The Hadrian Enigma - A Forbidden History (66 page)

Suetonius paused to let the information sink in to his audience, and give him time to assess his next stage of description.

On hearing about the Temple vessel the security chief Tribune Lucius Macedo made a discreet gesture to one of his officers. Guardsmen closest to the priests Pachrates and Kenamun quietly shifted into a formation of nearer proximity to the pair, much to their immediate alarm. Suetonius continued his presentation.

“
One of these two fishermen, Ani, is murdered later that same night by masked assailants of unknown origin. Fortunately, we had inscribed a record of the fishermen’s testimony. The following morning Ani’s decapitated head is exhibited to us by Centurion Urbicus as evidence of the murder. Urbicus had been assigned to us as an investigative operative. Hetu, the other fisherman, is reported chased by the same masked assailants to a fate unknown at this particular time. I will return to Hetu later.

Lysias of Bithynia, Antinous’s close friend, and Thais of Cyrene, the youth’s language tutor, are attacked at their tents in the Imperial Encampment that same night, also by masked assailants. Simon, a steward of Lysias’s household, is murdered and decapitated defending the couple. They flee by devious routes to take secret refuge at the compound of the Companions of the Hunt.
Quaestor
Salvius Julianus, the former Master of the Hunt, offers his protection to the two at the Companions’ stables.

At early afternoon the following day – this was yesterday - our party of three citizens of Rome –
Quaestor
Julianus, Senator Clarus, and myself of the
equites
class – accompanied by three worthy staff, are attacked by concealed archers while we were travelling from a riverside jetty to the Hunt compound. Julianus’s equerry is wounded in the foot, but all six survive the attack unharmed.

Since that time your investigators suspect their lives are at risk, having been set upon by unknown forces bent on committing harm for unknown reasons of purposes.

So Great Caesar, to tally up, in the space of only two days within the confines of the protected enclave of the Imperial Household your assigned investigators are confronted by the inexplicable drowning of an innocent youth, Antinous; two or possibly three assassinations by decapitation; a murderous attack by unknown archers in which an equerry is wounded; and a general climate of insecurity and uncertainty within the enclosure.

This is a high casualty rate for such a secure facility in the space of two nights -- four unexplained deaths and a life-threatening injury, along with general mayhem and havoc. It is my belief, sir, these events are closely linked.”

“
Linked by who or to what?” Hadrian murmured tiredly. His features displayed a distinct lack of enthusiasm for Suetonius’s presentation.

“
I must raise the renown principle of
cui bono?
, sir. Who benefits? It seems a member or members of our court may have good reason to see these offences come to pass. I include the death of the young man Antinous as the primary offence. There appears to be some person or persons among us who possess the resources, the authority, or the determination to prosecute such violence in our midst, Caesar.”

Hadrian shifted uneasily in his seat.

“
Explain, Inspector! Why do you believe the youth was subject to violence? Importantly too, who can be shown to benefit from Antinous’s death?”

“
Possibly several people my lord, either directly or by purposeful influence.”

“
Get to the core of the matter, Special Inspector. Time is passing. Dawn is almost upon us,” Hadrian declared impatiently.

“
I will be brief, Caesar. Let us first explore our present company at Court to see what motives may exist among us. We will begin with the outer ring, those who are not official members of your Household, the priests of Amun before us. Pachrates the
Sage of Heliopolis
, and Kenamun the Embalmer, should tell us what they know of the youth’s death,” Suetonius offered. He gestured to Kenamun nearby as he spoke.

“
Kenamun, as the presiding mortician, has an intimate knowledge of the state of Antinous in death, my lord. We should listen to what he has to say on the manner of Antinous’s death.”

Kenamun glanced nervously at the surrounding assembly of notables and the somber emperor before him. Suetonius nodded to him encouragingly and opened his questioning.

“
Priest Kenamun, what can you tell us of the manner of the young man’s death?”

Kenamun gulped nervously. His response tumbled out.

