It was Helena who took charge of the situation.
‘Thank you, Roxana. That was, if I may say so, an extremely clear and beautifully expressed witness statement.’
Throughout our interview so far, Roxana had given the impression of being slightly pent-up, but at this warm-hearted praise she relaxed, at least technically. If anything, she seemed puzzled, as if unsure how to take Helena. I enjoyed watching these two engage so stiffly.
Helena then turned to the servant who had placed herself near the doorway in the attitude of a chaperon. Placing a hand delicately on her pregnant belly, my trusty assistant begged sweetly, ‘I am so sorry to be a nuisance, but could you possibly organise something to drink for us -just water will be absolutely fine, or mint tea would be delectable . . .’ The maid withdrew, muttering darkly, then Helena snapped upright. ‘Marcus darling, stop jiggling about like a three-year-old. If you want to stretch your legs, go and do so.’
I never jiggle. Still, I knew a big hint when it hit me. I shuffled from the room with a shifty expression - then applied my ear to the door.
Helena must have turned back to Roxana. ‘Right! Now we are quite alone, so you can be frank, my dear.’ Perhaps Roxana had fluttered her eyelashes. Waste of time. Helena was crisp. ‘Listen to me, please. My husband was nearly killed last night and another poor young man did lose his life most terribly. I want to know who caused that and I am not interested in pathetic taradiddles, cobbled together to preserve people’s reputations.’
‘I have told you what happened!’ Roxana cried.
‘No; you have not. Now here is what will happen. You can tell me the truth now, then you and I, like sensible women, will work out how to handle it. Otherwise, Marcus Didius, who is neither as stupid nor as susceptible as you obviously think, will explode your false evidence. Of course you thought he swallowed your story. Believe me, he doubts every word. Being a man, he won’t say so to a pretty woman’s face. But he is utterly competent and always direct. If - that means, when - Falco uncovers the truth of what happened at the zoo, he will make it public. He has no choice. You must see that. He is the Emperor’s man and must be seen to expose lies.’ Helena dropped her voice. I could hardly hear it. ‘So, I suppose Philadelphion bullied you into telling us this tale. Is it him you are afraid of - or someone else, Roxana?’
I never have much luck. At this point, the damned servant decided to mooch back with a beaten-up tray of skinny refreshments. For several minutes I was locked in a sign-language tussle with her. In the end, the only way I could get rid of the inept factotum was to shoo her off as if sending a bunch of heifers through a hedge; it must have been fully audible from inside the room.
I had seized the tray myself from her clammy grasp. I knocked quickly and entered the room just as Roxana exclaimed, with heartfelt drama: ‘Somebody let out Sobek deliberately. They cannot have known I would be there with that boy, Heras.’
‘What - up to no good with him?’
‘I deny it! Normally Philadelphion would have been going around to check on all the animals - so what you should be considering is that somebody was trying to make the crocodile kill him!’
The ladies turned their gaze on me. ‘And who might that have been?’ I enquired, mildly. ‘Who wants Philadelphion dead?’
‘Nicanor!’ blazed Roxana. ‘You fool, Falco - it’s obvious!’
I put down the tray on a small table and set about serving mint tea for everyone.
XXXIII
A guilty lawyer - oh I like that!’
‘Don’t say I told you!’
‘Trust me, lady!’
Helena’s eyes sweetly accused me: you dog, Falco! She let me continue the questioning, however.
According to Roxana, Nicanor’s hatred of the Zoo Keeper was all to do with her. Nicanor was not simply a silent rival, lusting from a distance; she said he had been approaching her on the sly for months. He had publicly sworn to snatch her from Philadelphion, whatever it took. She found his persistence a menace. She was a little scared of him; he had a harsh reputation. The Zoo Keeper refused to tackle Nicanor, feeling himself secure in possession of Roxana’s favours and not wanting quarrels at work. She, of course, had always known it would end badly.
She was a self-centred piece. It was only because she dimly understood that stressing her own importance might reflect badly upon her, that Roxana allowed a possible contributing factor: Philadelphion being favourite on the Chief Librarian shortlist. She knew Nicanor felt fervid professional jealousy. I asked how Philadelphion really felt about the post, given his known resentment that the Library attracted more attention than the zoo, where his heart clearly lay. Roxana thought he saw taking over the Library, if it happened, as potentially a way for him to right the balance. Whether that would make him a good Librarian I doubted, though I could not see Nicanor doing any better. He too wanted the post for personal reasons - his raw ambition. If he could snatch Roxana from Philadelphion as well, that would double his triumph.
In my experience lawyers make good haters and they never flinch from revenge. However, they are skilled and subtle, rarely descending to violence. They don’t need to. They have other, more potent weapons.
It would be easy to dismiss Roxana’s claim as a flight of fancy. Lack of evidence at the scene made it difficult to accuse Nicanor – or anybody else - of setting Sobek loose. If somebody did it, their plan was extremely risky. Yes, Philadelphion was known to make his rounds at night to check on the animals, but actual events showed all too clearly that other people might be blundering around the zoo as well. Besides, even if the Zoo Keeper had found the croc, Sobek might like Philadelphion. He might just have waddled up, wagging his tremendous tail and hoping for treats.
On the other hand, if someone really had let Sobek out to kill, their plan had a simple glory: but for them abandoning the goat, the resulting death would convincingly have looked like an accident. If only Sobek had slaughtered the right man, it would have been perfect. This argued for a bloodthirsty killer. The victim died a horrific death. Anyone sufficiently mad and vindictive to arrange it would have enjoyed those screams.
Anyone that mad, I thought, might try to strike again.
I assured Roxana all her claims would be investigated. I would do it in the true Falco style: discreetly, effectively and as soon as possible. Meanwhile, she was not to approach Nicanor, nor admit him to her house. She should warn Philadelphion of her fears for his life, but discourage him from tackling the lawyer. I would approach the man - at the right moment.
In fact, when Helena and I left, I said that I would first want to consider whether anybody else had a big grudge against the Zoo Keeper. ‘What did you think about the doting mistress?’
‘I thought,’ replied Helena acidly, ‘the lovely Roxana was a tribute to the powers of a good night’s sleep.’
‘Really? You mean, she had just seen a young man die a hideous death, with herself and me nearly killed too, yet she was not beset with nightmares?’
Helena was scornful. ‘Where were the puffy eyes? The signs of weeping? The gaunt cheeks? The ravages to the complexion? Marcus, that woman has no conscience.’
We both then had the same intriguing notion about the luscious hostess: would Roxana have had any motive to let Sobek out?
When I suggested it might be useful to investigate Roxana further, Helena Justina scoffed. ‘No need! I think we know exactly what that woman is all about!’ I concurred meekly.
She was obviously tired. I sent her back to my uncle’s house in his palanquin, which we had borrowed that morning.