Falco 07 - Time to Depart by Lindsey Davis

Author:Lindsey Davis
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2010-04-11T17:01:45.577000+00:00

Her fine eyes narrowed. It was impossible to tell whether she was hearing this for the first time, or merely wished me to think so. Her mouth pursed. 'That's bad news.'

`For everyone. Have any vigiles been to see you?'

'Not since you and your long friend.' I felt I could believe her when she was being factual. That could be a trick, of

course.

`You can see the implications?

`Not exactly. Balbinus is condemned. What can he do, Falco?'

`Quite a lot, it seems. The Fourth Cohort have been busting themselves trying to work out who was trying to replace him-when all the time nobody was. Everything that's happened lately could be down to him.'

`Like what?'

`The Emporium raid, and the one at the Saepta. The deaths. You have presumably heard about the deaths?'

`Whose deaths are these?' she murmured, deliberately provoking me.

`Don't come it.'

There was no visible hardening; she remained the polite courtesan. But she said, without any change of tone, 'If you don't want to pay for mauling me, would you mind letting go of my wrist?'

I gave her a stare, then opened my hand abruptly, fingets splayed. She waited a beat, then took back her arm.

`I want to talk about Balbinus,' I said.

`And I don't.'

I looked at her carefully, seeing past the elegant attire, the fine paintwork on her eyelids and lashes, the allure of the gorgeous body. There were tiny lines and dark patches - around those languorous, limpid brown eyes. 'You're tired. The brothel's very quiet this morning too. What's up, Lalage? Having to work overtime at nights? Why's this? Someone squeezing you? Can it be that the profit margins of the Bower of Venus are being reduced by having to pay a managing director's fee again?'

`Take a jump in the river, Falco.'

`I'm surprised. I thought you enjoyed your independence, lass. I must admit, I respected you for it. I can't believe Balbinus just turned up and asked fora cut, and you gave it to him!'

`Don't even think it. I wouldn't give him half an as if he was bunting for the lavatory. Balbinus can't pressure me these days. He's condemned. If he's in Rome he'll have to stay in hiding, or he's for it.'

`Execution,' I agreed Then I challenged her: `So you're not concealing him on the premises?'

She laughed.

I decided to accept her version. I had believed her when

the talked of running the brothel without a protector. 'You still ought to take an interest,' I warned. 'Someone must be helping him, but if it's not you, you fall into the other category.'

'And what's that, Falco?'

`His enemies.'

There was a pause. Lalage had always been intelligent, top of the class when she went to school; I happened to know that: Finally she rasped, 'You're talking about deaths again.'

Nonnius Alblus,' I confirmed. She must have known about his killing. 'And the doctor who convinced Nonnius he was dying, the one who frightened him so much he felt prepared to turn Balbinus in. That was wrong, incidentally. The vigiles had set him up,'

I was hoping to shock her into making revelations but it was Lalage who surprised me.

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