I thought Anton was looking at me rather searchingly, but Cecile waved away my apology. “There is something very enchanting about the garden at night.”
“Very enchanting, indeed,” Michel said with a knowing smile. “Alas, my dear friends, I’m afraid I must be off. I have a pressing engagement later this evening.”
I heard a faint scoffing sound come from Anton’s direction. “Something very important, no doubt,” he said.
Michel smiled. “I’m afraid so.”
“I’m afraid we must be going as well,” I said. Milo glanced at me as though wondering what had brought about this sudden decision, but I didn’t meet his gaze. There would be time to tell him later.
“I want to thank you so much for having us. It was a lovely evening.”
“I am glad you could come,” Cecile said. “We will meet again to discuss the next stage of the perfume?”
“Yes, that would be very nice.”
We went about collecting our things and making our good-byes. I was worried that Michel would leave before we got the chance to follow him out, but it appeared that he meant to walk out with us. That was lucky, for I meant to follow him.
21
WE LEFT THE house together, and Michel Belanger turned to me, taking my hand in his. “I am so pleased to have met you again tonight, Madame Ames.”
“It was nice to see you, Monsieur Belanger.”
“We shall meet again soon, I trust.” It was not a question, so I did not answer it.
“Good to see you, too, Ames,” he said, turning to Milo.
“Good evening, Michel,” Milo replied.
With that, Michel Belanger took his leave and began walking down the street. I wondered if he meant to take a cab and why he had not made use of one of his own cars. Perhaps he did not want anyone to know where he was going.
We got into our cab and I leaned forward. “We need you to follow that man,” I said to the driver.
If the driver thought this request was unusual, he gave no sign of it. “Yes, madame,” he said. “If he means to get a cab, he will likely walk to the boulevard. I will drive past him so that he will not suspect us.”
It appeared it was not the first time our driver had engaged in such activity, and I didn’t know whether to be pleased or slightly alarmed.
He pulled away from the curb, and we passed Michel, who was walking at a steady pace. He didn’t look at us.
“Darling,” Milo said, leaning back in his seat and lighting a cigarette. “I hesitate to ask, but why are we following Michel Belanger?”
“He took the key from the safe in Helios Belanger’s study.”
“How do you know?” Milo pressed.
“I … saw him,” I said, trying my best to evade the question. For all his reckless behavior, Milo was terribly conventional when it came to my doing reckless things myself. It was most annoying.
“What were you doing in Helios Belanger’s study?” Milo asked.
“I wish you wouldn’t ask so many questions,” I said impatiently.
“Yes, I’m quite sure you do,” Milo replied easily. “Alas, my curiosity will not be suppressed. What were you doing there?”
“That’s not important now.”
“Amory.”
I sighed. It appeared he expected an answer. “I was looking for the draft of the will that Anton Belanger said his father had written before his death, the one that supposedly gave Anton complete control of Parfumes Belanger. After what you told me that Helios Belanger said when he crashed his plane, I was sure that it must hold some hint of who might be responsible for his death. While I was in the room, however, Michel Belanger came in and took a key from the safe.”
“Ignoring, for a moment, your imprudent behavior, how do you know that he intends to use the key tonight?”
“It’s bound to be missed. He’ll have to use it and put it back before Anton realizes that it’s gone.”
Talking of things that were bound to be missed, it was then I remembered that the will was still inside the bodice of my dress. I would have to remove it later so that we could get a better look at it. I hoped I could think of some way to get it back into Monsieur Belanger’s desk. Perhaps Madame Nanette would be able to sneak it back for me later.
“He is hailing a cab, madame,” the driver said. “I will follow it.”
“Thank you.”
“You do realize, darling, that in all likelihood, Michel is going out for nothing more than a night on the town,” Milo said.
“It’s possible,” I admitted. “But the timing seems rather suspect.”
“Everything about Michel is suspect.”
“He is rather … bold,” I said.
“That is, perhaps, the nicest word that might be used to describe him,” Milo replied.
“You don’t like him,” I said.
“Not particularly.”
“I thought you were friends.”
“We ran in the same circles, but I never much cared for him.” I felt that there was more to the story than he was revealing, but I didn’t press the issue.
“What do you suppose he means to do with that key?” I asked.
“I suppose we shall find out, if we’re fortunate,” Milo replied.
We settled into silence as our cab followed the one Michel had taken. The streets were fairly busy, and I hoped that he would not realize he was being followed.
We had been driving for a good while, and I had just begun to fear that we might either lose him or be noticed, when we turned a corner and I suddenly recognized where we were, on the rue de Tolbiac.
“Milo,” I said. “This is the flat where the woman lived. The one I told you about.”
“Is it?” he asked. “I’ll admit, it’s an interesting coincidence.”
Our cab pulled to a stop down the street, and we watched as Michel got out of his and went into the building.
“Do you know which is her flat?” Milo asked.
“The one there,” I said, pointing. “In the corner.”
We waited. A few moments later the light went on behind the lace curtains.
