“Promise me, Cassia.”
Cassia lost her smile and heaved a small sigh. “Very well, I promise. Neither of us will enter what might be a killer’s household without a good plan in place.”
Neither of us, she said. Trying to bind my word with hers. I wasn’t certain whether to be amused or exasperated.
“What about the brother?” I asked to move us past the sticky question. “Are you certain he is in Hispania? A husband can grow furious at a wife’s wantonness, but so can a brother.”
“Helvius is certain, but yes, we ought to—”
The door banging open downstairs cut off her words. I was on my feet in a flash, my hand reaching for my knife.
The wine merchant must have admitted whoever it was. If it had been anyone dangerous, the wine merchant would have tried to stop them, but if they weretrulydangerous, he could not have.
Several pairs of feet rushed up the stairs, and I wrenched open the inner door.
“Leonidas—good, we found the right place.”
The speaker was Merope, out of breath from her scramble up the steps. She wore a threadbare woolen sheath, her hair pulled into a knot that half escaped its bonds. Behind her came her cousin Gaius, a tunic over his thin body, sandals on his overly large feet.
Cassia rose, lips parting at the abrupt intrusion, but I relaxed, lowering my knife.
“This is Merope and Gaius,” I told her. “They are …”
“Rufus’s bit on the side.” Merope laughed as she delivered these words, and Gaius rolled his eyes.
“Ah,” Cassia said. She made a note and closed her tablet. “May I offer you wine?”
Gaius flashed a grin. “Wouldn’t say no.”
Cassia drew two more cups from the cabinet and mixed wine and water.
“Thank you kindly,” Merope said as she accepted the beverage. “Searching for Rufus is thirsty work.” She took a slurp from the cup, and Gaius swallowed his wine in one go.
“We haven’t found him,” Merope continued sorrowfully. “Martolia is still out looking, but we’ve seen no sign of Rufus, and we’ve searched everyplace we could think of.” All smiles gone, Merope’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m very much afraid, Leonidas, that he has ended up in the river or been buried in a deep hole by that wretched woman.”
Chapter 8
That wretched woman,must be Chryseis, Rufus’s wife.
“Do you believe Chryseis killed Ajax too?” I asked.
Merope nodded vigorously. “Of course. To make it look as though someone is killing gladiators so she could rid herself of Rufus.”
“She could simply divorce Rufus,” Cassia pointed out gently. “From what you tell Leonidas, Chryseis has much money and property. If she was tired of her husband, she could easily eject him.”
“Chryseis is a vindictive harpy.” Merope turned to Cassia without compunction. “If she wanted to be rid of Rufus, she’d murder him. She’d do it so he couldn’t come to us. Vengeance on all of us at the same time.”
Gaius sighed sorrowfully in agreement.
“You truly believe she would kill Rufus?” Cassia asked.
Merope nodded vigorously. “Yes. She’s awful. You met her, Leonidas. Don’t you think she’d kill a man simply because he peeved her?”
I thought of the beautiful woman with cold eyes and luxuriant hair who’d curled her lip at me from the doorway of her apartment.
“Only if she’d gain by it,” I said slowly. “I think she’s a woman who wouldn’t make an effort unless it was well worth her time.”
“She’d gain by being a bitch for the fun of it.” Merope scowled, unconvinced.
