'Well, Ostia's close enough,' I replied airily. 'What if she was beached somewhere else in Italy?'

'The only way to discover that would be to visit every possible port and check their lists-if the local officials are willing to let you look at them. And always assuming,' Gaius Baebius added heavily, 'the Hypericon behaved in a legitimate fashion.' Something we both knew must be open to doubt. 'And paid the proper duty.'

'If not,' I agreed despondently, 'she could have slipped into land anywhere and had the cargo smuggled ashore.'

'And it was years ago.' He liked to be optimistic.

'And she may really have sunk, so I'm wasting my time.'

'Sinking was certainly the story. I remember the fuss Festus made about it.'

'At last somebody seems to know something about the problem!' I flattered him. 'I think we can assume the Hypericon never came into Ostia. Either she did sink-or she would have been hidden away. But would you be prepared to do something for me, old son? To help the family?'

'You mean check up on her?'

'Not only her. I want you to examine the lists for that whole year.'

'I'd have to go to Ostia.'

'I'll pay your mule hire.' He would pinch official transport anyway, if I knew him.

I could see he was prepared for the inconvenience; probably it was a good excuse to escape from Junia. As for her, she would let him go off on the trip because Festus had been her brother too. Junia must have been watching this possible scandal unfolding with more horror than the rest of us; after all, she was the one who had refined ideas.

'Let's get this straight, Falco. You want to see if Festus had any other commissioned vessel that came into Ostia?' Gaius Baebius loved that. 'Oho! You think he transferred the goods?'

'I've no idea. I'm simply looking into every possibility. I should have done this before, as his executor. Even if this cargo was submerged, there may be something else worth looking for. What I'm hoping is that I may discover a cache of property belonging to Festus that I can sell to get his legion off our backs.' What I was hoping was to find more than that.

'Why don't you just tell them there is nothing?' demanded Junia angrily.

'I've already done that. Either they don't believe me, or they intend to be paid regardless of whether it ruins the whole family. ' I held my tongue about the savings-bank theory. 'Gaius Baebius, are you prepared to help me? Will the lists still exist?'

'Oh they should exist all right. Have you any idea, Falco, how many vessels come into Rome in a season?'

'I'll help you look,' I volunteered quickly.

'It will still be a job and a half,' Gaius grumbled, but it was plain he would do it. 'I could go out to the coast today and see my pals at the port. I can have a look at what we're letting ourselves in for.' Gaius Baebius was a true bureaucrat; he loved to think he was so important he had to ruin his holiday by rushing back to work. Most people would baulk at a round trip of twenty miles, but he was ready to gallop off to Ostia immediately. 'I'll be back by the end of the morning.' The man was an idiot. If I carried out enquiries at such a dash, I would be worn out. 'Where can I find you later?'

'Let's have a late lunch. I'll be at a wine bar near the Caelian.'

Junia pricked up her ears. 'I trust this is not a place with a bad reputation, Marcus?' My sister kept her husband out of trouble; not that he exerted himself getting into any.

'It's not called the Virgin for nothing.' Junia looked reassured by the name of the drinking-house and told Gaius he could go.

'There may be one other problem,' I confessed. 'Any ship Festus chartered could be registered in the name of an agent he was using. Unluckily, no one I have been able to speak to-'

'He means Father!' snapped Junia.

'Is able to supply the agent's name.'

Gaius Baebius bristled. 'Well, that's a blow!'

'All right, all right! I'll sort it out somehow-'

'Gaius Baebius will have to help you,' my sister told me snootily. 'I do hope there is not going to be any unpleasantness, Marcus!'

'Thanks for the support, dearest!' I lifted a slice of veal sausage from my brother-in-law's laden plate as I took my leave.

Then I had to go back for another, to use for distracting the dog.

XXXII

My next task was trickier: I went to see my mother to ask about the knife.

She was being extremely vague on the subject. I learned no more than she had already told Petronius. 'Yes, it looked like mine. I really can't be expected to remember where something disappeared to when I probably haven't seen it for twenty years:'

'Somebody must have walked off with it,' I told her grimly. 'Allia's the prime candidate.'

Ma knew my sister Allia was always popping into someone else's house to borrow half a loaf or a set of loom weights. She was famous for not bothering to have her own possessions while there was anybody else she could count on to supply her needs.

Not that I was suggesting Allia was implicated in the soldier's death.

'I suppose you're right.' Whilst apparently agreeing, Ma managed to put mysterious doubts into her tone.

Under strain, I could hear myself getting annoyed. 'Well, will you ask all the family what they know about this thing? It's important, Ma!'

'So I gather! I heard you were arrested, but you let yourself be bought out!'

'Yes, my father released me,' I answered patiently.

'Last time you were in prison, I was good enough to bribe the jailer!'

'Don't remind me about that.'

'You ought to have more pride.'

'Last time had been a stupid mistake over nothing, Ma. This time a murder-court judge happens to have a pressing case against me. The position is rather different. If they haul me in front of a jury, your precious boy may be lost. The surety cost heavily, if that's any consolation. Geminus will be feeling the gap in his purse.'

'He'll feel it even more if you run off!' My mother clearly saw me as even more of a ruffian than Pa. 'So how are you getting on?'

'I'm not.'

Ma gave me a look as if she thought I had deliberately arranged my arrest to escape having to exert myself on my brother's behalf. 'So where are you dashing off to now?'

'A wine bar,' I said, since she already thought the worst of me.

It was true, anyway.

Finding a seedy bar I had visited only once before, five years earlier, at the end of a long night's entertainment, when I was depressed and drunk, took time. I spent nearly an hour roaming alleys round the Caelian. When I finally came across the Virgin, Gaius Baebius was already there. He looked tired, but smug.

'Ho there, my travel-stained amicus! How did you manage to arrive so promptly? I've been wearing myself out looking everywhere. Do you know this place?'

'Never been here, Falco.'

'How did you find it so quickly then?'

'I asked someone.'

After working off his breakfast and working up another appetite with his mad gallop to Ostia, he was tucking into a substantial lunch. He had bought and paid for it; there was no offer to include me. I called for a small flagon and decided to eat later on my own.

'The records still exist,' mumbled Gaius, chewing happily. 'It will take a few months to wade through them.' He was a slow worker. I could speed him up, but I knew in advance it would frustrate me.

'I'll help if they will allow me in. Can I look at them with you?'

'Oh yes. Any citizen with a legitimate reason can inspect the shipping lists. Of course,' he said, 'you have to know the procedures.' From Gaius Baebius this was a message that he was doing me a favour, and would remind me about it in future at every opportunity.

'Fine,' I said.