Last Act In Palmyra Part 4

'What do we know of this person?' The Brother asked, addressing me. I gathered that I was expected to take responsibility for explaining the stranger.

I indicated the writing block at the dead man's waist. 'A scholar or clerk maybe.' Then I pointed to the grazes on the broad, slightly puffy face. 'He had clearly suffered violence, though not an extreme beating. I found empty drinking vessels at the scene.'

'This occurred at the High Place?' The Brother's tone was not particularly angry, but the careful posing of the question spoke volumes.

'Apparently. Seems to be some drunk who fell out with his friend.'

'You saw them?'

'No. I had heard voices, though. They sounded amiable. I had no reason to rush up after them and investigate.'

'What was your own purpose in visiting the Place of Sacrifice?'

'Reverent curiosity,' I stated. It sounded unconvincing and cra.s.s, of course. 'I had been told it is not forbidden?'

it is not forbidden,' agreed The Brother, as if he thought that in a just world it should have been. Legislation seemed likely to emanate from his office later that afternoon.

I took a stand. 'I believe that is all the help I can give you.' My remark was ignored. If a foreign visitor foolishly came across a drowned man in the Basin of Funda.n.u.s in Rome, he would be thanked for his sense of civic duty, given a public reward of modest proportions, and led quietly out of town-or so I told myself. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he would be flung into the worst jail available, to teach him not to malign the Golden Citadel with sordid discoveries.

The Brother stood back from crouching over the corpse. 'And what is your name?' he enquired, fixing me with those pleasant dark eyes. From deep in their wrinkled pouches of weariness those eyes had already noted the cut of my tunic and style of my sandals. I knew he knew that I was Roman.

'Didius Falco,' I answered, with a more or less clear conscience. 'A traveller from Italy - '

'Ah yes!' he said.

My heart sank. My name was already known here. Somebody had warned the King's Chief Minister to expect me. I could guess who it was. I had told everyone at home that I was going to the Decapolis on a seek-and-retrieve for Thalia's water organist. Apart from Helena Justina, only one person knew I was coming here: Anacrites.

And if Anacrites had written ahead to the Nabataeans, then as sure as honey makes your teeth rot, he wasn't asking The Brother to extend me any diplomatic courtesies.

Chapter X.

I would have liked to punch The Brother in the solar plexus and make a run for it. If, as I guessed, he was hated and feared in Petra, then the crowd might let me through. If he was hated and feared even more than I suspected, however, it might be to their advantage to avert his wrath by stopping me.

We Romans are a civilised nation. I kept my fists at my sides and faced him out. 'Sir, I am a man of humble origins. I am surprised you know of me.' He made no attempt to explain. It was vital that I found out his source of information, and quickly. There was no point trying to bluff. 'Can I guess that you heard about me from a functionary called Anacrites? And did he ask you to put me top of the list for sacrifice in Dushara's High Place?'

'Dushara requires immolation only from the pure!' commented The Brother. He had a gentle line in sarcasm -the most dangerous kind. I was in a tricky situation here, and he liked the fact that I was aware of it.

I noticed him make a surrept.i.tious gesture to tell the surrounding crowd to stand off somewhat. A s.p.a.ce promptly cleared. I was to be interrogated with a modic.u.m of privacy.

Ignoring the disturbance, I answered him lightly: 'No doubt Petra has other quick and easy systems of disposal?'

'Oh yes. You can be laid out on an offering block for the birds and the sun.' He sounded as if he would enjoy giving the order. Just what I always wanted: to die by being frizzled like offal, then picked clean by a clan of vultures.

'I look forward to the privilege! And what have you been told about me?'

'Naturally that you are a spy.' He appeared to be making a polite joke of it. Somehow I felt no urge to grin at the pleasantry. That was information on which he would certainly act.

'Ah, the usual diplomatic nicety! Do you believe it though?'

'Should I?' he asked, still giving me the dubious courtesy of appearing open and frank. A clever man. Neither vain nor corrupt: nothing to bite back against.

'Oh I think so,' I replied, employing similar tactics. 'Rome has a new emperor, an efficient one for once. Vespasian is taking stock; that includes surveying all the territory which borders on his own. You must have been expecting visitors.'

We both glanced down at the body. He deserved more personal consideration. Instead, some tawdry domestic quarrel had made him an opportunity for this unexpected high-flown discussion of world events. Whoever he was, he had wound himself into my mission. His fate was welded to mine.

