Sejanus

20

I was in my study the next day working through my accounts when Bathyllus knocked on the door.

'Yeah? What is it?' I said, grumpy as hell; arithmetic has never been my strong point, and this visit to Rome was costing us an arm and a leg.

'I'm sorry to disturb you, sir.' Bathyllus had on his prim disapproving expression. 'There's a man outside who wishes to see you.'

Man, not gentleman. But it must be urgent for the little guy to break in on the accounts. Disturbing the master when he's beating his head against an abacus is a hanging offence in the Corvinus household.

'This man got a name?' I said.

'He wouldn't give it, sir. Or tell me his business.' A sniff. Bathyllus was seriously peeved; and no one, but no one ranking below a consul seriously peeves Bathyllus and lives. Whoever he was, the visitor had guts. He was lucky to be still breathing.

'Is that so?' I said.

'That's so, sir.' He paused. 'If it's of any relevance he told me to tell you that Felix had sent him.'

I almost dropped the pen I'd been chewing the end off.

'He told you what?'

'I didn't recognise the name either, sir, but I thought…'

I was stuffing the accounts books into the bureau drawer. 'Wheel him in,' I said. Gods! What the hell was this?

I saw what Bathyllus had meant as soon as he appeared. Our surprise visitor was no gentleman. A slave, probably; not even a freedman. He was so filthy I could've planted carrots all over him; got a good crop, too.

'Okay, Bathyllus, you can go,' I said. The little guy gave another sniff — justified this time, the atmosphere had turned pretty heavy all of a sudden — and left.

'You Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus?' The guy was confident enough, I'd give him that.

'Yeah.' I wondered whether I should've taken out the dagger I keep with the family strongbox, but apart from posing a general risk to health he looked harmless. Weedy, if that isn't a bad pun. 'That puts you one up on me, pal. You didn't give my slave your name.'

'Festus.' Uninvited, he pulled up a chair and sat on it. I said nothing, but I could imagine Bathyllus throwing five different kinds of fit at once. 'The little bald guy with the sniff tell you Felix sent me?'

'Uh huh. He also said you'd refused to state your business.'

'I'm Rubrius Fabatus's head gardener. Was, anyway, as of three days ago.'

'Is that right, now?' I said slowly, my brain buzzing. It explained his loamy aftershave, anyway. And other scents. Some really keen gardeners have a private arrangement with the slaves who muck out the public privies, and Festus smelt like one of the keenest. But it didn't explain how he came to be here. I'd just made the Rubrius connection myself. 'Fabatus's gardener, eh?'

'Ex-gardener.'

'Whatever. Before we start splitting hairs you care to tell me, one, what your connection with Felix is, and two, why you think I might be interested?'

He grinned. I'd seen more teeth on a garden fork. In better condition, too. 'Yeah. I can manage that. Your answers are one, none whatsoever — up to three days ago, that is — and two, because I can give you a cast-iron link between my ex-master and Aelius Sejanus. That do you?'

Bloody hell! Forget the buzzing; my brain had gone numb. I got up and poured myself a cup of wine from the jug on the table beside him.

'Thanks. Don't mind if I do.' Festus leaned over, took the cup from me and sank it in one. 'Good stuff. Pity about the water.'

Silently I filled another cup, topped his up again and took mine back to the couch where I'd been sitting. This Festus was definitely getting up my nose. Literally and metaphorically.

'The price is five gold pieces,' he said.

I nearly dropped the cup. Shit! I could've bought the guy himself for that, easy!

'One,' I said. 'If you're lucky.'

'Five, or there's no deal. I'm laying my neck on the line here.'

Well, I supposed he had a point. Although why anyone would touch his neck with anything shorter than a ten-foot pole I couldn't imagine.

'This had better be good, chum,' I said. 'Especially with the damage you're doing to my wine cellar.' He didn't say anything; just grinned. 'Okay. Five. If and provided that I decide the information is worth it.'

'Oh, it's worth it.' He downed the second cup and poured himself another. 'You mind?'

'Go ahead.' I could see now how he'd managed to bulldoze Bathyllus. By comparison, rhinos were thin-skinned. 'Feel free.'

He sipped at this one. Not a fool, then: he wanted to keep sober, which was wise. 'To answer your first question first,' he said. 'This weird guy in a lemon tunic — '

'Felix.'

'Right. Felix comes up to me three days ago when I'm out seeing to to the manure. He says how would I like to make a lot of money and get my freedom into the bargain — guaranteed freedom — for coming round here and telling you what I know.'

