"Think about it," Cal reasoned with his two friends as they left the garden. "The murderer lost the fibula when he killed Nebulus, right?" He gestured at the pin Hypothermia was holding.
"So?" Martinus said. "It's not like we can go around asking everyone if they're missing a pin to their robes."
"But that's it!" Hypothermia exclaimed, finally catching on to Cal's thinking. "The murderer was wearing clothes in the first place! So it couldn't have been any of the men who saw Nebulus in the baths right before his death."
"Not even Severus?" Martinus protested. "But he had welts on his arms, just like the astronomer did." He held out his arms and gestured up and down the area that had been covered in terrible red marks. "That means he's been digging through the poison ivy, to get whatever Nebulus had originally hidden in the garden!"
"That's true," Hypothermia admitted. "But why did he want what Nebulus had?"
Calculus frowned. "There's only one way to know for sure," he said. "We'll have to ask him."
"But how?" Martinus asked. "We don't know where he is right now, and he might not even choose to give us an answer."
Cal set his jaw determinedly. "We'll make him give us an answer," he said. "We have to talk to the officials in charge of the investigation."
~*~
An hour later, two centurion guards appeared at the imperial investigator's office, escorting a rather sour-looking Severus between them. Cal, Hypothermia, and Martinus couldn't help but notice the large black box in Severus's hands, and all exchanged wide-eyed looks with one another.
"That's the box, isn't it?" Martinus whispered. "Nebulus's box!"
Soon after, Severus was joined by two more patricians, Amnesia and Helius. Amnesia, flanked by two of her attendants, seemed a bit confused as to why she had been summoned to the office, but Helius confidently strode up the steps to the building. His servant, Hernia, scurried behind him, always in his shadow.
"A-hem," said the head investigator, whose name was Ridiculous. He turned to the three teenagers and narrowed his eyes at them. "Now that I've summoned half of Rome to my office, would you care to explain what it is you've discovered about the astronomer's murder?"
Cal looked first to Hypothermia, and then to Martinus, both of whom seemed momentarily frozen under the investigator's stern glare. So it was up to him to answer, then.
"Sir, I'd first like to ask Severus about his version of the events," Cal began, nervously looking from the investigator to the scowling patrician.
"Well, go on, then," Ridiculous said.
"Um," Cal said when Severus gave no indication of speaking anytime soon. "So, what is your version of the events?" The last few words came out a bit squeakier than he had intended. "And, uh, why do you have that box?"
"This box," Severus drawled, "is more important than you plebians can imagine." He paused, possibly for dramatic effect, Cal thought. "The information inside this box can upset the fragile balance of the entire empire, and that kind of knowledge must be handled with the utmost care."
"So that's why you killed the astronomer, then?" Helius interjected. "Because you wanted that kind of power for yourself?"
"Power?" Severus replied flatly. "No. There's no power that comes from this kind of knowledge. Only fame and glory. But it comes at a terrible price."
"Well, obviously, since someone was killed for it!" Amnesia exclaimed, motioning for one of her attendants to increase his pace with a large ostrich fan. "I heard you two arguing early in the morning! You said something terrible would happen if others learned about it!"
The only indication of Severus's frustration was a twitch of his right eyebrow—the rest of his face remained cold and impassive. "I did not kill Nebulus," he said. "The astronomer was a dear friend of mine, and I was only trying to warn him against being so open about his findings."
"What do you mean?" Ridiculous asked.
Severus turned to the head investigator. "I mean that there are some people who feel threatened by knowledge," he explained. "Certain people would rather cling to their old beliefs and deny the inescapable fact that change is a part of life, and we all must adapt to that. If a new scientific discovery helps us understand our world better, why should we deny it and insist on a different story? There is no point to denial but to give one a false sense of security and control, yet some people chose that path anyway."
"I don't quite follow," the investigator said.
Severus fixed the man with a look that one might give a small child who could not understand II + II = IV.
"You may have heard of the astronomer's first major discovery—that the world is round," Severus began in a monotone.
"Yes," Ridiculous said. "Before that, we all thought the world was flat."
Severus nodded. "Exactly. There are still people, whoever, who believe that the world being round is a hoax, and stick with the outdated theory that the world is flat."
The investigator shook his head. "Well, it did cause quite a stir in the capital at first. But then, we were able to chart new expeditions with that knowledge! Sailors aren't afraid of dropping off the horizon anymore."
Again, Severus nodded. "Exactly. It caused an uproar in the capital. No one liked having to change their way of thinking at first. Nebulus was imprisoned and almost sentenced to death for sharing what some called blasphemous stories. And his latest discovery is just as upsetting—perhaps even more so. I didn't want him in danger again."
"But all the evidence points to you as the murderer," Helius pointed out. "Anemia here—"
"Amnesia."
