Recently elected to the office of aedile, Decius's new official duties include a probe into the recent collapse of a tenement building, an investigation that leads to the discovery of more than shoddy construction materials. Reprint.

Decius Caecilius Metellus is moving up in the world. He’s won some money and glory fighting pirates in the Mediterranean and expects a speedy election to the office of praetor.That all changes when a man he’s never seen be...