“He’s inside,” I whispered.
The light stayed on for several minutes and occasionally Michel’s figure could be seen in front of the window, as though he was moving about the room. Then it went out again. I didn’t think he had been looking for the missing woman, for, if he had known where she lived, he might have gone there without the key. It seemed, then, that he must have known she had gone and had come to the flat looking for something. I wondered if he had found it or had merely given up the search.
A moment later he came back out of the building and got back into his cab.
“Follow him, madame?” the driver asked.
“Yes, please.”
We drove for a few moments, and then suddenly his cab came to a stop and he got out and began walking. I wondered if it was possible he knew that he was being followed, but he didn’t appear uneasy at all.
“Continue, madame?” the driver asked.
“No,” I said. “I think we shall get out here. Thank you.”
“Darling, don’t you think we’ve played detective long enough tonight?” Milo protested as we got out of the cab.
“You’re free to go back to the hotel if you wish,” I replied, starting down the street.
Milo muttered something beneath his breath, which he was probably fortunate I didn’t hear, and paid the driver before catching up with me.
We rounded the corner, and I saw Michel stopping before a door. I grabbed Milo’s arm and pulled him back with me into the shadows.
“What’s that building that he’s going into?” I asked. “I don’t see any sort of sign. Is it a private residence, do you suppose?”
“It’s a nightclub, of sorts,” Milo said. “A somewhat private one.”
“Do you think we should try to go in?” I asked.
“No.”
“I think we should,” I said, my eyes on the door. “We might b
e able to…”
“No, Amory,” he repeated firmly. I looked at him, surprised. I had scarcely ever seen him so implacable.
“Why not?”
He sighed. “Because it’s a brothel.”
I looked sharply at him. “How do you know?”
“I recognize the street name,” he said.
“Then you’re familiar with it?”
“I’ve heard of it,” he admitted.
“You’ve heard of it, have you?” I asked. Michel Belanger forgotten for the moment, I was beginning to feel the first faint signs that we might be on the precipice of a very nasty row.
“Before you jump to unsavory conclusions, let me say that there’s no need for you to do so.”
“Oh?” I asked. “And why not?”
He smiled. “I’ve spent money on a lot of frivolous things, my love, but I can assure you that I’ve never paid for a woman.”
No, of course not. Why should he pay for women when they threw themselves at him with alarming regularity?
It appeared we had come to a dead end as far as the evening was concerned. It seemed that Michel Belanger had accomplished whatever he wished to at the mysterious woman’s flat and had decided to spend the rest of the evening indulging his baser urges. I was disappointed. I had hoped, somehow, that he would lead us somewhere important. There was nothing for us to do but to return to our hotel.
* * *
“WELL, DARLING, DID you learn anything of use this evening?” Milo asked as we entered our room.
I sighed heavily. “I’m not certain. I feel as though there are plenty of clues to be had, but there is a great deal of information to be sifted through in order to find them. One thing seems obvious: Michel Belanger is up to something.”
“I hate to disappoint you, darling, but Michel Belanger is always up to something. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say it had nothing whatsoever to do with his father’s death.”
“But he had the missing key to the safe, which means he likely took the formula. And he knew about the woman Helios Belanger had been seen with,” I said.
“Neither of which proves that he killed his father.”
“It proves something,” I said stubbornly. “We thought whoever stole the formula was the likely killer, and only Michel had access to the safe. He might have murdered his father so he could sell the formula to the highest bidder.”
“Or he might have come across the key to the safe and taken advantage of his father’s death to take the formula. That’s more in Michel’s style.”
“That doesn’t account for the incorrect formula that was substituted into Monsieur Belanger’s attaché case.”
Milo shrugged. “Perhaps that was merely some sort of mistake.”
He knew as well as I did how unlikely that was. With a sinking feeling, I recognized this offhand answer for what it was: the indifference that came when an amusement had begun to run its course. For whatever reason, Milo was losing interest in the case.
“There’s more to him than meets the eye,” I pressed. “I just have to determine what it is.”
“Whatever you say, my sweet,” Milo replied. “I just hope you won’t continue sneaking about in that careless manner. You’re bound to be caught.”
That reminded me. I still had the will in my bodice. I reached into my gown and found that it had slid too far down for me to remove it. The dress was quite tight, and I could feel the paper lodged against my stomach.
“Come here, Milo,” I said. “I’ve got to get out of this dress.”
He smiled. “Certainly, darling. Had I known how eager you were, I might have started undoing it in the cab.”
I shot him a look and turned my back to him, and his fingers moved deftly, unbuttoning my dress with impressive speed.
The dress pooled to the floor and I stepped out of it. I shook my slip and the piece of paper fluttered to the floor. I reached to pick it up.
My eyes scanned it. There was no way Anton could have claimed this to be a legitimate will, as this was clearly a draft that had not been completed. It had been written hurriedly, and some of it was illegible.
