The Lydian Baker

32

He'd had to be involved somewhere, sure, but I hadn't worked out where until now. However, with Smaragdus's scam clear in my mind for the first time — or at least reasonably clear in what passed for my mind — this was the only way that made sense.

'Demetriacus?' Felix said.

'You don't know about him?'

'No, sir. A recent discovery of your own, I assume.'

'I thought your guy Memnon was tailing me.'

'Not lately, sir. I'd decided that the time had come for us to meet direct. I instructed Memnon to — shall we say — make himself obvious in the hope that you would find him at second hand, and so me. As indeed you did.'

'This was part of the game, was it?'

'Yes, sir. Of course.'

'You couldn't just have sent the guy round to introduce himself, I suppose?'

'That would not be in accordance with the rules I'd set myself,' Felix said primly. 'I told you about the master's instructions regarding anonymity.'

'Yeah. Okay. Forget I asked.' I'd never understand Felix. The guy's thought processes were so convoluted he was lucky he didn't strangle himself going to the bathroom. 'Demetriacus is a local businessman. Among other pies he has his finger into is a brothel called Aphrodite's Scallop.'

'Ah, yes. That name is certainly familiar from Memnon's reports.'

A thought struck me. 'By the way. The cellar your gorilla pulled me out of. Was that the Scallop or not?'

'No, sir. It belonged to a house not far from here. The owner is abroad and the property is empty at present. That I did discover.'

'Uh-huh.' Well, that made sense, although I'd bet a jar of Falernian to a pickled walnut Demetriacus had charge of the keys. 'You have the address?'

'It's in Collytus, near the temple of Zeus Phratrios. The owner's name is Polyhymnius'

'Thanks.' I made a mental note. Callippus would be able to check it back, and it might give us another strand to the rope he was plaiting to hang the bastard. 'Memnon didn't think to follow Prince Charming when he left me tied up at all? Or did he?'

Felix sighed. 'Memnon may be willing, but he is not unduly burdened with brains. His instructions were to follow you and watch your back. He interpreted them literally.'

'A pity he didn't interpret them literally when the guy slugged me in the first place.'

'That is a sore point, I'm afraid. No pun intended.' I grinned. 'He did, I understand, witness the attack, although he was too late to prevent it. He considered that his priority thereafter was to follow and release you when opportunity offered.'

Yeah. There were holes in that one as well, but I didn't have either the time or the energy to bother with them now. 'Okay. It's done. Leave it. Let's talk about Demetriacus.'

'By all means.' I noted with interest that Felix seemed relieved.

'So.' I topped up my winecup. 'Background. Up to now Smaragdus has managed to keep you and Argaius apart, but just when he's ready to do the trade you hit him with the news that you've found he's got a partner and you want to meet the guy. Smaragdus is caught, and he knows it. He's got two options. One: he forgets the scam, goes to Argaius, tells him he's negotiated a sale, and takes his legitimate cut. The problem with that is that it comes too late. Argaius has set up a deal already, and he's going to be pretty surprised to find out he's suddenly got two customers ready to buy instead of one; also, pretty suspicious that Smaragdus hasn't told him about this second prospect before. And finally he's going to positively hit the roof when the three of you get together and he finds out you'd never heard of him.'

Felix nodded. 'A fair assessment. The second option?'

'Smaragdus solves the problem by murdering Argaius. On the face of it, this is attractive because when the sale goes through he ends up with the whole amount, which was his plan to begin with. The trouble is that option's too risky, because Argaius's death puts the deal into a whole new league, one that needs either total imbecility or total complicity on the part of his customer. Scratch imbecility: no one's that stupid. As for complicity, well, you and I may know Gaius wouldn't care a pickled anchovy about Argaius so long as he got the Baker, but Smaragdus can't be certain. Added to which now murder's involved our pal the Crown Prince would expect him to drop the price in exchange for a bit of imperial strabismus.'

Felix was smiling. 'Oh, Corvinus! You wrong the master, you really do!'

'Is that so, now?' I said drily. Like hell I did: where his own interests were concerned, Gaius was as single-minded as a fox in a chicken- run, and Felix would be on his side all the way. 'On the other hand, if you don't turn out to be an idiot or a crook after all' — Felix's smile widened — 'then the authorities are going to be involved. In which case Smaragdus will be asked questions he'd prefer not to answer.'

'But Argaius needn't actually be found murdered, sir. He could simply disappear. At least until the sale was made.'

'Exactly. That'd be sensible, and it would certainly grease the wheels because it would provide a moral let-out clause for a customer not unduly burdened with scruples.' Another smile. 'The only thing is, it didn't happen. Argaius's body was dumped the night after he went missing, in the most public place in Athens. Common sense says if Smaragdus had killed him or arranged his death he wouldn't have played it that way.'

'Unless he wanted to stage a bluff, perhaps? If Argaius were killed between his house and Mounychia Smaragdus would naturally be a prime suspect. However, if the body were found elsewhere and exhibited signs of torture — as it was and did — the implication would be that others were responsible who knew of the Baker's existence but not its whereabouts. With the man demonstrably dead by hands unknown and the body quickly recovered there might be no obstacle to finalising an unrelated business deal.' Felix smiled brightly. 'I'm speaking theoretically, sir, of course.'