'"Guaranteed" freedom? Guaranteed by who?' And why the hell should Felix bother? I thought, but I didn't say it out loud. It might've confused the issue.

'That I'm not telling, but believe me you don't get better. I'm no cabbage, Corvinus. He gave me proof; real proof. But the deal's off if I snitch so don't waste your breath asking.'

'Okay. Forget it.' Well, it would've been nice to know, but I could live with that. For the moment. 'Carry on.'

'How he knew I knew anything I don't know, and I don't care.' He sipped the wine. 'That's some smart little bugger, your pal. Maybe he reads minds. But he was right, I did have something to sell. Only I couldn't do anything with the information myself. Get me?'

'I get you.' I sipped my own wine. 'So after talking with Felix and with his guarantee in your pocket you went over Fabatus's wall. Did a runner.' Jupiter! Whatever Felix's guarantee was backed by, like Festus said it had to be one hundred percent, cast-iron genuine: we both knew what the chances of a slave escaping successfully were, and what would happen if the poor bastard got caught. That wasn't pleasant, not pleasant at all.

'I did a runner.' Festus took a swallow of Setinian. 'Felix gave me somewhere to go, somewhere safe where the food's good and the drink's better. I'm not complaining, and I'm not greedy. You get a decent crack at freedom, you take it, whether it pays or not.' He shifted on his chair. 'And if you can have money as well then you're laughing. Right?'

'Fair enough.' Well, at least he had realistic priorities. And garden slaves were the bottom of the domestic ladder, one step higher than the chickens and one under the pet monkey. Who was I to sneer?

'Now your second question,' Festus said. 'The link with Sejanus. For that we've got to go back a couple more days. I've got this hide I built myself at the bottom of the garden. Doesn't look like much even close up, which is the idea. I go there for some peace and quiet, or when I'm wanted real bad. You know?'

'Uh-huh.' The way he described it I wouldn't've been too anxious to dig him out myself, even if I knew he was in there. Not without gloves and a good set of nose plugs.

'Okay, so this day I was in the hide when I hear the master coming. He's got that bastard Crito with him, the head slave, and somebody else.' He paused. 'Hey, I hear that Crito got his finally. You responsible for that?'

'No, it was an accident.'

'Pity. Crito was a sod. If you'd asked anyone in the household to put him under we'd've done it gladly. Congratulations, anyway.'

'You care to get back to your story?' I knew what was coming. Sure I did. 'Tell me about this "somebody else". He got a name?'

'Wait. That's your answer, Corvinus, the five gold pieces' worth. Be patient, okay?'

'Fine.' I settled back. I could wait. It looked like Felix had done my job for me, and five gold pieces was cheap at the price. 'They were discussing a murder, right?'

'Two murders. A guy named Vibius Celsus and yourself. I sat tight because I knew if I stuck my nose out it'd be bye-bye Festus, but I could hear everything clear. See it as well, because there're chinks in the hide I made special for that sort of thing. The — someone else — says you both have to go, Celsus because he knows too much and he's soft as butter, you because you're too nosey by half and a real pain in the arse.' He paused and grinned. 'His words, not mine.'

'No offence, I've been called worse. Go on.'

'He doesn't want to deal with things himself, right, because he's too big a wheel and if things go wrong he's in the shit up to his eyeballs with no way to go but down. He wants to borrow Crito, because he's used him before. And the master owes. You still with me?'

'I'm with you. Fabatus agreed?'

'Yeah.' Festus spat on the floor: Bathyllus would have a fit. 'The master's got no balls. Never has had, and he'd lick any arse in range to make consul. Even city judge. Sure he agreed. Fell over himself. Crito wasn't too happy, but with the pressure these two were putting on him he didn't have much option.'

That was something I hadn't thought of. Maybe I ought to feel a bit of sympathy for Crito. Not that I could manage it, mind. 'And?'

'That was it. They went back to the house. I gave them a good hour then slipped round to the rose garden to do a bit of mulching. Two days later your pal Felix turns up.' He was watching me closely. I got up, refilled my cup, and sat back down again. 'So. What do you reckon? A good five gold pieces' worth?'

'Yeah, I suppose so. Only you haven't given me the important name yet, your "someone else". Maybe I can do it for you. The someone else was Sejanus, right?'

Festus spat again, scornfully. 'No, it wasn't him. Aelius Sejanus wouldn't do his own dirty work, even I know that. And if it had been I'd've asked you for more than five measly gold pieces. But the guy was the next best thing. I told you, he's a cast-iron link.'

'Okay. So who was he?'

'Sejanus's stepbrother. Seius Tubero.'