***
It was late in the afternoon and we still had much to do, or at least I did. We were sitting at the restaurant table by the window, having a quick bite. Mrs Leblanc had joined us and Briar was online, as was Coulter. O'Flanahan couldn't make it, so we were recording our conversation. "We found out how the Vallins knew about the tunnels and that is no little thing. Bequilles gave us a few additional clues. Such as Obersleutenant Weissmuller, who was involved in secretive activities- Odd explosions in the water, trucks in the night, loads of cement, use of hidden tunnels, double patrols, the list goes on." I stopped and sipped some coffee.
Briar took the opportunity to jump in. "I'll check into Weissmuller. Perhaps my friend in Nuremberg can flesh out his character. We already know Hitler was involved from 1911 and someone else was working with him, killing people and destroying information about Etretat. It lasted through the First World War and for decades after that. At the first opportunity, during the beginning of World War 2, they invaded Etretat, marched directly into Leblanc's home and used his hidden tunnel to access the caves. They even built their first bunker over the Fort of Frefosse. Could Hitler have built a war machine just to take over the Etretat caves?"
Our conspiracy was taking on a more insidious tone. Was Hitler's incredible rush to power motivated by his discoveries in Etretat? What about his rise into politics? Hitler devoted his life to these goals. It could not simply be a feint to hide his interest in Etretat. However, the caves could have been a root cause, a hidden motivation for the whole thing.
We would never know, unless we took the next step. "We have to go after that rock cylinder and deal with the Vallin brothers. No matter what the Germans did in the 1940's, the answer is here, now, and the Vallins stole that answer from us. We still aren't sure about the nature of their involvement but their acts so far haven't seemed very friendly. Let's not forget they have lived here all their lives. That's a lot of time for research and investigation."
"So what are you going to do?" Coulter asked.
"I'm going to visit them right after supper. I'll be going alone. They won't be expecting me. We'll have ourselves a little talk. I'm sure we'll be able to 'resolve' things."
Raymonde looked a bit miffed. "There is no way you are leaving me behind. I want to talk to those rascals myself."
"Raymonde, I know you want to come but I can't let you. This is something I have to do on my own. You'll be along anyway. I'll have my glasses on."
"I don't care about the stupid glasses. I care about you and I don't want you hurt. They almost killed us, if you remember! What if Norton comes back?" she said, tears in her eyes.
I hugged her. "What? Hobbling on one foot? No, he's out of the picture for a while yet. Listen, Raymonde, I came here to solve a mystery and found you instead. All our search has done is to place both of us at risk. I can't stand that. It's time to end this and it's up to me to do it."
"Very well. You can go but I want you to be careful," she hugged me again, squeezing me tight. "Or you'll have to answer to me."
Chapter 12
The Vallin Brothers
I examined Norton's pistol. The weight surprised me. It certainly was a big thing and looked fearsome enough. I held it gingerly, trying to figure out its main mechanisms. I found the safety catch, ensuring it was flipped on, and slipped the pistol into my small packsack.
After saying my good-byes to Raymonde and Mrs Leblanc, I got into the Porsche, directions in hand. Events were forcing me to act impulsively, going on gut instinct. I didn't know what to be more surprised at- what I was about to do, or that I was doing it!
I parked far from the Vallin house, not wanting to be seen. According to Mrs Leblanc, it had been home to the Vallin family for almost one hundred and twenty-five years. Old Man Vallin himself had lived there. Getting nearer, I activated the glasses, and everybody connected in, wishing me good luck. I asked them to keep quiet. I didn't want to be interrupted at a crucial moment.
The sun hadn't set yet but the shadows were getting long. I used them to my advantage, getting on my knees and crawling along a row of bushes, which bordered their property. Reaching the end, I saw their house. It was a one-floor affair, simple enough and poorly maintained. Their lawn hadn't been cut in months. I wasn't complaining since it made sneaking around much easier. Approaching the house and noticing an open window, I slowly raised my head to look inside.
They were both right there, the rock cylinder between them. One had a hammer and the other held a chisel. They were arguing. Apparently, they had been at this process for a while and were having little success. Preoccupied as they were, there was a good chance I could surprise them. I pulled the pistol out from the packsack and tried to stop myself from shaking.
