The Lydian Baker

'Yeah, yeah, I know.' I held up a hand. 'I'm sorry. But the bastard's lying. Demetriacus must've bribed him.'

Callippus went through his praying routine again. 'Lysimachus of Cos is one of the best doctors in Athens, not to mention the richest. He does not lie. And he has no need for bribes.'

'That's all you know, pal.' Gods, I felt sick: if you believed Corpse-face the theory was well on its way right down the tube. I was almost sure he'd thrown us a wobbler, but still…

'Look, I'm as disappointed as you are,' Callippus was saying. 'But you cannot argue with the facts.'

If I had to go, I'd go fighting. 'What facts? The only "fact" here is that that po-faced quack has taken a back-hander big enough to buy him another block in Cydathenaeum.'

Callippus paused. 'How did you know Lysimachus speculated in property?' he said.

'I didn't, pal, but it doesn't surprise me. Scratch a doctor and you get a compulsive property developer. Back in Rome my father's freedman Sarpedon might own half the Velabrum and be able to buy me out twice over but the bastard still sucks up to patients with a spare acre or two.'

'Well.' Callippus rubbed his jaw. 'You may be right. Although if you remember when we talked to him Demetriacus did say that he'd been ill.'

'Sure he did. But what he didn't say was that the evening Melanthus did his disappearing act he'd been at home rolling around hugging his guts; in fact, he didn't say anything much at all apart from deny that he'd met the guy full stop. Because at that point he didn't know we had no real proof.'

'And he does now?'

'He's still walking free, isn't he?'

'Yes.' Callippus frowned at his desk. 'Yes, I suppose you're right.'

'Never mind.' I forced a grin, even if with my theory threatening to collapse round my ears I felt more like howling. 'Asking the doctor was a good idea, it just backfired, that's all. If Demetriacus is lying we'll nail him eventually. He's human, like the rest of us, and he must've slipped up somewhere.'

'Indeed.' Callippus didn't grin back, but his mood lifted a little. 'So. Any news your end?'

'Yeah. You could say that.' I told him about Felix. 'You know him, by the way? Professionally, I mean?'

'No. He's certainly not here in any sort of official capacity, which is understandable from what you tell me. You say your paths have crossed before?'

'Yeah.' I didn't elaborate: Prince Gaius's involvement in the Sejanus affair wasn't exactly public knowledge, and besides as a Greek Callippus had about as much interest in backstairs Roman politics as he had in sexing chickens. Less.

'And you believe his involvement and that of his principal is limited to a legitimate interest in the statue?'

He sounded hopeful, but not too confident. I grinned. 'You seen any flying pigs recently? "Legitimate" isn't a word I'd use of Felix. Or Prince Gaius. In either of its meanings.'

'Ah.' Callippus didn't smile; if anything, he looked sadder than ever. 'I see.'

'Felix isn't a murderer, though. At least I don't think he is.' I hesitated. 'At least…'

'You mean he has scruples?'

'Scruples?' I laughed. 'Felix?'

'I take it that means no.'

'In spades. Felix has as many scruples as a snake has toenails. Especially where his boss's interests are concerned.'

'His boss's interests. Exactly.' Callippus moved a pen from one side of the desk to the other. 'Corvinus, we have to go carefully here. Very soon, perhaps before the year is out, Gaius will be emperor.' I kept my face expressionless. 'If his agent is involved — criminally involved — in this affair then whatever the consequences I will do my duty and arrest him; however if there is any doubt — any doubt — then he has the private right of any citizen to be free from molestation.'

'Felix isn't a citizen. He's a slave. Or at most a freedman.'

'That's beside the point and you know it. I don't care if the man's a bloody female contortionist in disguise' — I blinked: I'd never heard Callippus swear, ever — 'I won't touch him with gloves and a ten-foot pole, for you or for anyone. Not without solid proof. Now is that clear?'

'Yeah. Yeah, it's clear.' Jupiter! 'Calm down, Callippus, no sweat, okay?'

