by Jane Finnis
“I hope you never have to use it in anger, but if you do, may it bring you victory,” he said. “Just don’t show it to Trebonius, that’s all.”
“Any news at the gate? I saw you talking to the centurion there.”
“The usual. ‘Everything under control.’ As if anyone believed that.”
“I wish I knew what’s happened to the two missing girls…well, three in fact, because they took a maid with them.”
“I’m sure we’ll hear something soon. Try not to worry.”
The more people tell you not to worry, the harder it is not to. And I couldn’t help feeling anxious and dispirited as I headed back to my office. I’d gone as far as I could with my investigations into Jovina’s death, but I still hadn’t found her murderer. I didn’t know what to do next. I wished Quintus or Lucius were here. I needed someone to talk over the case with, a fresh pair of eyes to look at the information I’d assembled, and with luck see some pattern, some logic, that I’d missed.
But they weren’t here, and the gods alone knew when they’d be back.
Chapter XXVI
“Any news of the girls, Mistress Aurelia?” Selena came up, looking as unhappy as I felt.
“Not a word, I’m afraid. We must just keep on hoping. How are you all settling in?”
“It’s a bit crowded, but we’d rather be here where it’s safe than at the house, waiting for Jupiter knows what to happen. I made sure they gave Lord Statius a room to himself.”
“Isn’t he staying with Mallius?”
“No, the master’s keeping his spare room for Miss Chloe when she comes back. At least that’s his excuse, but I was in the hospital this morning and I overheard them having a falling-out, a real argument. Statius went to visit him to tell him he doesn’t want to marry Miss Chloe after all.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because of the master saying he’d killed my lady. I know he’s gone back on it now, but Lord Statius doesn’t believe that. He keeps going on and on about how there’s truth in wine, and no smoke without fire, and…”
“…and all the usual sayings people come up with when they can’t think of anything original.”
She laughed. “That’s about it. The main thing is, he’s decided he doesn’t want an alliance with the Mallius family.”
“How extraordinary! You’d imagine he would be only too glad that Mallius is innocent, and want to support him. Do you think he means it, or is it just a fit of temper? He does seem to have rather a—well, an irascible character, from what I saw yesterday.”
She shrugged. “You’re not wrong there. He walked out of the hospital in a real rage, that’s all I know. I’ve always felt sorry for Miss Chloe, having the prospect of Statius for a husband. He’s rich, certainly, and the family never seems to have enough money even though the master is a senior officer now. Sometimes I’m quite glad I’m a freedwoman and can marry anyone I like. Well, anyhow, Miss Chloe will be delighted if Lord Statius has permanently changed his mind. Though whether that means she’ll get her soldier-boy…”
“I need to come over and have a word with Statius myself. Didn’t you say this morning that he went out early into the village looking for news of Chloe and Vitellia? I’m wondering if he might have seen something to do with Eurytus’ murder. He hasn’t said anything about it, I suppose?”
“Not about that. But,” she lowered her voice, “he says he’s delighted Eurytus has been killed. He hated him. One of his lads let it slip that they’ve been enemies for years, over some of Statius’ property in Italia.”
“He was telling me about it yesterday. And of course the way Eurytus more or less took possession of Chloe didn’t help.”
“I’ve been thinking about that.” She hesitated. “Mistress, I’ve found something and I think I should show someone, but not the master, not the way things are. May I show it to you? You’ll know what to do about it.”
“Yes, by all means, if you think I can help. Let’s go into the office—we’ll be private there.”
We went inside, and when I offered her a mug of wine, she accepted gratefully.
“This is the first time I’ve sat down since we got here.”
“You look tired, Selena. You’ve been working hard, and you’ve been holding everything together for the Mallius family.”
“Oh, I don’t mind hard work. It’s the worry that wears you out. Now, tell me what you make of this.” She took a folded piece of papyrus from her pouch. “I found it among Miss Chloe’s things when I was unpacking her little travelling-chest just now. Tucked in among her clothes, I don’t suppose anyone was meant to see it.”
