Porcius grabbed the dog by its neck fur and dragged her in as he slammed the door. Nux flung herself against it, still trying to chase the villains. Now tearful, Marius threw himself on me. `There, there! They've gone now, Marius.'

`When they reach ground level they'll realise I was whistling at thin air.'

When they reached ground level they would be exhausted. One was covered in blood, even if his wounds were far from fatal. The other was quite seriously scalded. `Trust me, they've gone. You were a brave boy.'

`They'll be back,' commented Ma.

`Not tonight.'

We took precautions, then we men started clearing up while the women exclaimed over the incident. I thanked the recruit for his help. `You're a bright lad, Porcius! Where did Petro discover you?'

`I was a cold-meat-seller's-son.'

`Wanted to clean up society?'

`Wanted to get away from pickled brains!'

Helena had brought in the baby from his refuge on the balcony. She passed him to me; I jiggled him comfortingly, using one arm, though I soon handed him to Ma, for reasons of my own. As his screaming subsided, I watched Helena anxiously. Her face was white, but she seemed calm as she swept her hair up tidily and refixed two side combs just above her ears. We two would talk after the rest had left.

As I felt my body surreptitiously, checking for permanent damage, I noticed Ma staring at Helena. There was nothing to suggest Helena was feeling bilious, but Ma's face tightened. Sometimes she piped up at once when she recognised a secret; sometimes it pleased her more to keep quiet. I winked at Helena. Ma said nothing. She didn't know we knew she knew.

Helena looked around the disordered room. Catching her eye, the little dog leapt straight into her arms, licking her frantically. As a jumper it could have won a crown at the Olympic Games.

`I am not adopting a dog,' I tried instructing them both sternly.

Helena still clutched the mad bundle of fur. The dog was full of life. Well, she was now she saw a chance of worming her way into a cosy home. `Of course not,' Ma said, finding a space to sit down and recover. `But the dog seems to have adopted you!'

`Maybe you could train her to guard your clothes at the baths,' suggested Porcius. `We get a lot of theft., It can be very embarrassing to come out naked and find your tunic's gone.'

`Nobody pinches old rags like the tunics I wear!'

Ma and Maia were fussing over Marius. Glad to have someone even younger to look down on, Porcius chucked his chin. `You're a quick thinker, Marius! If your uncle's still in this business when you grow up, you could make him a fine assistant.'

`I'm going to teach rhetoric,' insisted Marius. `I'm grooming my brother to work with our uncle.'

`Ancus?' I laughed at the way I was being set up. `Will he be any good?'

`He's useless,' Marius said.

Life's a basket of eggs; I invariably pick out the one that's cracked.

Ma and Maia had arrived at a lucky moment, but now I had time to think about it I knew there must be a reason, one I didn't like. `Thanks for interrupting the festivities, but what brought you? Don't tell me Tertulla's still lost?' They nodded, looking grim. Maia reminded me I had promised to organise a search party, and gave me the fabulous news that most of my brothers-in-law, a crass gang of idlers and idiots – would be turning up shortly to assist. I groaned. `Look, she's always running off. I've got enough on at the moment. Does a naughty child call for all this fuss?'

`She's seven years old,' Maia rebuked me. In silence we all thought about the brutal assaults that could be inflicted on a child. `Something's happened.' Mother pursed her lips. `If you can't help us, perhaps you can suggest what the rest of us can do?' `I'll help!' I snarled.

`Oh you're busy. We don't want to trouble you!' `I said I'll help!'

Porcius looked curious. `Is this something for the vigiles?' `Missing child.'

`We've had lot of those lately.'

`Do they turn up?' I asked.

`They seem to. The parents arrive in hysterics demanding house-to-house investigations, then they come in again looking sheepish, and saying the little one was just at Auntie's, or out looking for excitement…'That would have sorted the issue, had he not gone on to report, `Petro did think there might be a pattern, but we've never had time to look into it.'

I said, `Anyone who kidnaps Tertulla will hand her back pretty quick.'

`Don't joke,' retorted Helena, beating Maia to it by half a breath.

Sighing, I promised to draw up a regular plan for searching. To start with, Helena and my sister could prepare a description for the vigiles. We might as well involve the patrols.

I would have showed more enthusiasm, but I was trying to hide the fact I was in pain and next to panicking myself. My left arm still hung limp. I was afraid I had suffered permanent harm from the wide man. Porcius finally noticed my distracted air. `Oh Falco! You've been nadgered – something's up with your collarbone.'

I raised an eyebrow. That was still working anyway. `You a medical man?'

Porcius said, `Recognising damage was the first part of our training in the vigiles.'

Helena was upset, mostly because she herself had failed to notice my disablement. Porcius told her he would fetch Scythax, the cohort doctor, to look at me. Suddenly I was being treated like an invalid. When Helena went into the bedroom for a blanket to wrap me in, I told Porcius in a low voice that we ought to have followed the intruders and tried to discover who they were.

Porcius looked dismayed, but then he smiled. He was tall, well built in a youthful way, and had a rosy glow beneath his outdoor tan. Helping out in the fight, he seemed to have gained confidence. `I think I know who they were,' he assured me. `I haven't met them before, but I bet those two were the Miller and Little Icarus.'

I was right. I had offended someone – someone I should have left alone. The problem with Tertulla might have to wait. This was far more serious.

XXXVII

PORCIUS WENT OFF to fetch Scythax and report to Petronius the bad developments.

Porcius and I had exchanged a few thoughts: `If you're right, and I have every confidence in your judgement, Porcius -' he blushed happily – 'we now know that some of the Balbinus men are back in Rome. That probably means they all are.'

`That makes them suspects for the Emporium raid,' offered the young recruit. A fast thinker. Good material. Even in the aftermath of a fight he was piecing together the evidence.

I was thinking myself. Interviewing Lalage, I was with Petro as a member of the cohort. She has no reason to single me out for special treatment. Apart from Nonnius – who's out of it the Balbinus females are the only people I've visited on my own. The fact that it's the Miller and Little Icarus who were sent to put me off does point to this being in the family.' I was convinced this had happened because I had asked too many questions of Flaccida and Milvia. The speed with which they had tracked me down was worrying. I kept that to myself. `Maybe we can forget the other gangs. Maybe Petro cut the head off the Balbinus organisation but the body's still active. We'll have to find out who's running it now, Porcius.' For the safety of my household, we needed to find out fast.

`Do you really think it could be the wife or the daughter, Falco?' `Or the son-in-law. I haven't met him yet.'

`Or Lalage,' Helena put in, refusing to give up her theory. `She could easily have taken over the services of the Miller and company.'

Porcius and I exchanged a surreptitious glance. Face it: it was easier for us to accept that the Balbinus organisation had been hijacked by his deadbeat thugs themselves than that it was masterminded by women. Even women as hard-baked as Flaccida and Lalage.