The Medieval Murderers - The Deadliest Sin

Zuliani took Cat’s arm and drew her down on to Katie’s bed beside him.

‘At first, I thought it was Soranzo, or another member of the case vecchie – the Trons maybe – accumulating gold secretly. They are not listed in the Libro d’Oro for nothing, after all. But then I began to put Baglioni’s trip together with other stories I have heard bandied about for some time now. The big banking houses have been shipping out silver coins by the thousands in order to buy gold at preferential rates in the Middle East and beyond. They seem to care little about the effect on trading here in the West as our coinage disappears abroad. Greed is all that drives them.’

Cat gasped as she realised the truth.

‘The Florentines are behind this. That is why Rosso funded Baglioni’s colleganza – in order to ensure the scheme went ahead.’

‘Yes, and behind Rosso stands old man Perruzzi – the greediest of them all.’

Cat clutched Zuliani’s arm. ‘But then where does this leave Katie?’

Zuliani shrugged. ‘My best guess is she is at the Arsenale. They have not had time to move their gold yet. If she had been taken anywhere, it will be there.’

‘Then you must find her.’

Zuliani didn’t have time now to sneak in the way Francesca Este had described to him. Nor was he inclined to be circumspect, not caring this time about being seen. Maybe it would be best if Rosso knew he was coming anyway. So he marched up to the main entrance beside the water gate. Surprisingly, he was unchallenged, and swiftly made his way along the quay to where Baglioni’s galley had been moored. It was no longer there, but another vessel was, which was no surprise to him. The galley’s purpose had been served, and its secret cargo would now be moved in a different ship to Florence and the coffers of Perruzzi’s bank. There had not yet been time to move the chests, and so Zuliani assumed they were still in the storehouse where he had found them.

When he approached the building, he saw that the small wicket gate set in the larger main doors was ajar. It looked so inviting it made him think that he was right concerning the whereabouts of Katie. With such precious cargo inside, the door would not normally have been left unlocked. They wanted him to enter. He edged up to the opening, and peered into the gloom.

At the far end of the storehouse a couple of lanterns lit a shadowy figure moving along the stack of wooden chests that Zuliani had seen on his last visit. It was difficult to see who it was because the lanterns provided only a silhouette. Zuliani inched through the door and tiptoed towards some barrels piled along the left-hand wall, trying to get closer before he revealed himself. As he crouched down behind one of the barrels, he almost cried out as a hand touched his shoulder. Looking up, and thinking he was discovered by one of Perruzzi’s henchmen, he was astonished to see a slim, pale face staring at him from under a sugar-loaf hat. The person’s hat was pulled well down and the face was in darkness, but a stray blond tress told him all he needed to know. It was Katie in her page-boy garb. He hissed a strangled question at her.

‘What are you doing here?’

Katie grinned. ‘I might ask you the same question, Grandpa. But seeing as you asked first, I will tell you. I thought you and Granny would be fully occupied for hours at the Doge’s party, so I decided it was time to find out if there was gold in all those boxes, and get to the bottom of the matter.’

Zuliani was so relieved to find Katie had not been taken hostage, or worse, he became very angry.

‘And you didn’t think to speak to me first?’

Katie pouted. ‘You would have stopped me coming. And besides, I thought you had given up as you seemed so busy with wheedling votes from everyone.’

‘Wheedling?’

Zuliani almost forgot where they were, and had to choke off his annoyed cry.

‘Tell me. Have I ever given up on anything as important as three murders?’

Katie thought for a moment, then shook her head.

‘No. You are right and I was wrong. But now we are both here, what do we do next?’

‘What I do is confront a murderer. What you do is get out of here and go safely back home.’

Katie began to protest, but in so doing managed to knock over an adze that had been left by one of the shipbuilders working in the Arsenale. The loud clunk of the wooden handle echoed down the length of the warehouse, alerting the man they had been spying on.

He grabbed a lantern, and called out. ‘Who’s there? Show yourself now.’

He began to stride towards where Zuliani and Katie were hiding, his face still hidden by the hood of his cloak. Zuliani pressed the crouching Katie down, indicating she should stay in the shadows, and stood up himself. As he moved away from Katie’s hiding-place, he spoke up boldly.

‘I’m here, Rosso.’ He peered beyond the beam of the upheld lantern. ‘It is you, isn’t it?’

The man threw his hood back, revealing himself. It was indeed Agnolo Rosso, who was now lit by the lantern he held over his head. He laughed.

‘Yes, it’s me, Zuliani. Damn you for being such a nuisance. I should have killed you sooner, but I can easily get on with the job now.’

‘Just as you did away with Baglioni, Saluzzo and old Baseggio because they got in your way. Or should I say in the way of Perruzzi, because it is his gold in those chests, is it not?’

Rosso merely smiled enigmatically.

‘I would have thought you of all people understood about making profits. You’re the legendary Zuliani, who came back from Cathay a rich man.’

Zuliani didn’t rise to the bait. It was true he believed in making money from trade, but only in the good old-fashioned way of buying and selling goods. That sort of business always carried with it the thrill of a gamble. Perruzzi and his like did nothing but speculate on money and the fluctuating value of gold and silver. And when the profits were not sufficient, they manipulated the markets. Standard silver coin had been the stable currency of the Holy Roman Empire in Europe since Charlemagne’s time. Now it was disappearing into the East at an alarming rate. Zuliani was beginning to see that the massive export of silver coinage from Venice to the East would create severe problems in making payments in trade. But the Florentine bankers were protecting themselves from any difficulties with chests of gold. They were like dangerous sharks swimming in Venice’s seas. He answered Rosso’s taunt.

‘Yes, but I made my money honestly.’

Rosso pulled a face. ‘Do you really want me to believe that you never cheated anyone?’ He held a finger and thumb a little distance apart. ‘Just a little? Besides, what’s dishonest about using money to make money?’

Zuliani didn’t answer him this time. He prayed that Katie would stay hidden. Rosso took Zuliani’s silence as a sign he was winning the argument, and his stance became more relaxed. But then Zuliani saw the man looking not at his face, but over his shoulder. He risked turning his gaze away from Rosso to see where the man was looking, afraid that Katie had been revealed. What he saw was a hessian sack lying by the door to the warehouse, its neck tied up with a heavy rope that was finished in a loop. Zuliani smiled, knowing instantly why Rosso was alone in the building. He had decided that Perruzzi had not rewarded him sufficiently, and was stealing some of the gold for himself. Rosso also guessed what was going through Zuliani’s mind. He shrugged, and placed the lantern at his feet.

‘Who’s going to miss a sackful from such a large consignment? You could help yourself too, and forget you ever saw me here. You could dismiss your suspicions about the deaths of the three men as mere fancy. What do you say?’