Napoleon's Police

by Michele McGrath

  “Has anything else been taken?” I asked.

  “No. The diadem and the girdle are still here with the rest of the jewels and gold. Only the crown is missing.”

  “Let us go back to the last time you saw the crown. You showed it to the Empress, you said, and then what happened?”

  “She examined it and tried it on while Duplan fiddled about with her coiffure. He kept piling her hair up in different ways. Then he put the crown on and made her shake her head, to see if it would work loose. It took quite a while until they were both satisfied. Then the Empress handed it back to my journeyman, Robart, while I showed her out.”

  “You saw this yourself?”

  “Yes, Monsieur, I did.”

  “What happened to the crown after that?”

  “I continued to work on it for another hour, as I told you before, until I had to go out to meet a business acquaintance. Robart said he would complete the task of fitting the banding for me. He is a good workman. I gave it to him when I went to change my coat and shoes ready for my appointment. I did not return for several hours. By then the crown was missing and everyone was searching for it.”

  “A moment, Monsieur.” Fournier put down his pen and broke into the conversation for the first time.

  “Yes?”

  “This appointment that drew you out of the building. Who was it with and when did you arrange it?”

  “It was with Monsieur Acart, another jeweller and a close friend of mine. He sent me a note yesterday asking me to meet him at a tavern where we often have a drink together.”

  “What did he want with you?”

  “He has an important commission which he is too busy to undertake at the moment. He wondered if I could help him with some of the finer work. I had to refuse, of course. I, too, am very busy and the client wanted the piece as soon as possible.”

  “Your refusal could not have taken a long time in that case,” Fournier said, “even if you had a drink once the business was over. You told us earlier that you were away from the workshop for several hours. Is that true?” Fournier turned over the pages in his notebook to find the exact words. He stared at the man who nodded his head.

  “Indeed, Monsieur, my meeting with Monsieur Acart took hardly any time at all.”

  “Then why did you not return here immediately? What happened to stop you?”

  “We had just finished our wine and I was saying goodbye to Acart, when my apprentice, Jacques, came to find me. One of my clients, a Madame de Herlay, wanted to see me urgently. She sent her servant to the workshop to ask me to visit her. She is an important customer. She’s rich and likes giving presents to her friends, so we do a lot of work for her. Naturally I went off to her hôtel at once, but when I got there, she wasn’t in. I waited there for a long time. When she finally came back, it was odd, Monsieur. She had not sent for me at all. I thought Jacques must have made a mistake, although he is not like that as a rule or I would not keep him in my employ. When I spoke to him later, he told me that he had repeated the servant’s message exactly. It was all very strange, a waste of my time and most inconvenient. Perhaps if I had been here…” His voice trailed off into a moan.

  “It would probably have made no difference.” I hurried to reassure him. I did not want him to return to thoughts about his predicament and lose the thread of our conversation. “This sounds as if someone wanted you to be away from the workshop today and that is how they managed it.”

  “But why would anyone do that?”

  “Perhaps they thought you would be more observant than your workmen when the thief attempted to steal the crown.”

  Margueritte put his head into his hands. “And I fell for their trick,” he groaned.

  “Caution, Monsieur, we do not yet have proof of anything. This is only supposition at the moment. We have a lot of work to do before we can say what really happened and who was responsible.” Fournier nodded to me to continue and picked up his pen again.

  “When you came back to the workshop after your fruitless errand, what happened next?”

  “Robart was waiting for me to tell me about the loss. I ordered another search and joined in the hunt myself this time. We were very thorough, I made sure of that. When we couldn’t find the crown, I realised I must report the theft to a Monsieur Réal at the Ministry of Police.”

  “Réal? You know him? You spoke to him yourself?”

  “But yes, Monsieur.”

  I was surprised but no wonder Réal had known all about it.

  “Réal doesn’t see every chance caller at the Ministry. How is it you were able to speak directly with him?”

  “I have had dealings with him before, Monsieur. He was aware that we had been commissioned to make part of the regalia here. Once I sent in my name on an urgent matter, there was no difficulty.”

  “I see.” I didn’t really. I thought I knew most things that went on in the building where I had worked for the last four years, but I didn’t know this. No reason why I should, I suppose, until now.

  “He said he would send someone to help me.”

  “Well, we are here, as you see. Has anyone else come to visit you since?”

  “No, Monsieur.”

  “And you have told no one about the theft?”

  “Indeed not.”

  “So the only people who know the crown is missing are the three of us, your three workmen, the two maids, your wife and certain people at the Ministry. Is that correct?”

  “To the best of my knowledge, Monsieur, it is. Certainly I have spoken to no one else.”

  “Is there anything more you can tell me?”

  “Robart says…”

  I stopped him. “We will question Robart ourselves. I only need to know about what you have seen with your own eyes or heard with your own ears. Is there anything else?”

  “No, Monsieur.”

  “Very well. Then we must speak to Robart.”

  Margeritte got up slowly from his chair. His face was white, in spite of the heat of the fire, with black rims around his eyes. He looked like a living corpse. I suppose he thought he might soon be one, from shock if from nothing more sinister.

