AURELIA (Roma Nova Book 4)

by Alison Morton

  I forced Numerus to show me the whole file on Caius, but I couldn’t see anything new. No blinding insight fell from the gods either.

  ‘They have a proper incident board at headquarters, but I doubt Lieutenant Mercuria would let me have that.’ He smiled as if joking.

  ‘Then we’ll go to her.’

  Bundled up in the car with rugs by Milo at 08.30 the following morning, I resembled a mobile pile of blankets. At the PGSF building, Mercuria was tactful enough not to greet me as if I was a walking wreck, but as we rode up to her office I appreciated the new lift they’d installed. She gave me a coffee in the military standard issue earthenware mug. I cupped my hands round it, absorbing the heat, the steam of the hot drink and memories of my past life.

  ‘Are you up to a briefing session in the operations room, ma’am?’

  ‘Of course, that’s why I’m here. Lead on.’

  The bullring hadn’t changed. Three rows of desks, buff files bursting with paper, cardboard boxes stacked in the corners and beige figures bent over desks, with the occasional one in combats. Down one side of the vast room were smaller private offices. We carried on through to an open area round the corner that served as an operations room.

  Weak winter light shone through the side windows and highlighted the three hinged display boards, the middle one with a large photo of Caius Tellus. Sightings and known associates ran down one side and what Mercuria had headed ‘speculations’ on the other side. My photo and Plico’s were pinned above them.

  I sat slightly to one side and watched the tactical group members file in, some uniformed, most not. I counted seventeen altogether. Mercuria gave a rundown so far; nothing I didn’t know.

  ‘Our problem is that while Caius Tellus has left a trail of damage in his wake after escaping – the Prussian prison guard, the Argentaria Prima manager and Countess Mitela – we’re still no further forward. Berlin says a bag was pulled over the guard’s head before he was attacked so he saw nothing. Nor do they have any forensic evidence that Caius Tellus was anywhere near the maimed guard. Unless somebody turns state’s evidence, they can’t prove it was him. He’d say he took advantage of circumstances. We know what a slippery bugger he is.

  ‘We know he’s here in Roma Nova, and specifically in the city. The attack on Countess Mitela is the only charge we can arrest him on domestically, once we catch him, of course. Extra vigiles patrols are out, all informants are being pressured, they say, yet they have nothing.’ She looked round the room. ‘I know you have all been working hard, but the unhappy truth is that we, too, have a blank. This in itself is remarkable.’

  She paused to take a sip from a glass of water.

  ‘I’m prepared to listen to any ideas, however simple, complex or unorthodox, at this point.’

  ‘Somebody must be sheltering him, as the bank manager did in Vienna,’ an older centurion observed. ‘He’s holed up in a private residence, maybe even holding some poor householder at gunpoint.’

  ‘That’s not as easy as the films make it look,’ chimed in one of the younger ones. ‘Especially if you have nosy neighbours.’ Somebody chuckled.

  ‘Ref his foot,’ Mercuria continued, without reacting to the laugh. ‘We’ve drawn a blank at the hospitals and doctors’ practices. We’ve even checked the three Asclepius temples. The priests there are at least paramedics – one’s a doctor. Nothing.’

  I put my hand up. ‘May I ask, Lieutenant, who you have questioned from the Tella family?’

  ‘Quintus Tellus has been very helpful with background information. My impression is that there’s very little love lost between the two of them. But he says he has no idea of his brother’s whereabouts. He’s given us a list of Caius Tellus’s associates. Well, the ones he knows about.’ She handed me a report sheet. I smiled as I read it. I could almost hear Quintus’s cultured and concise tones. If he continued to climb the career ladder, the cursus honorum, as quickly as he had already, he’d end up as the chief secretary one day. Unless, of course, Caius pulled him off.

  ‘Another question,’ I said. ‘Has Domus Tellarum been submitted to a full search? It’s a very old building with a lot of odd rooms and cellars.’

