The Desiderata Stone (The Blind Sleuth Mysteries Book 5) by Nick Aaron

Author:Nick Aaron [Aaron, Nick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Another Imprint Publishers
Published: 2020-04-10T22:00:00+00:00

Desi didn’t need to do more eavesdropping, she could hear everything while she was working and follow the latest developments step by step. Rufrius and his men were desperate to “rethink their plans” and find a solution to the conundrums that Piso had so brilliantly exposed. They came in from the baths earlier and earlier and discussed the topic endlessly. They were racking their brains.

Lucanus the poet was the first one who came up with something new. “I think it would be a good idea to find some fresh recruits, but only people who can really contribute something specific to the task at hand.” He explained that he was still on good terms with Petronius, the famous author, one of Nero’s favourites at court, who could help him gather intelligence, and could be very useful for editing propaganda material, as he was a very witty writer. “The only problem is that he’s utterly unreliable. Just like the Christians he believes in nothing! But if I handle him carefully, I can use him without him even realizing it.”

“Excellent idea,” Rufrius said, “I want you all to think hard along the same lines: do you know anyone who could serve our cause in any way, voluntarily or unwittingly?”

The next day Subrius and Flavius came in with good news. They’d heard from old comrades in the Praetorian Guard that Tigellinus’s deputy, the Joint Praefect Faenius Rufus, didn’t get along at all with his boss, but that he was quite popular among the elite soldiers. “Don’t you know him from the old days, Rufrius? If you tried to recruit him discreetly, he might listen to you.”

“Very good, my friends. I had rather lost touch with the man, but it is high time for me to renew our acquaintance, so much is clear.”

Then Lucanus reported that Petronius was back in town, because he needed to see his publisher about a work in progress. “I arranged to run into him on the Forum, and we talked. The famous author complains that Nero is avoiding Rome more and more. He’s not only staying in Antium to escape the heat, but he intends to spend the fall near Neapolis and the winter in Greece.”

“Yes, that’s going to be a problem,” Rufrius said, “unintentionally Nero is making it very hard for us to get near him.”

“Impossible, even,” general Paetus growled, “as long as he’s holed up in those far-flung palaces, in the middle of nowhere, we can’t attack him, it’s as simple as that.”

There was a long silence as they all pondered this. Then Antonius piped up, “Wait a minute, I’ve just thought of something… remember the great fire, ten years ago? Claudius was still emperor; he coordinated the firefighting in person; he called on the citizens to assist the vigilēs and paid them from his own purse… Now, with that precedent in mind, what would happen if Rome burned again? Nero would have to hurry back, he would have to go out and attend to the firefighting, inspect the damage, console the victims.

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