by Karen Abbott
“If I didn’t sense that your body is so in tune with mine, I would fear you were going to tell me that you no longer wanted to be my girl,” Xavier smiled, teasingly leaning down to nibble her ear as they strolled arm-in-arm across the bridge.
“Am I your girl?” Lys asked archly, revelling in the words.
Xavier’s eyes gleamed darkly in the fading light.
“Of course!” he whispered into her ear. “Didn’t you know?”
Hmm! His ‘holiday’ girl … nothing more! Still, wasn’t that what they had agreed? She could hardly complain! She hadn’t expected her emotions to be become so deeply involved. But they had!
A wooden bench was positioned at the top of the path, strategically placed to overlook both the inner and outer harbours. Lys drew Xavier towards it and sat down.
Now looking concerned again, Xavier sat beside her.
Lys stared unseeingly over the harbour, wondering if her lack of trust of Xavier would bring an end to their friendship. How would he regard it? As a betrayal? She had to risk it.
Xavier twisted sideways on the bench and gently touched her right cheek with the back of the fingers of his right hand. His other arm lay behind her shoulders and she could feel the warmth from it against her. As Xavier drew his fingers slowly down her cheek, Lys turned to face him and moved her lips against his fingers as she met his gaze.
“What is it?” he asked gently.
“I have your necklace!” she blurted out.
“Pardon?”
“Your necklace … you know, the diamond one!”
Xavier stared uncomprehendingly at her. He shook his head.
“I haven’t got a diamond necklace!”
Lys returned his stare.
“Well, no, you haven’t. I’ve got it! It was in my car, under the seat. I found it the other day when I cleaned my car! It’s what the thugs were after!”
His face still looked blank and Lys added, “It’s like a collar. An intricate design with loops linking together and daggling down.”
She used her hands to indicate where a necklace should be placed, as if looping it around her neck and indicating where the dangly bits were.
“Where exactly did you find it?” Xavier asked, a frown creasing his forehead.
He didn’t look quite so blank about it now and Lys felt that he knew something about what she was describing.
“It was under the front passenger seat. I only found it when I went to get some gloves from my car … and only you had been in besides myself.” She spread her hands helplessly. “It can’t have come there by any other means … unless someone deliberately hid it there—and that doesn’t seem very likely. Even if it’s a fake, it’s still worth a lot of money—far too much to leave lying around!”
“Have you got it with you?”
“No. Like I said, it’s too valuable to leave lying around.”
“Where is it, then?”
For some reason, Lys didn’t want to give too much away—not yet. Xavier was acting a little strange … cautious, with unaccustomed hesitancy.
“I have it safe,” she temporised.
“And you aren’t going to tell me where?”
It was a question—yet he spoke it more like a statement of fact.
Lys smiled to soften her words.
“Not unless you can tell me how it got into my car … and why you haven’t wondered where it is.” She paused, then added, “It could be what those men were after … except, if you didn’t know you had it, why did they?”
Xavier looked thoughtful. “Have you told anyone about it? The police, for example?”
Lys shook her head.
“Not yet. I thought I would try to find out who had left it there. After all, what could the police do about it? It hasn’t been reported as stolen … and, if it were, it might be thought I’d stolen it!”
“How do you know it hasn’t been reported as stolen?”
Lys shrugged.
“I sent a drawing of it to a friend who knows about such things. He told me.”
“And what did he tell you?”
Lys wasn’t sure how much she should say. She was becoming more and more certain that Xavier knew something about it … and he wasn’t letting on what! How much should she trust him? After all, she knew very little about him. She glanced away for a moment but then decided to say a little more.
“He said it looks like the Monsigny Collar, a priceless item a few centuries old. It could be a fake, though. I can’t tell.”
She saw Xavier’s face tighten. A tiny muscle twitched high on his cheekbone but he strove to keep in control of his features.
“If it is what your friend says,” he began carefully, “it could be dangerous for you to keep it. If those men who attacked me believed that I had it in my possession and now know I don’t, they might have been watching to see who I know here … and may suspect that I’ve given it to you.”
Lys nodded numbly. “I know. That’s why I wanted to know if you knew anything about it. However, since you don’t, I think I had better hand it over to the police.”
Xavier’s hand shot out to cover hers.
“Don’t do that just yet. I …” He hesitated, then continued slowly, “I do know something about it. I haven’t stolen it,” he added quickly, “but I have an idea how it might have got into my bag.”
He lapsed into silence for a few moments, obviously thinking about it. Lys wished he would take her into his full confidence but he didn’t seem ready for that. Didn’t he trust her? Did their friendship have much going for it if neither trusted the other?
Xavier squeezed her hand.
“You say it’s somewhere safe?”
“Yes.”
He looked straight into her eyes.
“Do you trust me enough to show it to me?”
She returned his look.
“Do you trust me enough to tell me what you know?”
He smiled.
“Touché!”
He smiled again and considered for a moment.
