John Roberts - Oracle of the Dead

“I know things about the priests of that temple, Praetor.”

“You mean the Temple of Apollo?”

“No, the Oracle of Hecate.”

I thought this odd, because she had said “priests” when it seemed the staff of the Oracle was dominated by women. But I let it pass. “Go on.”

“Well, sir, ten years ago I was in service to the house of Lucius Terentius. He was an oil importer of this city. He died childless and freed me, along with the other household slaves, in his will. This was the year that he died. I blame those priests for that.” She paused, seeming intimidated by the seriousness of her accusation.

“You believe the devotees of Hecate killed your former master?”

“Not directly, no, but they-”

“Just go on. Tell your story, and don’t worry about reprisal. I will put you under my own protection, if you wish.” I was remembering the girl, Hypatia.

“Oh no. I wouldn’t want that. I don’t want anybody but you to know what I’m telling you. Anyway, my master was preparing to make a voyage to visit his oil suppliers in Greece and in the islands: Crete, Cyprus, and one or two others. He imported the highest quality oils, the kind used for bathing and for perfumery. Every year he would make a voyage in the spring, to go over his factors’ accounts and bid on new contracts. He said the competition for the best pressings was pretty fierce, and you had to be there at the right time with the money. He wouldn’t leave that sort of thing to a factor.

“Every year, he would go to the Oracle of Hecate to ask if he would have a safe and profitable voyage. It seems every year he got a favorable prophecy, and since he’d always done well, he set great store by the Oracle. This year was a little different. I went with him, along with some of the other slaves. I’d accompanied him twice before. He was an important man and wouldn’t go unaccompanied on an occasion like that. The priests put him through the usual ceremony, with the drinks and the sprinkling and so forth. We slaves stood off to one side, along with the servants of the other people visiting the Oracle. We waited in a little grove of trees while our masters visited the underworld. It was a hot day, and this time some of the temple slaves brought us cool drinks while we waited. This seemed very thoughtful. One of them was a girl, perhaps a year or two older than me. She was very lively and talkative, and she went on about this and that, and she asked me about myself, and about my master, and what he did. I told her pretty much what I’ve told you about him, only at greater length. In time my master came out of the cave looking very thoughtful. Seems the Oracle priests had told him to come back the next day, that the will of the gods was unclear.”

“Just him?” I asked. “Did none of the other petitioners get the same message?”

She frowned. “That I could not tell you. Anyway, we did not come all the way back here. We stayed overnight at the home of one of his friends near the temples. Next morning we went back and he went through the same ceremony. We waited in the grove as before, only this time there were no cool drinks. I didn’t see any of the temple slaves except for the ones who assisted at the ceremony. In time my master returned and this time he was elated. It seems he got a really favorable prophecy from the Oracle. He was practically singing all the way home, and as soon as we got there, he sent for his banker.

“I heard later from the steward that our master went into the shrine of Hecate and was told there that his luck would be tremendous on this voyage, and that great opportunities awaited, and he should be prepared. He figured that meant that some prize contracts were going to be up for bidding, so he took along far more cash than he usually carried. The steward said it was five times as much.”

“I see. And what was the outcome of this voyage?”

“The first leg took him to Piraeus. That was where he usually took ship for the islands. When there was no word from him in over a month, his business manager here started an investigation. He sent a couple of the freedmen to Piraeus to ask questions and follow the master’s trail. They were back in no time. He’d stayed just one night at the inn where he usually stayed. He went down to the harbor to find a ship headed for Delos. The harbormaster said he saw him get onto a small ship that had just arrived from Italy. It cast off right away, like he was the only thing they were waiting for, though they hadn’t discharged or taken on any cargo since docking. Nothing has been heard of him since. After a year passed, the will was read and I was a free woman.”

“And you suspect the Oracle staff was behind the disappearance of your master?”

“Sir, he was set up! They as much as told him to take along plenty of extra cash this trip. And I never heard of an oracle saying anything outright like that. Worst thing is, I helped them do it.” Apparently she had been fond of her master. We always want to believe that our slaves love us, but this is seldom the case.

“You are blameless. How could you suspect that an idle conversation would lead to your master being waylaid by robbers? You divulged no secrets. No court would hold you accountable.”

“I still feel terrible about it.”

“You needn’t. Now, Floria, you must tell me something else.”

“I’ve already told you what I know.”

“For that I am quite grateful. You have been a great help to my investigation. But when you called me in here, you were very apprehensive. Frightened, in fact. Why?”

She was quiet for a moment, her arms crossed before her as if she were cold on this warm afternoon. “Word has been going around, Praetor. Nothing open, but when I go to the market or down to the corner fountain for water and some gossip, I keep hearing the same thing: It’s going to be bad for anyone who helps this Roman praetor in the matter of the temples and the killings. It’s something everybody just seems to know: This is a local matter, no need to get Rome involved. Keep quiet if you know anything, or it’ll be the worse for you.”

“I wish you would let me place you under my protection.”

“In a few days, this matter will be over one way or another and you’ll be gone, Praetor. But I’ll have to live here the rest of my life. I don’t know any other place and I don’t want to start over somewhere like Rome.”

“Very well, but if you feel in any way threatened, come to me instantly.”

“I will, Praetor, and now I think you should go.” She went to the door and opened it just enough to stick her head out. She scanned the alley both ways, then motioned for me to go. I stepped outside, hand on dagger again, but the alley was deserted.

As I made my interrupted way toward the city gate and my waiting horse, I thought about what I had just heard. Of course, my first thoughts were of how I might have been tricked and gulled. Was she a plant? It was known that I would be in Stabiae that day, but nobody could have known that I would on a whim choose to wander about the city alone. I had chosen that particular alley because I did not know the town and it seemed as good a way as any to find the forum and thence the gate. Try as I might, I couldn’t see how she could have been planted in my path.

As for the rest, it sounded plausible enough. It hardly seemed shocking that a foreign cult was acting as a cover for a robbery ring, though ten years at the minimum seemed a long time for it to stay under wraps. Of course, the late Lucius Terentius had been neatly disposed of in a manner that would not have cast suspicion on the Oracle. People are lost at sea every year, hundreds of them even in a year of good sailing weather. Also, they need not fleece all of their customers, just the ones who present a prospect of high profit and safe disposal somewhere far away.