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Saturnalia(76)

By:John Maddox Roberts


“He’ll have quaestors for the payrolls,” I told her, “and embassy or envoy duty can be dangerous in that part of the world. Nations wishing to join a rebellion usually declare their loyalty by killing their Roman ambassadors. Envoys who deliver terms the Gauls don’t like are often slaughtered. The Germans are rumored to be even worse.”

“Well, I am certain that my uncle will keep you well away from danger. Your reputation has never been that of a soldier, after all.”

“I am touched by your faith.”

“Anyway, that is next year. What happened after the conference?” This time she got the story of my flight from my father’s house and the little battle near my house.

“It’s a good thing Milo assigned you such capable men,” she commented.

“I did pretty well for myself,” I said. “I settled for one and was about…”

“You would have been killed had you been alone,” she said flatly. “Do you think the men were Clodia’s?”

“No, and that is a part of all the things that have bothered me about this case. It’s not Clodia’s style.”

“Have you forgotten?” she said crossly. “I told you that she might do just such a thing to divert attention from herself.”

“I remember quite well. No, it’s the quality of the men. I’ve been in Clodia’s house quite a bit”—I caught her look and added hastily—”in the line of duty, of course. Everything Clodia owns, buys, hires, or in any way whatever associates with, is first class. Her clothes, her furniture, her collection of art, even her slaves all are of the very highest quality.”

“I’d like to get a look at her house some time,” Julia said wistfully.

“But Milo’s thugs said that the attackers were very inferior fighters from an inferior school. Even allowing for the customary school rivalry, they did seem less than adept. They were not very pretty either. If Clodia had hired assassins, she would have hired only the best.”

“No pursuit is so low that good taste cannot be observed,” Julia said. “I still think you’re trying to find her innocent in spite of all evidence.”

“Then listen to this.” I told her about the interview with Narcissus. She was enthralled by, of all things, Asklepiodes’s diagnosis of the injury caused by the falling roof tile.

“And he can actually open up a man’s head and heal so terrible an injury!” she said, dropping her fan and clasping her hands in delight. “Such a skill must truly be a gift from the gods.”

“Well, if anyone can do it, it must be Asklepiodes. Now pay attention. That is nothing.”

“Nothing!” she said before I could continue. “All you men spend your days scheming about how to injure people and you idolize the worst butchers, but you think it is nothing that someone can draw an injured man back from death like that!”

“I don’t go around injuring people,” I protested. “And I don’t admire people who do. Besides, we don’t know that he will pull through. Marcus Celsius may have the Styx lapping about his ankles this very moment.” How had we gotten off onto this? “Enough. Let me tell you about a less admirable physician.”

Julia listened open-mouthed as I described the activities of the late Ariston of Lycia.

“Oh, this is infamous!” she cried. “A physician, sworn to the gods by the oath of Hippocrates, deliberately poisoning his patients!”

“You think you’re shocked?” I said. “He was my family’s physician. Suppose I’d fallen ill?”

“Do you think you are important enough to poison?”

“Some people have deemed me quite worthy of homicide.”

“They might have stabbed you to death in the street, perhaps. That usually calls for a temporary exile. Poisoning brings a terrible punishment.”

“It is a puzzler, and that brings up another question. With all the suspicions about her, why would Clodia poison Celer? She had to know that she would be the most prominent suspect. If she, as you suggested, might wish to divert suspicion from herself, would she not have hired an assassin to strike him down in the city? Everyone would have automatically assumed that he had been killed by one of his multitude of political enemies.”

That gave her something to think about. “It does confuse things.”

“So, having determined that the poison originated with Harmodia and that Ariston was the vector, as it were, by which it was transmitted to the victim, I have to sift through the rather numerous suspects to determine which one hired Ariston”.