Flecks of gold shimmered and diffracted the sunlight into soft rainbow colours on
the forty-centimetre long, fat, green-orange-red speckled fish.
‘Impressive.’
Unfortunately, Dupin couldn’t think of anything else to say. The Kavadenn was rocking just like the speedboat. He had hoped that it would be slightly less bad, since it was several metres longer.
‘I have some questions, Monsieur Leussot. You’re aware that we are investigating the murder case of Lefort, Konan and Pajot.’
‘I’m up to speed. If you like, we can go below deck, it’s not very spacious down there, but we’ll have some quiet.’
Dupin took this as a joke. Yet Leussot was looking at a narrow door behind the helm and was getting ready to make a move. He meant it seriously.
‘If you agree, I would prefer – to remain on deck. Out here in the open air.’
Having to sit cramped in a tiny room now was a traumatic thought.
‘Okay. Then I’ll see to the fish while we talk.’
The dinghy was almost back at the Luc’hed already.
‘What do you know about the business activities of the institute and Medimare? Are you involved in these activities in any way?’
‘Well, you get right to the point.’
Leussot didn’t let himself be thrown.
‘We have evidence of something amiss about these dealings.’
Dupin’s was very keen to keep this conversation, out on the open sea, as short as possible.
Leussot raised his eyebrows, his deeply tanned forehead furrowing.
‘Okay. I’ll tell you what I think: Konan and Pajot defrauded the institute, systematically, over and over, in conjunction with the Director, they were in things together – but I doubt that they were really actionable things. It’s all taking place in a grey area, nobody will be able to touch them, legally. No matter how much some researchers in the institute hated them, they acted skilfully. – That, for me, would be the quintessence.’
‘How did you come to this quintessence?’
Leussot had flipped open a long Laguiole knife and at that very moment the boat made a particularly severe movement, making the situation – Leussot half toppled onto Dupin – seem threatening for a moment. Dupin was too busy keeping his balance to worry about it. Leussot realised the strangeness of the little incident and smiled. With his left hand, he picked up the large, shiny fish which was still thrashing fiercely and set to work with practised movements. Quickly and precisely, he placed the knife to the underside of its head.
‘My research was also involved sometimes. Yes, you’re surely wondering that. They buy the results at a very early stage, at the risk of them not in fact being as viable as they initially appear, sometimes at prices that are far too low. The individual researcher doesn’t have any control over the business side of course, they are employed by the institute. Le Berre-Ryckeboerec profits from the deals from, amongst other things, the fact Medimare sponsors the institute – which provides the legendary third-party funding.’
The fish’s innards fell into the bucket. Leussot had taken them out with a few artful flicks of the wrist.
‘Pajot and Konan got patents at extremely reasonable prices. That was the deal. When in doubt, it was to the disadvantage of the researcher. Only, of course, if large discoveries were involved. But as I say: there won’t be proof of anything illegal there, is my guess,’ he fell silent for a moment, but then picked up the thread again immediately. ‘I also don’t think that they greased the director’s palm, that he personally received money in return. Even if he is a slippery asshole.’
Leussot stood up and went to the bow, leaning down dangerously far and holding the fish in the water – in a way that made it clear that the conversation with Dupin could continue in the meantime. The fish carcass was still twitching violently every few seconds.
‘How come you’re so sure of that?’
‘Intuition.’
For a moment, Dupin wanted to enquire as to what exactly Leussot meant by ‘asshole’ in reference to the director, but in fact it was already obvious. Leussot came back, placed the fish in a second bucket and sat down again.
‘What is this research specifically about?
Dupin had got out his notepad. Even on his first attempt to note something down, he realised that this was not a good idea on the boat. He went ahead anyway, although he already knew now that he would be puzzling over what he had noted down here in the coming days.
‘The seas are brimming with treasures of immense value for humans. We should use them before we’ve laid it all to waste. Take, for example, the wonderful Chondrus Crispus, a red algae that we are researching currently. A crazy life form. If it’s attacked by microbes, this algae literally transforms into a high performance factory for fatty acid oxides, which can be used in medications. So far, fifty thousand substances and organisms from the sea have been identified that are suspected to have therapeutic potential. And that’s just the beginning. Many of them are already undergoing clinical testing, a series of them have already passed.’
‘Marvellous.’
Dupin was indeed impressed. He liked topics like this, sometimes he bought himself natural science magazines, which he eagerly read, even if he strictly speaking didn’t actually understand a word of it.
‘Life comes from the sea – evolution had over three billion years here. It produced a great deal more shapes and functions in the oceans than on land. The biological variety is immense,’ Leussot was absolutely in his element, yet it didn’t seem like a show at all. ‘It’s estimated at three million different species.’
Leussot paused for quite a long time.
‘And right at the moment when people are beginning to grasp the sheer, infinite potential the oceans harbour, they themselves are destroying it. All of it.’
‘You mean the Glénan?’
‘I mean the bigger picture. The oceans are ill.’
‘And are you doing something about it?’
Leussot was clearly thrown for a moment, he wasn’t sure how Dupin meant that.
‘I am. I’m taking action.’
