wandered over to the body of the mutilated dog. ‘Then they could still be in the woodland. We need to get the entire staff out. There’s an alarm bell up near the old theatre.’