Deadly Election (32 page)

M
anlius Faustus found the escort slaves.

He had asked five of the seven vigiles cohorts, no small undertaking, even though he had felt he could omit the Transtiberina and Aventine. I went with him to the office, to see whether his query had results.

Faustus was able to dismiss messengers from the Second, Third and Fourth Cohorts, none of whom had anything to report. The First’s officer who dealt with runaways had grudgingly come in person because he had had contact with the group we were looking for: his men had picked them up on the Via Flaminia. They must have run away across country from the Anio bridge, following that smaller river until it met the Tiber where the Via Cassia and other roads met with the busy Via Flaminia, the triumphal route down from the north that then entered Rome across the Field of Mars.

‘Their story made no sense,’ the vigilis told us defensively. ‘They came from the Mulvian Bridge, didn’t they? Sir, that location causes us a lot of trouble.’

‘The Mulvian Bridge is where members of the Catiline conspiracy were apprehended and arrested, allowing Cicero to have their incriminating letters read in the Senate.’

‘Sorry, sir, you’ve lost me.’

‘I apologise. I meant that for Flavia Albia. She has an interest in political history.’ The officer thought Faustus was ragging him to amuse me, so I copped a dirty look: an aedile’s girlfriend, not merely female and flirtatious but having a dangerous passion for revolutionary events. He wanted to put me in a cell and I would not have liked what happened there. ‘Do carry on, officer.’

‘There’s a big huddle of bars and brothels clustered at the bridgehead, frequented by disreputable elements. That Nero started it – he used to go out there for his private kicks. Folks still trip out from Rome every night to get lathered and fornicate, knowing they’re beyond our jurisdiction. It’s barely two miles out from the Flaminian Gate. They can get there and back on foot if they’re minded, though most take transport of some kind. They have their orgies and come rolling back in all states. My cohort has to pick up the damage. With respect, it’s not supposed to be our job to mop up vomit on the Via Flaminia every night – or even to pick up the rich drunks who are lying in the gutter, after their floozies totter off into the night disgusted with them. Sir!’

‘I am sorry you have to put up with it. Were these slaves in a bad state?’ enquired Faustus, mildly.

‘I believe the rascals looked as if something had gone on with them, sir.’

‘That’s because something bad did befall them, and in particular their master.’

‘Well, my lads wasn’t to know that.’

‘Did they ask?’

‘Yes, but it was slaves. Naturally we don’t believe any story slaves tell us. They claimed they was told to save themselves, then come home quick and tell someone − but they were bound to give us some excuse. And be fair, Aedile, nobody had reported anyone of importance going missing, had they?’

‘That is because they didn’t know he was missing – because his slaves had not been able to tell anyone! Now that people do know, it’s probably too late to be useful. So may I have the Callistus escorts given into my custody, please? Their master died; it looks like foul play. I need to question his people. Then they must go back to their kind owners.’

‘No can do, with respect, sir.’

Faustus looked alarmed. ‘Why not?’

‘Once I know runaways actually belong somewhere, in this case the Caelimontium, my orders are always to march them off to the relevant cohort to deal with, which is the Fifth Cohort, sir.’

‘So I suppose,’ sighed Faustus with a wry smile, ‘you got rid of them to the Fifth the minute you received my note indicating who these slaves were?’

‘Well, it couldn’t have been any quicker – we hadn’t got around to processing them before.’

Faustus ignored the lack of logic; he was grim. ‘I feel sorry for these slaves. They managed to reach the city and thought their troubles were over, but were picked up by a patrol, just for looking upset and lost. They were only acting as their master ordered. They were by no means runaways.’

‘Yes, sir. Now you have explained it, I believe that was the case.’

‘How long were they detained in your lock-up?’

The man looked shifty. He admitted the First Cohort had a backlog; he had had the slaves chained up as runaways for over a week. Purse-lipped, Faustus made notes on a waxed tablet in a way that made the officer even more anxious. ‘You realise that, strictly speaking, you deprived these slaves’ owners of their property, for which they are entitled to make a compensation claim?’

The man apologised for any inconvenience, which is what they always say. Faustus dismissed him.

The next man, from the Fifth Cohort, was in a flap.

