I opened my eyes. "The plants have a milky sap; I remember from weeding. Probably tastes bitter. She may have mixed the juice with honey so Novus would lap it up greedily..."
Helena found a way to hold me even closer; I coloured but met her, as they say, halfway. "Have you worked out how she applied it?" she asked.
"We both knew that some time ago--" Helena nodded. "She spread the poison on that silver dish, the one used at the dinner party for the cakes. Then she fixed it with her egg-white glaze, so none of the poison touched the cakes. Minnius sent seven; so when Severina failed to attend the dinner, if everybody was polite--as I was told they were -one last cake must have stayed on the dish. All through the business conference Hortensius Novus must have had his eye on it. When the party broke up and he disappeared, he had dashed back into the dining room. He gobbled up the remaining pastry. Then--"
I stopped.
"Then," Helena completed for me, "Hortensius Novus licked the plate!"
Would it convict? Only circ.u.mstantially. But all evidence is circ.u.mstantial in some way. A defence lawyer would be keen to point that out.
Was there any point going on? The gold-digger had made her fortune. She might reform now; she might be reformed by Lusius. I had a personal reason for denouncing Severina, but an even stronger motive for attacking my ex-landlord Novus. If Severina had not murdered Novus for me, I would be a murderer tonight myself.
"Marcus, you"re exhausted. I wish I had never told you. You did enough; now let go!"
"No client," I said. "No reason to do anything... No justice!" I exclaimed.
Justice was for people who could afford it. I was a poor man, with myself and a decent woman to support, on an income that would hardly stretch to let me breathe, let alone save.
Justice never paid a poor man"s bills.
I freed myself and walked out to the edge of my balcony, looking over towards the dark shadow of the Janiculan. That was a place to live; good homes with delightful hillside gardens and wonderful views. Close to the Tiber, yet set apart by the river from the jostling of the city, and its noise, dirt and intensity. Some day, when I had money, the Janiculan might be somewhere to look for a home.
Helena came up behind me, nuzzling against my back.
"I saw a house today that I"ll buy for you, if ever we"re rich," I said.
"What was it like?"
"Worth waiting for ..."
We went to bed. The bed there was as horrible as I remembered it, but felt better once Helena was in my arms. It was still the Kalends of September; only this morning I had promised to pay my lady some attention. I was falling asleep. She would wait for me. Tomorrow morning we would wake up together with nothing to do but enjoy ourselves. Now the case was over, I could stay in bed for a week.
I lay there, still thinking about what had happened today. When Helena thought I had fallen asleep, she stroked my hair. Pretending that I was asleep, I began caressing her.
Then both of us decided not to wait until tomorrow after all.