David Wishart - Illegally Dead

‘I was responsible. My uncle wouldn’t have died if — ’

‘No. Listen. You didn’t know, that morning when you ran, that your uncle had been murdered, did you? No one knew, except Cosmus and whoever told him to do what he did, and that wasn’t you, was it?’ She shook her head. ‘Fine.Your uncle was dead, sure, but to all intents and purposes his death was natural. So why did you run? You must’ve had some reason.’ Silence. Bugger! ‘Paulina, I’m sorry, but you really have to tell me.’ Silence: she’d dropped her eyes again and she was staring at her hands. ‘Something’d changed, hadn’t it? Something important, so important that when your uncle died right after it happened you linked the two events and you panicked. Maybe it was something you heard, or saw, the evening before when your uncle and aunt — ’

‘Stop it!’ Her head came up. She was glaring at me. Over by the door, Tyche shifted on her stool, but she didn’t say anything.

‘All right,’ I said. I leaned back, away from her, and waited.

Paulina’s gaze didn’t shift. ‘My uncle accused Aunt Veturina of sleeping with Uncle Castor,’ she snapped. ‘He said that as far as he was concerned she was nothing but an incestuous whore, that he wanted her out of his house and that he’d see to the formal divorce and prosecution as soon as they could be arranged. Is that what you want to know?’

Sweet gods!

‘Yeah,’ I said softly. ‘Yeah, that’s it. Thank you, Paulina.’

Well, that explained things. Scopas had known, of course, he had to have, and when I’d grilled the poor bastard he couldn’t just give me nothing, because he knew I knew there’d been a shouting match; so he’d twisted the truth as far as he dared, given me a sanitised version. For Castor’s adultery with Seia Lucinda read incest with his sister, Veturina under threat of divorce because of it and the two of them, not just Castor alone, out in the street. Still, I didn’t blame the guy for lying, no way: he’d only been protecting his mistress as best he could, for the best of reasons; and, in a way, protecting his master as well. If it’d been me instead of Hostilius, I’d hope that Bathyllus would have the nous to do the same.

Paulina had burst into tears, and Tyche shot over like she was greased. The girl pushed her away and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her tunic. She was still glaring at me. ‘If Aunt Veturina did kill him the next morning, Valerius Corvinus,’ she said, ‘or have him killed, then she had every reason to, and my uncle — my real uncle — would’ve blessed her for it.’ I closed my eyes, briefly. ‘But she wouldn’t have done, not just for herself, I know she wouldn’t. She did it for me. If you’d been me what would you have done, when my uncle died? I couldn’t stay and face her, every day, not saying anything; not knowing what I knew. I had to leave. I had to.’

‘Right. Right.’ Shit, what a mess!

‘Are you going to tell her? Where I am?’

I’d been asking myself the same question. Legally, the answer had to be yes: the girl was Veturina’s ward, and no one had formally accused Veturina of any crime. Even so, there were good reasons why I shouldn’t, not the least being that the lady herself had tried to cover up the fact that the girl was missing.

‘Not if you don’t want me to,’ I said. ‘But I’ll have to tell Libanius. Have you got any other relatives anywhere?’

She shook her head. ‘No. Not close ones, anyway. That was why Uncle Lucius and Aunt Veturina took me in.’

‘Maybe Libanius can arrange something, then.’ I stood up; I felt sick to my stomach. ‘We’ll leave it to him.’

‘All right.’ Paulina lowered her eyes. ‘Thank you for coming, Valerius Corvinus. I’m glad I talked to you. And…if you do see my aunt, and it’s possible, could you say thank you to her as well, from me? Don’t say why, just say I said it.’

‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘Yeah, I’ll do that.’

I left.

‘Veturina killed him, or got her brother to,’ I said to Perilla when I finally got home a couple of hours later after a long talk with Libanius. ‘And the gods know I don’t blame her for it. Him, either.’

‘You’re absolutely sure?’ Perilla was looking grave. We were sitting on the terrace with a pre-dinner drink. I hadn’t told her about Meton yet: there was no point in worrying the lady unduly, and anyway I hadn’t decided how to handle that particular problem.

‘Yeah.’ I put my head back and closed my eyes. ‘What Paulina said clinches it. The situation had just got impossible, and all three of the family members were involved. If Hostilius had lived another day, Veturina would’ve been divorced and out of the house, she and Castor would’ve been formally accused of incest, and unless Paulina went with her aunt she’d’ve been left alone with her uncle and raped within the month. Veturina’d have to be less than a step down from one of the Graces not to kill him.’

‘What about Cosmus?’

I opened my eyes and shrugged. ‘Under the circumstances, lady, he’s a detail, and if it was Castor set things up then he’s explicable. Not excusable, but explicable.’

She was quiet for a long time. Then she said: ‘What happens now?’

‘That’s up to Libanius. I’ve made my report, and he can arrange for Veturina to be prosecuted, with or without her brother, or he can just let the whole business drop. Me, I’d say that’d be by far the best course for all concerned, Hostilius included. Veturina might go through a hard time with the locals, sure, but she can always sell up and move if things get too bad; the same goes for Castor. Case over, close the book.’ I slammed my winecup down. ‘Fuck!’

‘Gently, Marcus!’

‘Yeah, well.’

‘What I don’t understand is how it was allowed to get this far. The man was clearly certifiable, he wasn’t responsible for his actions. Under any reasonable circumstances he would have been locked up months ago.’

‘That would’ve needed the impetus to come from his next of kin,’ I said. ‘Veturina herself. And it would’ve been an admission that the situation was hopeless. Where would you have drawn the line yourself, Perilla, if it’d been you that had to decide?’ She didn’t answer. ‘Besides, when push came to absolute shove she made the kindest decision. Oh, Hostilius would’ve brought the charges, of adultery and incest, like he threatened, I don’t doubt that; but no judge in the country who knew the background would’ve given them a moment’s credence. She was safe enough there. Only — ’

‘Only she’d have to defend herself on the grounds that her husband was insane, with the inevitable result. Then watch him getting worse, more unlike himself, day after day until he died in any case. Hating her for what she’d done.’ Perilla shivered. ‘The poor woman. The poor man. You’re right, Marcus, it was the kindest decision she could make.’

‘Yeah.’ I took a morose swig of my wine.

‘What about the rest of it? The dead woman up in Caba and the will? Are you dropping those too?’

I shook my head. ‘Uh-uh, or not unless Libanius objects. They may not be pieces of the same puzzle, lady, but they’re puzzles that need solving in themselves. Besides, Alexis has been beavering away in the public records office over in Bovillae for the last two days trying to fit a name to the man who attacked Hostilius. If I pulled the plug on him now the guy’d never forgive me. Clarus and Marilla wouldn’t be too happy about it either.’ I grinned. ‘Which reminds me. You want the good news or the bad? Nothing to do with wills or murders. I’d recommend the good, because the bad is pretty horrific, but it’s your choice.’

‘All right then.’ I told her about my short conversation with Hyperion, and she beamed. ‘Oh, that is excellent! Aunt Marcia will be so pleased!’