"—yes, sorry, Amnesia, heard you two fighting, just before the astronomer was killed. You were the last in the cold bath, and your arms...well, they match his, don't they?" Helius gestured to the welts that ran from Severus's hands all the way up to his elbows. "Not to mention, you're the one holding his research."
Severus's glare could have extinguished the fire of the Oracle in the Temple of Minerva. "I did not kill him," he repeated. Still, it didn't look as though the head investigator was convinced.
"Guards..." Ridiculous began to call.
"Wait a minute," Calculus said, crossing his arms. "That's not all the evidence."
All eyes turned to the young plebian.
"It isn't?" Amnesia asked with a frown.
Calculus shook his head. "Hypothermia, do you have the pin?"
Hypothermia took out the fibula that they had found in the baths.
"This," Hypothermia began, flourishing the item in her hand, "was dropped in the bath by the murderer."
"But that could belong to anyone!" Amnesia objected. "Surely there's no way to find the criminal with just that."
Cal turned to Helius with a raised brow. "When we visited you earlier, you mentioned nothing about hearing an argument between Severus and Nebulus this morning," he said. "Amnesia said it was quite loud. If you're neighbors, shouldn't you have heard it as well?"
Helius frowned. "There's always some kind of drama at the astronomer's house," he defended.
Martinus took a step forward. "Just now, you said Severus looks guilty because of all of the evidence against him," he said. "But you were surprised when we told you that Nebulus had been murdered, which means that you didn't know about the circumstances surrounding the incident. So how did you know that Severus was last in the cold bath before Nebulus was killed?" The brewer's son narrowed his eyes at the patrician in front of him.
"I learned more of the details of the murder from other people after you three left my villa," Helius said calmly. "That proves nothing." He gestured at the welts covering Severus's hands. "Why don't we ask Severus how he received the same injuries as the astronomer instead? I think that's more important."
Everyone's attention returned to the gloomy patrician, who scowled. "Yes, we had an argument," Severus admitted. "I finally convinced Nebulus that it would be in his best interests to keep quiet about his new discovery, and left for the bathhouse. Nebulus took his research and went to bury it. But there was something in the public garden that gave him a terrible reaction, and he must have gone to the baths afterwards to soothe his skin."
"How did you know where he buried the box, then?" Ridiculous asked.
"I had seen him set off for the gardens, and it wasn't too difficult to find the freshly-dug earth," Severus answered. "Unfortunately, it seems that I caught whatever Nebulus had as well."
"It's the poison ivy," Hypothermia announced. "Nebulus buried his findings in a patch of poison ivy. That's why his skin and yours got all those terrible welts. It's not a disease or burns at all."
"Poison ivy?" Ridiculous echoed. "Interesting. But this doesn't prove that Severus didn't kill the astronomer. He might have just wanted the credit for himself." He scratched his chin.
"That's where the fibula comes in," Calculus said, pointing to the pin in Hypothermia's hand. "The murderer had to have been wearing clothes if he dropped something like this, so it obviously couldn't have been Severus, since he was already in the baths at the time of the murder."
"Well, that doesn't prove who is the murderer, then," Ridiculous said. "It only means that Severus is innocent."
"Only," Severus repeated drily. "I'd say that's rather important."
"But it does prove who the murderer is," Cal insisted. He turned to the one person who had been silent for the entire conversation so far, standing at the back of the group. "Hernia?"
"You can't be serious," Helius said.
"No, he's Calculus," Hypothermia said. "Sirius is my cousin."
"I meant that there is no way my servant murdered that crazy astronomer," Helius clarified tersely.
"Oh."
Hesitantly, Hernia stepped forward.
"How am I involved in this?" she asked nervously.
Cal took the pin from Hypothermia and held it up to the servant. "Does this look familiar to you?" he asked.
At first, Hernia squinted at the fibula, but a moment later, recognition flashed across her face and she took a frightened step backwards. "N-no," she stuttered, shaking her head. "I-I've never seen it before."
"Do you remember what you were doing when we visited your master this afternoon?" Cal asked her.
Hernia's eyes darted nervously over to Helius, whose lips were pressed together in a disapproving line. "Um, I made the tea, and watered the plants, and prepared lunch..."
"But what was it that Helius specifically asked you to do?" Cal pressed.
Hernia's eyes widened. "W-well, surely it's just a coincidence..."
"What's a coincidence?" Ridiculous pressed. "I am the head investigator of this murder; I demand you tell us."
"Or perhaps Helius would like to tell us himself," Severus said.
"There's nothing to tell," Helius snapped. "I tore my clothes the other day and needed them mended. Hernia was fixing them."
Cal shook his head and turned to the head investigator. "If you send some men to Helius's villa, I believe you'll find a newly-mended toga, with a fibula to match this one."
