A Point of Law

SPQR X

_______

A
POINT
OF LAW

SPQR

Senatus Populusque Romanus
The Senate and the People of Rome

Also by
JOHN MADDOX ROBERTS

SPQR IX: The Princess and the Pirates
SPQR VIII: The River God’s Vengeance
SPQR VII: The Tribune’s Curse
SPQR VI: Nobody Loves a Centurion
SPQR V: Saturnalia
SPQR IV: The Temple of the Muses
SPQR III: The Sacrilege
SPQR II: The Catiline Conspiracy
SPQR I: The King’s Gambit

The Gabe Treloar Series

The Ghosts of Saigon
Desperate Highways
A Typical American Town

SPQR X

_______

JOHN MADDOX ROBERTS

THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS
.
An imprint of St. Martin’s Press.

SPQR X: A POINT OF LAW
. Copyright © 2006 by John Maddox Roberts.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
For information, address St. Martin’s Press,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Roberts, John Maddox.

SPQR X : a point of law / John Maddox Roberts.—1st. ed.

        p. cm.

ISBN-13: 978-0-312-33725-4

ISBN-10: 0-312-33725-6

1. Metellus, Decius Caecilius (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Rome—History—Republic, 265–30
B.C.
—Fiction. 3. Private investigators—Rome—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3568.O23874S678 2006
813'.54—dc22             2006040166

First Edition: May 2006

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

F
or
J
ohn
V
anover Jr.,
our own Prometheus: fighter, survivor,
and a great brother-in-law

Roman names
*
can be confusing because of frequent duplication, even multiplication. In 63
B.C.
there were no fewer than five very prominent men of the Caecilian family, all named Quintus Caecilius Metellus. Most Romans went by nicknames, and prominent men usually had cognomens bestowed in honor, so those Metelli are all remembered by their cognomens: Celer (dead at this point in the SPQR series), Nepos, Creticus, Pius, and the wonderfully named Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasica, Scipio for short.

To add to the confusion, we know many Romans from the shortened forms of their names used in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Thus Pompeius became “Pompey,” Marcus Antonius became “Marc Antony,” Livius became “Livy,” Plinius became “Pliny,” Sallustius became
“Sallust,” and so forth. Shakespeare did much to fix these names in everyone’s minds.

Names could also change with changes of status. Thus Caius Octavius was adopted in Caesar’s will and became Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus popularly remembered as “Octavian” (Shakespeare again). Eventually he became the first emperor, and the Senate bestowed upon him the honorific “Augustus,” the name by which he is best known.

Following are the more prominent characters featured in
SPQR X
.

Pawns in the Conspiracy Against the
Ruling Classes in Republican Rome

The Metelli and Their Allies

Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger. Decius the Younger is the focal point of the conspirators’ plot, despite his reputation as an upright citizen given to ferreting out crime and corruption wherever he finds it. He is first accused of extortion by Marcus Fulvius, a nobody as far as the great families know, and is afterward accused by Publius Manilius, a Tribune of the People, of murdering Marcus Fulvius.

Decius Caecilius Metellus the Elder, father of Decius the Younger. He is one of the great Metelli and has held every office including the censorship. He gathers the Metelli men and their allies together to help defend Decius against the charges being brought against him.

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus. He is growing old and stout but is still a voice among the Metelli. A war in Crete got him the cognomen “Creticus.” He stood up to Pompey when others were afraid to, and so he enjoys a high reputation.

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos. He is the only member of the family to champion Pompey but is still high in family councils.

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasica, adopted son of
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius. Scipio is a pontifex and Caecilian by adoption but a Metellus on his mother’s side.

Hermes, Decius’s freedman. He does most of his scut work and acts as Decius’s bodyguard.

Julia, Decius’s wife, Julius Caesar’s niece. She is well-educated (better than Decius) and a great help to Decius in solving the crimes he ferrets out. Here she helps Callista decipher the code the conspirators use to communicate with each other.

Quintius Hortensius Hortalus. He is a friend of Decius’s father and ardent in his defense of Decius.

Marcus Porcius Cato. Decius dislikes him personally but welcomes his support.

Callista, an Egyptian mathematician. She (with Julia’s aid) helps Decius by breaking the code the conspirators use to communicate with one another.

