In at the Death

30

We stared at it.

‘It’s another key to the tenement flat,’ Perilla said. ‘Isn’t it?’

‘Yeah. Or at least I’d bet good money. Still, that’s one thing we can check on now. Hey, Bathyllus!’

He was on his way back through the portico. He turned round.

‘Yes, sir.’

‘You’ll find a key in the top left-hand drawer of my study desk. Bring it out, will you?’

‘Yes, sir.’

I sat back. ‘You ever get the feeling you’re being manipulated, lady?’

‘Mmm.’ She was twisting her curl. ‘Where did it come from, do you think?’

‘My guess is Macro. How the hell he got it I don’t know.’

‘But he must’ve had a key! After all, if Aponius and Pettius did kill Papinius they’d need one to get into the flat.’

‘Yeah, but — ’ I stopped. Something, somewhere, was niggling. ‘Hang on, this isn’t right. Let’s do it properly. What keys do we know about?’

‘The one Papinius took from Caepio’s key-board to get in. Then of course there was Caepio’s own duplicate on the ring.’

‘Okay. That’s two. These are the legit ones, the tenement copies, both accounted for. Add a third legit, the one Carsidius’s bailiff would’ve kept, that we haven’t seen. Now we get to the crunch. There was a fourth key, the one that Mescinius found in Caepio’s bedroom that he handed over to Lippillus and Lippillus gave to me. That’s the one Bathyllus is going for now, right? Only now there’s this one. Notice anything strange?’

Perilla was looking at me with wide eyes. She’d seen the problem, just like I had. ‘There has to be one too many,’ she said. ‘Even if one of the extras is identical with Carsidius’s bailiff’s.’

‘Right. So if the one in the box is the one Macro’s hit-men used to get in — assuming for the moment that they were his hit-men and Macro sent me the key — then where did it come from? And how does it figure?’

‘Couldn’t it be just an ordinary spare?’ She shook her head. ‘No, I’m sorry, that’s nonsense. Why a spare for only one flat? And if Caepio had an extra key to that particular flat in his possession then it’s suspicious in its own right.’

Bathyllus was coming back. I put the two keys together. They matched.

‘Okay,’ I said. ‘Check. Always best to be sure. Thanks, Bathyllus, off you go and buttle.’ I turned to Perilla. ‘Fine, so we’re playing games again. We’re being told something. You want my theory?’

‘Yes, of course.’

‘Listen carefully, lady. I may not know where Macro’s key came from, but six gets you ten the key Mescinius found in Caepio’s bedroom was the one on the board.’

‘But Papinius had that one with him when he died!’

‘Yeah? Who says? Who says it was that particular key?’

‘But — ’ She stopped. ‘Ah.’

‘Right. Caepio lied. He took the key from the board himself after the Watch found the one with the kid, so he could claim to me or anyone else asking awkward questions that Papinius had filched it. The key Papinius had on him when he was killed was one he’d brought with him.’

‘But that would mean…Marcus, are you saying that Papinius had his own key to the flat? Why on earth should he?’

‘Because he was a member of the conspiracy against Macro.’

‘What?’

‘Come on, Perilla! It all fits together. Take everything we said about the Ahenobarbus scam and apply it here, only for some racket involving the fire commission substitute killing Macro.’

‘Marcus, I’m sorry, but we’re back to the fact that Papinius was an ordinary nineteen-year-old young man with no particular talents. Now I’m perfectly willing to believe that his father Ahenobarbus might recruit him for some sort of skulduggery in the fire commission, but why should the boy be part of a plot against Sertorius Macro? Leaving motive aside, what possible use would he be?’

Yeah; that was worrying me too. The simple answer was, None whatsoever. The trouble was that I was right. I had to be.

‘Okay,’ I said, ‘so we’re still missing something. Let’s run through the scenario, see if everything squares and where the rough areas are. Then we’ll have another think.’

‘Very well. Go ahead.’

