The point was, Petronius Longus had noticed. Many an enquiry captain would have had his nose so close to the pavings he wouldn't have spotted the flies on the balcony.

`Take your credit for sniffing the air,' I commanded. `And then for fixing it!'

He smiled quietly.

`So your jury convicted, and Marponius did his own career some good by handing out a death penalty – I presume the Assembly ratified the sentence. Did Balbinus appeal any further?'

`Straight to Vespasian – and it came straight back negative.'

`That's something!' I commented. We were both cynics about the Establishment. `Who signed the chitty?'

`Titus.'

`Vespasian must have approved.'

`Oh yes.' Only the Emperor has the final power of removing life from a Roman citizen, even if the citizen's life smells like a pile of cat's turds. `I was quite impressed by the quick response,' Petro admitted. `I don't really know whether Balbinus offered money to officials, but if he tried it he was wasting his time. Things at the Palace seem to be scented like Paestum violets nowadays.' One good result of the new Flavian Caesars. Graft had gone over the balcony with Nero, apparently. Petro seemed confident anyway. `Well it was the result I wanted, so that's that.'

`Here we are!' I congratulated him. `Ostia at dawn!'

`Ostia,' he agreed, perhaps more cautiously. `Marponius gets a free meal at the Palace; I get a scroll with a friendly message from Titus Caesar; the underworld gets a warning-'

`And Balbinus?'

`Balbinus,' growled Petronius Longus bitterly, `gets time to depart.'

IV

I SUPPOSE IT is a comfort to us all we who carry the privilege of being full citizens of the Empire – to know that except in times of extreme political chaos when civilisation is dispensed with, we can do what we like yet remain untouchable.