Page 34 of The Medici Return

It sat at the center of the main market district. A focal point since the fifteenth century. Here, not long after its completion, in 1562, the first great Medici mourning happened when Cosimo the Great’s favorite son, Giovanni, died, followed twelve years later by the funeral of Cosimo himself. In 1578 it hosted the marriage of a young Lorenzo the Magnificent to Clarice Orsini, and the whole city gave itself up to feasting and delight. A few years later, after the brutal murder of Lorenzo’s brother, Giuliano, a huge black catafalque surrounded by tall candles and the weeping crowd of mourners attested to Florence’s collective grief and opposition to the famed Pazzi Conspiracy. A parade of weddings and funerals came through in the 16th, 17th, and into the 18th centuries, all ending with the funeral of Anna Maria Luisa, the last of the Medicis to be buried here.

The plain severe style of the church, with its columns of graypietra serena, had a calming, peaceful effect. There were three parts to the basilica. The Old Sacristy where the early Medici lay at rest. The New Sacristy, like a Roman hall, abundant with windows and pillars. And the Chapel of the Princes, with its amazing array of colored marble. In the two former, the sarcophagicontained remains. But in the chapel, all of the tombs were below in the crypt, the sarcophagi there only as monuments. He knew the church itself stood on a height, the floor of the mausoleum below that of the church, making the crypt aboveground level with the Piazza di Madonna. That helped keep water out. Long ago, there was no entrance from the piazza, and the crypt could only be accessed by a staircase leading down from the mausoleum floor. It had foolishly been thought a safe place to keep the coffins free from thieves who might plunder them for jewels.

And there they remained for about a hundred years, until 1791. To further protect the coffins they were then moved to a lower, subterranean crypt of the exact size as the one above. But during that removal, or in the sixty years thereafter, owing to the want of guards, thieves searched the remains. The Medici grand dukes had a reluctance to be crowned with the regalia of their predecessors, so each duke was buried with his crown and scepter.

Which worked like an invitation.

And thieves took their toll.

Finally, in 1857, an official examination, sanctioned by Pope Pius IX, was commissioned. Forty-nine coffins were opened and examined. Only two of the grand dukes were found to still have their crown and scepter. Other remains were likewise devoid of valuables. Each of the workmen was assigned two sentries to ensure that none of the remaining jewels were stolen. The condition of the bodies, along with their dress and ornaments, was minutely detailed in an official report. Interestingly, the bodies of the Medici cardinals were untouched by thieves. It seemed even criminals feared hell. Once the examination concluded the coffins were closed and arranged in the lower crypt in the same location as they’d occupied above, each placed immediately under its tombstone in the upper crypt.

Then the entrance to the lower crypt was walled up.

He and his expert followed the curator through the basilica and the chapel and now stood in the upper crypt. Hundreds of people visited here every day. The lights were dim. The gift shop and book kiosk were closed for the day. In the center of the crypt, buried inhis black armor, lay Lodovico de’ Medici, an Italiancondottiero, leader of the Black Bands, who served in combat for Popes Leo X and Clement VII, his third cousins. He died young, at age twenty-eight, from battle wounds. His wife, Maria, lay beside him. Eric read the words on the tombstone.

COGNOMENTO INVICTUS.Invincible.

He loved the Medici audacity.

It had served them well.

Around him, in the various bays, lay markers for Medici descendants from ten generations. The tomb he sought was located near one of the center pillars. He walked over, closer, to the one for Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, who died February 18, 1743.

When her grave was first opened in 1857 the body was found wrapped in a silk sheet, under which was a handsome dress of violet-colored velvet. On her head perched the electoral crown of the Palatine, fixed by a long silver pin. According to some accounts she died a slow, painful death, supposedly suffering from syphilis. In 1966 Florence had been severely flooded, the tombs of the Medici swamped in water and mud. Many had feared the bodies had been irreparably damaged. But in 2013 Anna Maria’s skeleton was found to be mostly intact when it was exhumed, part of a research collaboration between the University of Florence and the Reiss Engelhorn Museum in Mannheim, Germany. The DNA expert standing beside him had been part of that exhumation. Her body had been examined for a week before being reburied. Bone samples were then tested that suggested syphilis may not have killed her.

Which was important.

A message from the grave?

Maybe.

A piece of her bone had been retained for future testing. But neither he nor his expert had access to it. And trying to gain such would only raise questions. So he’d come tonight for another sample.

“Lead the way,” he said to the curator.

And they walked toward the iron gate and the stone stairs that led below.

CHAPTER 22

COTTON HAD WATCHED AS THE WOMAN ROSE FROM HER SEAT IN THEnext car. She’d headed his way but not passed through into his car, which meant she entered the lavatory. Another man had also gone that way. Smallish, with pale skin stretched across a puffy face, the effect augmented by thinning hair, a smooth brow, and high-boned cheeks. He’d stayed a few moments, then left, heading back forward into the next car. Had he used one of the lavatories? Or was there something else at play?

The train was slowing quickly, entering the station at Koblenz.

The woman still had not emerged.

Something was wrong.

He rose and headed for the next car, passing through the open connector and stopping before the lavatory door, which indicated it was occupied. He glanced around and saw no one coming his way. A few people were moving toward the exit at the other end, in the direction the other man had gone.

The train was almost stopped.

He tested the latch, which moved.

He twisted further and opened the lavatory door. Inside the small space the woman sat slumped on the toilet with a bullet to the head. He stepped farther inside, closed the door, and searchedher pockets. He found a wallet, some keys, an automatic pistol, and two spare magazines.

He pocketed it all and left.

His mind flashed back to the other man whom he’d seen come toward the lavatory. He was blessed with an eidetic memory, a gift from his father’s side of the family. Not photographic, as some would say. More the ability to retain an amazing amount of detail. He searched his memory for what he could recall and etched the face of the killer into his mind.

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