Страница 16 из 66
It's all right, fruit. Something delayed us last night."
Oh I knew Gaius Baebius would look after you!" Helena Justina leaned back to inspect the bruises from the hammering I had received from Cratidas. I was home now and as an informer's girlfriend Helena had seen far worse damage. She was almost calm. Only the fierce compression of her lips spoke of hidden emotions.
So he is a pirate," she commented, fingering my sore cheek. While I was away, she must have persuaded Junia to confess what Gaius Baebius knew about Damagoras.
He says he is not." Helena Justina surveyed me with her intelligent dark eyes. Rueful thoughts were working in that clever brain. I think he is a pirate who tells lies."
That will be part of his calling. But he claims he is merely an honest, long-time retired sea captain, who wanted Diocles to help write his life history." Helena took me in her arms again. Against my neck she murmured, so the words tickled me alluringly, A pirate who lies about his past… so did he want the missing ghost-writer to fake his memoirs?" We agreed that it seemed ludicrous. But as Helena and I talked it through, we wondered if Diocles had started the project i
XVII
I met Petronius at the vigiles station house shortly afterwards. We had made no specific arrangements. With Junia and Gaius causing a bad atmosphere at his lodgings, I knew he would have rushed to work. I walked around to the station house, and found Petro sharing a room with the officer in charge. Petro feigned surprise at seeing me, but he was being daft. The officer heading up the Sixth's Ostia detachment was a short ex army heavy with a beard, the same caricature of leadership whom I met yesterday. The unhelpful one. I had asked his background so I knew he had been a legionary centurion and was intent on higher things. According to him he was taking the vigiles route to a post with the Praetorian Guard. No doubt it would happen. He looked like a clunk to me. He would fit in nicely. With this delight, whose name was Bru
What's the official stance on pirates nowadays?" I followed Petro's lead in handling the man civilly, even though I wanted to poke his vine-stick somewhere dark and personal.
No pirates exist," stated Bru
Pirates never went away. Pirates are a filthy rash that will always reappear. But they operate out of Sicily, Sardinia, Cilicia. The vigiles are a land force, so, thank the gods, we don't have the bastards in our remit."
I can see that a retired old pirate who never leaves his seaside home would be of little interest," I suggested, but doesn't your undesirables list for Ostia include current leaders, should they come ashore?"
We have enough to do," grumbled Bru
No watching brief?"
The navy cover it." He was terse; I detected jealousy. Inevitably for someone so intensely ambitious, who was not an idiot, Bru
Sounds about right!" Bru
I was surprised the fire-fighting was not being done by the vigiles," I hinted, with one eye on Petro. I wondered if the Sixth's detachment were slackers.
If only! What you saw is standard practice in Ostia, Falco. Goes back to before the vigiles came here. Prior to us, the builders" guild always put out fires; they had the right equipment, see. They have retained the role." When I raised my eyebrows, Petronius explained further. Only for fires in domestic property."
I don't get it," I said.
There was local resentment about the Rome vigiles being stationed here. Some prefect decided we would respect sensitivities, so we let the builders" guild carry on as before, in residential areas."
I gather your landlord, Privatus, is top of the guild? Is that why he is so willing to be hospitable?" I tried to sound non-judgmental, though it seemed an awkward situation. Bru
Problems?" I asked.
The guild can be a bit pushy," Bru
Too powerful!" growled Petronius.
Look, Ostia is packed with craft guilds and associations," Bru