'What is Vespasian's interest in Petra?' The Brother asked. His eyes were sly, deceptive slits in that pa.s.sionless face. A man so astute must know exactly what Rome's interest would be in a rich nation that controlled important trade routes just outside our own boundaries.

I can argue politics as fiercely as the next man who is standing around the Forum with two hours to fill before dinner, but I did not relish putting the Empire's point of view in a foreign city. Not when n.o.body at the Palace had bothered to instruct me what the Empire's foreign policy was supposed to be. (Nor when the Emperor, being pedantic about such trifles, was likely to hear about my answer sooner or later.) I tried to escape. 'I can't answer you, sir. I'm just a humble information-gatherer.'

'Not so humble, I think!' It sounded elegant in Greek, but was not a compliment. He could sneer without the slightest change of expression.

The Brother folded his arms, still staring down at the dead man lying at our feet. Water from the sodden body and its clothing had seeped into the paving. Every fibre within the cadaver must be growing cold; soon flies would be coming to look for egg-laying sites. 'What is your quality? Do you have many possessions?'

'My house is poor,' I answered. Then I remembered Helena reading out to me a pa.s.sage from a historian who said the Nabataeans particularly prized the acquisition of possessions. I managed to make my remark sound like polite modesty by adding, 'Though it has seen feasting with the son of the Emperor.' The Nabataeans were supposed to enjoy a good feast, and most cultures are impressed by men who dine freely with their own rulers.

My information left The Brother looking thoughtful. Well it might. My relations.h.i.+p with t.i.tus Caesar had its puzzling aspects, plus one that was perfectly clear: we both hankered for the same girl. Unsure of the Nabataean att.i.tude to women, I kept quiet on this subject.

I thought about it aplenty. Every time I went somewhere dangerous abroad, I wondered if t.i.tus was hoping that I never came back. Maybe Anacrites was not merely plotting to get rid of me for his own reasons; perhaps he had sent me here on prompting from t.i.tus. For all I knew, the Chief Spy's letter to The Brother had suggested that t.i.tus Caesar, the heir to the Empire, would deem it a personal favour if I stayed at Petra for a very long time: for ever, for instance.

'My visit has no sinister implications,' I a.s.sured Petra's minister, trying not to look depressed. 'Rome's knowledge of your famous city is somewhat thin and out of date. We rely on a few very old writings that are said to be based on eye-witness reports, chief among them an account by Strabo. This Strabo had his facts from Athenodorus, who was tutor to the Emperor Augustus. His His value as an eye-witness may be tempered by the fact that he was blind. Our sharp new Emperor distrusts such stuff.' value as an eye-witness may be tempered by the fact that he was blind. Our sharp new Emperor distrusts such stuff.'

'So Vespasian's curiosity is scholarly?' queried The Brother.

'He is a cultured man.' That was to say he was on record as once quoting a rude line from a play by Menander concerning a chap with an enormous phallus, which by the standards of previous emperors made Vespasian a highly educated wit.

But it was Vespasian the crusty old general who must preoccupy foreign politicians. 'True,' The Brother pointed out. 'But he is also a strategist.'

I decided to stop feinting. 'And a pragmatic one. He has plenty to occupy his energies within his own borders. If he believes the Nabataeans are interested only in pursuing their own affairs peacefully, you can rely on it that he will elect, like his predecessors, to make gestures of friends.h.i.+p to Petra.'

'And were you sent to say that?' queried The Brother, rather haughtily. For once I saw him tighten his mouth. So the Petrans were were afraid of Rome - which meant there were terms we might negotiate. afraid of Rome - which meant there were terms we might negotiate.

I lowered my voice. 'If and when Rome chooses to a.s.similate Nabataea within its Empire, then Nabataea will come to us. This is a fact. It is no treachery towards you, and perhaps not even an unkindness, to state it.' I was taking a lot upon myself here, even by my risky standards. 'I am a simple man, but it seems to me that time is not yet here. Even so, Nabataea might do well to plan ahead. You lie in an enclave between Judaea and Egypt, so the questions are not will yon join the Empire, but when and on what terms. At present these are within your own control. A partners.h.i.+p could be achieved both peacefully and at a time that suited you.' join the Empire, but when and on what terms. At present these are within your own control. A partners.h.i.+p could be achieved both peacefully and at a time that suited you.'

'This is what your Emperor says to me?' queried The Brother. Since I had been told by Anacrites to avoid official contact, I had of course been given no instructions about speaking for Vespasian.