It was a short note in Greek, in an elegant hand.
Lord Eurytus sends greetings to beautiful Chloe.
My dear, you must know how you have captured my heart. Ever since I saw you yesterday, I have longed for your touch, for your kiss. I shall fly to your arms this morning, my dearest. Be kind to your adoring and devoted lover when he comes to ask for your favour.
I laughed aloud. “Merda, Selena, now I’ve seen everything. Eurytus, the most important Imperial official in Britannia, writing schoolboy love letters to a child! It came this morning, presumably?”
“While I was asleep, I suppose. And I’m thinking it may explain why she wanted to leave the house.”
I saw where she was driving. “She didn’t want to meet him, and thought she’d take evasive action. But why didn’t she come to the fort, instead of going off into the country?”
“She probably reckoned Eurytus would be at the fort himself later on.”
“It may explain something else too. About Eurytus’ assassination this morning…”
She recoiled in horror. “You’re not suggesting Miss Chloe had any hand in that?”
“No, of course I’m not. He was found in the village, not far from Brennus’ house. Quintus Antonius will know more. He had a look at the place before he went off searching for the girls. But I’ve been wondering, why would an important man like Eurytus be wandering about Isurium on foot, and on his own? If he was off to call on Chloe, he may have thought she’d be more likely to take notice of him if he didn’t have half a cohort of bodyguards with him.” I put the papyrus into my own pouch. “This is very helpful, Selena. Thank you for bringing it to me. I’ll show it to Quintus as soon as he gets back.”
“That’s a weight off my shoulders. I’ll see you again shortly then, when you come to talk to Lord Statius.” She stood up, and gazed down at me for a few heart-beats. “You’re looking pretty exhausted yourself, Mistress.”
“I can’t deny it. As you say, it’s not the work that wears you out, it’s the worry. I thought by now I’d be pretty sure who murdered my poor cousin. But there are still two possibilities, and I can’t find any way of separating them.”
“Trebonius and Nikias,” Selena said.
“Exactly so.”
“Well, nobody could do more than you’re doing, that I’m sure of. You’ll find the evil man who killed my lady and bring the Furies to punish him.”
“If I don’t, it won’t be for want of trying.” Then my brain caught up with what she’d just said. “Say that again, Selena.”
My sharp tone alarmed her. “I don’t mean to speak out of turn, Mistress. I just mean…”
“No, you haven’t said anything wrong at all. I just…I just didn’t hear you clearly. What did you say about the Furies?”
“All I said was that you’ll find the evil man who killed my lady, and the Furies will punish him, like they do all murderers. Follow them and punish them for ever.” She smiled sheepishly. “I suppose my lady or the master would call on them by some fancy Greek name. But the old-fashioned Roman name will do for me.”
“And for me.” I couldn’t believe I’d missed something so obvious. Whoever tried to murder Mallius had spoken of “the wrath of the Erinyes.” He had called the Furies by their Greek name. So he was either a Greek, or fluent in the Greek language.
Nikias was a Greek. T
rebonius was an old-fashioned Roman, and although like all educated Romans he’d be bound to know Greek, he would never speak it from choice.
On an impulse, I got up and gave Selena a hug. She was surprised, but not displeased. “Thank you, Selena. You’ve just shown me how to find out for sure who killed Jovina.”
“How?”
“I won’t say just yet. It’s a wild idea, but I need to talk to Mallius to be completely sure. I’ll go and see him now.”
She smiled. “There now, I said you could do it. The gods go with you.”
The guard at Mallius’ door recognised me, and I went straight through to see his master. As I entered the room, Mallius was pouring some wine into a beaker from a big clay flask.
“Ah, Aurelia, you’ve come at just the right time. I’ve had a present of some Falernian, I assume it’s the rather good stuff they sell at the mansio. Have you tried it yet?”
“I had some the other night. You’re right, it is good. And I’ll take a beaker with you, if you’re offering, thank you.”
