“For that information I will need to consult records.”
“I’ll wait.”
Telemenes clapped his hands and the slave appeared once more for another whispered conference. This resulted in a flurry of activity that terminated with a small scroll placed before Telemenes. He ran his finger down the writing, hesitated, and sat back with a chuckle.
“Indeed they did. Quite a coincidence, wouldn’t you say?”
I had time to make it back to Athens before lunch, which was good because I’d promised to take the box of Ephialtes’ papers to Diotima so we could search them together. I carried these to the home of Euterpe, where the house slave let me in without a whisper. I dropped the box outside her door. Diotima arrived, looking tired and unhappy. Before we began, I said, “I have news for you, the man who shot your father is dead.” I told her the story of his death. This cheered her up.
“Thank you, Nicolaos. You have given me half of the vengeance my father’s shade demands.” She didn’t have to tell me the other half: the man behind Aristodicus. But I couldn’t take credit when it wasn’t due.
“I didn’t kill him at the end. Pythax did.”
“It would never have happened if you hadn’t tracked him down, so thank you. Revenge for my father means a great deal to me.”
She leaned forward and kissed me, and I was not surprised to discover this was highly pleasant. As the kiss went on, she moved into me and I held her tight. I could feel her breasts against my chest and her tongue between my lips.
We were committing a crime. If Rizon walked into the room this minute and killed us both, a court would approve his action as justifiable homicide, as long as he had witnesses.
Diotima probably had the same thought because she broke off the kiss.
“Mmm,” she murmured, feeling downward. “So that part works for me as well as Mother!”
The part she referred to instantly deflated. “Did you have to mention her?”
“I thought it would work faster than a bucket of cold water.”
“You were right,” I complained.
“Oh, but I’m forgetting, you were hurt in the fight. Are you in pain?”
“Not now.” I remembered she had had her own trauma recently. “How are you feeling now, Diotima?”
“Very happy.” She smiled.
“I was actually referring to the brutal murder of three women in your household. You might recall the event.”
“Oh, I’m fine. Now that the shock is over I’m relieved in a dreadful sort of way. I would have had to live with her, you know.”
“I would not go about saying that too often if I were you. Stratonike’s killer might be relying on exactly that to shift the blame to you. Tell me about Rizon.”
“I did my best, believe me, but I couldn’t smell any seawater on him.”
“Curse it.”
“It doesn’t mean anything, Nicolaos. Rizon could easily have washed off the sea smell.”
“But a positive result would at least have told us we were heading in the right direction, even if it couldn’t be used in a court case. What about his slaves?”
“His slaves are too frightened to say much, but the doorman confirmed Rizon came home late that night. That isn’t necessarily suspicious though. He could have been at a symposium.”
“I don’t suppose the doorman noticed anything?”
“Rizon had red wine spilled down his clothing and he was drunk.”
“Red wine would mask the smell. He could have been acting the drunk.”
“I had exactly the same thought. Nicolaos, you don’t think Rizon is behind Father’s death, do you?”
“If you’d asked me yesterday I would have said it was unlikely. Now I’m not so sure.” I told Diotima what I’d discovered from Telemenes. “Rizon certainly has a decent motive. Look at the wealth he inherits.”
“But why would he have to travel to Ephesus several times to find an assassin? Surely once is enough.”
“I don’t know, Diotima. Their arrival on the same boat might be a coincidence.”
“And a husband and wife murdered within days of each other for different reasons by different people? It beggars belief.”
We turned to sifting through papyri containing notes, drafts of laws, more notes, and letters. We were looking for any evidence that Conon and the Polemarch had been stealing or misusing the public finds in their trust. We didn’t find a thing. There was plenty about past cases Ephialtes had prosecuted, and if we’d wanted a fast course in Athenian politics we’d come to the right place, but there was nothing about the misdeeds of our current archons.
“Here, what’s this?” I held up a sheet with a list of names. We put our heads together as we studied it, and the pleasant smell of her hair was distracting. Theagenides Lysistratos Lysitheos Archedemides Tlepolemos Conon
“I recognize some of these names,” Diotima said. “Father prosecuted them for corruption.”
“What! All of them?”
“Not Conon, of course, but the others…” She chewed her thumbnail. “Yes, I’m sure. These men are all members of the Areopagus, except for Conon, and he’ll be a member too by the end of the year. In fact, every one of these men was Eponymous Archon.”
“Did Ephialtes win all the prosecutions?”
“No, but he had evidence against every one of them.”
I sat back, shocked. “Is the democracy so corrupt that every single man who holds office cheats the state?”
“How should I know? But surely this can’t be everyone.”
“Isn’t it? Who’s missing?”
“I’m not sure.” It took us a moment to recall the past archons.
Diotima said, “Lysanias is the only one missing from the last six years.” Lysanias was the man I’d seen at the mourning for Ephialtes.
“Five out of six abused their power. Dear Gods, Diotima, why am I trying to serve the state if this is what happens?”
“Father didn’t win every case, you know! The courts decided some of them were innocent.”
“Oh, sure they were!”
She ignored my sarcasm. “Conon’s on that list. Nico, there has to be something against Conon, somewhere!”
Alongside each name was a short note. We studied them. Against Theagenides it said box in corner, beside Tlepolemos, scrolls on third shelf, and so forth. Ephialtes had drawn a line through each, all except for the last line bearing Conon’s name. Conon’s note said wax tablet.
We’d already checked the tablet, but Diotima picked it up again and read everything on it once more. Nothing. She held it so close that the wax was almost rubbing her nose, and peered at the tiniest scratches. Still nothing.
She put down the tablet and sighed. “This is so frustrating.”
“Was this everything?” I asked.
“No, it wasn’t,” she said, and I knew from her tone that she’d found something that worried her. “I also found this, Nicolaos.” She handed me a parchment. “I wasn’t sure whether to show you or not, but I suppose I should.”
The material was new, or almost new, the writing on it was small and careful. I read it through, my uneasiness growing with every word. When I was finished I put it down and said, “You found this in his room?”
Diotima nodded unhappily. “In his private papers.”
“Zeus!”…the problem of the leadership…while I am strong I must see to the succession, before a successor is forced upon me, or worst of all, there’s a faction war after my death…Archestratus and Pericles…Archestratus intelligent…understands the system…worked hard for his chance…lacks the leadership qualities…Pericles…natural leader…family…arrogant…cannot be trusted…
“Cannot be trusted…” I echoed Ephialtes’ words. “Pericles can’t be trusted-”