Ridiculous gestured for a centurion guard to investigate the matter, and the man set out at once for the patrician neighborhood.
"This is preposterous," Helius growled. "I have no reason to kill the astronomer."
"You don't?" Calculus pressed. "You're a politician—of course you would have reason to worry about another discovery that would upset people's preexisting beliefs. As Severus said, Nebulus's announcement that the earth is round didn't sit well with many people at first."
Helius scoffed. "So I'm guilty because I'm a politician? That's the evidence you have against me?"
"No," Cal said. "The evidence against you—besides the matching fibula that will be found at your home—is your narrative of the events that had happened before the astronomer's death. You completely left out the argument that Nebulus and Severus had had that morning."
"Are we really bringing this up again?" Helius growled. Calculus continued.
"When we asked you if anything suspicious had happened lately, you said it had been quiet at the astronomer's villa."
"Well, after the argument, of course," Helius said.
"But why didn't you mention the argument?" Amnesia asked. "It was so loud! I'd never heard anyone shouting that loud before, let alone that early in the morning!"
"I was half-asleep and pushed it to the back of my mind," Helius snapped.
"I don't think that's it," Calculus said. "I think you heard what Severus and Nebulus were arguing about. I think you might have even heard just what it was that the astronomer had discovered, and thought that it was too risky to ever reveal his findings to the public. So you killed him before Nebulus could showcase his research."
"I didn't mean to!" Helius shouted. Amnesia gasped, and there was a second of shocked silence as everyone registered his confession. When Helius realized what he had said, he gritted his teeth and continued. "Yes, I heard the argument," he said. "Nebulus thinks—thought—that the Earth revolves around the sun! Claiming that Earth is round is one thing, but a heliocentric solar system? That's ridiculous!"
"It's what?" Ridiculous said.
"It's...nonsensical," Helius clarified. "It not only challenges the Emperor's authority as ruler but upsets our religious beliefs as well. The god Sol rides his sun chariot across the sky—everyone knows that. Earth does not move."
Cal shook his head. "Even if Nebulus was wrong in his research, you shouldn't have killed him for it."
"It was an accident!" Helius protested. "I only meant to speak to him—to make him see reason! When I saw him heading for the baths, I thought it would be the perfect time to go talk to him. But he was so stubborn! I-I pushed him, and he tried to grab me, but the floor was slippery, and..."
"He fell," Hypothermia concluded. "He must have hit his head before he drowned."
"Guards!" Ridiculous called. "Take this man away!" Immediately, four centurion soldiers approached and took Helius into custody.
As Calculus watched the patrician being led away, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. Helius hadn't meant to kill the astronomer, but now he would be locked away and Pyrus would miss his father—no matter how annoying the patrician's son was, he didn't deserve that.
"Thank you."
Cal turned to find Severus looking down at him.
"If it weren't for you," the patrician continued, "I probably would have been arrested, and Nebulus's work never would have seen the light of day." He gestured to the astronomer's box. "Would you like to see?"
Calculus nodded, and he, Martinus, and Hypothermia took a step closer.
Scrolls of parchment, strands of measuring string, metal astronomical tools, and slivers of charcoal pencils crowded the inside of the box. Severus pulled out an especially large scroll of parchment from the assortment and unrolled it across a nearby marble table.
"Wow," Calculus said, examining the lines and labels of the planets and stars that Nebulus had painstakingly mapped. "That's our solar system?"
"With the sun at the center," Severus said, tapping the middle of the parchment.
"It makes so much sense!" Hypothermia exclaimed. "It explains the phases of the moon and everything!"
Severus was silent for a moment, regarding the three young plebians before him. "I could teach you, if you wanted to learn more," he said.
Calculus's gaze shot up from the paper and he looked at Severus with wide eyes. Had he just heard correctly? The sulky patrician was willing to teach him?
"I could learn?" Cal asked, scarcely daring to believe it. "I could have lessons, just like Pyrus and the other patricians?"
The corner of Severus's mouth twitched downwards. "No, not like that," he said. "The social classes shouldn't mingle so publicly. But I would be willing to give you a few lessons separately."
"You would do that?" Martinus asked.
"I learned a few things while in Nebulus's company," Severus replied. "And you three seem fascinated with astronomy. I'd be willing to teach you, as a show of my appreciation for your help today."
Calculus could feel the grin spreading across his face. "When do we start?"
So, there's only poison ivy in the Americas, apparently, but since this story is crazy anyway, I decided to take some liberties. Fun fact--Hilarius (Hypothermia's father) is an actual Roman name! Did anyone guess who the culprit was? I was a bit rushed to finish this story, but I'm okay with how it turned out, and I'd love to hear your opinion! If you're a shy reader, please consider clicking the little golden star to vote, at least! Thank you! :)