by Katie Penryn
“What about my lack of objectivity getting in the way?”
“You’re looking at it from the wrong point of view. I bet if someone hypnotized you now, you would already know who the murderer is. You’ll have absorbed information during the past few days that your conscious mind is not aware of.”
“You’re saying I know more than I think I do.”
“Exactly,” said Felix.
“So I should accept the task? You’re happy with that?”
“Of course, I’m not happy, but sometimes we have to do the right thing whether we want to or not. And I have to go along with what your integrity drives you to do.”
“Wow,” I said. “We touched a deep vein there.”
Felix pulled an A4 pad towards him and picked up a ballpoint pen. “So as long as we’re doing this, let’s start the way we have in the past and make a list of known possible suspects.”
I sighed again. “Felix, the list would go for ever. As far as I can tell, every husband and father in the town could have something against Jonny Sauvage. He spread his wild oats far and wide last time he was here. There’ll be women crying in secret all over town when the news gets out.”
“I said known. We’ll start with the inner circle and broaden it if we have to.”
I got to my feet and made for the door. “We need a snack. You start the list while I fetch some refreshments.”
“We’ve only just had supper.”
“Thinking makes me hungry,” I said as I left.
When I returned with an opened bottle of Bordeaux, black olives, the end of a baguette and a Camembert, Felix was halfway down the page.
I poured us both a glass and set the bottle in the fireplace.
“So how far have you got?” I asked.
He drank down half his glass. “You were right. I needed that. No relatives this time unless a stray cousin or sibling is hiding out unknown somewhere in Beaucoup-sur-mer.”
“We would have heard.”
“Girlfriends past and present: present – Joliette Marchand.”
“I met one of Sauvage’s unmarried mothers at the beach yesterday: Natalie and her son Pierre. She had another boy with her. Another of his sons. Marc. Apparently his mother Francine something works as a nurse at the hospital and she was working there the morning Jonny was killed.”
Felix added them to his list. “Then members of the band: past and present. Present – Zack and Petey. Past and guesting – Kiki.”
“Don’t forget his wife Marie.”
“For completeness – Marie. What about people he owed money to?”
“I only know of one for certain,” I said. “Madame Desert the landlady of The Union Jack. I can’t see her doing anything like hiding out and killing someone. She’s too smart.”
“Never underestimate anyone, Penzi. I thought you would know that by now.”
“Then there’s you and me.”
“We have a cast-iron alibi, even Dubois admitted that.”
An unwelcome thought crossed my mind. “Closer to home, Felix. The Emmanuelle saga.”
“She has an alibi. She was with her mother all morning.”
“And the mayor?”
Felix gave me a look of exasperation. If he’d been a teenager, he would have rolled his eyes. “Can you imagine fat little Bonhomie crouching in a hidey-hole waiting to jump out and murder someone? I can’t. But I suppose we have to check him out.”
Felix wrote his name down.
We’d come to the name I was dreading. “Felix, we have to add Sam’s name to the list. He had a good motive.”
Sam’s name went down on the list.
“It’s not a long list so far,” I said hating the fact that I knew everyone on the list except for Francine.
“We can add to it as we go along.”
I poured us both another glass of Bordeaux and drank from mine.
Felix smeared some Camembert on a piece of bread, dipped it in his wine and popped it into his mouth.
“Ugh,” I said. “What a dreadful thing to do to a good Bordeaux.”
Felix ignored me and went on with his snack.
“Right,” I said taking over the reins. “Motive, means and opportunity. Don’t forget motive is the most important aspect of solving any crime. Although it doesn’t have to be proved legally, it is the key. Means – that’s a pillow, I suppose. Though we’ll never know for sure as the bedding was taken away before foul play was announced. Everyone had access to the means, so that’s no help. I suggest we forget it.”
“Opportunity? We’ll have to run through the suspects and find out who could have been there that morning. That’ll give us our short list.”
“We can strike off Emmanuelle and one of the unmarried mothers, Natalie. She was on the beach within sight of Audrey.”
“Who shall we start with?” asked Felix.
“Let’s do the easy ones first: the mayor and our own Sam. Tomorrow.”
“Don’t forget we must be careful not to tread on Dubois’s toes. We don’t want Madame Fer-de-Lance after us.”
I poured myself another glass of wine. “Now, we should order the bees and the hives.”
“That’ll be a pleasant diversion from murder,” Felix said and opened up his laptop.
Half an hour later the bees had been ordered along with the new hives, and our beekeepers’ equipment and protective clothing. I was tired and ready to call it a night when Felix began talking about the time he and Sam had accosted Jonny Sauvage at the Hotel Mimosa.
“We’re taking a risk, boss, every time I shift into a leopard while we’re in a public place. The hotel clerk nearly caught me in leopard mode. It won’t always be appropriate to use the freeze spell or the invisible spell. We need another weapon in our armory.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Something that would make people forget what they’ve seen. We don’t want someone to phone the police and say there’s a wild animal loose in the town.”