'I am calm. I'm also being very, very serious. Never more so. As such my advice to you is to stop all this silly theorising before it lands you in real trouble. Or if you can't help yourself don't involve me until you've got some hard facts to back you.' Callippus stood up. 'Now I've got other things to do this afternoon, like looking after the rest of the City's population. You'll excuse me?'

'Sure.' I swallowed.

Well, that was that. End of ball-game. I might as well pack up and go home.

34

The first thing I saw as I left the building was Memnon lounging on the back steps of the Town Hall and looking about as inconspicuous as a tap- dancing rhino. Jupiter knew how he'd picked me up again, but personally at that moment I couldn't have cared a penny toss. I gave him the big wave just to show him he'd been spotted, then headed up the Panathenaia towards the Rock. Let the guy get blisters, I thought sourly. They'd be about all he did get from me today. Whether Demetriacus's tame pill-pusher was bent or not, all I wanted now was to go home and spend the rest of the afternoon and evening getting quietly stewed.

'Bent or not.' Yeah, well, if Corpse-face was telling the truth then maybe I should think a little more deeply about Felix. Sure, if you took the current theory he didn't fit. He had no connection with Melanthus, as far as I knew, and Melanthus was crucial. The same went for Demetriacus…

Or did it?

I stopped. A bald-head behind me in a sharp mantle gave me a glare as he pushed past; judging from the hurry he was in he was headed for the public latrine at the corner of Attalus Porch and doubted if he'd make it.

Okay. Maybe I'd been guilty of too many assumptions here. Stripped of its incidentals, the plot was pretty straightforward. Argaius had done a deal with Priscus to sell him the statue. His partner Smaragdus had done his own deal, unbeknownst to Argaius, and tried to con him. Then Argaius had been murdered and his body dumped by the Founders' Statue of Ptolemy on Market Way…

Hold on. Stop there. Sure, Perilla had thought dumping Argaius at the Ptolemy statue was a chichi egghead clue, but maybe she was wrong. Or rather she'd been clever in the wrong direction, which was par for the course. The Scallop was near Ptolemy's Gym, and if Felix had wanted to point a finger at Demetriacus that was just the cryptic way of doing it that might appeal to the cerebral little bastard.

This needed thinking about.

I was level with Phoenix's wineshop now, opposite the temple of the Two Goddesses. There were a couple of empty tables — rare for Phoenix's — and I was tempted to go in and order up a jug. Being just round the corner from the Roman Market, Phoenix's catered more for western taste than most City wineshops; which meant they served Falernian. Real Falernian, too, not the fake stuff you saw sometimes masquerading under a whacky label. It cost an arm and a leg, though, and after my contribution to the carriage drivers' benevolent fund my purse was pretty light. Too light. I sighed, and went on past.

So. If we were thinking laterally then what about Felix's own theory of the Argaius murder? That Smaragdus had done it himself to take the heat off? That fitted, too, if for Smaragdus you read Felix. More, handing me the real solution on a plate — letting me think it was a throwaway idea when it was the truth all along — was just the sort of twisted intellectual game the devious bugger enjoyed. Felix could've set Argaius's death up with Smaragdus as easy as Demetriacus could. And a double bluff would be just his style.

Right, so let's follow that through with a scenario. Felix and Smaragdus acting together have got rid of Argaius. Smaragdus stays in hiding while keeping in touch with Felix. So far, so good: the sale's finalised, Felix is just waiting until the dust settles and it's safe to move the statue, or maybe he's arranging a transfer of funds from Rome and generally fixing things up for Smaragdus and his boyfriend to split for quieter climes. Trouble is, at that point Valerius Corvinus sticks his nose in. He traces Harpalus who in all good faith reports back to Smaragdus that one of Felix's agents wants to get in touch. Before Smaragdus can check if the guy's legit or not the Roman's knocking on the door of his shack. Smaragdus realises there's been a mistake, only it's too late to remedy. So he takes the nosey Roman to the original cave — now empty — and fobs the sucker off with a sob story of theft and grim deception.