Murder on the Appian Way Read Online Free PDF

Since then some of his bodyguards have come straggling in. The ones who survived. We're still trying to make sense of what happened."
    "I saw a man in bandages being questioned in the other room."
    "A bodyguard. The man has been with Publius for years. How could he have let this happen?"
    "And the young man questioning him?"
    "My nephew, I imagine. Our brother Appius's oldest boy. He came with me in the litter, along with Metella. He loved Publius like a second father." She shook her head. "Publius's own little boy was with him down at Bovillae. We don't know what's become of the child. We don't even know where he is!" This was suddenly too much for her. She began to weep. Eco looked away. It was a hard thing to watch.
    Her weeping subsided. "Clodia," I said quietly, "why did you send for me?"
    The question seemed to baffle her. She wrinkled her brow and blinked back tears. "I'm not sure. I saw you in the crowd, and so —" She shrugged. "I don't know, really. But something will have to be done. You know about that sort of thing, don't you? Inquiries. Investigations. How it's done. Publius knew how to go about that kind of thing, of course. But now Publius..."
    She drew a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Her tears had run dry. "I don't know why I called for you, really. To see an old, familiar face? We parted friends, didn't we?" She touched my arm and managed a wan smile. The effort produced only a small fraction of the charm of which I knew she was capable. The feebleness of the attempt made it all the more poignant. "Who knows what will happen now? The world has turned upside down. But something will have to be done to set things right. Publius's children are too young to see to it. It will fall to others in the family. We may need you. It may come to that, you see." She sighed wearily 'There's nothing to be done right now, except to seek what comfort we can. Metella needs me." She stood and looked bleakly towards the women across the room.
    The interview seemed to be at an end. I nodded to Eco. Together we rose from the couch.
    The slave girl came to show us out. Clodia walked away from us, then turned back.
    "Wait. You should see him. I want you to see what they did to him."
    She led us across the room, to the altarlike table where Metella stood along with two other women and a child. At our approach the oldest of the women turned and scowled at us. Her face was gaunt and haggard. Her hair was almost entirely grey. Unpinned, it hung to her waist. There were no tears in her eyes, only anger and resentment.
    "Who are these men?"
    "Friends of mine," said Clodia, her voice taking on an edge.
    "What man isn't?" The woman gave Clodia a withering look. "What are they doing here? They should wait in the outer room with the rest."
    "I asked them here, Sempronia."
    "This is not your household," said the woman bluntly.
    Metella went to her mother's side and took her hand. The older woman glared at them. The fourth woman, whose face I had not yet seen, kept her back turned. She reached down to touch the head of the little girl pressed against her. The child craned her neck and looked up at us with wide, innocent eyes.
    "Sempronia, please" said Clodia in a strained whisper.
    "Yes, Mother, let's try to be peaceable. Even with dear Clodia."
    The fourth woman finally turned. In her eyes I saw neither tears nor anger. There was weariness in her voice, but it was the weariness of exhaustion, not resignation. There was no emotion to be read in her voice or on her face, only a kind of steady determination. One might have expected to see a stronger reaction from the widow of the dead man. Perhaps she was simply numb with shock, but her gaze was keen and unwavering as she appraised us.
    Fulvia was not a great beauty, like Clodia, but her appearance was striking nonetheless. She was younger by at least ten years; I guessed her to be no more than thirty. As her little daughter clung to her, I saw where the child's curious, luminous brown eyes had