"Be careful, my boy. Don't do anything careless," warned Briar.
"Let him do it in peace, for Pete's sake," whispered O'Flanahan.
I crawled along the side of the house, reaching the door after a few minutes. The front door of their house was a two-part affair with the top separate from the bottom. I checked the lower knob, which thankfully was unlocked. I remembered my last attempt at unlocking a door. I pulled it slowly, leaving the top closed, while listening to their ongoing argument. I crouched on my knees in the middle of the entrance. "Freeze, you two. Stop what you are doing and don't move. I have a gun aimed directly at both of you." My loud voice froze them into place.
"Excellent, my boy, you've got them now," Briar jumped in again.
"Hey, man will you please be quiet. This is the best part," Coulter shot back.
"What do you want Mister?" the small Vallin asked, his voice shaking and nervous.
"You know what I want. It's on the table, right between you. You stole it from us, remember?"
"You have no right to that rock thing. It belongs to us, to Etretat."
"No you are wrong about that. The cylinder was specifically intended for us," I stated, shaking the gun. "No matter who is right, although we are, you broke into our home and stole it. You also tried to run us off the road, shot at us, and listened in on our conversations," I listed with increasing volume. "None of these acts are those of honest people. Before anything goes further, we will take back what is ours."
I moved forward, intent on taking the cylinder. My foot hit something and I reacted instinctively, looking down at a pair of old dirty boots. I had taken my attention off the two for a single moment but it was enough! The small Vallin vaulted over the couch, trying to get at a knife, planted in a wall beam on the other side of the room. I aimed at the knife and pulled the trigger.
The gun went 'Click'.
The safety was still on!
I desperately scrambled to find the safety catch. The big Vallin jumped to the corner where a double-barrelled shotgun was leaning. He grabbed it, cocking it and lifting it to his shoulders, all in one smooth move.
Safety off, I swung my gun past the smaller Vallin but the big Vallin was faster, aiming his shotgun directly at my chest. His finger was on the trigger and it was tightening!
"Nobody move. I have a gun on all of you," a familiar voice rang out, strong and clear.
Mrs Leblanc!
For a moment, everybody froze. My adrenaline was kicking in, my senses at their peak. Everything slowed down to a crawl. Mrs Leblanc was standing outside. I saw her through the window. I wondered how she had gotten here. She held a rifle of some sort. Behind her, I could make out someone else. Raymonde, a look of concern on her face. The smaller Vallin looked tense, ready for anything. The bigger one was turning his shotgun toward Mrs Leblanc.
In a moment of clarity, I knew he would shoot her. There was no stopping it. The shotgun blast might kill both her and Raymonde. Even if Mrs Leblanc shot him, he would still shoot in reflex. They would all be killed.
I frantically launched myself at the big Vallin, propelling my body directly at his chest, both of my hands reaching for his shotgun. He was a big man much taller than me and at least a hundred and twenty kilos. I w
as overweight and out of shape but weighed about the same. I hoped it would be enough.
I slammed into him hard. My right hand clamped convulsively on the shotgun barrel and I jerked it down fast. It discharged thunderously, blowing a hole into the floor. The big Vallin fell back, smashing his head on the corner of the fireplace mantle and knocking himself out cold. My ears buzzing, I rolled off him, wrenching the shotgun out of his limp hands and throwing it in a far corner.
I heard a noise, turning around to see the other Vallin moving again. Before he could do anything, another booming shot rang out and a dish rack exploded into smithereens.
"Enough. No more fighting. This has gone far enough," screamed Mrs Leblanc at the top of her lungs. The big Vallin was down on the ground, out for the count, and the small Vallin was cowering in fear in the corner.
"Incredible, my boy. Absolutely incredible," Briar said, the pride obvious in his voice. "I knew you had it in you. Always did."
***
We were sitting around the kitchen table. The big Vallin, Ives, was lying on the couch, holding an ice-filled rag to the swelling on the back of his head. Jacques Vallin, the smaller one, was on a chair, his hands tied behind his back. He appeared sullen and unhappy. Mrs Leblanc seemed to be holding up well. She had reserves of strength I had not suspected.