‘I don’t know anything about these, sir, I’m afraid. They was just dumped on me this morning, right after we got your letter. I haven’t had them taken home. I thought I ought to recce with you first. I didn’t have time to interview them – I rushed right here.’

‘Relax. I don’t blame you. What’s their condition?’

‘None too good. But I’ve told the team to give them a wash and brush-up, so they don’t look and smell so horrible. It’s all nice people on the Caelian – they’re not going to be too happy, I can tell you. I’ve got the slaves sat down at the station house with bowls of broth right now and the boys are speaking to them kindly. We’ll try to perk them up a bit … I can have them delivered back home as soon as you give the say-so.’

‘Have they said anything about what happened?’

‘Only that there was an ambush and they fear the worst. The man in the litter shouted for them to run back to Rome and tell his family. Oh – and he gave them this, to show they hadn’t run off and abandoned him, but he himself had sent them to get help.’

Onto the aedile’s outstretched palm the officer placed a signet ring. It was heavy male jewellery, its gold now worn on the shank, with a stone of polished chalcedony bearing a carved ship to make a seal mark. The Callisti were river men and boat-builders.

I sighed. It seemed a long time since Fundanus had told me a ring was missing, presumably removed by a killer to prevent identification. This must be the very ring that had left a whitened mark on a finger of Strongbox Man, now known to be Callistus Valens. I could reunite it with his wedding ring, which I had at home, then give both to his sons. At least when they honoured the old bits of chicken bone and dogs’ teeth that Fundanus hastily put together for them as a fake relic, they could place something of the man himself in the green glass urn that represented their lost father.

F
austus was happy to give me the signet ring, so I took a short walk to Fountain Court where I collected its partner. I tied them together with a snip of red thread, wrapped them in a handkerchief for safer keeping and put them in a pouch on my belt.

I had been neglecting my work. While I was home, I climbed the six flights of stairs to my office, to check for messages. There were none. Such is the life of a private informer. I had a quick tidy of the couch, rearranged pots on a shelf, threw out dead flowers and put the rubbish pail on the landing ready to take downstairs. Rodan was supposed to come up and empty it, but rarely did.

I was about to leave when I heard someone puffing on the stairs. A client at last – and one I knew. All dressed in her smartest stole, up struggled the wife of Titus Niger. Amazed, I brought her in, seated her on the clients’ couch to recover her breath and waited for more surprises.

‘Flavia Albia! I saw your notice.’ I must have looked blank. ‘In the Forum. Was that you? I thought it must be, and it said to come here.’

‘Oh!’ She meant my appeal for witnesses to help trace Strongbox Man. ‘Well, we know who he is now, so I can take down the notice – or alter it because we know more about him … Now, what can I do for you? First, I don’t think I know your name?’

‘Claudia Galeria.’

A few swift questions ascertained why Galeria had come here alone. ‘I don’t like that fellow who has grappled on to me. I don’t like him interfering in my business.’

‘I imagine he’s offering to deal with your late husband’s estate?’

‘Yes, he is.’

‘You don’t need a man for that.’

‘Don’t I? He’s trying to take over everything. I was knocked sideways at first, but I am now ready to tackle things. He says I have to have a guardian or it is not legal. This is what I want to ask you about. I saw you at that auction; you looked as if you knew how things are done.’

Well, that summed up my work. I was pleased with her assessment.

‘I can certainly help you get rid of that man, if that’s what you would like.’ He might retreat after a few well-chosen words from me or, if not, I could call in muscle to warn him off. ‘Did Niger leave a will? If he bequeathed everything to you, all you have to do is this: find his assets, pay the right inheritance tax – I have an aunt who does figurework; she sometimes helps my clients – then you can enjoy your property in your own right, while you get over losing Niger. You don’t want to be worried by anything financial while you are learning to cope with your loss. I can introduce you to a very sympathetic woman banker, if you have investments to look after. I have been widowed myself and I always advise my clients to stay in their house if possible, or at least the neighbourhood they know, and to remain single until they have passed at least two anniversaries.’

‘That man said I had to marry again in six months.’

