The Lydian Baker

9

The boat…

Boats and me have never got on, especially small ones, and in a bad light you could've mistaken Smaragdus's for a corn-skip. I cast my best nautical eye over it and decided that the odds on Poseidon scuttling us before we got half way were too high for comfort. And that even if he didn't, I'd be wishing he would. It was time for some negotiation.

'We're headed for Thieves' Cove, right?' I said.

'Not quite.' Smaragdus frowned. 'To one of the bays close by.'

'Whatever. Then I'll tell you what, pal. You carry on over in this sow- sickener here, and me and Lysias will take the carriage round the main harbour and meet you there, okay?'

'No deal, Corvinus.' The frown deepened. 'That would take twice as long, you'd have to walk from the town gate and even then without my help you'd never find the place. The wind's perfect, too.'

Bugger. Yeah, well, the guy was right, certainly about the distance involved, and as far as winds were concerned I was prepared to take his word on trust. Mind you, of the four elements wind wasn't exactly the one that was worrying me. Also, we were close enough to the boat now for me to get a good hard look at what I'd be letting myself in for, and the sight wasn't exactly cheering: beached or not, you could've washed your smalls in the spillage, if it had been cleaner. I didn't think all these little pinholes in the planking had been put there for decoration, either.

'Okay, pal. You're the boss.' I swallowed and sent up a quick prayer to Neptune. 'You…ah…you're sure this gutbucket's safe?'

He gave me a look like I'd just cast aspersions on his grandmother.

'The Alcyone? Of course she is. I've had her for years.'

That I'd believe. I didn't know much about changes in boat design, but if he'd told me Polybus and Phrixus had towed this particular specimen behind them all the way from Marseilles I wouldn't have blinked. In fact, scratch that: the thing looked like it could've dated back to Deucalion's flood.

'Yeah,' I said. 'Yeah, I can see you have. That's just my problem.'

Taking a boat trip on the Gulf voluntarily was one thing; coming back the same way was something else. I might be stupid, but I wasn't crazy. While Smaragdus bailed the Alcyone out and got her afloat I went round to where I'd left the carriage and told Lysias to meet me at the Aphrodisian Gate. When I got back Smaragdus was already aboard.

'Hurry up,' he said. 'There's nothing to be nervous about.'

'Sure there isn't.' I waded out and pulled myself over the side. The boat bucked like a frightened horse. I wished I had a cup of wine to keep Poseidon sweet, but it looked like I'd just have to hope that the old guy was in a good mood and had a soft spot for Romans. 'Only I just had breakfast and I'd like to keep it that way, you know?'

'You're not a sailor, then?' He was grinning.

'Full marks for observation.' I got myself settled. 'You win the nuts.'

'Relax. I told you, you're perfectly safe. I do this all the time.'

He swung the yard round and took the steering oar. The wind caught the sail and we heeled over on our beam. Greece shifted…

'Shit!' I sat down quickly and grabbed for the side. 'Uh…maybe I should warn you now. I swim like a brick.'

'There's a coincidence. That makes two of us.'

Now he told me. Oh, great; perfect, in fact. That was all I needed. We could hold hands on the way down.

I shut up and started to pray in earnest.

The 'Alcyone' took off like a swallow: well, at least he'd been right about the wind. I'd thought we'd hug the coast, but he set the oar straight and we went barrelling out into open water. It was choppy as hell, and I couldn't see the bottom. Maybe that was just as well.

'Nice weather for a sail, isn't it?'

The bastard was needling me intentionally, but at that precise moment I had other things on my mind. Like what was happening just south of my ribcage.

'Yeah,' I said. 'Beautiful.' Jupiter! This was… I gulped. 'Hey, Smaragdus, you think maybe we could…'

Too late. I'd hardly got the last word out before my stomach gave up the unequal struggle and I lost my breakfast to the fish.

I wasn't feeling all that hot an hour later when we finally reached the far side of the Gulf, either. Happy the farmer who knows not the sea. Still, I had to hand it to Smaragdus, the guy knew what he was doing; he brought us into the cove sweet as a nut and pulled the Alcyone up on to the beach while I lay in the pointed end and sweated.

'We're there,' he said. 'Now we walk.'

'Fine, fine.' I tried standing up, but my legs felt like they'd been filleted and there was a taste in my mouth like something had died there. If that was sailing then I'd take a five-star hangover any time. 'Just give me a minute, okay?'

Smaragdus laughed. Sadistic bastard. I climbed out, eventually. Sand and pebbles underfoot had never felt so good. I took a deep breath and opened my gummy eyes.

'So where's this cave?' I said.

'That way.' He pointed inland. 'Not far, about a quarter of a mile.'

A quarter of a mile. Great. The ground was heaving. If I'd ever wondered why Poseidon is both the sea and the earthquake god I had my answer. 'You say you do this often, pal?'

'Often enough, in fine weather. You Romans never have made good sailors.'

'No arguments there, Agrippa.' I scooped up a palmful of water, rinsed the bird-shit from my mouth and eyes and took a few more deep breaths. Things were starting to look a bit better. Meaning the hills weren't jumping around so much any more. 'Okay. So let's go.'