“I’ll fetch the Book of Spells,” I said and ran upstairs quickly, anxious to get an early night.
When I returned bearing the heavy Chinese box with its magic contents, I took the Book of Spells out and placed it on the table. Felix and I closed out eyes, bracing ourselves for the brilliant flash of light as I opened it. I turned to the index and waited while Felix read through the pages. He reached the end of the index and looked up at me shaking his head.
“There’s a spell for starting again – what we would call rewind.”
“That won’t do,” I said. “We don’t want to change everything backwards. We only want to make people forget.”
I turned to the beginning of the index again and Felix made a second search.
“How about this one?” he asked stopping with his finger poised above the first item on the second page.
I couldn’t make out the words, but I could see the mythical creatures running up and down the margins.
“What does it say? You know I can’t read it.”
“It’s Latin again – obliviscere.”
Obliviscere? The Latin stem for oblivion. It sounded as if we were getting warmer.
“We’ll use this spell, but we’ll call it the forget spell,” said Felix. “The real name is too difficult to say.”
“Okay, so teach it to me.”
Fortunately, it was a words and symbols spell. It didn’t take long for me to learn it even though I was tired.
Felix asked me if I was ready to try it and I nodded. I took a deep breath and concentrated while I cast the forget spell. When I’d finished, I looked at Felix and for a wicked moment I thought it would be fun to try it out on him.
“I bet you can’t do a handstand,” I said to him.
“Of course, I can.”
“Well, do one against that wall next to the fireplace.”
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely.”
He took a step and executed a near perfect handstand.
“Phew,” he
said blowing hard from his upside down position. “I’m out of practice.”
I took my phone out of my pocket and snapped off a quick photo.
“All right. You can come down now,” I said.
He dropped his feet back onto the floor and uncurled himself to stand up straight again.
I clicked my fingers.
“Shall we practice it, boss?” he asked me.
I laughed. “We just did.”
“No, we didn’t.”
I showed him the photo.
He peered down at the phone in disbelief. “Wow. It works. I don’t remember anything about doing a handstand.”
“I don’t suppose you do. The spell worked on you because—”
He grinned. “I know. I didn’t keep my fingers crossed.”
“Lesson learned. Every time I use the spell you must cross your fingers or you won’t remember anything.”
We went to bed happy to have another spell in our arsenal against evil.
Chapter 20
We didn’t get a chance next morning to interview the mayor or talk to Sam. No sooner had we sat down to a late breakfast than a police car drew up outside. Before we had time for conjecture, Inspector Dubois marched into the kitchen.
“Bonjour,” he said. “Before you offer me a coffee, let me tell you this is an official visit. I want you three,” he said pointing at Felix, Sam and me, “to come down to the gendarmerie now and answer some questions.”
“Can’t we do it here, Inspector?” I asked him alarmed at the harsh look on his face.
“No, Madame Munro, not this time. Shall we go?”
Sam edged up to me as we passed down the hall. “What’s this about, Penzi?”
I didn’t answer as I pushed him in front of me.
He stopped abruptly in front of me making me bump into him. He turned and looked at me, his face strained and pale.
“Oh, no. It’s got to be about the murder of Jonny Sauvage. They must be interviewing everyone who knew him. But, Penzi,” he whispered as we walked across to Dubois’s car, “how do they know I had anything to do with Sauvage?”
“I guess we’ll find out in a few minutes. Even if they take us in separately, I’ll come with you as your lawyer. Don’t answer any questions except to give your name and address. We need to find out the thrust of their investigation.”
Sam nodded his head in understanding and took his place in the back of the car with Felix.
*
When we reached the police station Dubois handed Sam over to a subordinate telling him to keep Sam alone in Interview Room 3 until he was ready for him. Dubois then indicated that Felix should follow him to Room 4 while I waited in Reception for my turn.
Felix looked my way and raised his eyebrows in a silent plea for direction.
I stepped forwards. “Inspector Dubois, I am Felix’s lawyer. If he is to be interrogated, I have the right to be with him to advise him. And it would probably make sense for you to interview me at the same time.”
Dubois had his official face on. He didn’t accept my suggestion immediately but went behind the reception counter and looked something up in a thick book. I guessed it was the book that policeman always say they are going by.
“Very well,” he said closing the book with a bang and dropping it back on the counter with a thump. “I will take you both together.”
Dubois stood aside to allow us to pass in front of him and walk down the corridor to Room 4. It was the same room I had been in with my mother during the Yardley case — stark, institutional and forbidding.
He waited for us to sit down and for a second policeman to mount guard at the door.
“First of all, may I see some proof of identity?”
I handed over my passport. Felix explained that he had lost his and was waiting for a replacement. He showed Dubois the email receipt from the UK Passport Office.
Dubois handed them to his supporting officer who noted the details down.
Dubois turned back to us. “I do not need to investigate your alibi. I have already checked with the CCTV cameras on the ward and the records of the machines monitoring the victim’s vital functions. You could not have committed the murder unless you did it by some weird system of remote control.”