'You will realise,' I confessed frankly, 'I am a fairly low-grade messenger.' The hooded eyes darkened angrily. One lean hand played with the jewelled dagger at his belt. 'Don't be insulted,' I urged him quietly. 'The advantage to you is that a higher-powered emba.s.sy would necessitate action. Important men sent on delicate missions expect results; they have careers to found. The day you find a Roman senator measuring your civic monuments, you'll know he's trying to find a s.p.a.ce for a statue of himself in a laurel wreath, looking like a conqueror. But any report I I make can be filed away in a casket if Vespasian wants to preserve the status quo.' make can be filed away in a casket if Vespasian wants to preserve the status quo.'

'a.s.suming you make a report!' The Brother rejoined, going back to the fun of threatening me.

I was blunt. 'Best that I do. Pegging me out on top of one of your crow-step altars could rebound on you. The peremptory death of a Roman citizen - which I am, despite shabby appearances - might be a neat excuse for sending in a Roman army and annexing Nabataea immediately.'

The Brother smiled faintly at this idea. The death of an informer, travelling without official doc.u.ments, was unlikely to justify world-scale political initiatives. Besides, Anacrites had told him I was coming. Apart from his personal hatred of me, in diplomatic terms that was probably meant as a warning to the Nabataeans: Here's one observer you know about; there may be others you fail to detect. Rome feels so confident, she's even spying on you openly Here's one observer you know about; there may be others you fail to detect. Rome feels so confident, she's even spying on you openly.

My own fate was not a diplomatic issue. Anyone who took a dislike to my face could safely cast my corpse on their local rubbish tip. Accepting it, I smiled back peacefully.

At our feet the man who really was dead still waited for attention.

'Falco, what does this unknown body have to do with you?'

'Nothing. I found him. It was coincidence.'

'He brought you to me.'

Coincidence has a habit of landing me in tight situations. 'Neither the victim nor his killer knew me. I have merely reported the incident.'

'Why did you do that?' enquired The Brother sedately.

'I believe his killer should be traced and brought to justice.'

'There are laws in the desert!' he rebuked me, his deep voice soft.

'I was not suggesting otherwise. For that reason I alerted you.'

'You may have wished to remain silent!' He was still niggling about my role in Petra.

Reluctantly I conceded: 'It might have been more convenient! I'm sorry if you have been informed I'm a spy. To get this in perspective, let me tell you that your helpful informant is also the man who paid me to come here.'

The Brother smiled. More than ever he looked like somebody you wouldn't trust to hold your purse while you were undressing at the baths. 'Didius Falco, you have dangerous friends.'

'He and I were never friends.'

We had stood talking in the open outdoor area for much longer than could be customary. At first it must have appeared to the onlookers that we were speculating about the dead man. Now people in the crowd were growing restless as they sensed more going on.

This corpse had become a useful cover for The Brother. It could well be that at some future date the sensible Nabataeans would hand themselves over to Rome on negotiated terms - but there would be ample preparation. No disturbing rumour would be permitted to ruffle commerce prematurely. At this stage The Brother needed to hide from his people the fact that he had been talking with an official from Rome.

Suddenly my interview reached its end. The Brother told me that he would see me again tomorrow. He stared at the young priest for a moment, said something in Arabian, then instructed him in Greek to conduct me to my lodging. I understood that all too well: I had been released on parole. I was being watched. I would not be permitted to inspect places they wished to keep secret. I would not be allowed free talk with the populace. Meanwhile, a decision on whether or not to let me leave Petra would be taken without my knowledge and without leave to appeal.

From now on, the Chief Minister would always know where I was. All my movements and even my continued existence, were at his whim. In fact, it struck me he was the sort of unreliable potentate who could well send me off now with a smile and a promise of mint tea and sesame cakes tomorrow - then dispatch his executioner after me in half an hour's time.

I was escorted from the sanctuary. I had no idea what was intended for the corpse. I never did find out what happened to it.

But that would not be my last connection with the man I had found on the High Place of Sacrifice.

Chapter XI.

Helena was waiting in our room. Expecting trouble, she had dressed her hair neatly in a decorated net, though she covered it demurely with a white stole when we entered. Discreet strands of beads were evenly hung on her fine bosom; hints of gold glinted at the tips of her ears. She was sitting very upright. Her hands were folded; her ankles crossed. She looked severe and expectant. There was a stillness about her that spoke of quality.

'This is Helena Justina,' I informed the young priest, as if he ought to treat her respectfully. 'I am Didius Falco, as you know. And you are?'

This time he could not ignore it. 'My name is Musa.'

'We have been adopted as personal guests of The Brother,' I stated, for Helena's benefit. Maybe I could impose duties of hospitality on the priest. (Maybe not.) 'Musa, at The Brother's request, is to look after us while we are in Petra.'

