slaves from the palace work in Opimius’ household?”
He was right, John admitted to himself. Felix might be just an ordinary military man, but he was far shrewder than most. It wasn’t so easy, as he’d already discovered, for a slave in the lower echelons of the palace bureaucracy to discover anything and it must be almost as difficult for an excubitor, even if he did belong to the emperor’s bodyguard.
They continued on, past a small army of guards and through the Chalke, the palace’s massive bronze gate. The sun seemed much brighter now by contrast to the dim interior from which they had just emerged. From nearby perfume shops the sweet scent of flowers mingled with the pungent odor of animal dung in the street, a remnant of early morning deliveries.
“And what about this attack on Opimius?” John mused. “If someone wanted Opimius dead because he was suspected of opposing Justinian years ago, that would surely be meant to benefit Justinian.”
“Whatever the reason, if someone is in fact out to kill Senator Opimius then everyone near him is in danger as well. Including you. And perhaps myself, since we are working together.”
And, thought John, Anna also. “So far we’ve been asking whether anyone saw anything. Perhaps we should instead direct our investigations toward those who might be responsible.”
“But you saw those responsible. Blues. That’s who we’re looking for.”
“They, or one of them at least, are certainly the killers. Did someone hire them? If Justinian’s enemies wanted to implicate him, would they wait for a convenient murder?”
“They might not have had it in mind, just seized the opportunity.”
“On the other hand, as Theodora said, it’s almost as if Hypatius’ murder was designed to outrage the public.”
“That’s obvious enough, but our job is only to find the man who actually wielded the blade. We’re in no position to do more. At least the sun’s out for once. Why the look of gloom?” John said nothing. He wished the demons that tortured him could be driven off by a few rays of sunlight.
“It always feels as if someone’s staring at my back in this city.” Felix glanced back at the palace entrance. “Perhaps it’s that.” He gestured toward the Chalke. The huge icon of Christ set on it appeared to be gazing up the Mese. “He must’ve seen something,” Felix went on. “If only we could ask. If He’s looking for sinners to grieve over, He should be gazing into the Great Palace instead of away from it.”
“What now? We’ve already questioned every shopkeeper in the street.”
“There are apartments above some of the shops,” Felix suggested.
“Yes, but not much can be seen from them except the roof of the colonnade. Unless our quarry ran down the middle of the street?”
Felix grunted. “I suppose that’s true. He probably cut away from the Mese as soon as he could. We’ll try some more of the nearby streets.”
Only a few paces down the first thoroughfare, their progress became blocked by a knot of people. Drawing nearer they saw the crowd had gathered at the entrance of a small semi-circular plaza giving access to a few shops, all of which were currently unoccupied.
John tensed. Lately crowds meant trouble. He was surprised to hear laughter from this group. “What’s going on?” Felix demanded of a tall man who stood near the back of the throng, craning his neck to see.
“It’s a troupe of actors drumming up business. Not that they can perform this piece in the theater. It’s the life of Theodora. Exceedingly scurrilous and indecent!”
“Indecent?” Felix began to shove his way unceremoniously through the crowd. “If they were on the street at the time of Hypatius’ murder, it’s possible they noticed something useful.”
To John, the actors were nearly indistinguishable from beggars. The rags they sported may have been slightly more colorful than those mendicants generally wore. He supposed it was a bad time for
He was right, John admitted to himself. Felix might be just an ordinary military man, but he was far shrewder than most. It wasn’t so easy, as he’d already discovered, for a slave in the lower echelons of the palace bureaucracy to discover anything and it must be almost as difficult for an excubitor, even if he did belong to the emperor’s bodyguard.
They continued on, past a small army of guards and through the Chalke, the palace’s massive bronze gate. The sun seemed much brighter now by contrast to the dim interior from which they had just emerged. From nearby perfume shops the sweet scent of flowers mingled with the pungent odor of animal dung in the street, a remnant of early morning deliveries.
“And what about this attack on Opimius?” John mused. “If someone wanted Opimius dead because he was suspected of opposing Justinian years ago, that would surely be meant to benefit Justinian.”
“Whatever the reason, if someone is in fact out to kill Senator Opimius then everyone near him is in danger as well. Including you. And perhaps myself, since we are working together.”
And, thought John, Anna also. “So far we’ve been asking whether anyone saw anything. Perhaps we should instead direct our investigations toward those who might be responsible.”
“But you saw those responsible. Blues. That’s who we’re looking for.”
“They, or one of them at least, are certainly the killers. Did someone hire them? If Justinian’s enemies wanted to implicate him, would they wait for a convenient murder?”
“They might not have had it in mind, just seized the opportunity.”
“On the other hand, as Theodora said, it’s almost as if Hypatius’ murder was designed to outrage the public.”
“That’s obvious enough, but our job is only to find the man who actually wielded the blade. We’re in no position to do more. At least the sun’s out for once. Why the look of gloom?” John said nothing. He wished the demons that tortured him could be driven off by a few rays of sunlight.
“It always feels as if someone’s staring at my back in this city.” Felix glanced back at the palace entrance. “Perhaps it’s that.” He gestured toward the Chalke. The huge icon of Christ set on it appeared to be gazing up the Mese. “He must’ve seen something,” Felix went on. “If only we could ask. If He’s looking for sinners to grieve over, He should be gazing into the Great Palace instead of away from it.”
“What now? We’ve already questioned every shopkeeper in the street.”
“There are apartments above some of the shops,” Felix suggested.
“Yes, but not much can be seen from them except the roof of the colonnade. Unless our quarry ran down the middle of the street?”
Felix grunted. “I suppose that’s true. He probably cut away from the Mese as soon as he could. We’ll try some more of the nearby streets.”
Only a few paces down the first thoroughfare, their progress became blocked by a knot of people. Drawing nearer they saw the crowd had gathered at the entrance of a small semi-circular plaza giving access to a few shops, all of which were currently unoccupied.
John tensed. Lately crowds meant trouble. He was surprised to hear laughter from this group. “What’s going on?” Felix demanded of a tall man who stood near the back of the throng, craning his neck to see.
“It’s a troupe of actors drumming up business. Not that they can perform this piece in the theater. It’s the life of Theodora. Exceedingly scurrilous and indecent!”
“Indecent?” Felix began to shove his way unceremoniously through the crowd. “If they were on the street at the time of Hypatius’ murder, it’s possible they noticed something useful.”
To John, the actors were nearly indistinguishable from beggars. The rags they sported may have been slightly more colorful than those mendicants generally wore. He supposed it was a bad time for
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