What was clear, however, was that this will was very different than the official one. As Anton had claimed, it appeared that the company was left to him, with smaller legacies left to Cecile, Seraphine, and Beryl Belanger. Michel was not mentioned.
I looked closer. There appeared to be notes in the margins. One read: “He cannot be trusted.” It was underlined with bold scratches that went nearly through the paper. Though it was not written near anyone’s name in particular, my automatic assumption was that he meant Michel. It seemed Helios must have been very angry when he had written it. The rumor that he had meant to disinherit his younger son seemed to be true.
This meant that the motives we had considered before were still valid. If Anton had believed he was going to inherit, he might have killed his father. If Cecile or Michel had seen it, either of them might have had reason to kill their father before he could revise the will.
“I’m not sure this helps much,” I said. “It seems as though it still leaves everyone in his family with a reason to kill him.”
“That’s often the case when a rich man dies,” Milo said.
“It doesn’t make much sense,” I said. “It seems a very informal document.”
“I suppose he was making a draft for himself before he met with his solicitor.”
I looked again at the document. There was something at the bottom of the page. There, written in small letters, were the words “She shall have the rest. My dear one.”
“My dear one,” I said aloud. “Who do you suppose that is? Cecile, Beryl, Seraphine? Or perhaps even the mysterious woman who might have been his mistress?”
“I suppose now we shall never know,” Milo said. Again I had the distinct feeling that he was swiftly losing interest in the will and perhaps the entire matter.
I sighed. It seemed that I had placed myself at risk for very little reward. This will didn’t prove anything, not really. Even Michel’s access to the safe, though definitely suspect, was not satisfactorily conclusive. After all, we could not prove he had taken the formula since we didn’t know exactly when it had gone missing.
The hunt for Helios Belanger’s killer would have to continue, but there was little I could do about it tonight. Milo sat down to smoke, and I went to the bedroom to change into my nightclothes.
A moment later I heard the telephone ring, and by the time I had come back to the sitting room, Milo was setting it back on the receiver.
He looked up, and I knew at once that he was going to leave me again. “Darling, I need you to be patient with me.”
My brow rose. “I believe you’ve reached your patience quota.”
“Yes, I know, but something’s come up and I need to go out for a bit.” He came to me and slid his arms around me, looking down into my eyes. “You will forgive me, won’t you?”
“Stop trying to look contrite, Milo,” I said resignedly. “You don’t know how to do it correctly.”
“I won’t be gone long,” he said. He leaned in to give me a brief kiss, began to pull away, and seemed to think better of it, instead pulling me more tightly against him and kissing me in earnest.
As ever, I found it maddeningly difficult to remain cross with him when he went out of his way to be charming. Knowing his tactics did not lessen my susceptibility to them.
He released me then with a sigh. “You make it difficult to leave, darling. I’d much rather stay here with you.”
I didn’t bother to point out that this was, indeed, an option. “Yes, well, I hope your evening is a success,” I said. “Have a nice time.”
I went to the bedroom then, and I heard him go out a moment later.
I was half tempted to dress quickly and follow him, but I didn’t think I could manage it without being detected. He might even expect it.
There was nothing for me to do, I supposed, but go to bed. I went to lie down, but
my mind would not let me rest. Instead, the details of the case kept flashing across my brain. Everything that I learned seemed to point to multiple suspects. I went through the list of possible motives.
After tonight’s events, the most obvious suspect was Michel. It seemed very likely that he had taken the formula, if the copy had indeed been present there at the time of Monsieur Belanger’s death. But why had he taken it? Did he mean to sell it? To sabotage his brother and sister out of spite? He might have accomplished either of those things, of course, without having killed his father. Perhaps, as Milo had suggested, he had come across the key to the safe and merely taken advantage of the opportunity it presented to him.
But if the formula wasn’t motive enough, the second draft of the will also provided Michel with a reason to want his father dead. If it was true that his father had meant to disinherit him, then it would have been to his advantage had his father died before the will went into effect. It all made for rather compelling conjecture, but it wasn’t the only plausible theory.
I had to admit that Anton Belanger was also a likely culprit. He had wanted control of his father’s empire for years. Perhaps he had finally been pushed to the edge of his patience. Anton had discovered the second draft of the will indicating that Parfumes Belanger would be left to him and might have believed it to be representative of the legally binding will. Perhaps he had decided to seize his chance at power.
Then again, Cecile had seemed to realize that she would inherit under the will that was in effect. Madame Nanette said she had not seemed at all surprised to learn that she and her brother were to have an equal role in Parfumes Belanger. Was it possible their father had given them different impressions of what his will entailed? That would explain the confusion.
If Anton had seen the second draft, however, it was just possible that Cecile had seen it, too. Perhaps she had realized that, despite her assumption that she would inherit, Monsieur Belanger might change his will to leave the company to Anton. She might have killed her father before he could remove her from power. I didn’t like to think that she might have done it, not after the loving way she had spoken of her father. I knew, however, that appearances could be deceiving.
The Essence of Malice Page 20