  “Oh, Monsieur, what do you think will happen to me if we cannot find the crown in time for the coronation?”

  I opened my mouth to make some facetious remark about prisons or guillotines as I might have done with my colleague. Then I caught Fournier’s eye and thought better of my black humour. He shook his head at me, so I said simply,

  “We’ll find it, never fear. We must. And if we are to find it in time, we have to begin at once. Where is Robart?”

  “He is waiting in the workshop.”

  “Call him in, please, and then leave us to question him alone.”

  Chapter 3

  8 Frimaire, Year XIII

  (Thursday, November 29, 1804)

  Robart was a small, elderly man, wearing the sabots and leather apron of his trade. In other circumstances, he looked as if he would be a cheerful companion, but at the moment, his face was deeply furrowed and his eyes anxious.

  “For such a thing to happen here, Monsieur, it is unbelievable!” he said to me, almost crying with his fear. He gazed at us with big scared eyes and he was shaking so much I thought he might fall over.

  “Sit down,” I said hastily, pushing a chair towards him. He sat on the edge of the seat, twisting his hands in front of him. Fournier asked him his name and where he lived. Here, he told us. He had some rooms at the very top of Margueritte’s house.

  “You’re not married?” Fournier queried in surprise, for the man must be well paid as a senior journeyman and he was not ill-favoured. Eugénie might even call him handsome, despite the flecks of grey hair at his temples.

  He looked startled. “No. I never had time to look for a wife and I’m comfortable here.”

  So he does not possess an expensive family, I thought, one less reason for him to be the thief.

  “Your patron has told me that he left you working on the cr
own when he went out to meet Monsieur Acart. Is that true?” I asked and Robart nodded. “Did a message come for Monsieur Margueritte after he had left?”

  “Madame de Herlay’s lackey, Simon, came, asking the patron to call on her. So I sent Jacques to the tavern to give him the message.”

  “You knew this servant?”

  “But yes, Monsieur. He often comes here on errands for his mistress.”

  I looked at Fournier and he frowned.

  ‘We must check on this,’ I thought. ‘Lefebvre will be able to question the servant better than we can.’ One of Lefebvre’s strengths is that he can work effectively with that type of person as well as many others.

  “Very well,” I said. “Monsieur Margueritte told us that he gave you the crown when he went out. Is this correct?”

  “Yes, Monsieur. He asked me to continue fitting the banding inside. He wanted the crown to be completed before tomorrow at the latest, to take it to the Empress with the rest of her regalia on Saturday.”

  “And you finished it today?”

  “I managed to complete it even earlier than we had both thought. At the end, all the snags we had experienced with the banding seemed to vanish. It sometimes happens like that. Your fingers learn the trick of it, then it becomes simple. I remember holding the crown in my hands, looking at it closely to check for faults. It was perfect. Perfect!” The man’s eyes went glossy, as if he was recreating the moment of triumph, and he smiled for the first time.

  “Then what happened?” I asked gently, breaking into his reverie. His face changed dramatically from pride to woe. It would have been comical if the subject had not been so serious.

  He shook himself and replied, “I laid the crown down on my bench while I fetched the key to the safe. I intended to lock it away with the other finished pieces.”

  “Where was the key?”

  “The patron usually keeps it on his person, but today, knowing I would need it, he left it in the drawer of his desk, across the room.”

  “You did not go out of the workshop?”

  “Certainly not, Monsieur. I would never leave until all my work has been locked away. It is too precious.”

  “So the crown remained in your sight all the time?”

  “It was until I had to turn my back to take the key from the desk. A matter of a few moments only. I had it in my hand. I was just returning to my bench when I was interrupted.”

  “Who interrupted you?”

  “Our apprentice, Jacques. He opened the door and showed some ladies and gentlemen into the workshop.”

  “More visitors? Surely no one should come in here when you are doing work of such importance?”

  “These were no ordinary people. We are also making jewellery for the Emperor’s sisters to wear at the Coronation, necklaces, earrings and bangles. They are exceedingly fussy people and visited us many times, changing this and that. These ladies are very difficult to please. They came back today to inspect our work yet again.”

  There was an infinite weariness in the man’s voice as he said the words and I smiled inwardly. None of the three ladies had good reputations. I was glad I was not responsible for making anything for them. Robart looked around as if to see if anyone overheard his remark. Only Fournier and I were in the room, of course. Then he shrugged and continued,

  “They come here far too often, for no reason, often enough. I thought they wouldn’t be coming again because we intended to deliver their jewellery tomorrow. This visit hadn’t been planned, or the patron would have stayed here to greet them. He would certainly not have left to meet Monsieur Acart or anyone else. They need careful handling.”

  “But he was not here on this occasion.”

  “No. In his absence, I’m the senior workman and so the task of looking after them fell to me. Between us, Christophe and I showed the Princesses the items they wished to see.”

  “Tell me in detail what you did yourself.”