  ‘I suggested it earlier, when the images of Caius Tellus were caught on your video surveillance system, but the legate said we didn’t have any evidence or sufficient legal grounds.’ She paused and I suddenly remembered the current legate was some sort of cousin of Domitia Tella’s, but on her father’s side. That was the one aspect I hated about the families’ system which counterbalanced all the positive ones; some of them closed ranks rather than do the right thing.

  ‘I went with the vigiles prefect myself, to see Countess Tella,’ Mercuria continued, ‘while you were in hospital. She refused point blank to let us even inspect it informally. Her words were, ah, unambiguous. The prefect refused to push it further. He said her word of honour that Caius Tellus was not living in her house was sufficient for him.’ She coughed, then looked straight at me. ‘I am reluctant to doubt the word of the head of the second oldest of the Twelve Families.’

  The room fell silent; not a rustle of paper, a sniffle or creak of a chair. She hadn’t said it, but I could feel her frustration at being blocked by ancient privilege. At that moment, with eighteen pairs of eyes looking at me, I felt responsible for the poor behaviour of the whole patrician class. Well, abusing privilege would be the head item at the next Twelve Families’ council. I had to arrange one as soon as we’d finished with Caius, and the agenda would be full.

  ‘Regrettably, Lieutenant,’ I said, ‘there are members of the Twelve who forget their primary duty is to the imperatrix and the state. Fortunately, they are very few. I can assure you that I will do everything within my power and influence to ensure the two we are discussing will be submitted to the full vigour of the law and treated no differently from any other citizen.’

  ‘Of course, ma’am. I don’t doubt it.’

  ‘If you can show me to the nearest secure telephone, I will consult Secretary Plico now and request he issue a full search order for immediate execution. And, if you don’t mind, Lieutenant, I’ll come with you.’ I let a deep breath out. ‘If nothing else, I can keep Countess Tella talking while you take the place apart.’

  *

  Domus Tellarum was even older than Domus Mitelarum, some parts dating back over a thousand years. The tall main gates were wooden, flaking in places, but solid enough with long studded hinges and black metal straps across. Numerus tugged on the old-fashioned bell pull by the service gate. The observation panel opened to reveal a cross young face.

  ‘Who are you? What do you want?’

  ‘Senior Centurion Numerus of the Praetorian Guard. Please open the door.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘Open the door, son, or you’ll be in so much trouble you won’t work the fine off until you retire. Let’s be sensible, shall we?’

  The porter gave in and Numerus and two other troops stepped through the service door and opened the tall gates.

  We parked the three long wheelbases on the gravel area just inside the wall gates. No security cameras anywhere, only the porter’s lodge and an open-sided shelter with two storage bins.

  Built on more traditional lines and resembling a country villa dropped into the city, the main house was only two storeys high on the surface, but I knew there were two more levels underground.

  As we walked between the immaculately clipped cypresses and elegant statues lining the slab pathway, I drew a long breath, but slowly. I’d need it to confront Domitia Tella.

  The strong sunlight reflected off the polished marble-faced portico columns as we waited for somebody to answer. Mercuria flicked her fingers and a section of six guards set off past a dry fountain towards the back of the house. The troops carried only personal side arms and nightsticks – enough to contain most urban situations – but I was relieved she sent a whole section.

  Mercuria frowned when there was no answer at the door and she signalled the
optio to ring again. He thudded on the door as well, but it was solid oak. He probably damaged his hand more than made any impact.

  ‘If that door isn’t opened in the next ten seconds, we’ll ram it,’ Mercuria said and fixed her eyes on her watch. At eight seconds, the three-hundred-year-old door was saved. The steward’s face appeared in the gap as he opened it.

  ‘Where’s the revolution?’ he grumped.

  ‘It’ll be here now if you stand in my way,’ Mercuria shot back as she thrust a trifold document into his hand. ‘I am Lieutenant Mercuria of the Praetorian Guard and this is an official search order signed by Imperatrix Justina. Please stand aside.’

  ‘You can’t come in now. The countess is taking her nap.’

  ‘Then we’ll wake her up.’

  ‘She won’t have it.’ He stood, arms crossed and face cross. He was a big man, although his jowls suggested he’d run to fat.

