"Then you're here to capture Alberto Mancini!" concluded Leonardo.
Ser Piero nodded. "So – that you have also discovered. Alberto Mancini was recently released from the services of the bank, because he was involved in fraudulent transactions. Shortly after he had disappeared without leaving a trace – but before he made a Florentine craftsman produce a copy of the seal which is used for Medici bank notes ..."
"Then everything fits together!" exclaimed Leonardo. "What was missing to him was the watermark and enough paper with the watermark of the Medici ..."
"That's the way it is."
"The mercenaries who were hired to steal the watermark, are camping at Master Flavio’s mill," said Leonardo. "And as the paper with the Medici sign has probably not become good enough with the Medici characters, everything had to be pulped again." Leonardo smiled. "That means this Captain Baresi has even some time to arrest them!"
Captain Baresi waited until one of the bodyguards of the Noble Lord stepped out of the inn to bring the horses to the stable. The stable was located on the other side of the house. Once the bodyguard had disappeared with the horses behind the corner, Captain Baresi gave the signal. His men rushed to the inn. Some turned to the guard, who had taken away the animals – the others entered the house.
Leonardo would have liked to observe everything nearby – but that did his father not allow, of course.
Only after Mancini and his men were overpowered and tied, they went to the inn.
"I make a sharp protest against that," Mancini said excitedly. "That's breaking the law! A brazen kidnapping! Is the Medici family already so powerful that they can get away with anything?"
But Mancini was much more subdued when some of Captain Baresi’s men brought a copy of the Medici seal from the room of the Noble Lord.
"You will be brought to trial in Florence!" promised captain Baresi.
Then the whole entourage rode to the mill of Master Flavio. Leonardo and Carlo gave information about how many men camped there under the command of the mercenary Ruggero.
"Now, the watermark form is likely in continuous use," suspected Leonardo.
"Then there will indeed be enough evidence to prove the guilt of these men," said Captain Baresi.
In between, they made no rest.
They did not want Ruggero and his men escape in the last minute. It was late afternoon when they arrived at Master Flavio’s mill. Captain Baresi and his squad were indeed the upper hand, but he had to employ a part of his people to guard the three prisoners.
Ser Piero, Leonardo and Carlo stayed in a certain distance together with the prisoners and their guards and a representative of the Medici Bank, while the captain and his squad circled the mill.
Leonardo turned round to the representative of the Medici Bank whose name was Paolo Cariola as he knew by now. His father had told him.
"Are you the man who should actually fetch tomorrow the watermark form out of Master Andrea di Marco’s mill?" Leonardo spoke to the gentleman whose clothes were almost as noble as those of Alberto Mancini. However, Paolo Cariola had no ornamental sword with precious stones.
"Yes, this man I am," confirmed Paolo Cariola. "I was lucky that your father has told us about the attack on Master Andrea ..."
"Master Andrea could not help it, Mr. Cariola. He has handled the watermark form very carefully. And against arquebuses and crossbows no paper miller would have had a chance."
"That may be," nodded Cariola. "Anyway, the Medici Bank is very grateful to your father – and also to you. This will not be forgotten."
"Does that mean my father will do more business with the Medici family?"
Cariola smiled. "Yes, that could probably be expected," he confirmed. At this moment shots crashed. Voices were heard. Ruggero’s men were demanded to surrender. Several of them first took their swords. They couldn’t make their arquebuses ready to fire and the crossbows would have had to be loaded first.
But after two warning shots had crushed from different directions, the gang members were smart enough to surrender. Successively, they were all led away. Captain Baresi’s men broke into the mill and also arrested Master Flavio. The stolen watermark form was taken away out of the sieve of the scoop journeyman. One of Captain Baresi’s men brought it immediately to Paolo Cariola, who received it with satisfaction.
Stacks of paper that had been produced there were also taken in possession.
"What happens with this paper?" Leonardo asked his father. Ser Piero shrugged. "First, it is evidence material and will be needed for the trial."
"And later?"
"If you speculate that you will be given some of the paper sheets, then you're on the wrong track!"
"Why? Mr. Cariola has said that our services will not be forgotten!"
Ser Piero, smiling, put his son a hand on his shoulder. "Yes, but paper with the watermark of the Medici will not be given away so easily – even if the quality of banknotes or other documents should not be high enough! One would rather destroy this pile!"
Leonardo sighed. How many drawings he could have produced with the sheets!
Ser Piero, Leonardo and Carlo soon separated from Captain Baresis troop and rode back to Vinci. It was almost midnight when they finally reached the village. The trouble Leonardo got with his grandfather and Carlo with his parents, was limited. All were too happy that the boys had returned safely. The horse, on which Leonardo and Carlo had escaped from Master Flavio’s mill, would be taken with and handed over to the City Guard by Ser Piero on his next ride to Florence. Finally, one of Ruggero’s men was the owner of the horse.
