The King's Gambit(75)

“Yes, for which I would think you’d be grateful, since you conceive yourself to be such a patriot.”

“If he’d wanted to, he could have taken Rome,” I said. “That Thracian scoundrel and his followers just wanted to get away. I wouldn’t have complained. There are too many slaves in Italy as it is.”

“You are far too softhearted, Decius.”

“I suppose I’ll never be a good player in the game. When did it start to go sour, Claudia? Paramedes was useful to you. Did he try blackmail? Co-conspirators often do.”

“Yes. He let it be known that Mithridates might make it more than worth his while to keep him supplied with the details of our dealings. Since he fancied that Crassus is even richer than Mithridates, he sought out a better offer.”

“And as soon as Tigranes was in Rome, Paramedes was redundant.”

“Exactly.”

“So you dispatched Sinistrus to kill him. I take it that the arson was a diversion?”

“Partially.” She regarded me with some interest. “Your mind works well, Decius. I wish you had decided to throw in with us. My brother and the others are so headstrong and lacking in foresight. Except for Hortalus. Yes, it was decided that, since Romans are far more upset by a fire than by a murder, all the attention would go to the fire the next day. Paramedes was just one more dead foreigner. Also, Para-medes kept little in his house. The fire would take care of any embarrassing documents he might have at the warehouse.”

“That brings us to Sinistrus. You acquired him through extralegal means. A minor bit of corruption, but documents on file at the Archives allowed me to tie Hortalus in with your conspiracy.”

“He was just a cheap killer working for me. Bought on the sly and freed so as to have minimum connection with me. I had used him a few times before, usually lending him out to Publius. He was reliable and too stupid to plan a betrayal.”

“This time, to make a clean sweep of it, you eliminated him, employing this mysterious Asian boy. I want to meet that enterprising youth, by the way.” She smiled at this. At the time, I thought she was just being arch.

“Yes, Sinistrus was at the end of his usefulness to us. There are plenty more of him, and they are much easier to buy, now. We wanted no loose ends at such a delicate stage. It was only later that I realized that Sinistrus had stupidly neglected to fetch that token from Paramedes’s house.”

“Not the brightest of henchmen, Sinistrus,” I commiserated.

“Decidedly not. Of course, by the time we discovered his mistake it was daylight and a guard had been posted at Paramedes’s house. Then you came snooping around.”

“And inconveniently made off with the token. I must thank you for not having me killed, Claudia. Must have been a wrench for you to leave someone alive.”

“It was Hortalus who said you weren’t to be killed,” she said, shrugging. “He’s a dreadful sentimentalist.”

“So much for my manly charm.” My irony was assumed, but my sadness was real. I had, against all likelihood, cherished the hope that, somehow, Claudia felt something for me. “Why Sergius Paulus? Surely he didn’t try to blackmail you.”

“Of course not. He was far too rich for that. When I found out you had called on him, I went to see him immediately afterward.”

I wondered which of my colleagues had told her I was on my way to the house of Paulus. Rutilius? Opimius? Junius the scribe? Any or all of them, I decided. “I know,” I said. “I saw your palanquin leaving his house. Of course, I didn’t know it was yours at the time, but I found it in your little hideaway after our memorable night together.”

“What a snoop!” she said, indignant. “It was very lowbred of you to go prying like that.”

“Each of us behaves according to the gifts bestowed upon us by the gods at our birth. To some is given great strength, to others the ability to lead men, or play the lyre or compose verse. To me was given the propensity for snooping into things others would prefer to remain hidden.”

“Just like a plebeian,” she sniffed. “Well, Paulus was losing his nerve. Freedmen are always insecure, even rich ones. They know it is possible to lose everything. He was agitated, prattling on about your questioning. I tried to reassure him, but I could see that it was no use. He knew too much and he drank too much. We no longer needed him, since Paramedes had been removed from the board. I decided to remove him, too.” She sat back, a puzzled look on her face. “I don’t know why I’m bothering to tell you all this.”

“But you have to,” I said. “Otherwise, who will know what a superb player you are? I’ll bet you don’t even tell your fellow conspirators everything.”