Danger in the Wind (28 page)

“I don’t see that,” Titch objected. “They were lovers some while back. If he was bitter enough to kill her because she threw him over, he’d had plenty of time to do it. Why wait till now?”

I considered Jovina’s various revelations about her love affairs. “Perhaps he only got really angry when he discovered she was having an affair with Trebonius. Jealousy is a strong emotion. Or—I know—supposing he’d just found out that Jovina had got rid of his unborn child? Now that might make a man angry, don’t you think?”

Quintus nodded. “So…Jovina was prepared to take Nikias back, or at least consider it. She let him know she wanted to talk. He couldn’t be a party guest, so one or other of them suggested they should meet secretly in the woods. But his reasons for the meeting were quite different. He wanted to get her alone in order to kill her.”

“Or maybe he didn’t plan to go that far. They quarrelled when they met, either about the baby or about her not wanting to leave Isurium, and he lost his temper and became violent.”

“That makes sense so far,” Quintus agreed.

“But,” Titch put in, “suppose it was Trebonius who suggested a private meeting by the river? She’d jump at it because she was in love with him, but he wasn’t thinking of romance in the woods. He wanted to tell her to be a bit more discreet, or mebbe even to finish with her. You said she was making all the running, Aurelia, and perhaps he was finding it embarrassing, or his wife was cutting up rough. She could have threatened him that if he didn’t go on seeing her, she’d tell everyone they were having an affair.”

“Or maybe,” Quintus suggested, “he’d heard a rumour that she was thinking of taking up with Nikias again, and that made him jealous. Either way, when they met they quarrelled, and he killed her.” He scratched his chin. “Yes, that makes sense too.”

I shivered at the thought of such cold-blooded murder. Someone had lured my cousin into the woods as if for a secret assignation, and then killed her…a man she loved, or had loved. She had looked for romance and tenderness because they were absent from her own marriage, and I realised I could forgive her being unfaithful to a drunken husband who made no secret of the fact that he no longer cared for her. Whichever of her two lovers had murdered her, she had deserved better than this callous act of betrayal.

Quintus stood up. “I don’t think asking each other questions is going to get us any further forward. Let’s start asking people who might know the answers.”

Chapter XX

The fort had its own hospital block—only a small one, but then this was only a small base. There was an outer room where would-be patients waited, a surgeon’s room where Nikias and his assistant carried out operations and major treatments, a large ward with beds for the seriously wounded or sick soldiers, and three smaller rooms for men who needed to be kept isolated.

Nikias wasn’t in any of these, but in the storeroom, one corner of which he used as an office. He and a younger man, his assistant presumably, were poring over a pile of note-tablets on his desk by the light of a couple of lamps that gave illumination but didn’t dispel the clinging damp in the air.

They looked up to greet us as we entered, and I didn’t need to ask whether they’d heard the news about Jovina. They were both pale and tense.

I introduced Quintus to Nikias, who in turn introduced his assistant Pythis and then dismissed the lad and invited us to sit down.

“We’re sorry to intrude at a sad time,” Quintus said. “Jovina Lepida was a good friend of yours, I understand.”

“A friend? Oh, yes, a friend. And I wanted…I hoped she would be so much more.”

A good start, though a slightly surprising one. If he wasn’t going to make a secret of his feelings for Jovina, then we needn’t beat about the bush. I said, “My cousin mentioned that you and she had been very close.”

“We were, in the winter and early spring. But it finished. I wanted her to leave Mallius and come away with me, go somewhere far from here and make a new start. I’m an experienced doctor. I could always find work. But she wouldn’t.”

“Because of her husband?”

“Partly, and partly because of the children. Sad, isn’t it? She had a drunken husband, a crooked son, and a spoilt little daughter…and in the end she preferred them to me.”

I was longing to ask why he called Philippus crooked, but resisted the distraction. “As you know, I only arrived here two days ago. But my cousin did hint to me in conversation that she regretted the quarrel you’d had.”

“She said so to me, too, the night I went round there. Only we couldn’t talk. There was too much danger of one of the servants or the family interrupting us. I wanted to see her privately, to persuade her that we could be together again, but the only way it would work would be somewhere away from Isurium. I couldn’t stand the secret, furtive way we would have to live if we stayed here. I wanted to make her see it must be all or nothing. A new life with me…or finish altogether. No going back.”

I asked, “You gave her that magnificent pair of goblets, didn’t you, for her birthday?”

“Yes. Did she like them?”

“She did. She insisted we drank a toast from them, she and I. You sent the roses too?”

“I did. She loved flowers.”

Quintus took up the questioning. “About this afternoon. You were hoping to talk with Jovina. So you arranged to meet her during the party?”

“How could I? I wasn’t there.”

“You weren’t a guest, but you were seen by the river. I repeat, were you hoping to have a quiet talk with Jovina?”

“And I repeat, I wasn’t there. I wish I could have been. I wanted to be, and I admit I did hope I could walk down along the river for a short while and meet her. But I couldn’t because I have sick boys here to look after.”

“You told Jovina you would meet her there?”

“I said I’d try. She knew what my work can be like. If I’ve got patients who need me, I can’t go off and leave them, however much I want to.”

“So you claim you weren’t at the party at all?”

“For the third time, no, I was not. If you don’t believe my word, ask my assistant.”

“We will. Because whatever you say, you were seen.”

“Impossible. Somebody made a mistake. If it was after the rain started, maybe there was someone the same size as me, in a cloak like mine. It wasn’t me.”

“What’s your cloak like?”

“It’s new, made of some fancy fabric called Vulcan’s Shield. There’s a trader staying in Isurium who’s selling them, I bought one yesterday as a curiosity. They’re supposed to bring a person good luck, and you can set fire to them and they won’t burn.”

