The Tribune: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Book 1 of The Tribune Series) by Patrick Larkin

Author:Patrick Larkin [Larkin, Patrick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Patrick Larkin
Published: 2013-02-12T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter XXX

Our search of the village didn’t turn up anything incriminating.

One by one the decurions reported in. Each brought a small collection of items their soldiers thought might be relevant. Among their finds were a number of belt knives, all of local manufacture; an intricately woven, tasseled garment that Paulus identified as a prayer shawl; and a few stacks of bronze and silver coins, all minted by Herod Antipas. The only weapons recovered were several spears, slings, and small bows, used by shepherds to fend off wolves. I studied the arrows with special care, but none matched the one we’d recovered from the Praetorian guardsman found dead in the thorns. And even Severus had to admit that he couldn’t see anything that might have belonged to the senator or the other dead men.

When we finished checking through the confiscated goods, I ordered Aedan to lay them out on a blanket in the central square. “Let the villagers come and reclaim their own possessions,” I said.

Severus laughed. “This will be amusing. We ought to see one or two vicious little brawls between rival claimants.”

Paulus frowned and shook his head. “That won’t happen. You will see, Aemilius Severus. Our most basic laws—the Commandments given to us by the Most High—include a prohibition against theft. We Jews do not steal.”

The Praetorian centurion only snorted and walked away.

Privately, I had my doubts. The boy from Tarsus had a high regard for his people and for their laws, but human nature is human nature. Some people cannot resist the temptation to enrich themselves at another’s expense.

But events justified Paulus’ faith. The Nazarenes came into the square by ones and twos, grave-faced and nervous around so many soldiers. Each man quickly and quietly gathered up his own possessions and took them away. If there were any quarrels or disputes over ownership they kept them well out of our view.

One thing was also clear. If these people had robbed Silanus and his men of their clothing, weapons, and jewelry, they hadn’t hidden the loot within the confines of the little village.

Or anywhere else obvious close by.

As I’d ordered, Aedan took a patrol out to survey the tombs and caves beyond Nazara’s boundaries. He came back empty-handed, reporting that all of them were sealed and none showed any signs of recent tampering.

Not much more turned up among the trees where Silanus and his men were butchered. Led by Aristides, my recruits combed that patch of woods from top to bottom before it grew too dark. Chief among their finds was a small heap of belongings dropped by the farmer Nahum when he fled in panic: a cracked jar that once held wine, a round loaf of barley bread, and a coarse woolen blanket. Nothing belonging to Silanus or the other murdered men came to light.

We were still holding Nahum prisoner. He hadn’t yet been able to offer a reasonable explanation for his strange visit to the woods. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I planned to find out.

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