"What is your name and rank, Officer? And may I inspect your register?" the Special Inspector intoned as Strabon meaningfully waved the ivory scroll of commission with its imposing purple Imperial bulla tag in the direction of the clerk.
"Certainly, sir. Of course, sir. I am Danaos, a Tessararius clerk to the Alexandrine Fleet."
"Tessararius Danaos, were you the officer recording this jetty's traffic to The Alexandros on the day or night before last?"
"Only for my eight hour watch, sir. I supervised the evening watch two days ago, not the morning or afternoon watch," the clerk-of-records explained.
Suetonius cast his eyes across the two sheets of coming-and-goings registered for the day. Running his finger down the list of names and titles his finger stopped abruptly at a single name. Further down the list he noted the same name twice more. He showed the sheet to Strabon as Clarus moved closer to observe.
Surisca, though not having reading skills, could nevertheless identify personal names on a page. She too glanced over the pages as Suetonius turned away from the officer's hearing.
"Here, it's Centurion Quintus Urbicus, our Praetorian. According to these sheets he arrived twice but departed only once on that day. His final arrival was quite late," Suetonius whispered. "The priestess Perenna's story of her bodyguard being witness to her presence that night is confirmed here."
He turned to the clerk.
"May I see the register for yesterday, the day after these pages, Tessararius Danaos."
The Alexandrian provided the further papers. Suetonius again ran his finger down the lists and came to a stop-place.
"Cent Quintus Urbicus. One arrival and then one departure, both in the middle of the day. It seems our centurion friend arrived at the Governor's vessel on the day before last, but there is no record of his departure prior to his further arrival the next day," he said. "This can't be feasible, can it?"
Suetonius turned to the clerk.
"Officer Danaos, is your register of people travelling to and from The Alexandros always accurate? Is it possible you miss some arrivals or departures?" the biographer asked.
"Indeed not, my lord! Our careers as guards to the Governor would be immediately struck out, and we'd receive a thorough beating for our negligence," the clerk protested. Clarus intervened.
"Test the sheets' veracity with another name. Try for Flavius Titianus. The Governor told us he slept at Hadrian's dining marquee on the night of the celebration of The Isia with his paramour lass from Iberia, so surely his departure and return would be noted accordingly?" the senator suggested.
Strabon ran his finger down the first page of the first day once again as Surisca followed his finger closely.
"Here it is. "Excellency Prefect Gov departs with entourage of three." They're each listed by name. It is indicated at four hours after high sun. But there's no record of his return to his vessel later that day, nor of his retinue's return, until mid-morning the following day," Strabon announced. "This register agrees with the Governor's own words."
Surisca, who had been looking across Strabon's shoulder at the first day's pages, pointed hesitantly to a name late in the list. Strabon looked more closely at the penmanship. He turned to the Alexandrian clerk. His eyes were alight.
"Officer Danaos, can you read this name to us please," the scribe enquired as he pointed to a name low down the list. The clerk checked the written entry and spoke aloud.
"Yes sir, it is the name of Lysias of Bithynia. Six hours after midday, around sunset. His travel authority was a personal invitation from Lady Anna Perenna. It was sighted by the watch officer and duly recorded," the clerk announced.
"Lysias?" Clarus exclaimed. "What's this about? What was Lysias doing here?"
"So, what time did he depart then?" Suetonius asked.
Strabon and Surisca trailed down the sheet, across to the second sheet, and then to the following day's page without success.
"There is no record of his departure," Strabon announced. Suetonius turned to the clerk.
"Tell me, fellow, how do you explain that you have two visitors in the sheets of the day before yesterday marked as arrivals to be ferried to The Alexandros, but no record of their return journey from the vessel?" the Special Inspector demanded. "Yet one of these two, Centurion Urbicus of the Alexandrian Praetorians, arrives again the following day without his prior departure from The Alexandros recorded?"
The officer stammered a mumbled reply.
"My lords, I don't know," he wavered. "The Watch has not troubled to compare the sheets. It seems the clerk at that Watch has been negligent. I am at a loss! It is not my fault! He will be punished for it, I'll see to that!"
The officer was visibly shaken by the error and in fear of his superiors.
"Yet you were supervising one of these watches on both these two days?" Clarus intoned, the senatorial stripe running down his toga assuming a menacing magnitude in the clerk's vision.
Suetonius interrupted with a more helpful question.
"Were you also the officer who recorded the arrival of Lysias of Bithynia two evenings ago?"
"Yes, my lord, I was."
"Do you recall the occasion?"
"Indeed, my lord. Lysias of Bithynia is a fine young noble, well dressed, well built, and bearing fine weapons. I was impressed by his magnificence."
"Was he in company?"
The clerk looked to his sheets to check.
"He was not personally accompanied, but he arrived at the same time as other officers of the Guards. All three were ferried to The Alexandros together."
"And they were?"
"You have already noted Centurion Quintus Urbicus. The other was an officer of Caesar's Horse Guard accompanying the centurion. They visit The Alexandros regularly."
"Their arrival was recorded, but you have no record of their departure. Is it possible your visitors to the Governor's barque can depart by some other means? By other river craft, another route, or some other means?" the Special Inspector asked.
"We retain a complete record, sir, of those who attend the Governor's barque in any manner," the clerk stammered. "Even the late night watch passes such comings and goings to the daytime shift for our records. We aim to protect His Excellency from stowaways who could well be assassins, brigands, thieves, or even seekers of favors."
"What about in the dark of night? Could a visitor to The Alexandros slip away overboard without your clerk or guardsmen seeing it?"
The Alexandrian was stricken mute for a moment.
"I suppose such a thing is possible, sir. But the river is not safe to travel after dark even if the moon is high," he offered. "The currents are dangerous. People drown."
Suetonius resolved to make a deal with the officer.
"Tessararius Danaos, we will remain silent about your offence with these records if you give us with these pages. We will confiscate the pages for our own legal purposes. Be satisfied we are being gentle and won't press charges," Suetonius declared imperiously.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, my lords," the clerk bowed profusely as he handed over the six pages of the register. Suetonius rolled the papyri carefully and handed them to Strabon.
"Keep these in a safe place. I will have to search my mind for what their omissions mean to our investigation," he muttered. "Meanwhile, what was Lysias doing at The Alexandros with that mystic priestess? He did not mention this matter at his interview. Have we stumbled upon a romantic tryst or is Lysias, too, a seeker of the lady's panaceas?"
A new voice intruded into the conversation. It called from the jetty's end.
"As you say, gentlemen, just where is the Bithynian youth Lysias?" It was a deeply modulated, educated voice. The four turned to look towards its source.
Standing in tall silhouette against the glare of the midday sun at the far end of the wharf was Caesar's onetime Master of the Hunt, Salvius Julianus. Aged about thirty and garbed in a summer-weight chiton suited to the Egyptian climate topped by a broad-brim sunhat, Julianus's tall, gangly silhouette made a striking outline against the blaze. Marcus, a young equerry, stood nearby.