“He seems to have sold quite a few of them,” Quintus said.

“He has. I don’t think Jovina had one…Oh, if only I had seen her, just once more. I never dreamed something like this would happen. She always said she was a good swimmer. How could she have drowned?”

“She didn’t…” I began, but Quintus cut in quickly.

“She didn’t have much of a chance, I’m afraid.”

“I wish I could have seen her,” he repeated sadly. “If only we hadn’t been so busy here.”

“How many patients are in the hospital just now?” Quintus asked.

“One seriously wounded, Fabianus, who was ambushed yesterday while he was on patrol. He’s the reason I had to stay here. He’s in a bad way and frankly I’m surprised he’s still alive. Then I’ve several with this fever that’s going around just now, they get diarrhoea and throw up for a couple of days and then they recover. Mostly anyhow.”

Quintus nodded. “I think that’s all for the present, we’ll leave you to your work. We’ll probably need to talk to you again in the morning.”

“Could
I
ask a question please?” Nikias said.

“Of course.”

“They’re saying Mallius killed her. Is that true?”

“He’s admitted it,” Quintus answered.

“Then why are you asking all these questions? Don’t you believe him?”

“So far we only have his word. He’s very upset and very drunk, and the commander has asked us to check the facts for ourselves, to make absolutely sure.”

“I see. Yes, you must be sure. She was a wonderful person, truly wonderful.” He wiped a hand across his face. “Everyone who knew her will want to see her avenged. So if there’s anything I can do, anything at all, you can count on me.”

“Thank you. First, may we have a quick word with Pythis?”

He summoned his assistant, a pleasant-looking young man with an easy manner.

Quintus asked, “Pythis, you’ve heard about the tragic death of Jovina Lepida?”

“Yes, sir.”

“We’re checking up on everyone’s movements this afternoon, mostly so we can eliminate them from our investigation. Where were you between the midday meal and when the thunder started?”

“I was here at the hospital. We’ve got several sick men at the moment, especially Fabianus.”

“And was Nikias here, too, for some of the time?”

“All the time, sir. He was here all the time.”

“All the time?” Quintus smiled. “He must have left briefly during all those hours. To relieve himself? To get something to eat?”

“We have lavatories here in the building, sir. And we can get food sent in, or we have a small kitchen area for preparing warm drinks and medicines. Neither of us had to leave at any time.”

“Was that a bit too smooth?” I murmured to Quintus as we left to go in search of Titch. “Or am I getting over-suspicious?”

“I don’t think an investigator can ever be
over
-suspicious,” he said. “We’ll talk to him again tomorrow when Nikias isn’t there.”

Titch was chatting to Gambax near the main gate. “I was just asking Gambax about who he saw wandering around by the river today, so we could compare notes.”

“Let’s discuss it in our new office,” Quintus said. “An aide called Junius has found us one. I haven’t even been there yet.”

Titch went to inquire and soon came back with the good news that we’d been allocated a room in the quartermaster’s block near the headquarters building. “Quite a good size, and dead handy,” he said, and he was right.

When we were all inside, Quintus said, “Now let’s hear your report, Gambax. We’ll be glad of any help you can give us.”

“Victor asked me whether I noticed anything unusual down by the river this afternoon. I saw three people on their own, Philippus and the commander and someone else in a cloak that I couldn’t be sure of, but I think was Nikias.”

“What were they all doing?”

“Philippus only came down briefly, as if he was looking for someone, and went away again. The other two seemed to be waiting around, but I don’t know what for, or who for. I didn’t see either of them with anyone else.”

“Anything else unusual?”

“Yes. I heard something that struck me as odd at the time, and now…I thought I’d better tell someone.”

“Go on,” Quintus encouraged.

“A woman’s voice, shouting. I wasn’t sure whose, because I couldn’t see, but Chloe…” he stopped.

I smiled at him. “It’s all right. We know Chloe was hoping to have a quiet word with you this afternoon.”

“I wasn’t with her long, but we heard this woman really raising her voice. Chloe said it was her mother. And she sounded really upset.”

“Could you hear what she said?”

“Pretty much. ‘I won’t. I can’t. You know I can’t give you up, I love you. Then why are you tearing me in two? If you really loved me, you wouldn’t put me through this. No, talk all you like but I shan’t change my mind.’”

“Who was she talking to?”

“That’s just it, we couldn’t tell. We heard a man’s voice a couple of times, but very quiet.”

“It doesn’t sound as if she gave him much chance to put a word in,” I said. “How did it end? Did one of them walk off in a temper?”

“We didn’t stay till the end. Chloe said to me, ‘We haven’t got long together, and I for one don’t want to waste it listening to Mother yelling at Trebonius, if that’s who it is. Let’s go further away.’ So we did. Now, of course I wish…but it’s too late.”

“Chloe thought it was Trebonius with her?” Quintus asked.

“Well, as I said, neither of us could be sure. But everyone knows…that is, there are rumours about…I mean…”

Quintus nodded. “I know. It could have been the commander. Thank you, Gambax, that’s useful. We may have more questions for you later.”

“Please sir, I wonder…would it be possible?…” He stopped, looking embarrassed.

“Would what be possible? Come on lad, spit it out.”

“I liked Mistress Jovina. She was always kind to me, and she wasn’t above turning a blind eye when I wanted to see Chloe. Is there any way I can help you find out who’s done this dreadful thing? You two are experienced investigators, but you’ll need someone to do the running around, fetching and carrying and delivering messages. I can do all that if I can get permission from the commander.”

“We’d be very glad of your help,” Quintus said. “Not just for the running-around jobs, but because you know the fort and the area here far better than we do. I’ll fix it with Trebonius. Meet us first thing tomorrow morning, and we’ll make a start.”