"We still don't know. But not here."
Petronius squirmed into a more upright position. He held his head in his hands, elbows on his knees. He moaned with frustration and misery. "I don't think they ever had her."
"They said they did," I reminded him.
"They said a lot of things."
Long before he should have done, he was dragging himself upright. I gave him a shoulder to lean on. Once we brought him outside, Helena tried to wrap him in Maia's cloak; he would have none of it, but when she told him whose it was, he took the garment and kept it over one shoulder, nuzzling his cheek against the woolen folds.
We walked up the quay back to the prisoners at the customs house. Petronius took note of all of them. He knew some of them from Rome. Silvanus was organizing search parties for Florius and any other missed gang members. The wharf was still sealed, on the off chance we would roust them out. Men were searching all the warehouses. A bunch of the troops had huddled around one of the abandoned full-size ballistae, exclaiming over its sophisticated design. "It's a damned automatic repeater-look, you can fill this barrel and it fires off a whole load of bolts without having to reload-" I was amused to see Frontinus among them.
Eventually the governor tore himself away and arranged to remove the prisoners to safe custody, all except Norbanus. Petro wanted him.
As soon as the customs house was cleared for use, we took Norbanus in there. Petro picked up his sword as we went in. He first kicked aside but then gathered up another weapon, one of the vicious handheld crossbows. "I've always wanted one of these!"
"Look, it's got a top-speed ratchet and a perfect trigger-and some kind person has primed it. That must have been helpful to Florius. Let's try it out," I said, menacing our charge with a snarl. We had not even tied him up. Why bother? Norbanus seemed to accept his fate, and the wharf outside was still full of legionaries. Some had remained inside here, but Petronius dismissed them; clearing away witnesses is always ominous for a prisoner.
"I'll have you here in the dark, out of public view," Petronius told Norbanus pleasantly. "Just in case I forget my manners." The vigiles were known for their harsh inquiry methods.
"You could truss him up under some ballast," I suggested. "Like Florius did to you-or is that too good?" I kicked Norbanus unexpectedly. I kicked him very hard. "Where's Maia?"
"I've no idea." The businessman still sounded the same. Learning he was a master criminal should have altered our perception. Now we knew that the slick tongue and amiable smile were treacherous, yet he remained in character. It was real. That's how some gang leaders succeed in holding authority: apart from occasional lapses into murder, they have winning ways.
"Did you ever hold her?" Petronius demanded. He was the professional; I let him take the lead.
"A small deception." Norbanus was rubbing his leg where I had lashed out. I don't normally resort to brutality, but my sister was still missing and I felt no regret.
"Did she come to your villa?"
"I wouldn't know."
"Florius was there. Did he see her?"
"I believe not."
"Where is he now?"
"You will have to find him for yourself."
"You admit you were partners?"
"I admit nothing."
Petronius caught my eye. This was going to be a long business. We might never extract any useful information.
Helena appeared in a doorway. Petronius paused, unwilling to let her watch the dark actions afoot.
"Marcus-" She seemed unwilling to be in the vicinity of Norbanus, or else unwilling to see how we dealt with him.
"Unless it's urgent, I can't come."
I had told her to go back to the residence along with the governor, but she was always clingy after I had been in danger. "Never mind," Helena said quickly "No, wait. What is it?"
"A boat."
"Leaving?"
"No, arriving. Limping up with a broken mast." It seemed irrelevant. "So long as it's not Florius fleeing."
"No, don't worry," Helena assured me, and she withdrew.
I thought I heard excitable voices outside, but the heavy doors blocked out most sound. Petronius and I resumed our interrogation.
"Jupiter was a nice touch," I said to Norbanus admiringly. "The patron of wine, women, and weather. Symbol of power too… But now you find out, Norbanus-thinking you had any power was the myth."
Petronius laid down the crossbow and with the flat of his palm pushed Norbanus across the office where we were holding him. It was soft, encouraging movement; there was no need yet for drama.
"I want to know-" Petro's voice was quiet. That made it worse. "I want to know everything about your sordid empire-here, and back in Ostia, and Rome. Norbanus, you are going to tell me every fiddle, every threat backed up with violence, every wretched, dirty scam. I'll have the endless property portfolio, the seamy foodshop takeovers, the obscene child brothels, the pitiless beating up of innocents, and the deaths."
A draft caused the torches to flicker. I felt cold air momentarily. I did not look around.
"I have nothing to say," smiled Norbanus, still the handsome, urbane man of affairs. "Your accusations won't hold up in court once my lawyers get involved. You don't have any evidence against me-"
"I will," said Petronius. I had seen him in action on plenty of occasions, but never so impressive as this. "Tell me about Maia Favonia."
"What for? You know her well enough."
"Enough to care if she falls into the hands of men like you." Petronius was utterly controlled. "But let's hear about your interest, Norbanus. Or was it all a ploy to help Florius get at me? You were simpering at Maia's feet, regaling her with music and offering trips to your country bower-but did you really give a damn for her?"
The man shrugged and smiled. Then he stopped smiling.
"He's a bachelor, a loner who reveres his mother," I jeered. "No other woman interests him. The pressing seduction attempt was all false."
I had heard someone come into the room behind me. Light increased, as Helena Justina rejoined us, holding high a tar-soaked brand. At her side, when I turned to see who it was, stood my sister Maia.
She looked fine. A little tired, but vibrant. With her spirits up, she was glorious. Her crimson gown was bedraggled, as if she had worn it for days, yet it glowed with a richness the red rag on the prostitute decoy had lacked. Her dark curls tumbled freely. Her eyes blazed.
Her eyes went straight to Petronius. "What happened to you?"
"A small adventure. Where," asked Petro, enunciating carefully, "have you been, Maia?"
Maia glanced at Norbanus briefly. "I took my children sailing on the river. We borrowed the procurator's boat. We went downstream and that terrible storm struck; lightning hit the mast. The children thought it was wonderful. We spent a day patching up the damage, then when we struggled back, we were not allowed to land here for ages because of some secret exercise. That's you and Marcus playing about, I gather?"
"Where are the children?"
"Gone home with the governor." Maia, with unaccustomed delicacy, paused. "I seem to have missed something." Some of us were dumbstruck.
Helena took charge. "Listen, Maia! Norbanus is a leader of the criminals Petronius is pursuing. The other is called Florius, and he lived at the villa to which they were trying to lure you. The point was to use you, Maia darling, as a hostage, to get to Petro. They claimed they had you- and Lucius thought it was true. So he surrendered himself in your place and was nearly killed horribly-"
Maia gasped. "You gave yourself up?"
"It's an old army trick," Petronius said defensively. "The maneuver that is so stupid, you hope you'll get away with it."
"You were nearly killed?"
"Ah, Maia, you think me a hero!"
"You are an idiot," said Maia.
"She means that fondly," Helena mediated, wincing.
"No, she means it," returned Petronius. He sounded cheerful. It was as if my fractious sister's presence had lifted his spirits.