We both relaxed back into our chairs for a moment.
“But that is not true of your brother, Samuel Munro. What can you tell me about his movements on the Friday morning?”
“No comment,” I answered.
“Do you know where he was?”
“No comment,” I said again.
“Madame Munro, your attitude of non-co-operation will not help your brother if we have reason to keep him inside for questioning.”
“Inspector, I cannot inform you about events I did not witness.”
Dubois looked down at his notes and gave a half grunt. “Back to the hospital then. Did you see anyone go in or come out of Sauvage’s room while you were there?”
Felix looked at me and I nodded. We both said, “No.”
“Of course, I know there is no one on the CCTV recording for that time,” Dubois said, “but recordings can be doctored, can they not?”
We didn’t answer.
“When the Code Blue sounded and the medical staff rushed into the room with the crash trolley, did you happen to count how many people went into the room and how many came out?”
“Are you thinking the murderer hid in the room and then left with the crash team?” I asked him.
Dubois sighed. “It is the most perplexing case. I can see no other way for the crime to have been committed.”
“Have you asked the medical team? Can they account for everyone they saw?”
“Wait a moment. Who’s doing the questioning here?” Dubois asked.
“Sorry, Inspector. I was only trying to help you with your line of thought. Have you?”
“What? Asked the team. Of course, I have. They all say the same as you. It was too frenetic for them to count each other off.”
Felix and I stayed silent while Dubois shuffled his papers. “One more question. When you went into the room after the crash team had left and the body had been removed, did you notice anything out of the ordinary?”
“No, nothing.”
“You didn’t find the cupboard behind the window drape on the right-hand side of the window?”
“No. It never occurred to me that there could be a cupboard there. Do you think that was the hiding place?”
“At this stage, it’s the only explanation, but the murderer would have to be slim. The cupboard’s not big. It is just possible.”
“Did you pick up any traces in it?”
“Absolutely nothing. Just dust.”
“Can’t you count off the people on the CCTV, Inspector?”
“We have tried, but the people closest to the camera obscure the others.”
Dubois went back to leafing through his papers. At last he looked up and said he had finished with us. He would now interview Sam.
The policeman escorted Felix back to the reception area and returned moments later with Sam, a frightened Sam whose face brightened when he saw me sitting waiting.
*
Sam’s smile didn’t last for long. Dubois’s first question rocked him back in his seat.
“Why did you beat up Jonny Sauvage in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Monsieur Munro?”
Sam opened his mouth to answer, but I jumped in and nudged him under the table.
Sam looked at me wide eyed. I shook my head.
“No comment,” he said.
Dubois harrumphed. “Monsieur Munro we have the clerk at the Hotel Mimosa here at the gendarmerie. He says he let you and Madame Munro’s friend into the hotel to see Jonny Sauvage, and that you raced up the stairs to his room. He heard you both hammering on the door. Do you deny you were there?”
Sam glanced at me for guidance.
I answered for him. “My client acknowledges he was at the hotel at that time, but that is all
.”
Dubois looked from Sam to me and back again.
“The clerk states that after he heard your car drive off, Jonny Sauvage called for help. He was found lying on the floor of his room with his clothes torn. Do you say you had nothing to do with his state of disarray?”
Sam said, “No comment.”
“Inspector,” I said, “that was days before Jonny Sauvage was attacked and killed at the hospital.”
“Yes. We know your friend Monsieur Felix could not have murdered Sauvage, but does Monsieur Munro have an alibi for the time of the murder? What’s to say he didn’t burn with resentment and rage for two days, make his way to the hospital, steal a white coat, infiltrate his way into Sauvage’s room and smother him?”
“You don’t have any proof of his doing all that or you would have arrested him already,” I said.
Dubois turned back to Sam. “Well, do you have an alibi for the critical time?”
“Which is?”
“Between the hours of ten and eleven Friday morning.”
I looked at Sam. I wanted to know the answer as much as Dubois did.
“Answer him Sam,” I said.
Sam shifted on his seat before answering as if he was straining to remember.
“Inspector, I can’t say precisely where I was. I spent the morning going backwards and forwards to the recycling center with my mother’s car and our trailer. I was clearing up the junk from our back yard. It’s been a never ending job.”
“So you had transport even though your sister had driven her car to the hospital?”
Sam nodded.
“Please speak up for the record.”
“Yes,” Sam shouted, “but I didn’t go to the hospital. I drove past it on my way to and from the center, but I didn’t call in. It’s tricky maneuvering a trailer round tight corners. I didn’t want to risk it although I admit I wanted to see Sauvage lying flat on his back in a hospital bed.”
“So you admit there was bad feeling between you?”
Before I could stop him, Sam burst out, “He tried to seduce my girl friend, the mayor’s daughter. That’s why I was at the hotel that morning — rescuing her from his clutches.”
Dubois smiled a grim little smile of satisfaction. “So you had an excellent motive for killing Jonny Sauvage, did you not?”