Crimson Lake

Leonardo da Vinci must solve a locked room murder to save the city of Florence from certain destruction. (Short story.) Florence 29 April 1504 From Niccolò Machiavelli, Secretary to the Ten of War, to Piero Soderini, Gonfaloniere of My Magnificent Lord, In the matter of Leonardo, who respectfully requests more time and money to continue his work on the Battle of Anghiari, I submit the following report, which will demonstrate not only Leonardo's unrivaled talents in the arts and sciences, but also his unwavering loyalty to our great Republic. My report concerns Jacopo Baglioni's mysterious death and Leonardo da Vinci's miraculous solution. I received a letter from Gian Paolo Baglioni on the morning of the twenty-first. He stated that his cousin Jacopo had recently been found dead in a locked room of his villa. Gian Paolo suspected the agents of either Florence or Venice, and swore undying revenge to the unknown assassins. He assured me that if I did not satisfy him as to our innocence, he would burn our city to the ground and sow our ashes with salt. As you may recall, I have had several dealings with Gian Paolo, hiring him to defend us from others and hiring others to defend us from him. He is a fierce captain, quick to anger and slow to forgive. So slow, in fact, that his capacity for forgiveness remains theoretical. I rode out from the gates that morning to investigate the matter myself....