Asklepiodes, a Greek physician and foremost expert on wounds made by weapons. He examines Marcus Fulvius’s wounds and pronounces that he was held from behind while others attacked him from the front, an important point in Decius’s defense.

Claudius Marcellus, oldest member of the College of Augurs and a friend of the Metelli. He is apparently not a part of his relatives’ conspiratorial dealings and may or may not know about the conspiracy.

Known Conspirators and Their Cabal

The Fulvias

Fulvia, a descendant of the noblest families, formerly married to Clodius, currently engaged to Curio. Clodius was killed by Milo’s thugs. Fulvia was suspected of poisoning others. Though one of the great beauties of Rome she has the worst reputation as a slut, but she is politically astute and usually in on any nefarious goings on in Rome.

Marcus Fulvius, Fulvia’s brother. While he is an unknown upstart in Rome, he has financial backing in Baiae and in Rome. He accuses Decius the Younger of extortion while on Cyprus. He is found murdered on the basilica steps when Decius shows up for his trial at the extortion court.

Manius Fulvius, another brother of Fulvia’s. He is a duumvir of Baiae and is probably also backing Marcus Fulvius.

The Claudia Marcelli
*
(Old Sullans who are rabidly anti-Caesar)

Marcus Claudius Marcellus. He has an old sword scar on his face and is this year’s consul.

Caius Claudius Marcellus, cousin to Marcus Claudius Marcellus, the current consul, and brother to Marcus Claudius Marcellus, most likely next year’s consul, married to Octavia, great-niece of Caesar. He stands firmly with the
optimates
. He owns the building that Marcus Fulvius lived in and where the conspirators met.

Marcus Claudius Marcellus, brother to Caius. He is probably a candidate for the following year’s consulship.

Octavia, married to Caius Claudius Marcellus. She cut her ties with the Julian family when she married, perceives Caesar as a potential tyrant, as do her husband and his brother, and denies even knowing the young Octavius. She believes the Fulvias are connected to the Claudia Pulchri family and considers the tribunes to be “jumped up peasants.”

The Claudia Pulcri

Publius Clodius Pulcher (born Claudius). He was born a patrician and changed his name from Claudius to Clodius, and so became a member of the plebeian class in order to run for Tribune of the People.

Clodia, sister of Publius and Appius. She changed her name when her brother Publius did. She is considered one of the most scandalous women of her time and is believed to have poisoned her husband, Metellus Celer, and maybe others as well.

Appius Claudius Pulcher, brother of Publius Clodius. He is standing for censor, and plans to expel many from the Senate if elected, among them Caius Sallustius (who appears to be no more than a harmless gossip but may be more dangerous than he looks).

The Manilii

Publius Manilius (Publius Manilius Scrofa), a Tribune of the People. He is prosecuting Decius for the murder of Marcus Fulvius. He is also one of the conspirators.

Sextus Manilius, a close friend of Fulvia’s and a regular duumvir of Baiae. He is probably also backing Marcus Fulvius.

Other Characters Who May Be Involved

Caius Scribonius Curio. He is standing for Tribune of the People and is an enemy of the
optimates
. He is also engaged to Fulvia.

Marcus Brutus, a pontifex. He considers Caesar all too arrogant.

*
Look in the Glossary under “Families and Names” for more information on prenomens, nomens, cognomens, etc.

*
Decius believes the Marcelli men murdered Marcus Fulvius.

SPQR X

_______

A
POINT
OF LAW

SPQR

Senatus Populusque Romanus
The Senate and the People of Rome

R
OME AT ELECTION TIME
!
CAN THERE
be any prospect more pleasant? Is it possible for any place to be more wonderful? For any activity to be more agreeable? Certainly not for me, and not that year. I was just back from Cyprus after a successful, mildly glorious, and none-too-bloody campaign to suppress a recent outburst of piracy. I had found their base, destroyed their fleet, and, best of all, captured a good part of their loot. The captives I had returned to their homes and had restored a part of the loot to the people from whom it had been stolen.

Luckily for me, a great deal of the loot had been impossible to trace, so it belonged to me. I had split up some of it with my men, made a handsome donation to the Treasury, and with the rest had cleared my considerable debts. I now had reached the proper age and had accumulated the requisite military experience to stand for the office of praetor. Perhaps best of all, I was a Caecilia Metella, and the men of
my family expected automatic election to the higher offices by right of birth.