  ‘There is no choice.’ She nodded to Numerus who grabbed the steward’s shirt collar and barrelled forward, pushing the steward off balance by sheer momentum. Numerus lowered him to the ground before the servant had time to take the next breath. He retrieved the search order for Mercuria and left two guards with the truculent steward. Revolver in hand at chest level, Numerus stepped through into the hallway, two more guards close behind him. Four more followed, splitting off in different directions.

  We heard ‘clear’, so Mercuria and I followed. The vestibule was lined both sides with marble and plaster busts, the imagines, but the ancestors’ faces were poorly lit. Numerus waited for us by the half-open atrium door. Two guards took up position at the foot of the stairs to the left.

  ‘Let’s see if there’s anybody in the atrium,’ I whispered to Mercuria. She signalled Numerus in and drew her own revolver, gesturing me to wait. A scream, followed by a crash. I pushed in. Both guards were pointing their weapons at a young woman, a pile of porcelain shards at her feet and her hands over her mouth. Her eyes were round and terrified.

  ‘Okay, relax.’ Mercuria holstered her revolver. ‘Who are you?’

  The girl, she could only have been sixteen or seventeen, shook her head. She had frozen. I walked over to her and touched her arm. She flinched.

  ‘It’s all right. Nobody is going to hurt you. All we want to know is where Countess Tella is.’

  The girl glanced from Mercuria to Numerus and took a breath. Then her eyes widened and she stared over my shoulder. I heard the sound of light steps and a walking stick and turned to see a tall, sturdy figure in traditional dress – navy stola over sky blue undertunic, a silver belt cinching the folds in and a magnificent, almost barbaric, silver pendant with a sparkling amethyst the size of a baby’s fist. Her grey hair was swept up into a severe bun at the back of her neck with the traditional nodus roll at the front. She resembled the most fearsome of the statues of the ancient empress Livia.

  ‘I’m here,’ her clipped voice rang through the atrium. ‘And before I have you thrown out, tell me who it is I am going to drag through the court for trespass and criminal damage.’

  XXXII

  I took a half-step forward but Mercuria beat me to it.

  ‘Countess Tella, I am Lieutenant Mercuria of the Praetorian Guard ordered by Imperatrix Justina to conduct a search of this house.’ She proffered the search order, but Domitia Tella ignored it. ‘I am also commanded,’ Mercuria continued, ‘to advise you that you are required to produce all members of your household, both family and servant, for questioning. Please assemble them immediately.’

  ‘I’ll do no such thing, young woman. You can take yourself off and be glad I’m inclined to ignore this impertinence.’ She gathered up the folds of her floor-length stola and started walking away.

  ‘One moment, Domitia Tella.’ I raised my voice so she couldn’t claim she hadn’t heard. ‘You cannot disobey the imperatrix’s command.’ The older woman stopped and turned to face me.

  ‘And who do you think you are, Aurelia, to speak to me like that? You’re not much further on from a snotty schoolgirl who keeps going off her head when the mood takes her. I have nothing to say to you.’

  I heard a gasp from Mercuria. Numerus came up beside me and stared at Tella with contempt. Before he could do anything, I stalked over to the older woman. My ribs were hurting, my arm aching and my tiredness was making me irritable. But more than anything, fury raced through me at her unreasonable attitude. She’d made a career out of being obnoxious but it was going to stop here. I halted within centimetres of her, almost touching her clothing.

  ‘You will take that back, Tella,’ I spoke in a low voice, struggling to keep the anger out of it. ‘Remember who you are speaking to. I may be younger in years, but I am the head of the Twelve Families and you will be wise to respect that.’

  ‘Are you threatening me?’

  ‘No. Threats are bluster and so useless.’ I stared her direct in the eyes, those strange hazel eyes the twins of Caius’s. ‘This is what will happen. Firstly, you will stand aside and permit the search as instructed by Lieutenant Mercuria. Secondly, you will summon your household members immediately. And thirdly, for having shown disrespect to the head of the senior family in front of strangers, I will be issuing a sanction against you through the Families’ Court.’