“
Special Inspector, it is my belief Antinous of Bithynia did not die by drowning. I believe he died instead of a loss of blood which occurred before he entered the holy river’s waters. Possibly well before.”

A rustle of whispers swept the assembly. Hadrian shifted uncomfortably on his throne. Kenamun continued.

“
In preparing the noble youth’s cadaver for public display it was evident how very little blood had remained in his veins in the usual way of the deceased. When blood ceases its flow at death a residual quantity lingers in the veins. It coagulates in the veins as mucus which speedily putrefies.

In the case of Antinous, there was very little blood gelled in his veins. Very little indeed. I would hazard a guess he had been thoroughly drained of almost all blood while his life-force still animated his tissues. The faint blood which remained suggested he had died by massive bleeding at least an hour or more before his discovery at the river. This is my opinion.

Also, Antinous possessed a deep incision on his left wrist. It was an incision as a surgeon might perform, not an accidental tear. This tells me he had intentionally cut and bled himself. Alternatively, he had been purposefully cut by another as a slaughtered beast is bled of its impure blood.”

The assembly emitted another rush of murmurs. Kenamun continued.

“
Further, great sirs, though he was discovered under the river’s waters, water damage to his skin and organs was minor. Prey-seeking river vermin are far more aggressive to a corpse over time than was evident on this youth. I believe he had been in the water less than even a single hour prior to his detection.

Considering the incision at his wrist, unless he razored his wrist just moments before he entered the water, he would have been unconscious from blood loss long before he entered the river. It takes time for a living creature to be drained entirely of its blood, as we see at a slaughter man’s killing trough.”

Suetonius decided to probe this notion closer.

“
Priest Kenamun, couldn’t he have cut his wrist by accident at the river’s edge and then fallen in after fainting? Or cut and thrown himself in as a willing suicide?”

“
This is possible, but I doubt it. Far more blood would have gelled in his veins than was apparent when we prepared his body. I sense the incision was made sometime well before him entering the river. This could mean it was inflicted elsewhere than at the river.

I am told too Antinous was left-handed in his activities, yet this incision was in his left not his right wrist. This is unusual. It is irregular.

I believe therefore his arm was lanced in the company of another person or persons to promote bleeding. And then, when his life’s humors had been diminished by his own failing spirit, further manipulation may have been applied externally to complete the job. This is just as a butcher does with a beast to drain it of polluting blood. Perhaps only then was his body placed in the river.”

The assembly grew agitated and edgy.

“
How would someone slit a healthy young person’s wrist while they were fully capable of resisting such an attack, unless they were party to their own death? Antinous was no helpless weakling,” Suetonius asked rhetorically.

“
I don’t know,” Kenamun offered. “Perhaps he was restrained and it was forced upon him? Perhaps he was given a blow to be unconscious? Or perhaps he was eager to be incised?”

“
But why would someone wish to bleed a victim so thoroughly?”

“
It is seen by some to be a less painful way to die than other methods. I understand slit veins are a noble tradition among Romans pursuing a pain-free death? But in truth I do not know, Special Inspector.”

Suetonius turned to the craggy high priest standing nervously in anticipation beside the mortician.

“
Pachrates, high priest and
magus
of Amun, is it true you promised the youth you had the skill to revive him from death if he aspired to sacrifice himself on the occasion of The Isia? We have been told you have exhibited such skills.”

The self-professed wizard uncharacteristically trembled.

“
By Sacred Amun!
, what can you mean?! My magic does not dare indulge in such blasphemies against Fate.”

“
Yet you are known to resurrect from death small animals and the occasional condemned criminal with your arts? It has been testified so by witnesses. You do it in public before us.”

The priest was quick to respond.

“
This is a lesser, minor, inferior Egyptian magic, Inspector, suited only to meager creatures like dogs, criminals, and other vermin. I do not perform magic with the bloodstream and honor of nobles of the
Imperium
!