He fell silent again, but then a broad smile appeared on his face again.
‘Yes, I’m doubly, triple suspect. I was an enemy of Lefort, I opposed his destructive plans, wrote critical articles and am amongst those defrauded by Pajot and Konan’s company – and I was in the Quatre Vents yesterday evening. You’ve got to admit, that’s not too shabby.’
Suddenly his face grew serious.
‘Finding someone else who had the motive to kill all three of them will not be easy.’
‘If you’re also one of the people who go on treasure hunts, looking for sunken boats, coins, gold and silver…’
Dupin had remained pointedly matter-of-fact. He had suddenly remembered a dream just now that he’d had in his few hours of sleep last night. It had been utterly bizarre. So embarrassing that Dupin would have preferredit never to cross his mind again. He, Riwal and Kadeg had been worn-out old buccaneers. On a ridiculously small frigate, which was letting off valiant sustained fire nonetheless, they were chasing three majestic sailing ships overflowing with stolen treasures, helmed by Lefort, Konan and Pajot. But the best thing about the little frigate had been this: it could dive. Descend and then emerge again here or there at breakneck speed. That’s how they hunted down one after the other.
‘That’s child’s play,’ Leussot responded earnestly.
‘If I understand correctly, discoveries do sometimes happen.’
‘It’s not my thing.’
There had been something brusque about this sentence, Dupin thought.
‘So you don’t know of any “treasure hunt” going on at the moment – in this area?’
‘No.’
‘Did you personally come into contact with Pajot and Konan?’
‘I knew Konan by sight, from the Quatre Vents. He always came with Lefort. I’ve never said a word to him. Why would I? I’ve
never seen Pajot all. I only know the name through Medimare. I don’t want to have anything to do with any of that.’
‘And Lefort, how was your relationship to him?’
‘There was none. The idea wouldn’t have occurred to me either. He was an awful guy. End of story. That would be my summary.’
Dupin was having some difficulty staying upright, the boat had rocked dangerously a few times.
‘And do you have a theory on the murders? Some idea of what might have happened here?’
‘One of the dirty tricks they pulled will have made someone angry. Truly angry.’
‘Do you know Docteur Le Menn? Did you see him in the Quatre Vents the evening before last?’
‘Le Menn? No. As far as I know, he wasn’t there.’
Leussot’s expression had darkened, he didn’t even try and hide it.
‘A friend of Lefort’s?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you know him personally?’
‘No.’
‘You know that he’s a doctor.’
Yes.’
Even this was a waste of effort. Leussot didn’t want to do this.
‘The new mayor appears to be another friend of Lefort’s, he…’
‘In his case, it wouldn’t surprise me if his favourable attitude towards Lefort’s plans had been motivated by money,’ this seemed to be weighing heavily on Leussot’s mind, ‘or else it was enough for him that, as the mayor, he would profit from the huge investment. Prosperity, growth, image, a tax income increased many times over. Those are the currencies of reality. Nature – the animals, the people, nobody gives a shit about any of that. Terrible that it sounds so cheap, like painting by numbers. But that’s exactly how it is. There’s no difference.’
‘The old development plans – were you very familiar with them?’ Dupin asked.
‘Yes. They were made public. I wrote extensively about them, several times in Ouest France, once even for the Libération. Interestingly, the plans were then never officially submitted. So never officially rejected either. It was probably clear after an intense discussion that they didn’t have a shadow of a chance and I believe Lefort didn’t want to show any weakness.
‘How long have you been working for the institute?’
Dupin was aware that his way of steering this conversation sometimes swayed back and forth as much as the boat – it must have been because of the sea, he had been feeling dizzy and little unwell the whole time. And something else had been distracting him since he’d got on the boat: an erratic, loud splashing that kept coming back every few minutes, accompanied each time by noises that were difficult to identify. At first, Dupin had looked around, not found anything and assumed that it must have been seagulls. They performed daring flight manoeuvres over the boats in the hope that there would something for them to take. Now the sounds were louder than before. Dupin looked around yet again. A group of dolphins was swimming past them, less than ten metres away, at breathtaking speed, diving down for a moment before coming back up, as quick as a flash. It was absolutely surreal. Dupin was dumbfounded. It was only with an effort that he managed to suppress the cry, ‘Real dolphins!’ He had never seen any in the wild before. They actually looked like they did in films.
Leussot had noticed Dupin’s surprise – although the word did not even come close to describing it.
‘They’ve been keeping me company since last week. These ones are very playful.’
This sentence could hardly have been uttered in a more off-hand way. Leussot had smiled smoothly as he said it.
‘I…’ Dupin really didn’t know what to say.
‘The tourists always lose their minds. They are great animals after all.’
The second sentence sounded conciliatory.
‘But the sea is full of wonderful creatures that are just as fascinating. Even more fascinating than dolphins. Take the tychoplankton, for instance.’
The group of dolphins had swum in a semi-circle around the stern of the boat and then, after what looked like a final jump, they went under and disappeared. The whole thing had lasted perhaps fifteen seconds. Dupin tried to compose himself again with all the strength he could muster.
