‘All the light bulbs are gone, aren’t they?’
‘All, I’m afraid.’
Olivier let the silence grow between them until the hiss of green wood in the kitchen stove was heard. Abruptly he lifted his gaze from the jewellery, passed it quickly over this Surete from Paris, then returned it to the diamonds.
He fingered their hardness, feeling how cold they still were, for diamonds always felt cold. He said, ‘Two patriots have just exchanged those few words that would condemn them to death, Inspector, should either of them fall into the hands of Herr Gessler or Herr Jannicke.’
To say nothing of Gabrielle and Hermann, or of his Giselle and Oona! ‘Why did you feel I needed to know you were of the Francs-Tireurs et Partisans?’
St-Cyr hadn’t liked it one bit. Too dangerous, too cavalier, but sometimes one had to take such risks. ‘As its regional leader I must ensure that nothing is done to harm our position. We want you to stop this assassin before he or she or they cause irreparable harm. As it is now, our sources have word well in advance and we can take steps to protect ourselves, but should Petain and Laval be assassinated, should even Bousquet or one of his confreres be killed, the Boche will unleash a savagery that can only lead to their taking over here completely. Make no mistake, what we have worked so hard to build will be shattered. Herr Jannicke is here because he’s the cure Berlin believes may be necessary. He’s a specialiste in interrogation and has been sent on orders from Himmler and Gestapo Muller.’
To know such things could only mean an inside source but could Olivier be goaded into revealing it? ‘They’re already raking the countryside for maquisards.’
‘We have to let them. To attempt to intervene would be both foolish and futile. We had six hours’ advance warning of the Sonderkommando and took what steps were necessary to save our own.’
‘But not those of other Resistance groups? Not the innocent who had to shelter them, sometimes even at gunpoint?’
Was St-Cyr really so weak? ‘We couldn’t interfere. In war there are always casualties. You of all people should know this.’ He tossed a hand.
‘And putting my name on L’Humanite’s list?’
‘Surely you must realize that was to convince the Boche of your loyalties? Though Gestapo Boemelburg in Paris doubts them, Monsieur Laval still wanted you and Kohler to deal with the matter; Bousquet and Herr Gessler didn’t. In the end, Herr Kohler’s boss won out perhaps simply because he’s also that of Gessler.’
‘Merde alors, you heard of our being sent here even before we did!’
‘We have our ways.’
‘Radio-trottoir or Radio-concierge?’ St-Cyr all but shouted.
Pavement or concierge gossip. ‘I can’t tell you. The risk is too great.’
‘Yet we’re expected to deal with a killer or killers who have also an equal ear to the ground? Forget it, monsieur. Me, I’m taking my partner and myself out of this and back to Paris!’
‘Calm down. Why else do you think I decided to be frank with you? Celine Dupuis wears jewellery my wife did? Who gave it to her? Who stole it from here and then asked her to wear it and for what reason except to remind that ancient roue of my wife? And why, please, did Madame Dupuis try to hide it, if not to protect the very person who had given it to her?’
Olivier spread the strand of sapphires on the table and, placing an earring on either side of it, said, ‘Oh for sure, our little tragedy is well known here in Vichy, Inspector, but to think to use it against me only compounds it and raises questions about my leadership. Constantly I must preach caution to my fellow resistants and, like the Marechal at Verdun, say, “Courage, on les aura.”’
Take heart, we’ll get them, but it was best to belittle the reference. ‘Jeanne d’Arc said almost the same thing at Orleans and was later condemned as a heretic and burned at the stake.’
‘Petain simply stole the words, but women aren’t supposed to lead armies, are they? In ours they could well do so again!’
Had he meant to say this last? Had he? The furrows across the brow had deepened. That shock of greying brown hair was irritably brushed to the left. The lips were grim-set, the strong oval of the face, with its full Roman nose, emphasizing his displeasure at inadvertently having yielded such a confidence.
There was a vertical, two-centimetre-long scar directly above the bridge of Olivier’s nose.
‘Shrapnel,’ he grumbled, ducking his eyes away from such a close scrutiny. ‘A centimetre to the left or right and we wouldn’t be talking. Even so, I was out for hours and had blood all over my face, and when I came to, it was to discover that the Boche had overrun our position. Like yourself, Inspector, I managed to crawl away and use my Deutsch to good advantage, reporting back their positions and strengths when I was finally able to cross their lines and return to my own.’
So we’re blood brothers now, was that it? ‘Who told you the jewellery had been found?’
‘Bousquet. I knew beforehand, of course, and had prepared myself. Edith took him up to the room this afternoon.’
And made no mention of the dress, the shoes and missing love letters? ‘Your former secretary’s loyalty is admirable.’
Did St-Cyr suspect Edith? ‘With some women, as with some men, Inspector, life must always be on the horizon. Her father was a cheminot, her brothers still work on the railways, and yes, you’re wondering how I, a former businessman and owner, could no longer say as most still do, Better Hitler than Stalin. After all, this Occupation has been good for many businessmen, and for the upper crust also. For them and the professionals and other hauts to support the Resistance would be to deny their most cherished beliefs. But after eighteen years of Edith’s socialisme, even I, who in 1936 feared another October when one and a half million voted for the communists, now pray it will happen. The communists are the only ones with guts, and guts are what is going to be needed in the struggle to come.’
Ah oui, but had Olivier deliberately used their Resistance connection to throttle further suspicion and ensure that Hermann was told as little as possible?
‘Inspector, even though Menetrel presumably now knows where this jewellery came from, he won’t go to the Germans with the news since he has no love of them. He’ll play it safe by alerting his Garde Mobile and waiting for you or Bousquet to tell him of it. And since our Secretaire General won’t do this because Laval has ordered him not to, it will be left to you and Kohler. You see, for all his sources and intrigues, the doctor has blind spots, and without the Marechal, he knows absolutely that he is nothing. With Petain, there is still hope for him, even if it is to go over to the Allies, for our Head of State won’t travel without his precious doctor.’
‘And Laval?’
‘Dismisses Petain by asking who needs a flag except to stand in its shade in summer. Of course he’s the true authority. He has always been very anti-British and still tries constantly to form an accord with Hitler so that France can be restored to her rightful place in the new European Order.’
‘Does he really consult a clairvoyant?’
‘If he does, he believes only the half of what he hears, but believes that half all the same.’
‘And her name?’
‘Madame Ribot, Hotel Ruhl, 15 boulevard de l’Hotel de Ville.* Don’t talk to her. Leave her out of things.’
‘That may not be possible.’
‘Sacre nom de nom, is your head so thick you can’t take a hint, eh? L’Humanite’s list, remember? Don’t tread where you’ve been told not to.’
‘Or you will arrange a little Resistance accident for Hermann and me?’