  As I turned my back on her, I was trembling, but I walked away in what I hoped was a dignified way. I nodded at Mercuria who then issued orders to send the troops on their search. I spotted a small table and two chairs at the side and flopped down on one. Tella remained where she was, a pillar of frustration. I wondered when the last time was when somebody had crossed her and won.

  After five long minutes of the two of us alone in the atrium, she marched over to me, jabbing the marble floor with her stick at each step.

  ‘I don’t know what you hope to achieve by ransacking my house. I spoke to Justina last week and explained that my great-nephew was being a little unruly and she assured me the matter was closed.’

  I looked up at her.

  ‘Unruly?’ I retorted. ‘That’s what you call murder, smuggling silver, and causing a run on the market, attacking our state interests, terrifying my child, twice attempting to murder me and having me falsely imprisoned.’ I snorted. ‘Let’s add suborning a senior state employee and maiming a Prussian prison guard.’

  ‘The Prussian doesn’t count.’

  ‘For the gods’ sake, Domitia, how can you be so blind? Of course, the guard counts. The poor man’s disabled for life. He will have lost his job and his livelihood. Your precious boy is a nasty piece of work who won’t stop at anything to take what he wants in order to gain power. Look at the way he stole part of your family treasure account.’

  ‘That’s private information.’ She scowled. ‘And he could have had it if he’d asked, so it comes to the same thing.’

  ‘No, it doesn’t. It’s a trust from previous generations to the next. You’re only the steward.’

  I wiped my hand across my face. Where could I start?

  ‘Sit down. Please,’ I said.

  ‘I will stand.’

  ‘As you wish.’

  ‘Between you, you and your niece spoiled Caius, not correcting his antisocial tendencies when he was younger.’

  ‘You know nothing of it.’ A pink flush spread over Tella’s cheeks.

  ‘On the contrary, I’ve been Caius’s target since I was a child. Oh, he was clever, no doubt about it. You will have seen only his smiles, not the frightened faces of the other children. He would have told you he was puzzled why the others didn’t want to play with him, that they were excluding him, that he didn’t understand why.’

  She looked away.

  ‘Children are adept at hiding things from their family,’ I added, ‘and we naturally take the part of our own child. And he’s played on it all his life.’

  ‘You’ve never liked him, Aurelia. You were always such a stuck-up little miss. Nobody was ever good enough for you.’

  ‘That’s beside the point.’ I stood, but gr
asped the chair back for support. ‘Where is he, Domitia?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ She shook her head, daring me to contradict her. Her face had turned dark pink and her eyes glittered, but she stood ramrod straight in her dignity. Before I could say another word, Mercuria came back. She stopped behind Domitia Tella and hesitated.

  ‘Yes, Mercuria?’ I said, keeping my gaze fixed on Domitia Tella.

  ‘I think you should come and see what we’ve found, Maj—, er, Countess.’

  ‘Very well. Please send two of your troops in here to ensure Countess Tella stays here and does not attempt to contact anybody. Your troops are authorised to use restraint if necessary.’ Tella shot me a venomous look, but I turned my back on her for the second time.

  Mercuria led me down three stone steps into the domestic corridor. I knew this area well; Quintus and I had sat at the long kitchen table drinking milk and eating biscuits when we were children. The cook had often slipped us some of her cakes and pastries warm from the oven. But one day Caius had come in and sat by me. Then he’d spat on my cinnamon tart. I’d burst into tears, not believing anybody could do anything so disgusting. After that, I only ever went back there as a child when I was sure he wouldn’t be there.

  Mercuria’s boots clattered on the worn red tile floor as we passed by the doors to the kitchen, pantry, linen room, boiler room, equipment room and conveniences. Further along the stone corridor were the staff dormitories and bathrooms. At the end, the door was open to a flight of steps down to the cellars. The first level was a half-basement with windows along the tops of the walls, and used mostly for food storerooms and wine cellars. Further along, racks of files and cabinets lined the documents room, now unlocked. A male household servant fidgeted nervously with the bunch of keys in his hand, closely watched by Numerus. Two guards were inside, sifting through cabinets. I shivered instinctively at this invasion of the family’s personal papers, but finding Caius was the priority.