He poured it out for me. “I suppose you haven’t brought me any news to celebrate? Nothing about Chloe yet?”
“Nothing, I’m afraid. The searchers are still not back.” I took the wine and sniffed it, which is normally one of the pleasures of drinking good Falernian. “This isn’t the wine from the mansio, alas. Never mind, it’s welcome. Who sent it?”
“The doctor.” He raised his beaker. “So I’ll drink his good health…”
“Don’t drink it, Marcus!” I shouted. I ran across to his table, snatched the beaker he was holding, and with my other hand grabbed the wine jug. “Don’t touch a drop. It’s poisoned.”
“Poisoned? Are you mad?”
“No. But you are, if you drink this. It was Nikias who tried to kill you last night. It’s a million gold pieces to a bowl of porridge he’s trying again now.”
“Nikias?” He stared at me in disbelief. “What in the gods’ name makes you think that? We agreed it was Trebonius.”
“You convinced yourself it was. I still had some doubt, and I’ve since realised that it must have been Nikias, and how I can prove it. That’s what I came to tell you.”
“Well, all right. You can put those things down, I’m not tempted to touch them now.”
I replaced the jug and beaker on the table, but I was too tense to sit down. I began pacing the room, trying to stop myself from shaking. “You told me the words that your attacker said last night. You remembered them quite clearly, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “Certainly. He said ‘We both know who murdered your wife. You should have kept your eyes shut and your mouth shut. You will pay the price, and I will risk the wrath of the Erinyes.’”
“Good. Now what language was the attacker speaking?”
“What do you mean, what language?”
“It’s a simple enough question,” I said, speaking in Greek this time. “What exactly did he whisper to you? What were the actual words? Were they Latin or Greek? Or maybe native British, or Gaulish or Parthian…?”
“Oh, I see what you mean.” He’d spoken in Greek as well. As I remembered from long ago, he was equally fluent in Greek or Latin, and switched between them without even realising he was doing it. “It’s funny. Now you ask, I’m not sure. Let me think.” He closed his eyes.
“Go over it in your mind,” I said. “You’re lying in bed. It’s very dark, but you can see the silhouette of a man leaning over you, and you can feel a pain in your wrist. And then he starts to whisper…”
“Greek,” he said. “It was Greek…Greek!” Realisation came to him in a sudden flash, as it had to me. “Of course it was. He talked about the wrath of the Erinyes. If he’d been a Latin speaker, if he’d been Trebonius, he’d have said the wrath of the Furies.”
“That’s what I thought.” I was elated, with the excitement of a hunter who has his quarry in plain sight at last. I smiled at him. “Would you care for some wine now?”
“So Nikias killed her,” he mused, still taking it in. “Gods, I never liked him, but I never dreamed he would be a murderer, especially of someone he loved.”
“Jovina told me the baby was his, you know. Not Trebonius’. That’s why she wouldn’t let Nikias attend her as her doctor. And she also told me he was trying to persuade her to run away with him.”
He put his head in his hands. “Aurelia, I’ve been wrong about so much. I want to be sure now.” He looked up. “Are you certain all this is true?”
“I’m certain. I’ll swear it if you like. The question is, what do we do now?”
“Arrest the man, of course. Confront him, see if he admits any of this. He may, once he realises we know the truth. This wine will be evidence…although it’s our word against his that it’s got poison in it.” He looked at the flask and the two untouched beakers. “I’ll tell my men to catch a mouse or a rat, there are usually plenty around the granaries. We can test the wine on one of those.”
“Persuading everyone that Nikias is a murderer won’t be easy. Trebonius won’t want to accept he’s got a killer running his hospital, and he won’t want to lose a good doctor unless he’s got rock-solid proof.”
Mallius nodded. “But Trebonius is no fool, and he must know he’s under suspicion himself. He might be glad enough to have confirmation that he’s innocent.”
“Perhaps. But I think we should wait till Quintus and the others come back. Quintus has clout, and once he’s heard our evidence he’ll insist on an arrest.”