I topped up my wine-cup and took a swig. ‘Fine. First of all, we’ve got the conspiracy itself. My bet is that it started as an idea with Albucilla and Acutia, just the two of them. Motive simple hatred and revenge: Albucilla was always a big supporter of Sejanus as well as being his mistress, while Macro was responsible for Acutia’s husband committing suicide. Fair enough?’

‘Yes.’

‘So if they want to kill Macro then how can they do it? Not alone: what they need is an insider on the team, someone close to him who can plant the dagger or poison his porridge or otherwise stiff the bastard.’

‘Pontius Fregellanus.’

‘Right. Fregellanus isn’t perfect, by any means — I’d say the dagger in the ribs’d be out for a start — but like I said he’s the best they’re likely to get. Now they have to hook him, and they’re women, remember, so that means sex.’

‘Marcus — ’

I grinned. ‘Yeah, well, take it or leave it. We’re talking the real, practical world here, and if sex isn’t the only way possible it’s the quickest and easiest. So. Albucilla’s no use, she’s not his type: she’s fast, she’s brash, she’s too in-your-face. Fregellanus is the staid retiring sort with no experience of women, and if she makes a play for him he’ll probably run a mile. Acutia’s different: he’d go for Acutia in a big way, given time and care. In any case she’s the one who makes the running, and besides maybe she genuinely likes him. She bats her respectable matron’s eyelashes at him, they talk about literature and rocks, and eventually she seduces him. You’re frowning.’

‘Not at the seduction,’ Perilla said. ‘That’s reasonable, and I do take your point about it being the best way to recruit him. But seducing someone like Fregellanus is a completely different thing from persuading him to assassinate one of the top men in Rome. You said it yourself, Marcus: Fregellanus is staid and respectable. Also, according to Sergia Plauta he’s never been interested in politics. Surely he’d need a bigger incentive than just infatuation with Acutia. If that’s what you see his motive as.’

I rubbed my jaw. ‘Yeah. Yeah, okay. Mark that as the first rough spot.’

‘Fine. Duly marked. Go on.’

‘So. We’ve got three conspirators. The fourth to come on board has to be Ahenobarbus, because…’ I paused. ‘Shit, why? On the conspirators’ side, why do they need him? And on his side why should he join? Not hatred or revenge: he’s got nothing against Macro personally that we know of, and he wouldn’t benefit from his death. Added to which, he’s well out of their league, socially and in every other way. There’s no sodding reason for him to be involved!’

‘Rough spot number two, then. Never mind. Carry on.’

‘Right.’ I took another swallow of wine. ‘Ahenobarbus recruits young Papinius — rough spot three, again why? — and lets him into the secret. This is where Mucius Soranus comes in…’

‘Wait a moment. Why should it be Ahenobarbus doing the recruiting? Why not Albucilla?’

‘It’s possible, sure. Not that it matters, because it comes to the same thing in the end and it doesn’t explain the why any better. Still, if Ahenobarbus was responsible it’d fit with getting the kid his fire commission job, because that provides the in for Papinius as far as the conspiracy goes. Also, it’d fit with the timing: three months ago Papinius and his girlfriend Cluvia were still an item. Albucilla didn’t come on the scene until later.’

‘All right. Accepted. Go ahead; Mucius Soranus.’

‘Yeah. I was wrong about him. Soranus wasn’t involved in the actual conspiracy to kill Macro at all, not then, not ever: Albucilla told me that herself, or as good as. When I suggested that she hadn’t wanted any part in the business from the beginning but had gone along with Soranus she just looked at me like I was mad. As far as she and the rest were concerned, Soranus was the spanner in the works. How he found out what was going on I don’t know, and it isn’t important; maybe Papinius said a word out of turn, maybe he overheard something and got suspicious, maybe he just guessed. The bastard was smart, whatever else he was, and he had a nose for secrets. One thing that’s certain, though: Albucilla wasn’t part of the blackmail scam, quite the reverse; she must’ve been spitting blood. That was why the pair split up.’

