Enemies at Home by Lindsey Davis Read Free Book Online

would know, the weaknesses are that none of the staff would admit to Polycarpus that they had loose tongues, and most professional burglars are unobtrusive when they case a joint. ‘The vigiles like to believe items like this stolen silver may reappear and help identify the thieves,’ I mused. ‘But I am not hopeful.’
    The steward continued, ‘The man who came to investigate, Titianus, said the collection must have been stolen to order. He thought it was taken for someone who had been here as a guest, saw it and liked it. But surely, the point of owning treasure is to display it? This supposed guest would never be able to show it off or people would know he stole it. So why bother?’
    I agreed. ‘From your description, this stuff is also too distinctive to show up at auction. I know people in that business. Questions would be asked.’
    ‘Titianus assured me a list would be circulated to jewellers and auctioneers.’
    ‘I am sure he will do that. Sadly, Polycarpus, the likelihood is that the items will be melted down for the value of the metal – in which case that has happened already.’
    ‘It seems a terrible waste of such beautiful things.’
    ‘Criminals have limited choices. Occasionally,’ I told him, ‘a well organised professional gang will hide their loot, then keep it as long as they have to, until the heat dies down. Then they may eventually sell it for its artistic value. But even if these robbers use such long-term planning, people died here. Murder attracts attention. What was stolen may stick in the public’s mind. Selling it will be too risky.’
     
    Mentioning the deaths was my cue to move on.
    After the attack, Polycarpus had gone into the bedroom and had seen the bodies. He confirmed what I had suspected: Aviola was lying nearest the front edge of the bed, with his wife behind him. Mucia was found close against her husband and had one arm stretched across his body, a defensive, protesting position, as if the new bride was trying to fend off her groom’s attacker.
    ‘That doesn’t sound as if the killers turned violent because the master and mistress came out and disturbed them. Aviola and Mucia were still in bed. Perhaps the thieves went to see what was in the bedroom, then their victims woke and tried to raise an alarm … They were strangled, I’m told. What with?’
    ‘A piece of rope.’ So it must have been pre-planned.
    ‘What happened to the rope afterwards?’
    ‘Perhaps the vigiles officer took it away.’
    ‘I shall ask him. Do you remember anything about it, Polycarpus? What kind of rope? Not very thick, I imagine. Thick rope is too stiff to twist around necks with enough torsion to kill someone.’
    The steward shrugged. Assessing rope was not for him. There were so many boundaries in household management, I was surprised anything ever got done.
     
    I asked him to show me the apartment’s layout, not mentioning that I had already explored. We took a walk-through. There were no surprises in the main rooms. Now I saw more of the offices. They had a two-oven kitchen, plus the usual pantries and store rooms. I glanced into the latrine. It was decent, though its cleanliness would not have satisfied either of my grandmothers, both women who would walk through Rome for an hour with a screaming toddler, rather than let any of us use a lavatory from which we might catch something.
    ‘Where do you get your water?’
    ‘The apartment came with its own well, but when my master first took the lease we found the water is too bad to use. I have to organise a carrier to bring in fresh buckets daily.’ Polycarpus indicated the disused well, in a corner of the courtyard. It had wooden boarding at ground level, over which a stone urn had been placed to deter people from opening it.
    ‘One thing I notice,’ I said thoughtfully, ‘is that you have little obvious accommodation for your slaves.’
    ‘What we provide is normal.’ Polycarpus obviously despised me for not knowing how