Read Online Roman Blood by Steven Saylor - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Steven Saylor
Tags: Fiction, Historical, 265-30 B.C., Mystery & Detective, Marcus Tullius Rome—History Republic, ISBN 0-312-06454-3 Cicero, Roma Sub Rosa Series 01 - Roman Blood
Ads: Link
him," I said. "From time to time I've actually worked for him, but only from hunger. Erucius was born a slave in Sicily; now he's a freedman with the shadiest law practice in Rome.
He takes cases for money, not merit. He'd defend a man who raped his mother if there was gold in it, and then turn around and prosecute the old woman for slander if he saw a profit. Any idea who's hired him to take on the case?"
" N o , but when you meet Sextus Roscius—"
" Y o u keep saying that I'll soon be meeting someone—first Caecilia Metella, now Sextus Roscius. Will they be arriving soon?"
"Actually, it's best if we pay them a visit ourselves."
"What makes you so certain that I'll be coming along? I came here under the impression that you had work for me, but so far you haven't even explained what you want. Nor have you made any mention of payment."
" I ' m aware of your regular fees, at least as Hortensius explained them.
I assume he would know."
46
I nodded.
" A s for the j o b , it's this: I want proof that Sextus Roscius is innocent of his father's murder. Better than that, I want to know who the real murderers were. Even better, I want to know who hired those murderers, and why. And all of this in eight days, before the Ides."
" Y o u talk as if I'd already accepted the j o b . Perhaps I'm not interested, Cicero."
He shook his head and pressed his lips into a thin smile. "You're not the only man who can deduce another man's character before you've met him, Gordianus. I do know a thing or two about you. Three things, in fact. Any one of them would persuade you to take this case. First, you need the money. A man of your means, living in a big house up on the Esquiline—there can never be enough money. Am I right?"
I shrugged.
"Secondly, Hortensius tells me that you love a mystery. Or rather that you hate a mystery. You're the type that can't abide the unknown, that feels compelled to wrest truth from falsehood, strike order from chaos.
Who killed old Roscius, Gordianus? You're already hooked, like a fish on a line. Admit it."
"Well . . ."
"Thirdly, you're a man who loves justice."
" D i d Hortensius tell you that, too? Hortensius wouldn't know a just man f r o m — "
" N o one told me. That I deduced for myself, in the last half hour. No man speaks his mind as candidly as you have who isn't a lover of justice.
I'm offering you a chance to see it done." He leaned forward in his chair.
"Can you bear to see an innocent man put to death? Well, then—will you take the case, or won't y o u ? "
"I will."
Cicero clapped his hands and sprang to his feet. " G o o d . Very good!
We'll leave for Caecilia's house right away."
" N o w ? In this heat? It's just past n o o n . "
"There's no time to waste. If the heat is too much for you, I could summon a litter—but no, that would take too long. It isn't far. Tiro, fetch us a pair of broad-brimmed hats."
Tiro gave his master a plaintive look.
"Very well, then, fetch three."
47
SIX
" W H A T makes you think she'll even be awake at this hour?"
The Forum was deserted. The paving stones shimmered with heat. Not a soul was afoot except for the three of us stealing like thieves across the flagstones. I quickened the pace. The heat burned through the thin soles of my shoes. Both my companions, I noticed, wore more expensive footwear than my own, with thick leather soles to protect their feet.
"Caecilia will be awake," Cicero assured me. "She's a hopeless insomniac—so far as I can tell, she never sleeps at all."
We reached the foot of the Sacred Way. My heart sank as I gazed up the steep, narrow avenue that led to the imposing villas atop the Palatine. The world was all sun and stone, utterly without shade. The layers of shimmering heat made the summit of the Palatine seem hazy and indistinct, very high and far away.
We began the ascent. Tiro led the way, oblivious of the effort. There was something strange about his eagerness to come along, something beyond mere
He takes cases for money, not merit. He'd defend a man who raped his mother if there was gold in it, and then turn around and prosecute the old woman for slander if he saw a profit. Any idea who's hired him to take on the case?"
" N o , but when you meet Sextus Roscius—"
" Y o u keep saying that I'll soon be meeting someone—first Caecilia Metella, now Sextus Roscius. Will they be arriving soon?"
"Actually, it's best if we pay them a visit ourselves."
"What makes you so certain that I'll be coming along? I came here under the impression that you had work for me, but so far you haven't even explained what you want. Nor have you made any mention of payment."
" I ' m aware of your regular fees, at least as Hortensius explained them.
I assume he would know."
46
I nodded.
" A s for the j o b , it's this: I want proof that Sextus Roscius is innocent of his father's murder. Better than that, I want to know who the real murderers were. Even better, I want to know who hired those murderers, and why. And all of this in eight days, before the Ides."
" Y o u talk as if I'd already accepted the j o b . Perhaps I'm not interested, Cicero."
He shook his head and pressed his lips into a thin smile. "You're not the only man who can deduce another man's character before you've met him, Gordianus. I do know a thing or two about you. Three things, in fact. Any one of them would persuade you to take this case. First, you need the money. A man of your means, living in a big house up on the Esquiline—there can never be enough money. Am I right?"
I shrugged.
"Secondly, Hortensius tells me that you love a mystery. Or rather that you hate a mystery. You're the type that can't abide the unknown, that feels compelled to wrest truth from falsehood, strike order from chaos.
Who killed old Roscius, Gordianus? You're already hooked, like a fish on a line. Admit it."
"Well . . ."
"Thirdly, you're a man who loves justice."
" D i d Hortensius tell you that, too? Hortensius wouldn't know a just man f r o m — "
" N o one told me. That I deduced for myself, in the last half hour. No man speaks his mind as candidly as you have who isn't a lover of justice.
I'm offering you a chance to see it done." He leaned forward in his chair.
"Can you bear to see an innocent man put to death? Well, then—will you take the case, or won't y o u ? "
"I will."
Cicero clapped his hands and sprang to his feet. " G o o d . Very good!
We'll leave for Caecilia's house right away."
" N o w ? In this heat? It's just past n o o n . "
"There's no time to waste. If the heat is too much for you, I could summon a litter—but no, that would take too long. It isn't far. Tiro, fetch us a pair of broad-brimmed hats."
Tiro gave his master a plaintive look.
"Very well, then, fetch three."
47
SIX
" W H A T makes you think she'll even be awake at this hour?"
The Forum was deserted. The paving stones shimmered with heat. Not a soul was afoot except for the three of us stealing like thieves across the flagstones. I quickened the pace. The heat burned through the thin soles of my shoes. Both my companions, I noticed, wore more expensive footwear than my own, with thick leather soles to protect their feet.
"Caecilia will be awake," Cicero assured me. "She's a hopeless insomniac—so far as I can tell, she never sleeps at all."
We reached the foot of the Sacred Way. My heart sank as I gazed up the steep, narrow avenue that led to the imposing villas atop the Palatine. The world was all sun and stone, utterly without shade. The layers of shimmering heat made the summit of the Palatine seem hazy and indistinct, very high and far away.
We began the ascent. Tiro led the way, oblivious of the effort. There was something strange about his eagerness to come along, something beyond mere
Similar Books
