Marilyn Todd - I, Claudia

No one had turned up to listen.

Oh yes, this was the funeral to set Rome talking about for generations, all right! The funeral of Gaius Seferius, that jolly old wine merchant. Remember him? How we liked the fellow-thought him the salt of the earth?

And then look what happens. Turns out he’s the one who gouged out the eyes of his colleagues! Rumours began to circulate almost before the body had cooled. Some you’d expect, considering that, contrary to custom and expectation, Gaius left his entire fortune to that young wife of his. Talk about scandal! And as much as Claudia denied knowledge of the will, it was clear Julia, Marcellus and especially Flavia believed otherwise. They could not, however contest it. The signatures of five prominent Roman citizens testified to Gaius’s wishes, and that should have been that.

Except it wasn’t.

On account of the letter Gaius had attached to his will, a letter for Claudia’s eyes only.

A letter which she had subsequently burned.

But the new will contributed to the fact that Gaius Seferius had lain on his bier for two days-feet towards the door, coins over his eyes, cakes in his hands-in perfect preparation for the afterlife, yet with not one single person from his own lifetime coming to pay their respects. Including his family, who suddenly disowned him.

‘Bastards!’

Her oath echoed round the stillness of the room.

Of course, it wasn’t the rumours about the will that put off the rest of Rome. Scaevola brought the news late on Monday evening.

‘Callisunus has closed the case,’ he said, red in the face and puffing profusely. ‘It’s official.’

She hadn’t believed him. ‘Rumours,’ she’d said. ‘The city’s full of them-’

‘Claudia, I heard it from Callisunus himself. Seferius is the killer he said, he was one hundred per cent positive. That’s why I’m out of breath, I came straight round. There’s something else, too. He’s asked the Senate to issue an edict forbidding people to attend the funeral. Says it’s the day of the Volcanalia, people should attend the rites at the Circus instead.’

Give me strength! ‘And just what explanation does this adjectivally challenged dwarf offer for arriving at this idiotic conclusion?’

‘He refuses to elaborate, except to stress the case is closed.’

Indeed? Well there was only one source from which such waters flowed, so Claudia had come straight to the spring…to Marcus Cornelius Orbilio.

A door slammed in the distance and a long-legged girl came running through the atrium, tears streaming down her face. The tall Libyan came trotting after her but it was too late, she’d seen herself out. She heard a second set of footsteps.

‘Claudia?’

There was a distinct feeling of satisfaction, watching his handsome face redden. He shot a glance at the Libyan, who promptly dissolved into thin air, and combed his hair with his hands.

‘Claudia…’

‘So far so good, Orbilio, you’ve got my name right. I’m afraid it’s the only thing you have got right, but I’m sure you’re not responsible. Tell me, did you inherit imbecility from your mother’s side, or your father’s?’

‘I’m sorry about Gaius.’

‘Not sorry enough to attend his funeral, though. Or did I miss you in the crush?’

‘Blame Callisunus. I told him I didn’t think it right for Gaius to be shunned, that I was intending to join the procession regardless, but’-he held out his wrists, which showed raw, red bands round them-‘he clapped me in irons for the day. Said it would be, and I quote, an embarrassment to him, the Emperor and the citizens of Rome for anyone to turn up. Especially me.’

Claudia rose to her feet and shook the crinkles out of her stola. ‘Especially you, yes, seeing as how you were the person who convinced Callisunus to close the case in the first place.’

He scratched at a freckle on his thumb, his eyes riveted on the operation. ‘Claudia, I’m sorry Gaius was the killer, because I liked him, I-’

‘And he liked you, you treacherous bastard.’

Funny. The room had gone misty.

‘You worm your way into his house, prying and snooping, hoping to find some poor bugger to hang these murders on, and you pick on Gaius Seferius. What had he ever done to you, eh?’

‘Claudia, sit down. Dammit, woman, I said sit down and listen to me. Just listen, all right?’

Orbilio pulled up a chair and sat opposite her. Her eyes were flashing, her lips were pursed white, but, thank goodness, she was at least prepared to hear him out.

‘What Gaius did, falling on his sword and all that, it was for the best, you must believe me.’

‘Bullshit!’

‘You don’t accept Gaius killed six men?’

‘Never.’

Orbilio ran his hand over his chin. There was stubble there, because he hadn’t had time to shave this morning. Callisunus, the little toe-rag, had kept him locked up all night, and, when he returned home, Petronella was waiting. She’d left the locksmith, she told him. Oh, she didn’t expect a man like Marcus to marry her, but she’d send for her things straight away and be everything he’d want of a wife. Orbilio felt a proper heel telling her it was over, and the last person he expected to find under his roof after that pitiful encounter was Claudia Seferius, defending a husband who, no matter how affable on the surface, transpired to be a single-minded lunatic on the inside.

‘Suppose I gave you cast-iron proof?’

To his astonishment, she twisted her head on one side and smiled. ‘Suppose I asked you how many murder cases you’ve solved?’

Orbilio scratched his head and blew out his cheeks. ‘Ooh, let me think. Including this case?’

‘Including this case.’

‘Um…’ He stared at the flame flickering beside him. ‘One,’ he said quietly, feeling the colour flood his face.

Claudia nodded serenely. ‘That’s rather what I suspected. Orbilio, I want you to re-open the case.’

She was mad!

‘Even if I could-and I can’t-Callisunus wouldn’t wear it. However much it hurts, Claudia, the evidence is solid, believe me, and he’s tied me up so tight on this Verianus fraud case that I haven’t got a minute to call my own.’

‘Then we’ll have to clear up this wretched Verianus business, won’t we?’

‘What do you mean, we?’

‘Don’t interrupt. Now is it Verianus who’s accused of fraud?’

‘The Senator? Good heavens, no! But someone in his employment, probably his own brother, has been syphoning off large sums of money over the last couple of years. It’s a question of proof.’

‘Decimus?’

‘No, the younger brother. Tullius. Hell, why am I telling you all this?’

Claudia ignored him. ‘Suppose I provide you with a confession? Will you re-open the murder case?’

‘No, I will not. I can’t condone forged confessions simply because you want-’

‘This’ll be perfectly above board, Orbilio. Friday morning, you have my word on it, Tullius will be spilling his heart out to Callisunus. On the strict understanding, of course, that the affair will be covered up quietly. He’ll return the money, Verianus will drop the case, you’ll be a hero. How does that sound?’

Orbilio wrinkled his nose. ‘Highly suspicious.’

Claudia waved a hand dismissively. ‘Trust me,’ she said simply.

She’d head straight to Tullius from Orbilio’s and deliver her ultimatum. Own up, cough up, shut up. Or else what? he might bluster, though if the man had any sense between his ears he’d understand that the prospect of his wife and family, including Verianus, hearing how he liked to be tied up and peed on wouldn’t necessarily be in his best interests. Far better to settle quietly, old fruit. They’re on to you anyway.