David Wishart - White Murder

His eyes sharpened. ‘Yeah? What about him?’

‘He didn’t like Pegasus either. And he had a reason, over and above being treated like a second-rater. He’s still a slave. He was saving up to buy his freedom.’

‘Uranius wouldn’t’ve killed Pegasus. He isn’t the type. Besides, he has an alibi. He was down on the Aventine the afternoon he was stabbed.’ He paused, then added casually, or what he presumably thought was casually: ‘Just like I was back at the stables, working with Dad on the accounts. If you’re interested.’

Uh-huh. I glanced past his shoulder. Cammius was only a few feet away, carrying a tray with wine jug, cups and a plate of cheese and olives. If he’d heard that last bit – and he’d been close enough – he didn’t comment.

‘Crescens was busy, so I brought this myself,’ he said. ‘It’s not the Carthaginian stuff I gave you at the stables, Corvinus, but it’s good Spanish, and that’s the best. The cheese and olives, too.’ I noticed he gave Cario an odd look as he set the tray down, and the younger guy coloured. ‘Just the thing after a hard morning’s business.’

‘What were you doing exactly?’ I said.

That got me a frown and a stare blank as a marble statue’s. Jupiter! For all his friendliness, where the faction was concerned the guy was touchy as hell.

‘It’s only eighteen days to the Megalenses,’ he said. ‘That may seem a lot to you, but it isn’t. There’re things to discuss which are frankly no business of yours.’

Ouch. Still, I should’ve expected stone-walling where racing went. I was getting used to it.

Cammius sat and poured for all of us. I took a considering sip. Yeah, well: maybe it was a question of taste, but the best was exaggerating a little. I wouldn’t’ve rated it alongside a more than half-decent Latian, although it wasn’t much behind; and that’s high praise where a wine-shop wine’s concerned. Certainly after a long, thirsty walk round the Circus I wasn’t going to be too critical. The cheese and olives weren’t bad, either.

‘Now,’ Cammius said. He sounded fairly genial again. ‘How’s the investigation going?’

I’d been hoping we’d avoided that topic. ‘Uh…I’m assessing the suspects at present.’ It sounded good, anyway. It was even true, in a way.

‘Did you talk to Titus Natalis?’

There was real venom behind the last two words. I glanced up in surprise. ‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘I talked to Natalis.’

‘And?’

‘He…uh…threw me out.’ Talk about bathos! Well, that was what had happened, and there was no point in covering it up.

Cammius chuckled without humour. ‘Bastard,’ he said.

‘I got the impression he didn’t much like you either.’

‘That’s because I’m the one who’s going to push his face into his own horses’ droppings. Or I would’ve done, if everything had been equal. He’s behind the murder, Corvinus. Don’t ask me how, I don’t know, but Natalis is behind it.’

‘Come on, Dad.’ Cario had been pretty quiet since his father had joined us, but there wasn’t any shilly-shallying here. ‘Natalis may play dirty at times, but he wouldn’t go that far.’

‘Natalis would sell his own grandmother to keep the Greens on top.’ Cammius took a swallow of wine. ‘He’s got the edge now and he means to keep it. In the punters’ eyes a loss for the Greens these days is practically a second Cannae. They’ve got out of the way of losing, and that’s not healthy.’

‘How do you mean, “play dirty”?’ I asked Cario.

The young guy glanced at his father. Cammius nodded his permission. ‘There’ve been a couple of incidents recently,’ he said carefully. ‘Oh, sure, on the track it’s expected. But we caught one of their men trying to sneak in with a shipment of straw. He had a surgeon’s knife strapped to his thigh. Then there was one of our own watermen, a new employee. He had a twist of powder in his purse.’

‘We were lucky. Neither got past the gate.’ Cammius was frowning into his cup. I didn’t even ask what the outcome had been. I’d bet, though, that the waterman at least hadn’t left with a golden handshake. ‘It happens, although not to us as a rule. Or to the Reds. The Blues – well, they’re used to it, it’s all in a day’s work. And the Greens have the backing, which we don’t. Messing with them’s dangerous. You know what I mean.’

Prince Gaius. Or his agents, anyway. Yeah, I knew; you didn’t have to be a racing man to make that jump. ‘You think Natalis would go the length of murder?’

‘Faced with Pegasus and Polydoxus at the Megalenses?’ Cammius drank some of his wine. ‘Yes, Corvinus. I’m sure he would. Whether he did or not’s another matter. And he’d be in a position to get away with it, what’s more.’

I thought of Valgius and his Watchmen. Yeah; he would, at that. ‘How about Laomedon?’ I said. ‘The Red driver?’

That got me a sharp look, from both of them. ‘Laomedon’s a possibility,’ Cario said slowly. ‘For other reasons.’

‘Pegasus was screwing his ex-girlfriend,’ I said.

‘So. You’ve found that out.’ Cammius reached for a piece of cheese. ‘Not that it would’ve been difficult. I’ve a lot of time for Pudens, but the poor man’s no Adonis. And his wife’s a wild one.’

‘Incidentally.’ I sipped my wine. ‘You happen to know what the situation is? Over at the Red stables?’

‘It’s a complete shambles,’ Cario said. ‘Laomedon tries to hold the place together, but he’s fighting a losing battle. Morale’s rock-bottom, and if Laomedon hadn’t been the driver he is last season the Reds would’ve trailed every race.’

‘Uh-huh.’ Well, no surprises there: it was the impression I’d got myself. Pudens was no ball of fire in the business line, either. ‘It must be pretty frustrating for the guy. Why doesn’t he switch to Green?’

‘He would if he could. He drove for them a while five or six years back. Started small, made it up to third driver, which is where he stuck because Natalis refused to promote him. Two years ago he got tired of waiting and left to be lead with the Reds.’

I’d wondered why he hadn’t picked me up on that one when I’d talked to him. ‘Clash of personalities, yes?’ I said.

Cammius chuckled. ‘Say “collision” and you’d be closer to the mark. The story is he told Natalis what he could do with his team and walked out. Natalis doesn’t forgive easy.’

I winced. Yeah, I could visualise the scenario because I’d met both men. Tact wasn’t exactly Laomedon’s strong suit, he’d act first and think about his career later, and Natalis was about as equable as a tiger with toothache. Putting them together wouldn’t make for a happy relationship. ‘Pegasus was driving lead for the Greens when Laomedon moved, right?’

‘No,’ Cammius said. ‘He was their second. Then two months later the lead broke his neck in the Plebbies and Pegasus was promoted. Natalis brought in an Antiochene driver called Nicetus to run backup. He’s the current Green number one.’

Interesting. ‘So what about the Blues? Wouldn’t Acceptus take Laomedon on?’

‘He might.’ Cammius topped up our wine-cups but left his own half full. ‘I wouldn’t, myself, for the same reasons Acceptus doesn’t snap him up. Laomedon’s a first-rate driver, but he’s also a fouler; he’ll win any way he can, and that’s not a popular attitude in the Colours. The games are risky enough as it is.’ Yeah; I remembered Hesper saying the same. ‘Also, he’s no different off-sand than on. He’s not a team person. If he can’t be leader he won’t play.’ His lips twisted. ‘His problem is, he thinks he’s prime leader material and he isn’t. Close, but not there. And that makes all the difference in the world.’