As soon as she had shot her rifle into the air, everyone had stopped fighting. Raymonde had run right in and hugged me, explaining in chopped sentences about her mother worrying, getting the rifle from over the mantelpiece and calling a taxi. Mrs Leblanc stayed exactly where she was, her rifle at the ready, until I found some rope and tied the protesting Jacques Vallin. Then I helped Ives Vallin onto the couch. He was slowly coming around from the glancing blow. Big as he was, he seemed rather gentle.
It was time to get down to business. Now that we had the Vallin Brothers where we wanted them, we would be able to get some answers. "All right. It's apparent everyone's upset. You two don't trust us and we don't trust you, perhaps because you shot at us, among other things. Earlier, you said the rock cylinder belonged to you and to Etretat. I know it was intended for us, not you, which tells me you don't have a clue what we are doing and why we are doing it."
Jacques Vallin interrupted, speaking in a slightly remorseful tone. "We didn't shoot at you. I mean we DID but we didn't mean to. The truck was running so bad and was overheating again. We hadn't put enough water in the radiator when you took off. You had that fast sports car and you were going so fast, like you were taunting us or something. I was pretty mad, knowing we were going to lose you and I pulled out the gun, as I pushed the gas pedal to the floor. I never wanted to fire at you. I didn't know what I was going to do, really. That was when the engine just plain blew. Popped a cylinder right through the block. The explosion scared the heck out of me, my finger tightened by reflex, and the damn gun went off. By then, we were just coasting along, the truck without power, when you took off like a rocket and went right over the side of the road. I never saw anything like that before. You've got to have nerves of steel, Mister. Anyway, I braked like mad, jumped out of the truck and ran right to the edge of the cliff to see if you were all right, Brother right behind me. We got there just in time to see you skim over the river and drive right up to the road, smooth as silk," he jabbered.
I didn't remember it like that. It had been more like 'barely getting out alive' after 'losing control of the car'.
His brother spoke up. "Yeah, then you got out of the car and just waved at us, calm as can be. That took guts, Mister."
"Hey, I was telling the story," Jacques shot back.
"You never let me speak. Here I am, hurt, my head all busted up, and I can't even say a few words?" Ives retorted. Jacques was getting ready to throw back some other quip. I spoke before he did.
"So you didn't shoot on purpose. Fine! What about following us all over the place?"
"Yes, all over the place, right into our bedroom, while we were sleeping, what about that?" interrupted an angry Raymonde, pointing her finger at the smaller of the two Vallin, her whole body invested in the gesture.
Jacques hung his head down. "I'm sorry, Miss. It's wasn't like that, really it wasn't, although I sure can't figure out how you knew exactly what I was doing, because you were sleeping all through. I went in, no idea what I was looking for, just checking around, real quiet like."
Raymonde's eyes flashed. Ives kept going, talking faster and more nervously. "It took me just a second to spot the rock thing on the bedside table. I figured it had to be something important. We didn't mean no harm. We just had to take it from you."
"Why?" I asked simply.
"Yes, why indeed? A key question my boy. There's more to this than meets the eye," Briar added in my ear. I had almost forgotten about my friends. The three were still rooted to their computers back home. They didn't even get commercial breaks for this show. For all their annoyance, I was glad they had come along for the ride.
"Because we had to. It was our duty to Father. We keep guard for Etretat," answered Ives Vallin.
"That's right, Brother, We keep guard for Etretat. When you came in to the Mairie for those records, Mister, you sure got me spooked. No one had asked for those papers, not in a real long time. I had to follow you to find out what you were up to. When I heard talk about the Fort of Frefosse, the next morning at breakfast, I knew you were right in the middle of it, because that's where our great-grandfather was killed. So we had to keep following you."
What they were saying made sense, when seen from their perspective. Were we wrong about the Vallin Brothers? Perhaps this situation could be resolved more peaceably than I originally thought. "What if I told you the things we are looking for, like that cylinder of rock, were hidden by Raymonde's great-grandfather? We know your great-grandfather was involved with this mystery. Perhaps what you are doing, this 'keeping on guard for Etretat', is related to the same affair. Maybe we could work together instead of fighting each other."