Jupiter with little bells on! The guy had a nastier imagination than I had! 'You think Smaragdus was capable of that degree of sophistication?'

'Perhaps not. But it is a suggestion.'

'Sure. Only it doesn't explain why Smaragdus kept his head down even after he knew Argaius was gone.'

'Very well.' Felix nodded. 'Accepted.'

'And given that fact, the next question's obvious: if the guy was in hiding, really in hiding, then who and what was he afraid of?'

'You have the ball, Valerius Corvinus.' Felix sat back. 'Carry on. This is fascinating.'

'Okay.' I sank another mouthful of the Caecuban. 'A scenario. Let's say Smaragdus has a third option. He approaches — or is approached by, or maybe he already has been approached by — another potential customer who we'll call for sake of argument Demetriacus and who is unquestionably as crooked as a snake's backbone. They talk and come to an arrangement. Smaragdus will sell Demetriacus the Baker at a bargain price. Say two-thirds of what he and Argaius were asking together.'

Felix's eyes narrowed. 'That's quite a drop, sir. And one — if I've followed you correctly — that Smaragdus was unwilling to make. Why should he do so now?'

'Wait. There's another side to the deal, and that's the clincher. In exchange, Demetriacus undertakes to murder Argaius in a way that'll leave Smaragdus in the clear and provide a red herring or two in the process.'

'Ah!' A nod. 'Oh, I see.'

'Only then comes the twist, because remember we're talking about crooks here. After the agreement's been reached both guys independent of each other proceed to go back on it. Sure, Demetriacus kills Argaius as per contract, but before he does he persuades the guy to tell him where the Baker is; the idea being, of course, to heist the statue under Smaragdus's nose and leave him high and dry with no comeback. Meanwhile, however, Smaragdus has staged his own heist and moved the gold elsewhere. And when Demetriacus finds Argaius's cave empty and realises he's been out-manoeuvred he is not a happy little criminal.'

'Hence Smaragdus's continued disappearance and Demetriacus's attempts to trace the statue before and after his partner's death.' Felix was beaming. 'Beautiful, sir. My congratulations.'

'Yeah, well. It explains the facts, anyway.' I paused. 'Or all of them apart from one, rather.'

'And that is?'

'Smaragdus is sitting pretty. Argaius is dead and he has the Baker to himself. His only problem is that now he has no one to sell to.'

Felix's smile froze. 'Yes. Yes, I suppose that's true.'

'He's shafted Demetriacus, and the guy may still want the statue but only with Smaragdus's giblets hung round its neck. Me, I'm out: like I said, Smaragdus had his chance to make a proper pitch when we met and he blew it, intentionally, by taking me to the wrong cave.' I paused, and then said slowly: 'So, pal, you were the only one left.'

Felix's smile was still there, but it was false as an octogenarian's curls. 'But I told you, Valerius Corvinus,' he said. 'I didn't see Smaragdus after our last encounter several days before his partner's death. And I certainly did not know where he was hiding.'

'Yeah. Maybe not. But when I went to see his boyfriend Harpalus to arrange the meeting Harpalus assumed I'd come from you. The implication is that Smaragdus was expecting some sort of contact to be made. If he wasn't in touch already.'

'Harpalus needn't have been aware that our relationship had ended.'

'That wasn't the impression I got. Another thing. When I talked to Harpalus after I'd found Smaragdus's body he said he hadn't described me to his friend, he'd just said I was a Roman. That seemed to be enough for Smaragdus.'

'But I'm not a Roman, sir. I was born in Corinth.'

'Come on, Felix! You know what I mean! I don't care if your mother had bandy legs and drank mare's milk. Smaragdus knew who you worked for. The day I met him he was expecting a Roman, sure. I just wasn't the one he had in mind.'

'Sir,' Felix faced me levelly, 'I give you my bonded word that I had no other dealings with Smaragdus than those of which I've informed you.'

We stared at each other. He was lying, we both knew that. Proving it on my side was another matter, and we knew that too. The silence lengthened…

Ah, hell; right or not, I was in a no-win situation here, and it probably didn't matter anyway because that particular deal had never gone through. I shrugged my shoulders and sank a bit more of the Caecuban. 'Fine, fine. Okay, we'll leave that as it stands.'

Felix gave a small grunt. Maybe it was indigestion, not relief, but I wouldn't've laid any bets.

'So,' he said, and his voice was cheerful again. 'What happens now?'

'I carry on trying to find the statue. Plus Callippus and me do our best to nail Demetriacus.'

'I see.' He paused and then said tentatively: 'Perhaps then, sir, we can work together on your first objective.'

'Gee, that'd be nice, Felix, but somehow I don't think it would be a terribly good idea.'

He looked pained. 'Valerius Corvinus! Our interests coincide here! And if we do find the Baker I'm sure we can come to some amicable arrangement as to its disposal.'

I hesitated; I didn't trust Felix above half, but he was smart, too smart to antagonise and too dangerous to ignore. Also if you made certain allowances — considerable allowances — he was straight enough to rank with the good guys, if only just. Lastly, I needed the help. Sure I did.