He stood up. “I have clout too, you know. I’m the deputy commander. Ajax!” he shouted, and the big bodyguard appeared at the door. “Fetch the others, all of them. We’re going to the hospital.”
We must have made a curious picture, the six of us, as we marched through the fort. Mallius and I led the way, and the four giant soldiers followed, one of them carrying the doctor’s flask of wine. It’s an indication of how busy everyone was that we didn’t attract any attention at all.
We strode straight in through the main door. When we halted in the waiting area, young Onion came out, round-eyed with curiosity. He looked at all of us, decided that nobody was hurt, and asked Mallius, “Shall I fetch the doctor for you, sir?”
“We’ll find him for ourselves,” Mallius said. “Where is he?”
“In the store-room, sir. I’ll tell him you’re coming.”
“No you won’t, you’ll stay here until we’ve finished talking to him. Ajax, you and the men stay here too. Don’t let anyone disturb us while we talk to the doctor. And don’t let him leave this building for any reason. Understand?”
Nikias was alone in the store-room, sorting some small flasks of oil. He looked up as he heard our approaching footsteps, and when he saw Mallius he dropped the flask he was holding, gave a frightened cry, and backed away. It took me a little time to realise why. He thought he was seeing Mallius’ shade…he thought Mallius was dead. It was the final proof we needed.
Mallius advanced, holding up the flask of wine. Nikias retreated across the room till he stood cowering against the shelves on the farthest wall. Then he made a pathetic attempt to recover his dignity. “I’m pleased to see you, Mallius.”
“I doubt it,” Mallius answered in Greek. “You thought you’d killed me, didn’t you? Now I’ve come for my revenge.”
“Revenge? I don’t understand.” But he understood well enough.
“Yes, I’ve survived your attempt to poison me, and your effort to fake my suicide last night by opening my vein.”
“But I assure you…” It was almost a whisper.
“Don’t waste my time. I was awake enough to hear what you said to me, but it’s taken me a little while to understand. You said you’d murdered my wife, and you were going to kill me because I’d seen you do it. And you boasted that you’d risk the wrath of the Erinyes. Well, let me tell you, my wrath is just as deadly, and rather more immediate.”
“Oh, I know that,” Nikias exclaimed, suddenly finding his courage and his voice.
“Your wrath is deadly, and your poor wife suffered from it for years. I know what you put her through, and I wanted to take her away from it. I loved her so much, I could have made her happy. But she repaid me by destroying my baby. For that I killed her, killed her and threw her into the river. But you, Mallius, I thought you’d seen me. There was someone who looked like you, too near for my safety. So I had to kill you as well. You deserved it anyway, for the cruel way you treated the woman I loved.”
“I didn’t see you kill her,” Mallius replied. “And you botched your efforts to make me look like a suicide.” He held up his bandaged wrist. “You opened the wrong vein.”
Nikias nodded. “I realised that this morning. A pity, really, because you don’t deserve to live.” He hesitated, then suddenly lunged forward and seized the flask from Mallius’ hands. Before we could stop him he was drinking the wine straight from it. Some of it spilled over the front of his tunic, but most went down his throat. He stood holding the empty flask and facing us squarely, with an air of exultation, almost of triumph.
“Without Jovina, I see no point in living any more. And I don’t have to face your wrath, Mallius.”
He flung the empty flask in Mallius’ face, and made a rush for the door. He raced along the narrow corridor and into the waiting area, but the guards there caught him easily. By the time we reached them, he was already writhing on the tiled floor, coughing and choking his life out.
I believe death came quickly, but I left before the end. I felt sickened, and desperate to be outside. Nobody stopped me, or even noticed, as I hurried away from the hospital.
But I couldn’t shake off the unhappiness I was feeling. I tried to make myself concentrate on the fact that I’d fulfilled my promise and found Jovina’s killer. I should have been elated, triumphant…but there was only a dull sadness. The whole tragic story of love, hate, and betrayal was such a complete, dreadful waste of emotions and lives.