He led the way up a goat-track along the edge of the cove and into the scrub beyond. The ground began to rise steeply.

'You're telling me these two guys — Polybus and Phrixus — carried the treasure all this way?' I was gasping already; the aftereffects of the sea- sickness.

'Obviously.'

'That amount of bullion would've weighed a ton. Literally.'

'I told you.' Smaragdus hadn't broken stride. 'They had help, and they did it in stages. Besides, they had to. The caves in Thieves' Cove were used by smugglers. Choosing one of them would have been too risky.'

That made sense. All the same, I wouldn't've liked to do it myself even at my best. It couldn't have been easy. Some places even a goat would've had problems.

And speaking of goats…

I was beginning to notice certain things; like the marks on exposed parts of the path. Goats might have feet, but even the Greek variety didn't wear hobnailed sandals.

'Hey, Smaragdus,' I said.

He turned back. 'Yes?'

'I thought we were out in the sticks here. This path used much?'

'Not that I know of. We're a long way from the road.'

'Yeah. Yeah, that's what I thought.' I was getting a bad feeling about this: the marks looked recent.

'We're almost there now.' Smaragdus nodded towards a small cliff. 'That's the place up ahead.'

I looked. Gods. If that was Polybus's hidey-hole I wasn't surprised it had stayed lost for so long. The 'cave' wasn't so much a cave as a wide split at the base of the cliff, screened by bushes and half-buried in rubble; the remains of the rock fall Smaragdus had mentioned, no doubt. Before that had been cleared away the place wouldn't have merited a second glance.

Smaragdus produced a lamp and a tinder-box from the satchel he was carrying.

'It doesn't go all that far back,' he said, 'but it's much deeper than it looks. We'll need light.'

'Fine.' While he got the lamp going I examined the ground in front of the entrance. There were more sandal prints and a deep dent. A very deep dent, like something heavy had rested there…

Smaragdus held out the lamp. 'After you, Corvinus.'

'You're the host, pal. You go ahead.'

We clambered over the tumble of rocks and into the cleft itself. There was more room inside once we'd passed the entrance; plenty of room.

Too much room, in fact.

Polybus's cave was bare. As in 'empty'. Yeah, well, I couldn't say I was exactly surprised. And it had all been a little too good to be true. Sure, Smaragdus hadn't been spinning me a yarn: there'd been something here all right, that was obvious, something heavy that had left deep-scored rowels in the earth of the cave floor where it had been dragged towards the entrance.

Smaragdus's mouth was hanging open like someone had cut the cords.

'It was here!' he said. 'I swear it was!'

'Okay.' I sighed. 'I believe you. But it's gone now and there's nothing we can do about it. Let's get into the open air.'

We clambered out.

'Corvinus, I swear to you…' Smaragdus was still looking like someone had slugged him with a blackjack.

'Yeah, I know.' I pointed to the dent in the ground and the sandal prints. 'You can see the marks where they pulled it out and took it down to the cove.' Jupiter! The thing must've weighed a ton! But then how heavy is a four-and-a-half feet high solid gold statue?

'But who did it? No one else knew, only me and Argaius.'

I hesitated. 'This Eutyches guy. You brought him here?'

'No. No, I've never met him. Nor had Argaius, as far as I know.'

'How about Argaius himself? Would he have moved the Baker for any reason?'

Smaragdus was still in shock. 'No. It was safe enough here. And he couldn't have done it alone, anyway.'

True enough; even as an outside chance it was unlikely. Besides, the answer was obvious. I thought of the smashed-up doll with the gashed throat on Callippus's table. You don't kill the golden goose until it's laid its egg, and a severed throat is pretty final in anyone's book. Whoever had killed Argaius already had what he wanted.

There was only one candidate, too.

'So,' I said. 'This Eutyches. What exactly do you know about him?'

'Nothing.' Smaragdus raised his head. The guy looked sick. 'I swear, nothing, only the name. Argaius handled the business side on his own. That's how the partnership worked'

'What about that final meeting? In Mounychia?'

'He told me about it, certainly, but I wasn't involved. It didn't need both of us. And like I said I left the business arrangements to him. He was better at them than I was'

'Uh-huh.' Not good enough, though, that much was obvious. Well, like I'd said there was nothing to be done about it now: the bastard already had his statue and I might as well go home and take up embroidery. 'You want to report this to the Watch?'

'There isn't much point, is there?'

That came out bitter as hell. Yeah, well, the guy was right. Callippus would go through the motions, sure, but there wasn't a whole lot he could do. Or, considering the circumstances, even want to do. I said nothing.

'I'm sorry about this, Corvinus. Really sorry.'

'That makes two of us, pal. Three, counting Priscus.' The old guy would take it hard; when he'd written that letter he'd thought the deal was in the bag. Mother would be pretty peeved as well. I'd write to them tonight.

'You don't want to change your mind? About going back in the "Alcyone"?' Smaragdus tried a grin. The effect was ghastly.

'No.' In my present mood that would've put the lid on. 'No, I'll walk. Lysias will be waiting. Thanks all the same.'

'Fine.'

He hadn't moved, and he still looked grey as death; but there was nothing I could do for him, not now. I gave a half-hearted wave and started off up the hill in the direction of town.