“I can tell you that it belongs to … a relative of mine … and he feared it was about to be stolen. He asked me to take care of it but I refused. I knew I was coming here and didn’t want the complication of such responsibility. It seems as though he must have put it into my bag whilst I was out of the room … and it tumbled out when I leaped into your car. I had been rummaging in the top for my waterproofs. I must have left the fastener undone.”
“It seems a bit careless of both of you … considering its value! Is it real?”
Xavier nodded. “I … believe so.”
“Wow!”
Lys’s mind went into hyperactive mode. She had handled a priceless fortune! It was hidden in Grand-père’s cottage! She was glad she had hidden it well!
Her thoughts must have been written on her face. Xavier gently took hold of her chin and turned her fully to face him again. She could read his concern for her in his expression.
“I really think it would be for the best if you were to give it back into my keeping. I don’t want you involved in this.”
Did she trust him? Believe him? She thought so.
She nodded.
“All right … but what will you do with it?”
“I think I will have to go back h… to the mainland for a day or two … to sort it out.”
“How will you travel? You won’t hitchhike with a fortune like that in your pocket, will you?”
“No.”
He looked at her carefully.
“Would you give me a lift to La Rochelle airport tomorrow? I’ll make a call and reserve a seat … and, when I come back, I will tell you all about it ... at least, as much as I can.”
So, there was still more? She thought as much! However, she felt she could go along with it so far. She was sure he wasn’t a thief! She would have to trust him.
They returned to where Lys’s car was parked. Xavier disappeared into the restaurant to make his phone call and came out bearing a bo
x of chips and a variety of goujons of fish.
“Paul gave me these,” he grinned. “Five more minutes won’t make much difference. I’ll bring my best suit back with me and I’ll take you to the Hotel Paris when I return back from the mainland! You deserve it!”
They were back on their familiar footing and shared the box of food companionably in the two front seats of the car. Xavier’s left arm held Lys close and they kissed and laughed together like a pair of children sharing a bag of sweets, popping the delicacies into each other’s mouth.
When the box was empty, Xavier tossed it onto the back seat.
“That’s that! Come! We must go now. I won’t rest until I know you are safely out of all this.”
Just what ‘all of this’ was, Lys couldn’t imagine. She trusted he would tell her as much as he was able afterwards.
It was less than twenty minutes later that they drew up on the rough land at the side of the windmill. Lys was alarmed to notice that the door of Grand-père’s cottage was open. That shouldn’t be! Even though the night was still warm, he would have closed the door and let in cool air through the windows.
She leaped out of her car without even switching off the engine and rushed inside the cottage. Although it was dark inside, there was enough light from the moon for her to see that the place had been turned upside down. The contents of the drawers and cupboards had been tipped out onto the floor; the coal bucket was upturned and empty, as was the vegetable rack, the flour bin, the tea and coffee caddies and the sugar pot.
Her hands flew to her mouth. They were too late!
In the same instant she thought of her grandfather. Had they harmed him? With his name on her lips she hurried forward, hardly aware of the sticky crunching under her feet as she sped across the room.
She could make out that Grand-père’s bedroom was in similar chaos to the kitchen … but of Grand-père himself, there was no sign!
“Grand-père! Where are you?”
She felt her way forward, stepping carefully over the strewn bedclothes and emptied drawers, frantically feeling everything with her hands. He wasn’t there!
Where was he? Was he lying injured somewhere? Or had they kidnapped him? Did they mean to hold him to ransom in return of the necklace?
Time seemed to stand still. Lys felt her chest tightening and thought she was going to faint.
She realised that Xavier was standing behind her and she turned to him, instinctively burying her face into him.
“He isn’t here!” she muffled against his chest. Her body was shaking uncontrollably. She was aware of his arms strongly about her, holding her, comforting her.
Suddenly her body froze.
This had happened not twenty minutes after she had told Xavier that she had hidden the diamond necklace in the cottage! He had gone into the restaurant to phone his seat reservation on a flight from La Rochelle. Had he also phoned his conspirators to let them know where the necklace was hidden?
She stepped backwards, her hands pushing at Xavier’s chest, forcing him away from her, her lips almost soundlessly forming the word, “No!”
“What is it?”
Xavier tried to pull her back to him but she resisted his efforts, straining her body away from him.
“What have you done?” she cried, horrified at her thoughts. “He’s not well! They’ll kill him!”
She felt hysteria surging through her. She couldn’t bear it if Grand-père had been hurt because of her misplaced trust in Xavier’s innocence. She shouldn’t have told him! She should have gone to the police as soon as she found the necklace! It was all her fault!
Xavier gripped her arms firmly just above her elbows and shook her slightly in his efforts to calm her.
“Lys! Listen to me! I had nothing to do with this! Nothing! Do you hear?”
Their eyes were getting used to the dark and Lys faced him, trying to focus on his face but it seemed to swim in and out of focus. She pushed his arm away and tried to go past him back into the kitchen.
He let her go and followed her, swinging her round to face him once more.
“Lys! Calm down. Let’s look outside for him. He can’t be far away!”
