David Wishart - No Cause for Concern

She turned. ‘Yes. It was where we met, when we wanted to be together. Where we arranged to meet. No one ever comes to this part of the garden, especially at this time of year.’

‘Uh-huh.’ Well, that made sense. And, of course, it explained why this Stasimus had chosen it for his own clandestine amorous activities. ‘Anyone know about that?’

‘No.’ She shrugged. ‘Or not that I’m aware of. We were very careful. But it’s not impossible.’

Right. And it could just be coincidence. The rest of the grounds were fairly open, flower beds and the like. The grotto would be the perfect place to choose for a private meeting of any kind, particularly when there were going to be bodies involved at the end of it. If you knew it was there, that is.

‘Ah…you happen to know if your father’s accountant is around this morning?’ I said neutrally. ‘Astrapton?’

Not neutrally enough. Sempronia was no fool. She shot me a look.

‘Probably,’ she said. ‘I’ll send one of the slaves to find out.’

‘No, that’s OK. I’ll go myself.’

‘Then I’ll come with you.’

‘You sure?’

‘Yes. Oh, yes. Very sure.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Have you finished here, Valerius Corvinus? With the…with Titus, I mean.’

I nodded. She turned to the slaves. ‘Carry them into the house,’ she said. ‘Carefully, please. Critias has made the arrangements. He’ll tell you where to put them.’

The slaves unrolled the stretchers. We left them to it and walked back towards the house in silence. Sempronia didn’t look back at the grotto. Or at me.

‘If it was Astrapton who did it,’ she said eventually, ‘I’ll have him crucified. And if I can I’ll hammer the nails in myself.’

Ouch! ‘We can’t be sure that he’s the killer,’ I said. ‘He lied about seeing them leave, but that’s as far as it goes. What reason would he have?’

‘I don’t know. But the lie is enough. If he won’t explain that now to me then my father’ll persuade him otherwise. He’s very good at persuasion.’

My stomach went cold. No fluffy kitten was right, in spades. Sempronia was no girl to cross.

We went inside and through the house to the annexe where the accountant had his office. The cubby-hole was empty. Without a word, Sempronia led me to the clerks’ room further along the corridor where four or five slaves were working. They looked up startled as we came in.

‘Where’s Astrapton?’ she said.

‘In a meeting with the master, miss,’ one of the slaves said.

‘He know anything about the finding of young Master Titus’s body earlier this morning?’ I asked.

That got me a nervous look. ‘Yes, sir. Of course. We all do.’

Par for the course: nothing escapes the slave grapevine for long. Sure, the bastard might be with Eutacticus. And pigs might fly. In any case, it would be easy enough to check.

We left them staring.

Eutacticus was in his own office, sitting behind his desk. Alone. For a guy who’d just lost a stepson he looked pretty normal, but then paroxysms of grief were clearly something else he didn’t do. That and allow a little thing like a murder in the family to interrupt his business duties. The bastard wasn’t even wearing mourning.

‘Well?’ he said.

‘Where’s Astrapton, Father?’ Sempronia asked.

Eutacticus put down the pen he was holding. ‘In his office, presumably,’ he said. ‘Why?’

‘The clerks seem to think that he came here. For a meeting.’

‘No. I haven’t seen him since yesterday. And there was certainly no meeting arranged. What’s this about?’

‘The chances are he’s done a runner,’ I said.

‘We think he killed Titus,’ said Sempronia.

Eutacticus stared at us. ‘ Astrapton? That’s nonsense. Why the hell would Astrapton want to kill Titus?’

‘Yeah, well, it’s just a possibility at present,’ I said. ‘Still, the guy lied to me about seeing him and his slave leave the house the morning they disappeared. And now he’s gone missing himself.’

Eutacticus got up, went to the door, opened it, and yelled: ‘ Critias! ’ Then he turned back to me. ‘You’re sure about that?’ he said.

‘Like your daughter said. The boys in his department told us he was here with you. He isn’t. And he knew the bodies’d been found. What do you think?’

‘I don’t know at present, Corvinus. But if he has disappeared, and he was involved in Titus’s murder, then -’

‘Yes, sir.’ The major-domo. Critias.

‘Go down to the gate. Don’t send someone, go yourself. I want to know if Astrapton has gone out this morning, and I want a definite answer brought back within the next two minutes. Clear?’

‘Yes, sir.’ Critias turned to go.

‘And, Critias -’

‘Yes, sir?’

‘If he hasn’t already left then make sure he doesn’t. He’s to be found and brought to me.’

‘Certainly, sir.’ The major-domo left. Where insouciance was concerned, Bathyllus couldn’t’ve done it better.

Eutacticus went back to his chair behind the desk. ‘Right, Corvinus. Sit. I want to talk to you. Sempronia, lose yourself. This is no place for women.’

‘But, Father -’

‘Go! ’

I thought she might stand her ground, but she left without a word, closing the door behind her. I pulled up a chair and sat down.

‘Right, Corvinus,’ Eutacticus said. ‘I’m listening. And you’d better make it good, because Astrapton is one of my best employees.’

I shrugged. ‘Nothing else to add, pal.’ He bristled, but I ignored it. ‘When I talked to Astrapton yesterday morning he told me that on the day they disappeared he’d seen your stepson and his slave leaving the premises. Unless they came back later and got themselves murdered then the guy was lying. As to why he’d want to do that, let alone murder them himself, I’ve got no more idea than you have. So get off my back, right?’

I thought I’d gone too far, because Eutacticus’s face had set hard and his hands on the desk-top balled into fists. Then he nodded.

‘All right,’ he said. ‘Fair enough. Then I’ll settle for your theories.’

‘No theories as yet. Just questions.’

‘Namely?’

‘For a start, I’m assuming that Titus being dead changes the rules of the game. The hands-off business on your part. Am I right?’

He was quiet for a long time. Then he said: ‘Look, Corvinus, we didn’t get on, my stepson and me. Occusia’s probably told you. But he was mine. Part of my family until I said different, whatever his thoughts on the matter were, and no one messes with my family and gets away with it. You understand?’

I nodded. Mine. That about summed the cold bastard up. Still, I needed him behind me, and the kid himself was out of it now.

‘So I’ll help you all I can. You just have to ask, whatever it is, whatever it costs, you ask and it’ll happen. In return, I expect you to find my stepson’s killer. Just that. Expect, not just want. Deal?’

Shit. Well, it was the best I was going to get. ‘Deal,’ I said.

‘Good.’ He leaned back in his chair. ‘Now. Second question.’

‘Why would Astrapton want to kill your stepson? Or see him dead, or cover up for his killer? Any and all of these?’

‘I told you. I can’t answer that. No reason, as far as I know. Titus didn’t involve himself in the business, didn’t want to get involved. He and Astrapton had nothing at all to do with each other.’

‘Okay. Leave Astrapton out of it for the moment. Who else would want him dead? What about young Publius Paetinius?’

That got me a look. ‘Who told you about Paetinius?’

‘A friend of Titus’s.’ I wasn’t going to bring Sempronia in, if I could manage not to. That aspect of things I’d keep to myself for the present, and if Eutacticus did get to know about it then it would have to come from the lady herself. ‘He a possibility?’