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Her name is Rhodope," said Helena, in a tight voice. She is timid and slight, aged seventeen. I hope she never saw him like this." She gazed around anxiously. I hope she is not out here!" Petronius shrugged. For him, the girl had tangled with the wrong people and her fate was her own fault. If anything, he blamed her for making him and his men have to come out here and deal with this.
So where in Hades is she?" I mused.
We don't know if she was with him. If she was, and could walk after the crash, she may have wandered off," said Petronius. Fusculus has gone to the river to look." We could see remote figures, moving slowly along a line of vegetation that marked what must be the course of the Tiber. It took a long loop away from the road and right around the marsh.
Was Theopompus brought here dead or killed here?"
Can't tell. I suppose it's just as bad being beaten to pulp in a tavern – but there's something about this place…" Petro tailed off. He was a townsman. He hated the thought of murder taking place in isolated country spots.
Did the salt workers see or hear anything last night, Petro?"
What do you think? Not a thing."
They huddle in their huts and if late-night marauders come out from Ostia in crazy vehicles, they bolt the doors?"
They don't want trouble." Petro sounded restless and irritable. He might pretend a scene like this left him untouched, but he was wrong.
Drunks come out here for crazy fun. They see the people on the salt marshes as weird sprites, just waiting to be knocked on the head by town sophisticates. And revellers looking for trouble suppose they will get away with it."
The killers of Theopompus probably will." We started to walk back towards the crashed chariot. We have nothing to pin this on anyone," Petronius grumbled. I wouldn't want to go to court with it. A defender could argue that those bruises were acquired when the chariot went off the road…"
Hard work explaining the slit throats on the horses," I reminded him.
True. But unless we come across someone who actually saw Theopompus with his killers, they may be in the clear."
Rhodope may have seen something," Helena interrupted. Neither Petro nor I pointed out that Rhodope was perhaps also dead. Even if not, if she saw the killers, that put her straight back in the kind of danger that had made me earlier suppose it was her body we would find lying here. Petronius looked at me. I've been told the girl's father is in Ostia trying to find her. Rumour has it, he brought muscle. Know anything about that, Falco?" I toyed with denial. Petro continued to stare, so I said, As far as I know, the muscle consists of just a few old-timers, looking for a good day out."
I shall ask where her papa and his day-trippers were last night," said my old friend, with a distrustful grunt. It sounded as if he were passing them a message through me. I bet they will all give each other nice little watertight alibis."
I'm sure they will." I did not want to be involved. Can you blame them, once they find they are being scrutinised by you?, You know the other kidnappers silenced Theopompus," I growled. Somebody said only yesterday that if he drew attention to their racket, his cronies would not thank him."
Who said that? Are they co
No, just an uncle of mine who I happened to run into. We were chatting generally."
I didn't know you had an uncle here."
Neither did I." Helena walked away from us and went back to the road. She stood on the causeway, where a brisk wind blew her mantle against her body. The fine blue cloth flapped like tent canvas, fighting its embroidered border, which moved to and fro more heavily. Helena hugged her arms close around herself, staring across the opposite marshes.
What's your plan for the chariot?" I asked Petro, as I prepared to go to Helena.
Drag it to the Forum. Stick up a board saying, Anyone see this fandangle yesterday?" Then put a man alongside to take notes. One good thing, it was a very noticeable craft." I nodded, and went to my girl. I tried to hold her, though she turned away from me. Her dark hair had been tugged free by the wind; she was still clinging on to her mantle with one hand while struggling to collect loose hairpins. I stroked her hair, gathering the long loose strands in my own hand, then held her hard against my chest. Both of us must have been thinking about that momentary sighting we had had of Rhodope and Theopompus when they drove into Ostia, he, showing off madly and barely able to control his high strung black horses, she screaming with excitement at the sheer thrill of being with him. Calmer now, Helena became less unresponsive in my arms. So for a short time there were, after all, two lovers clinging together for comfort, in that wild place.
XL
We watched the recovery of the chariot, which was manhandled up to the road and then fixed to the vigiles" cart. Its Hellenic ornament looked tawdry and cheap, now the paintwork was battered. Harness bells jingled forlornly. While its rescue was accomplished, the body of Theopompus was taken up too. Fusculus appeared, having found no sign of any other passengers. So we all trekked back to Ostia. I checked for news at the station house with Petro and Fusculus. In view of the kidnap co
The girl is alive. The father came in," a
Helena Justina knows Rhodope," I suggested. Helena is already here; she is waiting for me." Petro shrugged; he was easy. Rubella went along with it. Fusculus sat outside the interview room with Posidonius. If there was anything more to extract from the father, Fusculus with his easy going ma
I don't know anything about it." That was Rhodope's constant refrain. Now Rubella decided to use the really heavy stuff. Gripping her by the arm, he marched the girl to a room where the troops had flung the bruised body of her lover. Curtly, he ordered her to look. To her credit, she managed not to scream or collapse, though she can never have seen a murdered corpse before. Tears she could not stifle ran down her cheeks, yet she braced herself as if defying us. She had lost everything. Nothing more could affect her. She stood stiffly, staring down at Theopompus, with her grand hopes all ruined. This was a very young girl, who had gone out of her depth through no real fault of her own; harassing her made the rest of us feel grimy. Her father appeared in the doorway. Shocked, Posidonius recoiled from the corpse and took his daughter in his arms. He sheltered her and perhaps she wept then; we could no longer see her face. Helena was furious with Rubella, and she told him what she thought. In the end the vigiles had to say that Rhodope could go. First, there was a brief coda. Helena looked after Rhodope while the father was re-interviewed by Rubella, asking questions about the vigilante group. Posidonius said his friends, including Geminus, were staying together down by the port. Rubella sent men to bring them in. I stuck around, in case I had to bail my father. It was more than he deserved from me; my mood darkened. Posidonius and his bereft child had gone. Helena came to see Rubella.