A few days later the two boys took the mare Marcella from the stable and rode to Master Andrea’s paper mill.
"I stand by my word that I have foolishly given you," Master Andrea said. "I've tied a bundle of paper that you may take with you. I admit that it is actually something too precious to be scribbled by a child, but I want to be generous and accept it!"
"You should think about my proposal," Leonardo said.
"What proposal?"
"To use wood for making paper!"
"Oh, stop it! I would prefer an advice how to get repaired the screw press, shot in pieces by the bandits, quickly enough so that I can fulfil my orders ..."
"Then your business is going well?"
Master Andrea nodded. "Yes, the Medici Bank will continue to cooperate with me. To manage everything, I took over the apprentices of Master Flavio ... After all, in his mill no paper will be produced in near future after the miller had been arrested. And confidentially ... they haven’t learned much at Master Flavio anyway!"
"Is among them by any chance an apprentice with red hair?" asked Leonardo.
But before Master Andrea could answer, the mill door opened and Giacomo came out. "Master, we urgently need a few more nails for the screw press ..." he began, and then was startled when he saw Leonardo and Carlo.
END
About the Author
Über Alfred Bekker:
Wenn ein Junge den Namen „Der die Elben versteht“ (Alfred) erhält und in einem Jahr des Drachen (1964) an einem Sonntag geboren wird, ist sein Schicksal vorherbestimmt: Er muss Fantasy-Autor werden! Dass er später ein bislang über 30 Bücher umfassendes Fantasy-Universum um “Das Reich der Elben” schuf, erscheint da nur logisch. Alfred Bekker wurde am 27.9.1964 in Borghorst (heute Steinfurt) geboren und wuchs in den münsterländischen Gemeinden Ladbergen und Lengerich auf. Schon als Student veröffentlichte Bekker zahlreiche Romane und Kurzgeschichten und wurde Mitautor zugkräftiger Romanserien wie Kommissar X, Jerry Cotton, Rhen Dhark, Bad Earth und Sternenfaust und schrieb eine Reihe von Kriminalromanen. Angeregt durch seine Tätigkeit als Lehrer wandte er sich schließlich auch dem Kinder- und Jugendbuch zu, wo er Buchserien wie 'Tatort Mittelalter', ‘Ragnar der Wikinger’, 'Da Vincis Fälle - die mysteriösen Abenteuer des jungen Leonardo’', 'Elbenkinder', 'Die wilden Orks', ‘Zwergenkinder’, ‘Elvany’, ‘Fußball-Internat’, ‘Mein Freund Tutenchamun’, ‘Drachenkinder�
�� und andere mehr entwickelte. Seine Fantasy-Zyklen um 'Das Reich der Elben', die 'DrachenErde-Saga' ,die 'Gorian'-Trilogie, und die Halblinge-Trilogie machten ihn einem großen Publikum bekannt. Alfred Bekker benutzte auch die Pseudonyme Neal Chadwick, Henry Rohmer, Adrian Leschek, Brian Carisi, Leslie Garber, Robert Gruber, Chris Heller und Jack Raymond. Als Janet Farell verfasste er die meisten Romane der romantischen Gruselserie Jessica Bannister. Historische Romane schrieb er unter den Namen Jonas Herlin und Conny Walden. Einige Gruselromane für Teenager verfasste er als John Devlin. Seine Romane erschienen u.a. bei Lyx, Blanvalet, BVK, Goldmann,, Schneiderbuch, Arena, dtv, Ueberreuter und Bastei Lübbe und wurden in zahlreiche Sprachen übersetzt., darunter Englisch, Niederländisch, Dänisch, Türkisch, Indonesisch, Polnisch, Vietnamesisch, Finnisch, Bulgarisch und Polnisch.
Read more at Alfred Bekker’s site.
About the Publisher
Cassiopeiapress, Uksak, BEKKERpublishing und Alfred Bekker präsentiert sind Imprints von Alfred Bekker, www.AlfredBekker.de
[email protected]
Alle Rechte an Texten und Bildern sind vorbehalten.
Einzelrechte siehe Copyright-Hinweise.
Publisher:
BookRix GmbH & Co. KG
Sonnenstraße 23
80331 Munich
Germany
Text: (C) ALFRED BEKKER CASSIOPEIAPRESS
Images: Steve Mayer
All rights reserved.
Publication Date: December 11th 2016
https://www.bookrix.com/-cassiopeiapress
ISBN: 978-3-7396-8816-9
BookRix-Edition, publishing information
We thank you for choosing to purchase this book from BookRix.com. We want to invite you back to BookRix.com in order to evaluate the book. Here you can discuss with other readers, discover more books and even become an author yourself.
Thank you again for supporting our BookRix-community.
Da Vinci's Cases Page 9