‘So Soranus decided to blackmail Papinius on his own account.’

‘Yeah. Hence the loan, hence — after he found out — Ahenobarbus stepping in. Damage limitation, plug the leak.’

‘But why didn’t Ahenobarbus simply have Soranus killed?’ Perilla tugged at her curl. ‘Oh, yes, I know we discussed that, but it would make perfect sense now. As you say, Soranus was a spanner in the works, an outsider, isolated: not even Albucilla would defend him. And someone like Domitius Ahenobarbus wouldn’t have any scruples.’

‘I don’t know, lady. Rough spot four.’ I sipped my wine. ‘Now we come to the fifth conspirator.’

‘The fifth?’

‘Carsidius.’

‘Oh, Marcus, I’m sorry! Ahenobarbus is bad enough, but at least he’s morally questionable. Carsidius is a respected senator. Why on earth should he be involved?’

‘Call that rough spot five, lady, but he has to be because that’s where the keys come in, plus the whole Caepio business. Whatever else his job was, Carsidius supplied the safe house, the place where the conspirators could meet if they had to. Caepio was in on the secret. Again, he had to be because that’s the only possible explanation for the cover-up with the key-board. Also, for why he was so scared to open his mouth the second time I talked to him but insistent that Carsidius couldn’t’ve been behind the kid’s death. Not that it did the poor bastard any good in the end.’

‘You think Macro’s men killed him? Aponius and Pettius?’

‘It’s possible; but my money’s on Ahenobarbus. Damage limitation again, this time in-house. And Ahenobarbus wouldn’t have any problems finding a hit-man.’

Perilla frowned. ‘Wait a moment,’ she said. ‘You’ve explained Caepio but not Carsidius. Why not stop with the factor? Ahenobarbus or one of the others could easily have paid Caepio to allow them use of the flat and turn a blind eye. Why should Carsidius necessarily know anything about the conspiracy at all, even if he was the building’s owner?’

‘Because he lied to me over the bribery business. The only reason he’d do that is if he had a personal interest: he wanted to cover the conspirators’ backs, stop that line of the investigation. Damage limitation again.’ I stopped. ‘Shit!’

‘Marcus?’

‘We’ve got a sixth conspirator. Laelius Balbus.’ Sweet gods! This thing was sprouting more heads than a hydra. ‘Remember, the fake bribery story was a closed circle: me, Papinius’s boss Laelius Balbus and Carsidius. Balbus claimed he’d talked to the kid in private, so if the guy was genuinely on the level Ahenobarbus’d know nothing about it. The tip-off to Carsidius had to come from him.’

‘Oh, Marcus!’ Perilla put her head in her hands. ‘Listen to me, dear. I’m sorry, but this is getting more and more improbable. Ahenobarbus I’ll grant you, he’s the type, although as you say there’s no reason for him being involved. But we’ve now got three perfectly respectable, law-abiding senators caught up in this plot of yours, Fregellanus, Carsidius and Balbus. Don’t you think you’re straining credibility just a little too far? Especially since we started with the motive being simple revenge?’

Bugger. The lady was right; I wouldn’t go for it, and it was my theory. There were too many holes, and so many things just didn’t…bloody…fit! I took an irritated swig of wine and reached for the jug.

‘So we’re still missing something on the motive side,’ I said. ‘Something big. Oh, yeah, sure, I can see Macro being seriously persona non grata with some of the more poker-arsed members of the senate, maybe even unpopular enough and dangerous enough for them to want him in an urn. Given time and rope he could even turn out another Sejanus. But wishing and doing aren’t the same thing. These guys aren’t stupid, Perilla, and they know which side their bread is buttered. Macro’s Prince Gaius’s blue-eyed boy, Tiberius is on the skids and in a matter of months at most he’ll be dead and Gaius’ll be emperor. A conspiracy that took out Macro and left Gaius alive would be — ’ I froze as it hit me. ‘Oh, Jupiter,’ I whispered. ‘Oh, sweet Jupiter Best and Greatest!’