‘Yes, I think we should get back to where we were. Back to our conversation, Monsieur Leussot. I had asked you how long you’d been working at the institute?’
Leussot looked quite mischievous, but then answered very matter-of-factly.
‘I came here as a young man, fifteen years ago. After studying in Paris, I started my research here, got a PhD, then went to Brest for a few years for larger projects and have been back for four years now. When Lefort tried to push through his plans the first time, I was still in Brest, but came here regularly. Lefort’s plans were my impetus for working as a science journalist. People have got to know what’s going on.’
It was evident that Leussot hadn’t given the dolphins another thought. Dupin had been forcing himself – reasonably successfully – not to scan the sea with his eyes again. He already felt ridiculous.
‘Fifteen years. And a journalist too. In Brest.’
Leussot looked seriously irritated. Dupin had to control himself.
‘Muriel Lefort, Madame Menez, Madame Barrault, Monsieur – the mayor, Solenn Nuz and her daughters, Monsieur Tanguy. Do you know them all personally?’
Now Leussot looked at the Commissaire for a moment, like a gormless young schoolboy.
‘You know – the Glénan. It’s a world of its own. It’s hard to explain, you have to experience it yourself. And in the Quatre Vents they come together: the inhabitants of this world and their constant stream of guests. We all know each other. Not as the people we are outside of this world, only as the people we are here.’
Dupin didn’t understand the literal meaning of this exactly, but he guessed what Leussot meant. More importantly: he had found a way back into the conversation.
‘And do you think anyone had a motive for an act like this?’
‘The village forces you close together, the sea, the Atlantic – into each other’s pockets, much closer than you’d like.’ It was as though Leussot had not even heard Dupin’s enquiry. ‘Even against the individual’s will. Sympathies and antipathies don’t come into it sometimes, not enmities, not even hatred. And more importantly: the archipelago may in fact bring people together – but in the end everyone is on their own.’
Even these sentences were cryptic, but Dupin had the feeling that they contained something important.
‘Hatred?’
Leussot draw a sharp breath in through his nose.
‘Yes.’
‘Who do you mean?’
‘Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean anyone specific.’
‘Muriel and Lucas Lefort? You mean the siblings? Or Madame Menez and Lucas Lefort? – You yourself and Lucas Lefort?’
‘I don’t mean anything in particular.’
‘It would be very helpful to us.’
Leussot was silent. Not an unpleasant silence. But one that made it clear that he would not answer.
‘And you didn’t speak to Pajot or Konan two evenings ago, I assume.’
Leussot looked almost amused.
‘I wouldn’t have made such an effort with the murder, believe me. Definitely not.’
He laughed. Leussot was very good. If it had been him – it would be impossible to behave more skilfully.
‘It’s quite a feat! A brilliant plan really,’ Leussot now contemplated Dupin’s question, ‘No. I sat as far away from them as possible, I always do that. I didn’t notice anything suspicious all evening. Nothing at all.’
Of course not, Dupin almost blurted out.
‘Depending on whom I had noticed something suspicious about, I might even forget it again, I have to admit.’
He smiled again. Dupin guessed that Leussot meant this sentence seriously.
‘Fine, then I’ll leave you to prepare your fish. It’s lunchtime after all. And I know what I wanted to know.’
&nbs
p; That was true. He had learnt a lot.
Dupin raised his hand and looked over to the Luc’hed. The observant young police officers understood the gesture immediately and climbed into the dinghy without wasting another moment.
‘Yes, I’m going to eat now. And get back to work. Red algae are impatient creatures.’
‘Will be you be out at sea all day, Monsieur Leussot?’
‘We’ll see.’
He pointed towards the west with a minimal movement of the head, where the wisps of cloud had become undeniably denser, although they were still far away.
‘Actually, yes. At the moment, I’m more or less at sea all week,’ he smiled, ‘so you’ll know where to find me.’
The dinghy had come to a stop alongside the stern.
‘Bon appétit, Monsieur Leussot.’
‘Au revoir, Monsieur le Commissaire.’
Dupin climbed nimbly back into the little boat, which turned around just a moment later and travelled back to the Luc’hed. As it did so, he contemplated the sky with raised eyebrows. It was – apart from that growing dark streak in the west – the same unchanged blue. Dupin was slightly uncertain about his own weather forecast. But not overly so. The signs were too clear: Grand Marée, spring tide, full moon, then for thirty days the weather stayed the way it was on the evening of the full moon, that’s how he’d remembered …
‘Monsieur le Commissaire, Inspector Riwal has just radioed us. He needs to speak to you. You were already in the dinghy.’
The captain bent down to Dupin and offered him his hand, which Dupin accepted this time. He had forgotten that he had no reception here.
‘You’ll be with him in less than ten minutes, at top speed.’
‘Good. Full speed ahead then.’
Dupin couldn’t believed what he’d just said.
* * *
The air was absolutely still, even the ubiquitous Atlantic breeze could no longer be felt. Yet it was even hotter than yesterday. At the last moment, the islands had materialised in front of them, as if out of nowhere. And strangely, all of them did so at once. You were left with the impression: this is the last second before you’re dashed on them.
Murder on Brittany Shores Page 18