I didn't understand it, that was true. But I was never the kind of amateur who would make his own uncertainty a reason to give up.
I had begun to suspect that wherever the grain importing fitted into this conundrum, Aufidius Crispus would be well to the fore of it. I wondered if he, and perhaps Pertinax before he died, had devised some private embellishment to the original conspiracy-an extra wrinkle, all their own. Was Crispus still hoping to pursue it? Had Barnabas come here tonight wanting to resurrect whatever fiddle Crispus had been intending with his master? And did frank, helpful, honest broker Crispus then decide that Barnabas would be better occupied telling me his life story in some dripping prison cell?
'You know Barnabas is wanted for the Longinus murder now? Are you turning him in, sir?'
I knew that under the affable exterior, Aufidius Crispus was a dangerous man, and like most of them, as quick to remove an embarrassment from among his own associates as he was to obliterate an opponent. Quicker, in fact. 'Try the Villa Marcella,' he suggested, without a second thought.
'I thought so! I was short of an excuse to search the place, but if that's a firm tip, I can pick the freedman up-'
'My tips are always firm,' smiled Aufidius in his elegant, easy-going way. Then his swarthy face hardened. 'Though I suggest, Falco, that you prepare yourself for a surprise!'
He had finished with me. He was holding Vespasian's unopened letter and I was anxious to leave him free to read that ancient piece of papyrus before the ink faded and beetles ate into it. I had the latch off the door when I stopped.
'About your friend Maenius Celer. I hit him because he was assaulting a lady.'
'That's Maenius!' he shrugged. 'He means no harm.'
'Tell that to the lady!' I rasped; Crispus seemed surprised.
'Camillus' daughter? She looked-'
'Immaculate; she always does.'
'Is this a formal complaint?'
'No,' I growled patiently. 'This is the explanation of why I hit your noble friend!'
'So, what's your point, Falco?'
I could never explain.
He was a clever, efficient operator. In a contest with the Flavians I might easily have given him my support. But I knew that stern, old-fashioned Vespasian (who agreed with me that the only point in taking women to bed was with their glad consent) would hold a grim view of jolly Maenius Celer and his so-called harmless escapades. I had found that men who shared my views on women made the best benchmates in politics. Which meant that Aufidius Crispus had just lost himself my vote.
There was nothing to gain by extending the conversation; I went straight out.