‘It would seem that you’ve had a very successful morning, Pallas; keeping the tablets was an unexpected bonus,’ Antonia conceded, looking at the pile of moneybags and the wet sack of tablets on the mosaic floor of her private office at her residence on the Palatine. She looked at Magnus, her green eyes showing life in them that belied her seventy years but matched her highcheekboned, fading beauty that still needed little cosmetic augmentation. ‘And I have much to thank you for too, Magnus. I will pay the blood money for your men. Pallas.’ She indicated to the bags.
Pallas picked one up and gave it to Magnus.
‘I think that should cover it.’
‘Thank you, domina,’ Magnus muttered.
‘What’s the matter? You don’t look overly thrilled.’
Magnus looked at the bag and then down to the tablets. ‘Well, begging your pardon, domina, but I was wondering what you intend to do with them.’
‘I shall inform the Urban Prefect that they’ve fallen into my hands and that I shall return them to their rightful owner, so he needn’t concern himself about them any more. Then I’ll restore them to Herod Agrippa for the pleasure of watching him control his expression as I demand a substantial finder’s fee. I think that’ll be the point when he realises I was behind the theft and that it might be a good idea to pay off the debt he owes me to avoid further inconvenience in the future.’ She smiled at the thought.
‘If that is the case, domina, could I swap the aurii for one of the tablets?’
Antonia looked at Magnus, frowning. ‘And why would you want to do that?’
‘Let’s just say I know a use they can be put to that is worth far more than two hundred in gold.’
‘How?’
‘Well, it … er … if you inhale the fumes when it burns, it takes you to a place where pleasure has no bounds if you share it with another, if you take my meaning?’
‘I think I do, Magnus.’ Antonia smiled again and looked at Pallas. ‘Leave us.’
Magnus tried but failed to hide his alarm as the steward left the room.
‘Show me.’
Magnus walked through the tavern door soon after dusk, clasping a tablet under his arm and fit to drop; it had been a long day, although much of it was now a blur. He looked across to his table in the corner and saw Servius bent over his abacus; next to him sat a youth of notable beauty.
Magnus sat down, looked at the youth and then at Servius. ‘Is this what I think it is?’
‘Tell him,’ Servius growled, clacking his abacus.
‘The master says to tell you that everything is prepared in the matter that you spoke of.’
The fatigue fell away immediately. ‘Run back and tell him I’ll be there very soon.’
‘I’ll come with you. I had already sent Marius, Sextus and Cassandros up there about half an hour ago when the message arrived.’
‘Thank you, my friend.’ Magnus brandished the tablet. ‘I need to drop this off with Terentius anyway.’
Servius’ eyes glinted in the lamplight. ‘Another thousand or so aurii; just a fraction of that will reimburse our people for the grain that Brutus cheated them of. It’s been a good day.’
‘Indeed; and it’s just about to get better.’
‘Well, well,’ Magnus ruminated as he looked down at the recumbent form of Brutus, lying on the couch in Terentius’ private room. ‘You look to be enjoying yourself, aedile.’
Brutus looked up with unfocused, drooping-lidded eyes and stared at Magnus for a few moments, with no sign of recognition, before returning his attention to the genitalia of the writhing youth straddling his hips and riding hard.
Terentius signalled to a second youth busy flicking one of the aedile’s nipples with his tongue whilst caressing the other; he removed the two knives from the brazier and pressed them to either side of a small ball of resin on the table next to it. Smoke immediately spiralled up and the youth offered it to the aedile; even in his engrossed state, Brutus noticed the source of pleasure nearing him and turned his head to suck greedily at the smoke.
‘He certainly has developed the taste for it,’ Magnus observed as the door opened and Servius entered holding a rope; behind him came Marius, Sextus and Cassandros, struggling with a large tub of water.
Servius pointed to the floor next to the couch. ‘Set it down there.’ He looked down at Brutus who lay back with a fixed grin on his face. ‘Is he ready?’
‘He’s far too deep into Morpheus’ realm to notice anything,’ Terentius assured him. ‘Leave us, boys.’
The writhing youth eased himself off Brutus and, picking up his tunic from the couch, scurried, giggling, out of the room with his colleague.
‘Get him on his knees in front of the tub, lads,’ Servius ordered, throwing the coiled rope on to the couch.
Sextus and Cassandros raised Brutus to his feet.
‘All forgotten, I’ve forgotten,’ the aedile mumbled as they lowered him on to his knees over the tub. ‘Ah, water; so much water.’
‘Head in and hold it there; but be very careful not to bruise him. Once he’s dead we hang him upside down to get all the water out, then dry him off and dress him and he’ll seem to have died of natural causes.’
As Brutus’ head disappeared beneath the surface Magnus turned to Terentius. ‘It’s probably best if you don’t witness this; the last time you saw him he was still alive.’
‘And in such capable hands,’ Terentius added with a smile as he walked away.
Magnus watched him go for a few moments before turning back to Brutus just as the convulsions started.
*
‘Natural causes?’ Gaius was shocked; he leant forward across the desk in his study, almost spilling an inkpot. ‘At his age? He couldn’t have been more than thirty-five or six.’
Magnus contrived to look equally shocked. ‘I know, sir; but there it is. He was found near the Viminal Gate soon after dawn this morning, in the Via Patricius. Not a mark on him so it is assumed that he just dropped down dead after some mighty exertions in one of the brothels along there.’
‘There’ll be an investigation.’
‘I’m sure there will.’
‘And if they find that it wasn’t natural causes can they trace it to you?’
‘I very much doubt it. He was found on the Viminal; not my area.’
‘Because if they can I might be implicated as well. How did you do it?’
‘You don’t need to know, sir; other than it was the same way he would have killed you.’
‘How do you know?’
‘Because my client who made the original complaint against him was found dead of natural causes yesterday, soon after Brutus had threatened you. I think he was starting a spree of natural revenge.’
‘Yes, well, I suppose I should thank you, Magnus.’
‘Yes, I suppose you should, sir.’
‘But even so, I think that you should get out of Rome for a while whilst I try and persuade the Urban Prefect that young men of his age drop dead all the time of natural causes.’
‘Lucky that he’s in your debt.’
‘Yes, but I think this will use up the last of the favours he owes me; he did grant my request to make Sabinus the Grain Aedile next year. But I’m sure that the Lady Antonia will emphasise the unfortunate tragedy of the thing; especially as she failed to get me that imperial permission for Vespasian to enter Egypt.’ He picked up a wax tablet from his desk and looked at it ruefully. ‘She sent me the message this morning.’
‘Then it would seem that I’m the right man to go to Cyrenaica and tell Vespasian the bad news.’
‘Yes, my friend, it would seem that you are.’
Magnus stepped out of Gaius’ carriage on to the quayside at Ostia, helped by an extremely attractive groom. He ignored the youth’s languid eyes and coy smile and looked, instead, with a sinking heart at the hulking merchantman in which he was to spend the next half a month or so; her sides were stained with age and she exuded an unpleasant smell of rotting refuse.