Lost

by Lucy Wadham

  ���I believe you. I met her once.���

  ���After the new magistrate let Santini out of prison she called me.��� He paused.

  ���What did she say?���

  ���She wanted your address.���

  ���Why?���

  ���I don���t know.���

  ���She never wrote.���

  ���Yesterday,��� Lopez said, ���she called me back.��� He held up his hand in case she should decide to speak. ���I have some details that will help you answer the questions today.��� Lopez took a sip of his Kir. ���Now. Santini is getting off. They���ve got nothing on him. He has sent a clear message to his accomplices in prison, Karim and Denis. The only ones on trial for the kidnapping. He has sent them some threats and some promises. Now both of them are denying Santini had anything to do with it. You know that?���

  ���Yes. I know.���

  ���So. Karim will get away with twelve to fifteen years for bringing your boy back and for having his balls eaten off. Denis the same, probably, and they���ll be let out in six to pick up their reward.���

  ���From Santini.���

  ���From Santini. Do you want another Coke?���

  ���No.���

  ���Sure?���

  She nodded. Lopez waved at the waiter and ordered another Kir.

  ���Okay. So Santini is walking free even though we know he organised, maybe not the first but certainly the second kidnapping. Stuart knew this but he never got any proof together because he was alone; he had no support from his hierarchy, not really, and he was in a hurry. For you, perhaps.��� The waiter brought his Kir and he took a few sips and put down the glass. ���So.��� He leaned forward. ���When the President asks you today why you think Santini was involved, you can say that you are speculating on the basis of what Commissaire Stuart told you. ���And what was that,��� he will ask. And you will answer: ���He has an arms cache on his property.��� And whatever they throw at you just say that Commissaire Stuart told you that there was an arms cache at Santini���s villa and that���s all you know.��� Lopez grinned and leaned back in his chair.

  ���Evelyne emptied that cache.���

  Lopez raised his eyebrows.

  ���You knew about it?���

  ���I was there when Stuart searched his property.���

  ���Where were the weapons?���

  ���Under his swimming pool.���

  ���Why didn���t Stuart take him in?���

  ���He made a deal. If he led us to Sam he���d let him off.���

  ���I thought this and I tried to put it to Paul Fizzi, but he told me to fuck off. He thought I was just digging up the dirt on Stuart. I wanted Fizzi to talk about the cache, but I couldn���t be sure he wouldn���t reveal me as his source.���

  Alice watched Lopez take another sip of his Kir.

  ���Evelyne moved the weapons,��� she said. ���As soon as we left, she moved them.���

  ���But��� ��� Lopez raised his index finger again ��� ���Evelyne, who is quite a clever woman, thought it would be too risky and too obvious to move the weapons off the property, so she moved them from the pool to his mausoleum. I know this, because I was there. I saw it.���

  Alice looked at his beaming face.

  ���Why didn���t you testify, then?���

  ���I told you. I am not brave. Someone would kill me sooner or later.���

  She smiled.

  ���So who���s going to kill me?���

  ���No one. You���ll leave the island. You���ll leave it all behind. Nothing ever spills beyond the island. All the shit stays here.���

  Alice took a sip of her Coke. A pleasant feeling of excitement was growing in her.

  ���How do you know the weapons are still there?���

  ���I don���t know for sure, but Santini���s been under house arrest ever since his release from prison. So I���m assuming he wouldn���t take the risk.���

  Alice sat back in her chair and looked at Lopez, who was staring hard at her. They were like two children with a plan.

  ���It was Liliane Santini who told me to come to you,��� he said. ���She is the one with the courage. Will you do it?���

  ���Yes. I think I will.���

  ���You just answer the questions. Like I said.���

  ���Will Santini be there?���

  ���Yes.���

  ���Will you?���

  Lopez shook his head in mock terror. She smiled.

  ���We���d better go,��� Lopez said, looking at his watch. ���You only have an hour.���

  *

  Alice hurried up the steps of the Palais after Santini. He must have heard her footsteps and he turned round. As he waited for her to catch up, she felt his yellow eyes on her. He held open the door for her and she smiled graciously at him.

  ���You look good,��� he said, pointing at his head. ���The hair.���

  ���I���m happy to be back here.���

  Santini tilted his head.

  ���Really?���

  ���Yes. Shall we walk together? We mustn���t be late. Do you know where it is?���

  ���Follow me,��� he said.

  As they walked along the corridor, he had his hands in the pockets of his blazer and he kept glancing sideways at her as if he could not believe his luck.

  ���You sold the place in Santarosa, then? It���s a shame.���

  ���Yes.���

  ���It must be painful for you to return here.���

  ���Not at all,��� she said. ���I���m so happy.���

  They were in sight of the main courtroom. She let him go first into the space, barely large enough for them both, between the inside and outside doors.

  ���I wonder,��� she whispered, ���do you know, by any chance, what Commissaire Stuart���s first name was?���

  ���Antoine. Why do you ask?���

  ���Antoine,��� she repeated. Santini looked at her mouth. She smiled at him. ���Thank you.���

  She noted the strong smell of wood polish and knew that it would always remind her of this moment. As he pushed the second heavy wooden door into the chamber, she spoke to the back of his neck: ���I���m going to testify against you, Santini.���

  He stopped dead. Alice felt her heart fluttering in her throat. She thought of Stuart���s hand in hers. ���You���ll go to prison.���

  There was an infinitesimal shift in the tilt of his head and she felt a rush of fear as she waited for him to turn and face her. But he held still and she was suspended a moment in this strange air-lock, between her past and her future. Then he pushed the door and stepped into the chamber.

  About the Author

  Lucy Wadham was born in London and educated at Oxford. She has lived in France for the past twenty years. Her first novel, Lost, was shortlisted for the Macallan Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger for Fiction. She is also the author of Castro���s Dream, Greater Love and The Secret Life of France.

  Copyright

  First published in 2000

  by Faber & Faber Limited

  Bloomsbury House,

  74���77 Great Russell Street,

  London WC1B 3DA

  This ebook edition first published in 2014

  All rights reserved

  �� Lucy Wadham, 2000

  Cover design by Pentagram

  Cover photograph
by Lucy Harmer

  The right of Lucy Wadham to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author���s and publisher���s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly

  ISBN 978���0���571���31735���6