'Maybe,' I said finally. 'Give me a day or so to think it over.'

'If that's the way you feel, sir,' he drew himself up with great dignity, 'then there's no more to be said.'

Huff, huff, pout, pout. I grinned. 'Okay. So how does this sound? If I find the Baker I hand it over to the public auctioneer and we bid for it fair and square. Agreed?'

'Ah.' Felix's eyes glazed. 'You…ah…think that's necessary under the circumstances? After all this was a private arrangement and with both principals dead we are the only two parties involved.'

Oh, no: I wasn't going to let the bastard wriggle out that easy!

'That's the deal, pal, take it or leave it. Argaius and Smaragdus may be dead, but Argaius left a wife in Crete. I'd like her to get what's coming to her. And if you do outbid me in the end I'm sure Priscus won't be too disappointed to have lost out to an imperial.'

'It might be advisable for him to do so in any case.' Felix didn't smile. 'If you take my meaning.'

Jupiter! That was something I hadn't thought of. Maybe we were lucky to be living under the Wart after all; and in five years' time we wouldn't be. Gaius would be emperor, and he was the sort who'd bear a grudge until hell froze over.

'Yeah,' I said carefully. 'Yeah, I take your meaning, pal. I'll bear that in mind. So. Do we have a deal or not?'

'We have a deal.' Felix stood up. 'But I mustn't keep you. No doubt you have more important things to do. It's been a delight to see you again, Valerius Corvinus, and, as always, extremely stimulating. Please do keep in touch.' He held out his hand.

'I mean to.' Sure I did, if only to make sure the bastard didn't throw me a wobbler the first chance he got. We shook. 'My regards to Memnon, by the way. He isn't around?'

Felix didn't hesitate. 'I gave him the day off. Knowing that we would be talking. It's his choir evening at the local men's club, and he always likes to attend if he can.'

'Is that so, now?' Gods alive! 'A choir evening. Right. You…uh…intend suspending him from duty altogether, by the way?'

'That,' Felix said primly, 'very much depends on you, sir. And on your decision re locating the statue.'

Well, I couldn't expect anything different, I supposed. But it did mean that I'd have to be extra-specially careful over Tiny. Felix might be okay at base, but his loyalties were fixed. If he got a crack at the Baker without me holding his lead Chrysoulla had as much chance of getting her money as paddling back from Crete on a washboard. Still, it had been good talking to the little guy again.

Besides, now I had something to take back to Callippus.

Dida was still waiting outside with the Twins.

'You find the man, lord?'

'Yeah,' I said. 'In a manner of speaking.' I took out my purse and held out a gold piece. 'Thanks, pal. Split this with your friends. Don't spend it all in the one shop.'

He grinned and pocketed the money. Gods alive, I was keeping the whole carriage-drivers' union in funds here! Or rather Priscus was. Still, it was worth it, and next time they might find Prince Charming for me.

'Where to now?' Dida said.

'Home, Dida.' I got in. 'That's enough for one day.'

We started off. The Twins weren't looking as happy as they had when we'd set out, but that was their worry. Well, maybe between here and the Lyceum Road we'd get hit by a gang of marauding Scythians who'd zigged instead of zagged at the Black Sea and they could try out their shiny new clubs. Meanwhile I closed my eyes and did my best to block out the smell of oil-jar-shifters' armpits.

That little conversation had been interesting, in more ways than one. Sure, finding out that Eutyches was my old pal Felix closed off one avenue of enquiry, but it raised the fresh question of how far I could trust the little weasel. Not that the answer was all that difficult: judging by both past and present acquaintance I'd put the distance at about half as far as I could spit. Felix had lied about his later contacts with Smaragdus, that was certain: there was no way Smaragdus would've painted himself into a corner over customers, and the fact that he'd taken me to the wrong cave instead of welcoming me with open arms, scruples or not, was a clincher. Shafting Demetriacus argued for a connection, too: I doubted if Smaragdus would've been brave enough or stupid enough to double-cross a guy like that unless he was pretty certain he had a fall-back, and a fall-back with clout, what was more. Felix's boss had that in spades; and remembering what Harpalus had said about Pergamum and Alexandria I'd bet good money that the little guy had sweetened the prospective deal with the offer of an anonymous place on the first ship out and guaranteed protection the other end.

If I hadn't been quite so certain Demetriacus was our man I'd be having grave doubts about Felix…

The driver's flap rattled. I opened my eyes.

'Lord?'

'Yeah, Dida.'

'I thought I'd tell you. Your Ethiopian. He's tailing us again. Plainer tunic but it's the same man.'

Uh-huh. So much for the choir at-home: the guy had probably been feeding his face in the kitchen all the time. Gods! That little bastard would lie on principle if you asked him what direction the sun rose! He must get some perverse kick out of it, like he did playing these damned games of his.

'You want to stop?' Dida said.

'No. That's okay. It isn't worth the effort. Just ignore him.'

'You're the boss.' I heard the shrug in Dida's voice and the flap closed.

I frowned as I settled back against the cushions. Yeah. I wondered about Felix. I wondered about him a lot.