Semper Fidelis

Chapter 69

The empress’s carriage had been parked on the verge at the crossroads and again screened so the sight of her protectors did not put the great lady off her lunch.

Ruso found Accius deep in conversation with Dexter. They were casting occasional glances at the recruits, seated just out of earshot. In return, several of the recruits were staring at their officers with expressions of glum resentment. Marcus was watching them intently over his waterskin as if he was trying to work out what they were saying.

Accius waved Ruso away with an impatient flick of the hand. Ruso was not sorry to make his way back to the hospital wagons. He was not sure how to tell Accius what he had found out.

The tribune appeared at the wagons a few minutes later. He paused to speak to the patients and had the sense to move well away from Austalis before remarking to Pera that the lad was looking very ill. To this Pera replied that had it not been for Doctor Ruso, he would be dead. Thus Pera unwittingly provided the cue for Accius to move on and engage Ruso in a conversation during which they strolled away from the others.

“So?” demanded Accius.

“Sir, could you just describe for me-without looking-the doctor and patient on the wagon?”

Accius’s scowl deepened. “What?”

“It’s important, sir.”

“Have you found out anything or not?”

“Yes, sir. If you could just describe for me-”

“The doctor had curly hair. The patient was all skin and bone, with bandages on his arm. Get to the point.”

“Hair color? Eye color? What were they wearing? What color was the blanket?”

“The mens’ blankets are gray. Get on with it.”

“Thank you, sir.” Without explaining, Ruso began with the easy part. There had been four Praetorians with Geminus as they marched out of the east gates. Two had been old comrades of his and one of those was currently traveling north with Hadrian, but he had spoken to the other one, a man called Fabius. Fabius said he had lost sight of Geminus just after they began to advance down the street. He had thought it would be wiser to stick together, but he assumed Geminus had gone to find the men from the Twentieth, and he was not concerned when he did not see him again.

Ruso could see that Accius was impatient for him to finish. The moment he stopped speaking, Accius demanded, “How exactly did you go about this conversation?”

“I told them I was researching Geminus’s life for a memorial, sir.”

“And they believed you?”

“No. They thought I was there trying to clear my name.”

“As long as you didn’t involve me.”

“No, sir. What was really interesting was what Fabius said next.” Ruso paused, hoping Accius was going to listen to all of it and not just what he wanted to hear. “He said he’s thought more about that evening and now he remembers seeing a native hanging about by the ditch, off to their left. He didn’t seem to be causing trouble so they left him alone. When I asked for a description, he explained that it was dark, but they were carrying torches and he thought the native had pale coloring and his hair was unusually short for a Briton.”

“Victor!” exclaimed Accius, as Ruso had known he would. “Excellent!”

It was not excellent for Victor, but Accius was not the sort of man to worry about that. “Then he referred me to the other two men who were there as well, sir. And this is where I think it all gets rather strange.”

“Never mind what you think. Tell me what they said.”

“The two men I spoke to gave exactly the same description as Fabius.”

“Good! A description of the murderer, and three witnesses. You’re a lucky man, Ruso.”

“It’s too good, sir.”

“How can it be too good?”

“Sir, Pera has dark hair and eyes and he’s wearing chain mail. Austalis is blond and blue-eyed and he’s got a green tunic over his good shoulder. The blanket isn’t gray, it’s white.”

“Get on with it!”

“People don’t remember things accurately. Were you present when Clarus interviewed his own men, sir?”

“Of course not! Otherwise I wouldn’t be-” Accius stopped. “There was no need for me to be there.”

So Accius’s interest in this was definitely unofficial. “Did he say anything about his men seeing a native?”

“His men must have seen dozens of people. He would hardly tell me about all of them.”

“Yes, sir. Yet these three all said exactly the same thing in the same order. It was as if they’d rehearsed it.” He paused to let that sink in. “I’m willing to bet that none of them remembered the native before Victor was arrested.”

Accius sighed. “I should know better than to listen to a doctor. You people see a pimple, call it a deadly disease, and prescribe six weeks in bed with daily visits.”

“They’re hiding something, sir.”

“They’re describing the same man! Besides, they couldn’t have known you were going to come asking. Why would they all get together and make something up?”

It was a fair point, and one Ruso had already considered. “Sir, think back to your childhood. When my brother and I did something we weren’t supposed to, we agreed what we’d say in case we got caught.”

“I wouldn’t know,” said Accius. “I don’t have any brothers.”

Ruso was struck by a picture of the lonely young Accius wandering through a large house, wishing he had somebody to play with, and suddenly thrilled by the attentions of a storybook war hero. No wonder he had been determined to defend him. “The point is, sir,” he said, “we only ever did it when we knew there was something to cover up. And the more clever we tried to be, the more likely we were to trip up. If they said they hadn’t seen anyone-which I imagine they told Clarus-they’d have been fine. But they decided to embellish their cover story when Victor was arrested.”

“Or they could have discussed their memories around the campfire one night.”

“Then they would have gone to Clarus, sir. And Clarus would surely have told you that he had evidence against one of your men.”

“Hm.”

“One of the other veterans told me that Geminus wasn’t popular when they served together. I think this may go a lot further back than we realize.”

The silence that followed was interrupted by the trumpet signaling time to move on.

“Well,” said Accius, “that’s something to think about.” He took a step back toward the road. “Thank you, Ruso. You will now forget everything you have just told me.”

“Yes, sir. Sir, the recruit under arrest is-”

“He’s none of your concern. If you want to do something useful, help us get the rest of them to Deva.”

“What about my wife, sir?”

“Just stop her from making any more trouble.” Accius strode away to deal with more important matters, leaving Ruso wondering how to carry out that most challenging order of all.