Rosemary Rowe - A Coin for the Ferryman

Stygius was following my train of thought. ‘Perhaps that was the idea.’ He spat judiciously. ‘There aren’t so many people on the forest lanes. Maybe they started from the military road, and just drove down here to find a hiding place.’

‘In that case they won’t have come this far, so they won’t have passed Aulus and we won’t learn anything at all,’ I said briskly. ‘But it is the only enquiry I can think of to pursue. Unless another quick glance at the corpse gives me any fresh ideas at all.’

It didn’t. It seemed, if anything, more horrible this time, and I was very conscious of the stench of death. I was glad when Kurso trotted into sight and gave me the excuse to pull the covers up and turn away again.

‘Come then, Kurso.’ I strode out of the building, and leaving Stygius to stand guard over his grisly charge, we went round to the front to find the gatekeeper. We took the long way, round the side grounds of the house, passing the bath-house on the way.

I wondered if Junio was enjoying it.

Aulus was sitting glumly in his cell, gazing through the window-opening at the lane, the very picture of bored disgruntlement. At our approach, however, he lumbered to his feet.

‘Ah, citizen pavement-maker, I’ve been expecting you. One of the maidservants said that you were on your way.’ He did not look particularly enchanted to see me. His sweaty, swarthy face was creased into a frown and he was fondling his favourite cudgel as he spoke. Not that he intended any harm to us — Aulus would not dare to threaten Marcus’s guests — but he was put there to intimidate, and he was good at it.

Kurso looked terrified and sidled close to me.

Aulus ignored him. ‘What was it you wanted this time, citizen? You don’t expect me to help you in that business of the corpse? They didn’t bring it near this gate. It came in through the farm.’

So that was the reason for his unhappy scowl! The gatekeeper had nothing to report, for once, and was disappointed by the lack of opportunity to earn a coin or two. I tried a little flattery — it had paid off with him before.

‘It may be that you can give us some information all the same,’ I said. ‘I know your sharp eyes, Aulus. There isn’t very much that happens in the lane that escapes your notice. I’m interested in what went on before today. There may be something you saw which didn’t seem important at the time.’

It worked. Something that might have been a smile half spread across his face. It gave him the appearance of a crafty bear. Aulus had cunning, if not intelligence. ‘Well, tell me what you want to know. I’ll do my best.’ He leaned towards me, as if to listen hard, and the smell of stale onions took my breath away.

I took a step backwards to retreat from it, almost flattening Kurso, who had done the same. ‘I want to know how the body got to where it was. So, did you notice any unusual carts or other transport in the lane?’ I said, in my best official tone. ‘Two days ago in particular.’

Aulus thought a moment, screwing up his face. ‘As long ago as that? Don’t know if I can help you, citizen. There’s been a lot of extra traffic coming to and fro, especially with this important visitor from Rome. My memory isn’t always what it was.’ His tongue came out and flicked around his lips.

I knew that little nervous trick. It meant he scented money. I sighed. ‘I’m sure your master would agree to a reward,’ I said, ‘if there is anything really useful you can call to mind.’

‘Well, citizen, I’ll see what I can do.’ Aulus made a pretence at struggling to recall, which would not have fooled a baby. ‘Unusual vehicles?’ he said at last. ‘Depends what you mean by unusual, I suppose. That was the day the master had a banquet for his guest — no end of councillors and important people from the town, most in hired litters, but two of them had private carriages. Then there were the entertainers — they came in a cart — and there was the slave-trader who called and sold the master another page. He had a little cart with Niveus aboard. Is this the sort of thing you want to know?’

‘Exactly what I wanted!’ I summoned up a smile. The promise of money had revived his memory quite remarkably. I only prayed that Marcus would agree to pay the bribe. ‘Kurso, I hope you’re listening to this. I’ll have to remember all the details later on, so I can talk to the people who own the vehicles.’

Kurso flashed a frightened look at me. I could see that it was hopeless. Junio would have taken in the facts and helped me reconstruct the list when I got home, but poor little Kurso was so terrified, I doubted he would remember much more than his name.

But Aulus hadn’t finished. ‘And then there were the extra deliveries, of course — Marcus had ordered in some special wine from town, and all sorts of delicacies from the marketplace. There was a man with oysters and another with larks. Then there was a wagon of extra olive oil — not that the tradesmen came to the front gate, but I can see from here to where the back road branches off, so unless they come across the foot-tracks, the way they brought your corpse, I get to see almost everyone who ever comes and goes.’ With that wily expression in his close-set eyes, Aulus looked more than ever like a bear — if a bear could ever be said to look self-satisfied.

I nodded. ‘Very good,’ I said, although it wasn’t good at all. It could take weeks to check on all of this, and I didn’t have the time. It would be the Lemuria in less than three days. If I was to solve the problem of the dead boy’s identity, and soothe the vengeful spirits, I must do it very soon. I turned to the gatekeeper. ‘You’re sure that’s all the carts there were?’

I meant to be ironic, but it was lost on Aulus. ‘Well — there was the hired baggage wagon and another cart that Lucius had engaged. He is going to travel with Marcus and Julia when they go, but he has sent a lot of his luggage on ahead, with his chief slave riding with it to make sure it arrives — though Lucius kept fussing round it, giving different orders right up to the end. Marcus and Julia decided to take advantage of the cart and send off some of their belongings too — things the family will need when they’re in Rome. It’ll speed up the journey when they leave, I suppose, not having to slow the carriage to let the heavy goods catch up — though I expect they’ll take a wagonful of slaves with them anyway.’

‘But the baggage wagons came from the villa, surely?’ I put in pointedly. ‘They weren’t just passing by?’

He shook his shaggy locks. ‘Well, neither were the others, if it comes to that. They were all coming to the villa or taking things away. “Unusual carts or other transport in the lane” was what you said. You didn’t say anything about passing by.’ He was affronted now, jutting his chin forward and glowering at me.

I hastened to placate him. ‘Perhaps I should have done. Though anything you’ve told me may be useful in the end. But — was there anything?’

He humphed. ‘There was that trapper from the forest with a wagonload of skins — I think that was the day — heading for the tanner’s by the look and smell of it. And a farmer from the hills who seems to go past every day, with a cart full of something for the market in the town. I think that’s all there was. All that I can remember, anyway, that could possibly have been carrying a corpse.’

I looked at Aulus, and caught him glancing maliciously at me. I was by no means certain that a silver coin would not have wrung a little more from him, but I had none to offer. ‘So nothing really unusual at all?’ I said. ‘Nothing that mightn’t have gone past on any day? Nobody you didn’t recognise by sight?’