Besides, Inspector, my humble arts are only effective at times of an extraordinary alignment of the stars, configurations which occur only once or twice a lifetime,” the sorcerer explained unpersuasively.

“
Yet, priest of Amun, we have been told the youth Antinous prevailed upon you to perform such magic? We have a witness to your conversation in our written testimony. The youth had seen your magic in action, and requested your special powers be used for his own purpose? This was in the company of Caesar too, we have been told?”

Clarus was becoming tense at the direction the deposition was taking. It veered too close to Caesar’s person.

“
But I refused him! I said No!” the
magus
objected. “And then Great Pharaoh intervened to refuse both of us to even discuss the matter! Caesar had spoken! The matter was final!”

Suetonius zeroed in for his coup-de-grace, he thought.

“
Nevertheless, Priest, you had sufficiently remarkable prescience

to summon priests at Memphis and Thebes to this place, including the very faraway Oracle from Siwa,” Suetonius charged, “plus an entire embalming team including Cronon, a Greek painter of funerary portraits from Fayum. They were obliged to travel long distances to this place in anticipation of the youth’s death?”

Suetonius felt pleased with himself in this proposition. The assembly rustled with murmurings.

Pachrates rose to the fullest height of his diminutive race, his eyes ablaze.

“
You take liberties with our sacred mission, Inspector! This is not so, I tell you!”

Suetonius had struck an open nerve.

Hadrian interrupted this exchange wearily. With a dismissive wave of one hand, he spoke.

“
Suetonius Tranquillus, you should be told how the priests and personnel you list were summoned here on my command two months ago. These people are engaged with the planning of our new city of
Hadrianopolis
. You will hear more about this project shortly.

Pachrates is an honored advisor to us for this purpose. His understanding of the local customs is comprehensive, so he advises us how the various communities of Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians can live in harmony at
Hadrianopolis
someday. There was no conspiracy in his summons to his artisan compatriots, Inspector. It was on my own authority he did so. Leave it alone, Tranquillus.”

Caesar had spoken. Pachrates resumed his usual confident manner.

“
I welcome your words, my lord, however there is more to explore,” Suetonius continued bravely, if doggedly. His leap of intuition had failed; he moved on.

“
We think we know those around us, but we don’t really know them at all. There are several undercurrents flowing among us here, tides which might carry us in unwanted directions. Antinous may have been swept along by more than the Holy River’s currents.”

“
Be plain, Inspector. No riddles,” Hadrian sniped. His appearance was growing haggard.

Suetonius stepped out in a dangerous direction.

“
Take the women among us, for example, Caesar. Julia Balbilla, princess of Commagene and gentlewoman companion to our Great
Augusta
, your wife, has been outraged by the recorded revelation how her astrologer grandfather in the time of Nero advised his emperor to kill his own counselors.

Her notorious ancestor, Balbillus the Wise, interpreted a comet in the sky to foretell that Nero would die. Rich with the mystical lore of the Orient, Balbillus advised Nero to nominate substitute deaths instead. He put it into Nero’s head he should kill the eminent men-of-state of his era to deflect the omen’s risk. So the notorious Piso and Vinicius Conspiracies against Nero were invented to fulfill this goal.

It was a most successful strategy, it seemed. Many innocents died cruelly and their families and slaves with them. Their rich properties were confiscated by Nero into his own coffers. It was a winning play for both Nero and Balbillus.”

“
What has this to do with the death of Antinous?” Hadrian snapped.

“
On occasions as you know, Caesar, your Bithynian companion was a guest in the
Augusta
’s household. He and Julia Balbilla, as well as the empress with her retinue, shared playful conversation over wine and snacks. It doesn’t strike me as too far-fetched to predict the grand-daughter of Balbilla the Wise could suggest to an impressionable youth how a substitute death was a feasible project for the lad. After all, we already know the youth was intent on some form of recompense, some form of self-sacrifice. Balbilla suggested; Antinous considered; Antinous died. The youth fulfilled his purpose.”