“They’ve taken him hostage! They’ll bargain with us—Grand-père for the necklace! His heart won’t stand it. We’ll have to give them the necklace!”
“Stop and think, Lys! Where did you hide the necklace? Have they got it?”
“What? No, they can’t have.” She looked around desperately trying to clear her mind. “I don’t know. I can’t see it! They mustn’t have—they wouldn’t have taken Grand-père, would they?”
“Where did you put it?”
The simple question cleared her head and she stared at Xavier. She wanted to trust him—but how could she? He was the only other one who knew it was here!
Xavier took a step backwards. He held up the palms of his hands towards her.
“Okay, Lys. It’s okay! I understand. Look, I’ve got to go. I think I know who might have done this. I’ll call the police and send them along. I’ll be back tomorrow … or the day after. Trust me! I … I love you!”
He gripped her arms again and quickly kissed her lips, which were parted in shock. His words reverberated round her head. He loved her! He was going! He’d be back!
“Where …?”
But he was gone.
Chapter Ten
“Lysette! Lysette! Are you there?”
It was madame Giraud’s voice pulling Lys back to her senses. She stared at the older woman, who was now framed in the doorway. Her mind still felt too shocked to reply sensibly but she made an effort.
“Madame Giraud! Thank goodness!” She gestured with her outstretched arms. “We’ve been burgled! Grand-père has gone! I don’t know where …”
Madame Giraud stepped into the cottage, her arms outstretched to enfold Lys in them.
“He’s with me, Lys. He’s back in my cottage. It was a nasty shock for him but he had the sense to come straight back to me. Don’t worry! He’s all right! Really!”
She was smaller than Lys but, right then, she was a tower of strength. Her rounded body was a comforting cushion and Lys burst into tears with the relief of knowing Grand-père was all right.
“Come on, back with me,” madame Giraud urged. “Etienne is concerned about you and won’t relax until he sees you. I’ve called the police. They will be here soon and will come to my cottage to find us. Leave everything as it is. No-one can do any more damage right now!”
As Lys stumbled along at madame Giraud’s side, the older woman kept up a stream of chatter, no doubt to give Lys time to recover from the shock.
“So Etienne had me up and down at the window like a yo-yo. ‘Is she back yet? Is she back?’ La-la-la! He would drive a saint crazy!”
The tone of her voice indicated that he hadn’t yet managed it and Lys knew the pair of them well enough by now to know that their sparring was a front for deep affection.
“They must have had the effrontery to do it in broad daylight … or near enough! I don’t know what the world is coming to, I don’t!”
“But, I don’t understand,” Lys finally managed to falter. “In daylight?”
She hadn’t told Xavier about the necklace until dusk had fallen. He couldn’t have phoned anyone! She had misjudged him entirely!
“What time did it happen? Do you know?”
“We don’t know exactly. It was already done when Etienne returned home after supper. It was a bit late for him … after nine o’clock. We had been talking of the old days and time had rushed by, you know how it does! He walked straight into it! Luckily for him, they had already gone! Or it might have been far worse!”
Indeed it might! Lys had had him beaten and left for dead at the very least!
Etienne looked shaken but his voice was steady and he rose to hug Lys as she entered the room.
“You mark my words, it’s that Leon Boudot, getting back at us!” he predicted after Lys had sat down beside him on th
e two-seater sofa. “I bet he’s had a right old rollicking off his boss! Wouldn’t be surprised to hear he’s lost his job! Serve him right, too!”
“Leon Boudot?” Lys echoed. “What has he …? Oh, I see what you mean!”
That business had long gone from her brain. She pondered on it for a moment but shook her head.
“I don’t think so, Grand-père. He wouldn’t dare! He’d be more subtle than that. Don’t go accusing him without any proof! Leave it to the police to deal with.”
Her mind was busy filtering through the other alternative. Although Xavier hadn’t had time to tell anyone about the necklace being there, he might have been right about the men who attacked him having been keeping watch. Which meant he was involved in some way. Was his story true about a relative asking him to look after the necklace? It seemed a bit far-fetched. Robert had said it belonged to the Monsigny family. Was Xavier a long-distant cousin or something? He could be, she mused. He’d said his name was Piquet. If she’d had cousins on her mother’s side of the family, they wouldn’t be called Dupont.
So what was she to tell the police when they came?
In the end, she didn’t mention any of their theories … because that was all they were, theories. The police took some flash photographs; said that as nothing had been damaged or stolen it must have been an opportunist attempt to find something of value; and warned them to be careful and not go out leaving the door open.
“Let us know if you discover that something is missing,” they said on departure.
Lys hadn’t had the opportunity to check if the diamond necklace was still there … but when she did so, it was. She smiled grimly. And there it would stay until she had a believable account of its history!
They were tired. Madame Giraud pointed out that Etienne had suffered enough shock for one day and insisted that he stayed with her in her second bedroom. The bed was already made up she said, adding,
“And you, too, Lysette. You can’t go back into all that mess tonight. We can make up a bed on the sofa, I’m sure.”