Both of them mulled over my words. "Maybe you're right, Mister. Maybe we are looking for the same thing," Ives said, as he sat up, carefully holding his head.
"What is this duty you speak of? What is it you guard?" asked Raymonde.
Jacques looked sheepish, admitting with a slight smile, "We sure don't know, Miss, and that's a fact. It's something big and it has to be kept secret. Our father gave us this duty and we intend to stand by it."
Ives was nodding. "We've kept at it all these years, just like we promised. It's hard keeping a secret when you don't know what it is. We've been trying to figure things out but it's been pretty slow going. Say, you folks wouldn't be willing to untie Brother's hands, would you? I can see they're getting all blue. He won't do nothing. I'm the strong one but I won't do anything either."
Jacques' hands were indeed blue from lack of circulation. Raymonde untied them and he briefly rubbed his wrists, nodded his gratitude, then grabbed a bottle of red wine from the kitchen counter and some glasses. "I just have to have a drink. Tonight has been too exciting, even for around these parts."
I agreed with him. Mrs Leblanc did not accept any wine, looking a little tired. Raymonde and I each accepted a small glass. "Somehow, this mystery is linked directly to all our families, even mine, far away in Canada. This secret, whatever it is, was intended to be re-discovered for a reason. We don't know what that reason is yet. Perhaps it is lying there, inside that rock cylinder. I suggest we join forces. I will even offer you a salary, if you need or want it. We could use the help, although I must warn you, in all conscience, there is some danger to this. Others are trying to solve this mystery as well and they don't mind killing people."
Raymonde placed her hand on my shoulder. Mrs Leblanc did nothing, as she was sleeping, sitting upright in her chair. Jacques Vallin answered, "Mister, it's true these ladies are Etretatais through-and-through. We don't know you but you seem to be a fair man, willing to give us a chance. We've been at this a long while but we never got anywhere as far as you.
Maybe you could do the thinking and we'll do the helping."
"Yeah, we're good with helping," piped in Ives Vallin. "We know everyone in these parts. If you need something, you tell us, and we'll get it. If I can ever find out what father was talking about all those years, it'd be the happiest day of my life. And Mister Sirenne, I want to say how sorry I am about the shotgun and what happened. Everything moved so fast, I didn't have a chance to think. I'm so glad you hit me and stopped me from shooting that nice old lady."
I offered my hand. He stood up slowly, wincing at the pain from his head. He reached his full height, towering over me. I couldn't believe I had knocked him down. He was huge. He smiled and held out his hand. "Friends?" he asked.
"Friends!" I affirmed.
His powerful handshake left my hand numb. I did the same with Jacques, who completed our handshake by raising his hand to his chest, holding the outside fingers and his thumb out while folding in the two inner ones. He was immediately copied by his brother. He looked very serious when he spoke. "I'll work with you, Mister, and I'll be there to help, all quiet-like, I swear. As for a salary, I wouldn't say no, money being a bit rare for Brother and me these days."
Instead of enemies, we now had a stronger group.
"Well, I don't swear an oath to keep quiet. Not a chance. No way. This conspiracy is the biggest thing since the Roswell UFO crash. There is no way I'm not going to publish a book about it, so there," objected O'Flanahan strenuously.
I reached up and turned off the glasses. Raymonde gently shook her mother's shoulder, waking her up. "It's time to go home. Everything is sorted. We can sleep soundly in our beds tonight, thanks to you."
I asked the Vallin brothers to bring the rock cylinder to the Villa Leblanc the next day, when we would try to open it. Seeing their pleased faces, I knew it had been the right thing to do. Raymonde helped her mother outside, while Jacques ran up the road to get my Porsche. As we waited, I held Raymonde's hand and looked at the stars. She whispered in my ear. "You were so brave, saving my mother. And me, I guess. I can't believe you jumped Ives Vallin but you did and you saved us. And before that, with Norton. You were there when it counted. I love you, Paul Sirenne."
The Caves of Etretat: Part One of Four Page 14