  “At first I was occupied fetching their jewellery from the safe. I went to and fro several times. Most of the work had already been finished, but they wanted me to bring everything out and examine it all over again. They saw and approved it only last week. It hasn’t changed since then.” The man’s frustration showed.

  “How annoying for you. Continue, please.”

  “Christophe has been working on one of the clasps of Princess Pauline’s earrings, so he spent some time talking to her and agreeing on alterations. I looked after Princess Caroline and Princess Élisa. They all took a little time examining each of the pieces. The whole visit was a waste of my time because only Pauline wanted something altered. Why the other two couldn’t wait until tomorrow, when I had promised to deliver all the jewellery into their hands, I don’t know.”

  “Strange they did not want to take their jewels home with them today if they were already finished,” Fournier said.

  “Caroline and Élisa discussed that possibility but Élisa said it would not be sensible. They intended to take coffee with some of their friends after they left here. ‘You’ll want to show off the jewellery if you take it with you,’ Élisa told her. ‘You know that the Emperor told us we should not let anyone else see our gowns or our jewellery before the ceremony.’ Caroline looked as if she would make a fuss but in the end, she did as Élisa ordered and put her jewellery back into the boxes. She handed them to me and I placed them inside the safe. Then they thanked me and left.”

  “Where was the crown all this time?”

  “Sitting on my workbench, or so I thought. When I returned to my place, after I had shown the Princesses to their carriage, the crown was missing.” The man slumped down and covered his face with his hands.

  “Why didn’t you lock it away before you attended to the Princesses?” I asked.

  “I should have done so but I had no time. Princess Caroline came bursting into the room before she could even be properly announced. I could not ignore her and I never imagined for a moment that the crown was in any danger.”

  I nodded. His words had the ring of truth. Caroline is well known for her atrocious manners. It would be just like her to push past a mere apprentice if he got in her way. I doubt she would even notice him.

  “So the crown was sitting on the workbench during their visit?”

  “To the best of my knowledge, yes.”

  “You did not see it was still there?”

  “At the beginning, yes. I did not look for it again until I came back into the work room after showing the party out. I intended to put it into the safe then, but it was gone.”

  “Who exactly was in the room, from the time you last held the crown in your hands, until the time you discovered it was missing?”

  “The Emperor’s three sisters: Princess Caroline, Princess Pauline and Princess Élisa. Two of their equerries: Dupré and Saint Victor, I think their names are. Our workmen, Jacques, Christophe and myself, of course.”

  “What about Madame Margueritte and the two female servants?”

  “Madame was out, or I would have sent for her to attend to the Princesses.”

  “Is that usual?” Fournier asked.

  “Madame is very tactful and often assists us with important visitors. A woman deals better with other women.”

  “What about the maids?”

  “Neither of them would dare to come into the workshop while the Princesses were still here. Louise brought us some lunch earlier, but she was only here for a moment or two.”

  “She never returned?”

  “She did, but only to remove the tray, Monsieur.”

  “Had the crown gone missing at that time?”

  “No. The patron was still working on it. I remember because Louise joked about trying it on. Monsieur Margueritte said that when she became a queen or an Empress, he would make her crown himself and give it to her as a present. We all laughed.”

  “So everyone who works here knew that you were making the crown?”

  “Of course, Monsieur. It would be impossible to ke
ep such knowledge confidential. Women’s tongues always run free, that’s for certain.”

  “So it was no secret?” Fournier asked, pausing in his writing and looking at Robart.

  “Half the world knew, Monsieur. When the Emperor chose the firms to make the regalia for himself, the Empress and the imperial family, the information was published in the Moniteur.”

  “How unwise of him.”

  “It seems to be so now, but it was an honour for us to be among those chosen and we were delighted at the time. We received a lot of new custom after the news was announced.”

  “It was also an open invitation to thieves. Did Monsieur Margueritte not realise that?”

  “He did. That is why he bought such a strong new safe, Monsieur, and took on extra apprentices. These young men are burly and fond of wrestling.”

  “But they weren’t here today when they were needed.”

  The man looked sheepish. “Sadly no, but then the crown wasn’t taken with violence. One moment it was there, the next, no one could find it. It seemed like magic, Monsieur.”

  “No magic but only a pair of light fingers,” Fournier said dryly.

  “I swear to you by all I hold sacred, Monsieur that I did not take it.”

  “I did not say you had,” I told him. “How long have you been employed by the firm of Margueritte?”

  “Many years, Monsieur, ever since I was apprenticed to the patron’s father.”

  “In that time, I imagine that you have handled many jewels?”

  “Certainly. We make wonderful jewellery here; we always have. Why even the late queen...” He stopped abruptly, clapped his hand over his mouth and looked at me in sudden fright. Calling Marie Antoinette ‘the Queen’ would have sent him straight to the guillotine only a few years ago.

  “I’m not here to examine your politics,” I said, soothingly. “Times change. Let’s go back to the issue at hand. You must have had plenty of opportunities to steal jewels that would be far easier to dispose of than so distinctive an item as the Empress’s crown?”

  “But yes.” He sighed and held out his open hands. “I have carried diamonds worth a king’s ransom many times, Monsieur.”