‘Two or three years. Unenforceable anyway. Don’t worry about it. He is probably scared you will see through him if you wait. He’s right, because you already have done! Do you mind if I ask, did Niger leave things behind in a mess?’

‘It’s all neat,’ his wife boasted, proud of him. ‘He was organised. He did say if anything ever happened to him, I should marry again and he won’t haunt me …’

‘No, he didn’t seem the haunting type.’

‘He was all right. I cannot see the point,’ complained Claudia Galeria, ‘of passing from one man, who wasn’t a bad one, straight to another, who could be anything.’

I told her cheerfully I could help her avoid that.

We settled for a proper client talk: what I could do, what I could not do, what she did not require or want, what I would charge her. ‘The bonus is, unlike the fool you are dumping, you will never be asked to marry me.’

We laughed. She had been married to Niger for thirteen years. There had been many floors to mop, but basically she did not regret it; what more can you ask? ‘I could buy a little slave now to do the floors and that, couldn’t I?’

‘You could. You’d have to train her to your high standards.’

‘I might enjoy that!’ She actually chuckled, and I could see she intended to do it. ‘It’s a relief talking to you, Flavia Albia.’

‘This is my job. This is why people come to me.’

Then she said there was another thing she wanted to ask: could I put up a notice in the Forum, like the one I drew up about Valens, to ask people to come forward and tell us if they knew what had happened to Niger?

S
he had a point. No real effort had been made to look into Niger’s demise. Once his body had fallen out of the chest at the auction, he had been carried off and cremated. Faustus and the vigiles had had too much to do at the time, calming the fighting factions in the Porticus of Pompey. Afterwards, even with Faustus taking charge, enquiries had dribbled to a halt.

In Rome, if nobody makes a complaint, people can die of obvious unnatural causes yet never be investigated. All you need is to ensure a nice quick funeral and no one contesting the will. That is how murderers get away with it.

I apologised to Galeria.

‘It’s not your fault, dear. Nobody is paying you for that, are they?’

I could have bragged about my constant struggle for truth and justice, but with such a down-to-earth woman it seemed better to give a queenly smile in agreement.

‘Now look, Albia, I would hire you to find out who done him in, but as we just discussed, I’d rather spend the money on a girl to mop the floors. I’ll give you what you say is the right money to put up a notice. Then I shall feel I have done my bit for Niger.’

‘A wise approach.’ I produced a new set of note tablets. ‘But, Galeria, before I chalk up a notice, I need to ask some questions. There’s no charge for this, incidentally. A man has been killed. Somebody did that, and I need to know what I’m going into.’ Galeria looked frightened. I set the notebook to one side. ‘Don’t be scared. Look, I don’t try to catch a murderer without having some idea about who he might be and where he might come jumping out from. This is for my safety, and your own.’

Galeria saw my point; she toughened up. ‘I’ll have a broom ready to whack him.’

‘Excellent!’

‘But what about you, dearie?’

‘Don’t worry about me. The last time a killer came looking for me, I shoved him off the balcony. That’s why the window is blocked up.’ Impressed, Galeria looked over at the folding doors, here in the main room of my office, once a good feature but now boarded with builders’ safety panels. ‘Now, we have to start with Niger. I’m going to ask you about his work in general, then what he had been doing specifically for the Callisti.’

When I interviewed her before, I had thought Claudia Galeria knew little about how Niger spent his time. Nevertheless, like many, she kept her eyes and ears open. She had quite a lot to tell me.

Until recently, Niger had worked for various people, one of whom was an extremely rich woman called Julia Terentia. Through some connection of hers he had been introduced to the Callistus family. ‘That all started when they were looking for an election agent.’

‘To help Volusius Firmus when he was standing for the aedilate?’

‘Niger was finding things out for him to do with the rival candidates.’ Oh, that job! The sleaze pitch. I knew all about that. ‘It fell through, though.’

‘Yes, the man had to stand down …’ A thought struck me. ‘Firmus has a wife I’ve met, called Julia Laurentina. I don’t suppose she is any relation to your Julia Terentia?’

‘Yes, of course!’ Galeria exclaimed in surprise. ‘They are sisters. Laurentina asked Terentia if she could recommend an agent. That was how my Niger was offered the work.’