"You said you knew." "I do know," Tanno asserted, "I cannot identify him, though I have questioned those who should know and who are safe.

I should know his name, but I cannot recall it or place him.

But I know his occupation.

He is a professional informer in the employ of the palace secret service, an Imperial spy.
"Now what in the name of Mercury was he doing in the rain, on a Sabine roadside?
I cannot conjecture." This should have roused me staring wide awake.
But I was too exhausted to take any normal interest in anything.
"I can't conjecture either," I drawled thickly..