‘Yeah, well, that’s — ’ I began, and then my brain caught up with my ears. Fuck. ‘You, ah, didn’t know, then?’
‘I didn’t know what?’
There wasn’t any way out of this. ‘That he’s, uh, dead. Look, lady, I’m sorry, I thought — ’
The fingers had stopped. One of the phials tipped over, rolled off the shelf and smashed on the shop floor. Cluvia collapsed like a string-cut puppet, and I was just in time to get my hands beneath her armpits before she hit the floor herself.
Oh, shit. Nice one, Corvinus. Very tactful.
At which point -
‘Ow-ooo-owowow-ooo!’
Bugger. That we could do without.
‘Shut up, Placida!’ I snapped, giving her a back-heel kick. ‘Settle!’
The woman in the trinkets shop next door — she’d been taking an obvious interest right through the conversation — had moved like greased lightning out from behind her own counter and round the back of Cluvia’s. I felt the dead weight lift. Jupiter, the woman was strong!
‘Thanks, sister,’ I said.
That got me another glare, hundred-candelabra strength, delivered at point-blank range. By this time women — customers and stallholders — were flocking in from all directions like hens to a spilled bucket of barley. Let’s hear it for female solidarity. Speaking of which -
‘Ow-ooo-ooo-ooo!’
Oh, shit. ‘Not you, sunshine!’ I hauled Placida clear and backed off while the ladies formed a protective screen as effective as a legionary shield-wall and did whatever the hell women do under these circumstances.
There was a clothes booth further along where a male shopkeeper was goggling at the scrum from above his racks. ‘I’ll…ah…just wait over there, shall I?’ I said.
‘You do that, chummy!’ the first woman snapped over her shoulder. ‘And take that bloody Cerberus look-alike with you!’
I beat a retreat across to the clothes booth, dragging the howling, hysterical Placida behind. The guy stepped back quickly.
‘What the hell happened there?’ he said.
I grabbed Placida’s muzzle and forced it closed while she grizzled her way into silence. ‘I told her her boyfriend had just died. Ex-boyfriend, rather.’
‘Oh, bugger.’ The guy was small, dapper and unassuming, with the nervous-eyed, hunted look that I supposed went with the job surroundings: as far as I could tell where male stallholders were concerned he was in a minority of one. ‘I’d keep well clear for a bit, then, mate.’
‘Yeah. Yeah, right.’
‘Nice dog. It is a dog, isn’t it?’
‘That depends on the time of the month.’
He gave a nervous giggle and backed away a bit more.
Over by the perfume counter the scrum was already beginning to break up. From its centre came Cluvia, walking towards me. She didn’t look too hot, but at least she was mobile. Wrestles-With-Bears gave me a final glare and went back to her bangles. I took a firm grip of Placida’s collar and forced her down.
‘What did you say your name was?’ Cluvia said. She sounded a bit distant, like she was taking trouble over the words.
‘Corvinus. Marcus Corvinus. I’m…ah…a friend of Sextus’s mother.’
‘Really. So how did it happen? How did Sextus die? An accident?’
‘Uh-uh.’ I swallowed. ‘He killed himself.’
‘Oh.’ She frowned and made a jerky movement with her hand in the direction of the exit. The bracelets — she was wearing at least three of them — jangled on her wrist. ‘Can we go outside, do you think?’
‘No problem.’ I was watching her carefully. It’d hit her hard, sure, but she had herself under control now. More or less. A tough lady, Cluvia. ‘Look, I’m sorry if I — ’
‘Forget it. It doesn’t matter.’
We left the hall in silence, the now-placid Placida walking between us, and found a bench against the wall of the Agrippan Baths. She sat down and I waited while she took a few deep breaths.
‘All right,’ she said finally. ‘Tell me.’
I told her, while she looked down at her hands. The fingers were covered with rings and the nails were well-manicured. Thirty-something she might be, but the lady took good care of herself. I’d noticed that the female-solidarity pack had freshened up her hair and makeup, too.
‘Why did he do it?’ she said when I’d finished.
‘I don’t know. Not exactly.’
‘Could the reason have had anything to do with Mucius Soranus?’
The question came straight out, like she’d been meaning to ask it from the very first and had just been waiting her chance. I glanced at her sharply. ‘What makes you think that?’ I said.
‘Because he’s a bastard. And there was something between him and Sextus.’
‘How do you mean, “something”?’
‘I don’t know. But Sextus hated him for it.’ She frowned. ‘No. Hate’s the wrong word. So’s “frightened”. Something between the two, maybe.’
‘Why should he be frightened of Soranus?’
‘He wasn’t. I told you, it’s the wrong word, and Sextus wasn’t frightened of anyone. He didn’t hate anyone, either. Sextus was a lovely boy. You don’t meet — ’ She stopped, pulled a handkerchief from her tunic sleeve and dabbed at her eyes. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘He owed Soranus money. From gambling debts.’
‘Yes. That’s right.’
‘A lot?’
‘I don’t know. A few thousand, maybe.’
‘As much as fifty?’
She looked up, startled. ‘What? No!’
‘He borrowed fifty thousand silver pieces from a money-lender in Julian Square a few months ago. You didn’t know?’
‘That’s ridiculous! Sextus wasn’t a gambler! Not that much of one!’
Yeah. Check. ‘Odd thing was, he paid it back just before he died. Plus ten thousand interest.’
She was staring at me now. ‘Corvinus, what is all this?’ she said. ‘Did you come just to break the news to me that Sextus was dead — though why a friend of his mother’s would bother to do that I don’t know — or was there another reason?’
‘You know Minicius Natalis?’
‘The faction-master of the Greens? Yes, of course. Not personally, but Sextus used to talk about him. He spent a lot of his time at the Greens’ stables.’
‘Natalis wants to know why the boy did it. He’s asked me to find out.’
‘Oh. I see.’ She looked down at her hands again. ‘I’m afraid you’ve had a wasted journey, then. I don’t know anything about his reasons. As you’ll no doubt have noticed, I didn’t even know he was dead.’
‘You said you weren’t seeing each other any more.’ Jupiter, I hated this tactful stuff, but it was a question that had to be asked. ‘Was that your doing or his?’
‘His.’
Yeah, well, I’d sort of got that impression from the whole conversation, but it was good to have it confirmed. ‘Care to tell me why?’
‘You could’ve guessed that yourself.’ Her voice had toughened, but she still didn’t look up. ‘He’d found someone else. A lady’ — she stressed the word, but there were other harmonics there — ‘by the name of Albucilla. She’s a friend of Soranus’s.’ The eyes lifted. ‘That’s another reason I don’t like the man, if you’re interested.’
‘Uh-huh.’ Another name. Well, I needed all the leads I could get. ‘You know anything about her?’
‘No. I don’t particularly want to, either.’
‘Fine, fine.’ The tone would’ve had Cleopatra’s asp handing in its poison sacks. Not that it mattered: the name was enough at present. Back off, Corvinus. ‘No problem. So, uh, tell me more about Sextus.’
‘Like what?’
I shrugged. ‘Lady, I’m at sea here. I’m just taking what I can get and hoping somewhere it’ll make sense.’
‘I said. He was a lovely boy, the kind you don’t meet very often, almost like someone from a story-book. A thinker, not just a pair of hands.’ She sniffed again. ‘Generous, and I don’t mean just with money. Good fun, when he wanted to be. He had a strong sense of justice. And he was very proud of his family.’