Lindsey Davis - Graveyard of the Hesperides

Again my companion gave me an admiring look. “Yes, they were thinking about it-and I was determined to stop them. I was doing well. I was a rich woman, training up Menendra to do all the work for me. Not bad, for a one-time Illyrian slave! Those menaces could have taken themselves anywhere; I was not having them lose me valuable income.”

“So you decided to wipe them out-to prevent encroachment?”

“No, Thales took them out. I’m innocent.” That generally means guilty. “He was more under threat than me. They hadn’t really come to the bar to sell grains. They came for the betting. It was the Amphitheater year. Those Egyptians had been down at the arena, trying to lay wagers on races, finding it difficult. They met some people from up here who told them we had good nights at the Hesperides, with no official hassle. Higher stakes, more action, all in a pleasant venue with a lively atmosphere.” I could tell Rufia was proud of the offered amenities. “It was invitation-only. You had to be introduced to Thales. He needed to be sure men who came were a safe prospect-not only that they wouldn’t snitch to the authorities, but they possessed big spending money.”

I nodded. This was the usual story.

“People couldn’t just knock and walk in.” Rufia was one of those narrators who keep emphasizing their point even when you have got it.

“Invitation-only. I see.”

“You’re a bright girl!” she sneered. “But you haven’t worked out why Thales took against those Egyptians, have you? It was because of the gambling. He didn’t really run it himself. I told you, he was too hopeless; that was all done by a man he knew, Rabirius.”

“The crime lord.”

“Oh you have been working hard!”

“I know of Rabirius and Gallo and their protection rackets. So they involve themselves in gambling too? No surprise! They killed the Egyptians?”

“Not that stupid. Rabirius was keen on the Egyptians. All Gallo did was send trusted diggers afterward for the graves.”

“And why did Thales want the Egyptians dead?”

“Because they had spotted what a good little earner we had. They palled up with old Rabirius, that cheating devil, to take over the syndicate. Thales would have been cut out altogether. But that Gallo was just establishing himself at the time, so he put a different idea to Thales. They would remove the Egyptians, outmaneuvering Rabirius, so Gallo could start building his power base. He was making the rackets all his own. The only thing was, Thales had to fix up the deaths to stop Rabirius knowing Gallo was behind it. He didn’t have the oomph to kick out Rabirius altogether, not then, so he still wanted to pretend to be loyal.”

“I get it,” I said. “Rabirius was cheerily double-crossing his old friend. Gallo came along behind his chief’s back, spelled out how Thales was being cheated, offering to help out. But Thales had to find someone to carry out the killing; he had to host the incident, and take all the risks.”

“Gallo’s a smart operator!” Rufia scoffed. “And Thales was a fool. In the end, Gallo did practically nought.”

“So who did Thales commission for the deed?”

“That I don’t know.” She must be lying, but I guessed she would never change her story. This woman was as tough as everyone said. She had spent ten years avoiding any comeback for that night at the Hesperides; she would not lose everything now by confessing.

“All right, change the subject. How did Thales persuade his killers?”

“Money, of course.”

“Oh what else! I understand why the Egyptians, but why Rhodina?”

Rufia spat. “That silly little cow. Juno, how I hated her. Girls who build their lives on cozying up to men … As it happened, she was dreaming. Thales was never prepared to share his cash. If he had been, let’s face it, I would have tied him up myself. Sure, I despised him, but the money would have sweetened it.”

“You had earned your share.” I showed that I realized her situation. “You spent years running that bar on his behalf because he wasn’t capable. He never gave you credit. You were only ever known as a barmaid.”

She grudgingly agreed. “And Rhodina would never be anything different, but the silly woman never saw that. Let’s get on. So, those men came to the Hesperides, thinking it was a gambling night. Thales said the others weren’t there yet, so while they waited for things to kick off, he got them drunk and we used Rhodina to distract them. The boys came in-”

“These boys whose names you never knew?”

“The same.”

“You didn’t recognize them?”

“Oh no.” Barefaced lie.

“How did they kill the Egyptians?”

“Cut their throats. Slick and quick. They did for two before Rhodina, the idiot, started squealing at the blood. The rest were slurring and tipsy, but took in what was happening; one of them grabbed her. She couldn’t move fast; she was a lump when she was pregnant. He broke her neck, so one of the boys broke his for him, then they finished off the rest in no time. Very professional. We laid the bodies in a line, ready for their graves. That’s it.”

“Not quite. What about you, Rufia? Your disappearance?”

“Thales didn’t know, but I already planned on leaving. What happened that night, well, I could bear it, I have a strong stomach, but that was enough aggravation for me. I told him I had put together such a nice little nest egg I was pissing off out of it. I was starting a new life and if he wanted to avoid trouble, he would agree to my plans. He was very surprised. Well, he didn’t know that as well as my tips money and what I got from the lupin round, I’d taken extra from his bank box-he’d find that out later. I said I would never come back to bother him, so long as he cooperated. He was so weak and pathetic, he did. Be fair, he always honored the bargain afterward.”

“I bet it was your suggestion to behead Rhodina?”

“Of course. Chip, chop! That way, if the bodies were ever found, no one would realize it wasn’t me who died.”

“Why pretend you were dead?”

“Oh … I just didn’t want any fuss afterward.”

She would never admit the truth, but I thought she probably took more of a part in the deaths than she was claiming. She needed to flee. People could have fingered her for murder. If, despite her denial, she really knew who “the boys” were, they must have known her. I wondered, was it actually Rufia, not Thales, who had organized the killers?

“I suggested they take off that man’s twisted leg, too, for the same reason,” she went on. “Just in case anyone came looking for the Egyptians. And I told Thales to remove their clothes and get rid of them.”

I told her they had cut off the wrong leg, to which she replied, that was men for you. Thales himself, probably. He was always an idiot. “Right, Flavia Albia, is that all you want?”

I had a few more questions, so started to shoot them at her. Wet through as I was, I felt frozen, while clearly her diseased joints would not support her weight much longer. We needed to conclude. Juno, I had to get back to that wedding.

I tackled recent events: who damaged the building site and who attacked Gavius-killed him, as his grandmother’s message had now told me? Rufia claimed to know nothing about that.

What had happened to Rhodina’s head? Rufia took it away with her. Nobody was told what she did with it; that was why Menendra, who remained her ally, went looking at her old room, in case it had been hidden there. “So what did you do with it?”

“Sent it to a farm. The pigs ate it. We couldn’t take all the bodies, there were too many to move. People would notice. The cart might be stopped for inspection.”

“Someone tried to break in. Was that Menendra too?”