I could see that Helena understood.

Now we all knew everyone. All we had to do was communicate. 'How are we off for languages?' I asked, making it a matter of politeness. I was wondering how to shake Musa loose and drag Helena safely out of here. 'Helena is fluent in Greek; she used to kidnap her brothers' tutor. Musa speaks Greek, Arabic and I presume Aramaic. My Latin's low cla.s.s but I can insult an Athenian, read the price-list in a Gallic inn or ask what's for breakfast of a Celt... Let's stick with Greek,' I offered gallantly, then switched to Latin, using an impenetrable street dialect. 'What's the news, beautiful?' I asked Helena, as if I were accosting her in an Aventine fish market. Even if Musa understood more Latin than he was letting on, this ought to fool him. The only problem was, a respectable young n.o.blewoman born in a Capena Gate mansion might not understand me either.

I helped Helena unpack some olives we had bought earlier that day; it seemed like weeks ago.

Helena busied herself dividing salad into bowls. She replied to me off-handedly as if discussing dressed beans and chickpeas: 'When I came down from the High Place, I reported what had happened to a man who looked in authority who was standing outside the theatre - ' She peered at some strangely white cheeses.

'Ewe's milk,' I said cheerfully, in Greek. 'Or camel's!' I was not sure that was possible.

'People nearby must have been listening in,' Helena continued. 'I overheard speculation from a company of actors that the drowned man might belong to them, but I was so exhausted I just said they could contact you if they wanted more information. They seemed an odd lot; I don't know if we'll hear from them. The official collected his favourite cronies and went up to see about the body.'

'I saw it later,' I confirmed.

'Well, I left them to it and slipped away.'

We sat on rugs and cus.h.i.+ons. Our Nabataean guardian seemed shy of small talk. Helena and I had a lot to think about; the apparent murder at the High Place had upset both of us, and we knew we were in a sticky predicament as a result. I stared into my supper bowl.

'Didius Falco, you have three radishes, seven olives, two lettuce leaves and a piece of cheese!' listed Helena, as if I was checking the equality of our rations. 'I divided it fairly, so there would be no quarrelling...'

She had spoken Greek herself this time as a courtesy to our silent guest. I switched back to Latin, like the man of the house being stubborn. 'Well, that's probably the last we'll hear of the drowned man, but you will gather you and I are now the subject of a tense political incident.'

'Can we shed this overseer?' she queried in our own tongue, smiling graciously at Musa and serving him the burned segment of our flat Petran loaf.

'Afraid he sticks.' I spooned him some mashed chickpeas.

Musa politely accepted our offerings, though with a worried air. He took what he was given - then did not eat. He probably knew he was the subject under discussion, and given the brevity of his instructions from The Brother he may have been feeling anxious about being alone with two dangerous criminals.

We tucked in. I wasn't his foster-mother. If Musa chose to be picky, as far as I was concerned he could starve. But I wanted my strength.

Knocking summoned us to the door. We found a gang of Nabataeans who did not look like pa.s.sing lamp-oil salesmen; they were armed and determined. They started jabbering excitedly. Musa had followed us to the threshold; I could tell he disliked what he heard.

'You have to go,' he told me. His startled tone seemed genuine.

'Leave Petra?' It was amazing these people managed to conduct so much lucrative commerce if everyone who came to their city got sent away so promptly. Still, it could have been worse. I had been expecting The Brother to decide we should stay - probably in custody. In fact I had been pondering ways I could sneak us down the Siq to collect our ox-cart from the caravanserai in secret, then dash for freedom. 'We'll pack!' I volunteered eagerly. Helena had jumped up and was already doing it. 'So this is goodbye, Musa!'

'Oh no,' replied the priest, with an earnest expression. 'I was told to stay with you. If you leave Petra, I shall have to come.'

I patted his shoulder. We had no time to waste in argument. 'If we're being asked to leave, no doubt somebody forgot to countermand your orders.' He was unimpressed with this reasoning. I didn't believe it myself. If my corns had been in The Brother's boots, I too would have made sure an underling followed us to the Nabataean borders and put us firmly on board s.h.i.+p. 'Well, it's your decision.'

Helena was used to me acquiring eccentric travel companions, but looked as if this one had stretched her tolerance. Grinning unconvincingly, I tried to rea.s.sure her: 'He won't come with us far; he'll miss his mountains.'

Helena smiled wearily. 'Don't worry. I'm quite used to handling men I could do without!'