The back of beyond, in other words. Libanius and Hyperion were waiting for me, together with a couple of the town’s public slaves and a mule-cart plus - presumably - the guy who’d found her, minus his dog. ‘We’ve only just got here ourselves, Corvinus, no more than ten minutes ago.’ Libanius was looking green. Shit: however the kid had died, it must’ve been nasty. ‘She’s over there, by the rock wall. Whoever killed her covered the body with brushwood, but the dog...well.’ He stopped. ‘Of course, it might have nothing to do with the Hostilius business at all, but contrary to current showing we don’t actually have all that many murders around here, so I thought you’d like to know.’ I was feeling sick, and depressed as hell; had been since I’d got the news. ‘Sure it’s connected,’ I said. ‘It has to be. Paulina was his ward.’ ‘Paulina?’ Libanius was looking puzzled. ‘Why on earth should it be Paulina?’ I stared at him like he’d grown an extra head.
