Message: Murder in the House of Varrus!!! (Chapter IV)
Author: L. Didius Silva
Originally Posted: October 11, 2000 (reposted with the permission of the author)

We both knocked on the door. We must have looked like two comedy actors in the Theatre of Marcellus. A servant, about 55 years old, stood there. He bowed when he saw us and said: "Centurion Didius Silva! Tribune Sullius Piso! Please come in. I'm so sorry that you must come to the House of Varrus on such a tragic day." One look and we snapped to attention, like a couple of KAYDETS fresh out of the Academy. We both saluted, right fist to left shoulder, and shouted "Centurion Galabrio"!

The old Centurion returned our salute with a smile and said" "I've been retired a long time. It's good to see you two boys again."

"We didn't know you were here, Primus," said Piso.

"When I returned from Parthia, I bore the sad news to the General that his two sons had both given their lives in defense of their Emperor. I was badly wounded in the same assault and was no longer fit for active duty. The General was kind enough to offer me this position. Besides... he needed me. I shall get the Domina."

"Please sir, not yet. I'd prefer to see the body first. It's getting rather hot. The faster we can see the area, the less chance there is that any possible evidence has been disturbed. Then we can remove the body to the proper place."

"All right Didius. This way please." He turned and led us through the house and out into the garden.

"I'm glad to see that you haven't forgotten everything I've taught you," said Piso.

"YOU taught ME? That will be the day."

"Primus! Did you see or hear anything last night?"

"No. I served dinner to the General and his lady. After I cleared everything away, I went to bed. My quarters are on the street side of the house. And my hearing, well, it's not as good as it once was."

"Who discovered the body?" asked Piso giving me a glare.

"I did." The Domina woke up this morning and discovered the General hadn't been to bed all night. She got worried and asked the staff to look for him. I searched the garden while the Domina, Meto, and the cook searched the domus. When I saw him I ran over, but he was already dead. No one else has been out here that I know of. I sent Meto to get you and stayed here to make sure the Domina didn't see that." He pointed at the body, which was about 50' away.

We had walked through a formal garden. In the back of the garden, not far from the rear gate, was a miniature temple of Martia Victrix. In front of it was a lovely lily pond. The garden suffered from neglect and was a shadow of its former beauty. Weeds grew among the flowerbeds. Many of the plants had expanded across their borders and were intertwined with neighboring plants. The lily pond wasn't in much better shape. Several frogs peeped shyly out at us as we passed. One dead frog floated belly-up in the middle of the pond.

I bent down and removed my boots. I then proceeded to walk in a constricting circle around the temple, surveying the ground carefully with each step. Nothing! Finally, I stood beside the body of General of the Legions Marcus Aemilius Varrus. The General was slumped over the table. A knife with a wooden handle protruded from the left side of the back. The General's arms dangled by his side, hanging between the table and the bench. Flies swarmed over the body, and completely covered the part of the garment around the knife where the blood had congealed. I motioned for Piso and Galabrio to come up. We were all combat veterans and had seen death in all its varied forms. But somehow I found this death very unsettling. A General should die in battle, not like this. I gently pulled the body upright and probed the neck, the shoulders, and the arms. The body was just starting to stiffen. The face was relaxed with a slight smile on his lips. More like someone who was asleep than one who had met a violent death. I stepped back to let Piso examine the body. While he repeated my inspection, I surveyed the objects on the table: a blue ceramic wine pitcher, almost empty; next to it a matching blue goblet with some dregs of wine settled in the bottom.

"What do you think, Piso?"

"With this heat and humidity it's hard to tell. But I'd say he died around the 6th hour of the night watch (midnight)."

"I agree. Death was instantaneous. The only blood is around the wound itself. There's none on the table, bench, or floor." I was about to turn away when Piso, who was staring at the wound, looked up and said: "Look at the wound, Silva! Do you see?"

Copyright © 2000-2001, L. Didius Silva. All Rights Reserved. All Rights Reserved. All copyrighted material is the property of the original author.