“They might yet. I would love to take some sort of direct action instead of merely reacting to what’s already been done.”
“We can’t do a thing until we have a firm suspect,” Hermes pointed out.
“I still haven’t looked over Archelaus’s staff on the via Aurelia,” I said. “It’s not far away and I want to arrive unannounced.”
We walked along one of the roads that go northeast through the Trans-Tiber. It ended at the western end of the Cestian Bridge, which connects the Tiber Island to the west bank. This area housed a great many river bargemen, and we heard every accent and dialect to be found along the navigable length of the Tiber from Ostia almost to the Appenines.
The via Aurelia begins at the Cestian Bridge. Like all our highways it was lined with tombs, though it wasn’t nearly as crowded with them as the far older via Appia. There were also some stately villas, most of them owned by equites who wanted to avoid the crowding of the City proper, especially in summer, while staying close to Rome and the exhilarating activity described by Callista. Aristocrats generally had their estates much farther from the walls.
We paused and took a breather at a small but exquisite temple dedicated to Diana and a priest there told us that the embassy from Parthia resided at a villa no great distance away, and that we should take a small side-road flanked by two herms. The villa was at the end of the road.
We found the road a short time later. The herms were draped with garlands of holly leaves, the greenest foliage to be found at that time of year. It pleased me to see these rustic devotions kept up. City people were getting more and more out of touch with their rural roots. We passed between them with a nod of acknowledgement.
The villa was old-fashioned, a rather modest house surrounded by a number of outbuildings, most of them converted into residences. There was some small commotion in the house as we approached and a well-dressed man emerged, holding a small, silver-topped staff. He looked Greek but dressed Roman. Another Bithynian, no doubt.
“Ah, Senator, welcome,” he stammered. “We were not expecting so distinguished a visitor.”
“You weren’t? Didn’t Archelaus send word to expect me?”
“I’ve had no communication from across the river in a few days. I am Themistocles, steward to Archelaus. How may I be of service?”
“I am on an investigation for the dictator,” I told him. “I need to inspect the personnel of your mission. Please be so good as to summon them.”
Now he looked alarmed. “I had heard that my master’s interview with Caesar did not go well. Surely he will not take action against us?”
“Nothing of the sort,” I assured him. “We are not barbarians. We respect embassies. Now, will you summon your people?”
Relieved but mystified, he went to do my bidding. A short time later we had almost a hundred people lined up before the house. I immediately dismissed the women, the young boys and the older men to go about their duties. This left about fifty men of an age to be dangerous. Hermes and I began looking them over, paying special attention to their hands. As at the town residence, there were some tough-looking specimens, all of the same tribe as the guard I had questioned there.
Toward the end of the line was a smaller man, dressed in a rough, dark-colored tunic. As we neared him, he looked about, his face whitening.
“There’s a shifty one,” Hermes said. He left the man he had been questioning and made for the suspicious one. The servant whirled and dashed off with surprising alacrity.
“Action at last!” Hermes said, grinning. He took off in pursuit, and I found myself wishing that I had someone to place a wager with. Hermes was an excellent runner and in top condition, but fear had lent the fleeing man the winged feet of Mercury. It would be a close thing.
“Are you a betting man, Themistocles?”
“Eh? I am sorry, Senator, what did you say?”
“Never mind. Who is that man?”
“Just one of the locals I hired to help in the stables. When we arrived here we required a few servants who knew both the area and the language. It was easier than buying slaves that we would have to sell when we leave. May I know what this is about?”
“All in good time. How long has he been here?”
“Not long, perhaps ten days. Is he wanted for some crime in Rome?”
“If he wasn’t before, he is now,” I said. “If he’d just brazened it out I probably wouldn’t have suspected him. That’s what a guilty conscience will do to a man. He condemned himself without a word.”
“I daresay,” Themistocles said, swallowing. “Will there be trouble over this?”