‘Either it’s some sad mimic—plenty of people knew what happened to Modestus; the vigiles may have said too much in public—’ Oh yes, blame them, you bastard! ‘Or I think it is a ploy, Falco—falsely implying that the killer works from Rome. Of course, I am not fooled so easily. Modestus had been tailed on his journey; he was deliberately targeted. This was different.’

‘Interesting!’ I was shocked. Was Anacrites really so shrewd? I almost wondered if he had a nark in the vigiles’ patrol house who had eavesdropped on Petronius and me.

Aware of my surprise, he applied fake humility. ‘What do you say, Falco? I’d like to hear your professional evaluation.’

‘Oh you seem on top of things.’

‘Thanks. Did you know about the second killing? Have you discussed it with Petronius?’ He really wanted to know whether we were still monitoring his case.

‘Yes, we heard about it.’

‘And what was his verdict?’

‘We think a crazed copycat killer knifed the poor courier . . . So are you still looking for those Claudii?’

‘Of course.’ It was the right thing to say. He was smooth as a wet rat sliding down a drain. Still, I never expected Anacrites to be totally incompetent, let alone appear corrupt. He was too good to show what he was up to.

He turned away, readjusting a pomegranate silk cushion so he could converse again with Minas. ‘We don’t want to talk about a murder over dinner, Falco.’

You could tell he rarely entertained. He had no idea that far from being squeamish, guests would be eager to hear about gore.

When the main course arrived, he had overdone things. There was no need. His caterers were first class; we would have been flattered by anything they cooked. A couple of roasts, a simple platter with a fine fish, a vegetable mélange with one or two unusual ingredients, would have sufficed. But he had to over-impress. Although he had complimented Helena and me on the warm atmosphere of our Saturnalia gathering last December, Anacrites had failed to analyse it: good food, fresh ingredients not overcooked, a few carefully chosen herbs and spices, all served in a relaxed style with everybody mucking in.