— and then something went click in what I had for a brain. Fool! Bloody, bloody fool!

Games…

Pastry-sellers…

‘Marcus?’ Perilla was staring. ‘Marcus, are you all right?’

I reached out a shaking hand for the wine-cup and took a big swallow. I’d never needed it more. ‘Pompey’s theatre,’ I said. ‘Pompey’s theatre.’

‘What on earth does — ?’

‘Pompey, lady. The man himself. And a corpse — a murdered corpse — at the base of a statue. Put all of them together. They make you think of anything?’

And then Perilla had it too. The colour left her face. ‘Caesar,’ she said. ‘Pompey was the enemy of Julius Caesar, and Caesar was assassinated at the foot of his statue.’

‘Right.’ Sweet gods alive! ‘We’re still playing games. The bastard who sent us the message wanted us to think of a dead Caesar. That’s who the conspiracy’s target was. Not Macro, or not just him; Gaius. The plan was to assassinate Prince Gaius.’

There was a long silence. Then Perilla said, very quietly: ‘Marcus, what are we going to do?’

I shook my head. ‘I don’t think we’re supposed to do anything. That isn’t the point. Macro’s already done it.’

‘But — ’

‘I said “was”. Past tense. The conspiracy’s busted. Papinius is dead, the rest of them, Ahenobarbus included, are running scared. Fregellanus isn’t going nowhere, not from the middle of the Praetorian camp with Macro’s eye on him. Six gets you ten Albucilla didn’t make it past the city gate. Carsidius and Balbus — well, it’s up to Macro what happens to them, isn’t it?’ There was an itch at the back of my mind. I reached for it, but it was gone. ‘Apropos of which, Carsidius is someone I have to talk to soon. Just for confirmation, sure, but the guy has serious beans to spill and I may as well fill in the corners.’

‘You said getting you to do something wasn’t the point. So what was?’

‘The gods know, lady. That’s the first question I’m going to ask the devious bugger when I see him. After I let go of his throat and stop bashing his head against the nearest wall, that is.’

Perilla’s brow wrinkled. ‘What devious bugger?’ she said.

‘Oh, come on, Perilla! If we’re talking Prince Gaius then that clever sod will be in it up to his greasy little neck. Plus the games are him all over. No wonder I kept thinking of pastry-sellers.’

‘Pastry-sellers? Marcus, have you gone completely — !’

‘I was trying to tell myself something and I wouldn’t bloody listen. The woman — the pastry-seller — that Placida and me crashed into on Head of Africa. Her brother had a boarhound once called Lucky.’ I could see the penny drop; yeah, well, once we’d made the Gaius connection the next jump was pretty obvious. ‘Right. Him. Q E sodding D. Shit!’ I put my hands either side of my mouth and yelled: ‘Bathyllus!’

‘Marcus. Wait. One thing, the most important. How does Papinius fit in?’

The answer to that was obvious, too; at least, now it was. And it’d been staring me in the face right from the start. Fool!

I told her -

— at which point Bathyllus soft-shoed up.

‘Message to Sertorius Macro personal at the Praetorian barracks, little guy,’ I said. ‘Strictly personal, remember: no one else to be involved, right, or you’re cat’s-meat. Use your fastest runner.’

To give him his due, Bathyllus didn’t blink. ‘Yes, sir.’

‘Tell him I know why he had to kill Sextus Papinius. And tell him I want to speak to that slimy bastard Felix as soon as he can get his duplicitous arse over here. Exact words, please.’

‘Yes, sir. Although the messenger may have problems with “duplicitous”.’

‘My heart bleeds. Do it, sunshine.’

He left.

Meanwhile I’d go on up to the Esquiline to talk to Carsidius. If Felix arrived before I’d got back then tough cheese. Let the bastard twiddle his thumbs and sweat.