Laesus was in the house. I found him; Milo disarmed him of his seaman's knife.
We dragged him outside, backwards. The sad side of his face splashed down in a cowpat; the happy half could see what Milo had done to the mountainous dog.
'Falco!' he gasped, trying to grin in his old friendly manner. At first I went along with it.
'Laesus! I've been hoping to meet up with you again, old friend. I wanted to warn you, next time you drink saffron pottage at your favourite eating house, watch out for the belladonna they add to the broth!'
Grinning at the thought of someone poisoning my pottage, Milo pushed the sea captain's face deeper into the dung.
'I lost my ship!' Laesus complained. As a sailor he could cope with fishiness, but close contact with the joys of agriculture was making poor old Laesus lose his nerve.
'That's a tragedy. You can either blame my nephew-or put it down to having gobbled up my sacred goat!' He groaned and tried to speak again but Milo was enjoying himself the way he liked best: showing off how powerful he was, punishing someone unpleasantly. 'Where's Pertinax, Laesus?' I demanded.
'I don't know-' Milo demonstrated to Laesus the points on his body where pressure is unbearable. I winced, and looked away.
I told Laesus what I had worked out about Tarentum loyalties. 'I should have remembered Calabrians stick together like this farmyard muck! I suppose you rescued me in Croton market because even in Bruttium an Imperial agent dead in the Forum might attract attention. You preferred to polish me off privately-and it's lucky for me you failed! I wondered why you pressed me so hard to sail with you to Rhegium afterwards; no doubt I would have jumped overboard with fishing weights in my boots. Gordianus was lucky he had Milo in attendance while he was on your ship. Now where's Pertinax? Tell me, or you'll do worse than eat manure; Milo will be spreading the fields with what's left of you!'
Milo lifted the sea captain by his neck and his heels, far enough for him to gasp the words: 'He found a message here that his father has been taken ill. But-'
'But what?' I snarled.
'He said he might be visiting his ex-wife on the way!'