Napoleon's Police

by Michele McGrath

  “About time he spared some thought for you and the other workers.”

  She smiled at the well known complaint and changed the subject. “Can you tell me about the case? You usually do.”

  “I would but I have to go. Let’s say it is a theft that must be solved very quickly.”

  “Intriguing. Hurry up and finish so you can tell me the story.”

  I was putting on my greatcoat when a sudden thought struck me. The old lady, Margueritte’s client, Madame de Herlay, was rich enough to patronise Leroy. So I asked Eugénie if she knew her.

  “Yes I do. Nice lady, polite. Not like some.”

  I let the greatcoat slip from my shoulders and sat down again.

  “Tell me about her.”

  “Why? Is she connected with this theft?”

  “Possibly, or more likely, one of her servants might be.”

  “Well…” Eugénie thought for a moment. “She’s a widow. About fifty, I would say. She must have been a beauty when she was young and is still attractive. She knows how to dress so she always appears elegant.”

  “Do you know anything about her husband?”

  “He was a Vicompte, or so they say. They fled to Switzerland during the Revolution. His estates were sold, not confiscated, so, of course, he couldn’t get them back afterwards. He died about two years ago, during the peace of Amiens. That’s when Madame returned to Paris. She’s been a customer of Leroy ever since.”

  “She’s rich?”

  “Very.”

  “His money or her own?”

  “Hers, I think, but I’m not sure. She can afford to buy whatever she likes,”

  “Children?”

  “A daughter, Cécile, who lives with her. Her son is somewhere in Germany.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Rumour has it he’s fighting for the Austrians, but that could just be malicious gossip.”

  “Plenty of that in Paris. Are they Royalists?”

  “Almost certainly or they were once. The old lady doesn’t talk about politics.”

  “Wise of her.”

  “She’s nice, Alain. Don’t offend her, please.”

  “I’ll try not to unless there is a pressing need.”

  “How exactly is she involved in this case?”

  “Her servant brought a message that was false. It served to draw someone away from the scene of the theft.”

  “Then I would question the servant, not his mistress.”

  “Lefebvre’s going to do that but we’ll have to question her as well.”

  “Give her my regards if it will help you. She likes me. She says I remind her of a close friend of hers when she was a girl.”

  I stopped and looked at her as a thought struck me. Why not? It would not be the first time Eugénie had helped me to solve a case.

  “Chérie?”

  “Yes?” She had picked up my greatcoat and was holding it ready for me to put on.

  “Could you find an excuse to visit Madame de Herlay? If she likes you, you may find out more than I can from her.”

  Eugénie stared at me and then she frowned as she answered, “I can go there easily enough. We are making dresses for herself and Cécile. Tomas will let me visit her if I ask him to. I’ll say that we need to check her measurements again before we cut out the next piece. I will say there was some mistake and the figures I noted down before are not clear. Getting her to talk to me about anything but trivialities will be more difficult though. She is a great lady and I am only a seamstress.”

  “Since the Revolution, we are all equal.”

  Eugénie smiled. “You and I might believe that but not everybody does. Rich and poor still exist. She is rich and we are poor.” She stopped and stared into the fire.

  “What are you thinking about?” I asked.

  “Cécile de Herlay has a personal maidservant who often accompanies her when she comes to the shop, a girl named Jeanette. We are about the same age and she sometimes chats with me while she is waiting. I could talk to her. Most maids know things about their mistresses and will gossip about them, provided they do not feel that they are betraying a trust. What do you want me to find out?”

  I described Madame de Herlay’s possible involvement in the theft and the questions that needed to be asked.

  “Don’t hope for too much, Alain. I have no authority to question any of them. I will have to try find out without prompting Jeanette or making her suspicious. She seems to like working for the family and would not want to get them into trouble or herself for that matter. If they think she has been telling tales, she could lose her job. I’ve met a lot of these old ladies. Most of them are far more spiteful than Madame de Herlay, but she wouldn’t pardon Jeanette is she found out she had been gossiping. I must be careful about what I say to her.”

  “I understand. Do your best and thank you for trying.”

  “If I do find out anything, should I leave a message for you at the bureau as usual?”

  “No don’t. Laurent knows nothing about this affair and I want to keep it that way. He’d certainly open any letter you left and ‘forget’ to tell me. The barman at the Rose des Neiges, will give me a note. I’ll be meeting there with Fournier and Lefebvre from time to time. If it’s really urgent and cannot wait, go to the Ministry and speak to Réal, the deputy, but no one else. Say that you have information for me about my current case. He will find me.”

  “It must be important if Réal is involved.”

  “It is, but that is all I can tell you for now, Chérie.”

  “Very well. I will do my best. I’ll ask Tomas tomorrow and hopefully have something for you soon.”

  “Thank you, my love.” I kissed her and put on my greatcoat. I went to the high shelf and took down the pistol that I always keep there together with my bullets and powder flask. I put these into my pocket and I picked up my swordstick.

  “Is this case dangerous?” Eugénie asked looking at my weapons with anxiety written all over her face. She worries about me. After all, her father was stabbed to death on one of our cases.

  “Probably not. I don’t think so but it’s better to be prepared. These are no use to me on the shelf if things do get nasty. Don’t worry. I’m just being cautious and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “Before the coronation, please. I want to see it with you.”

  I smiled and kissed her, crossing my fingers that, by that time, I would be home with her. Also the Emperor would once more have a crown to place on his new Empress’s head.

  Chapter 6

  8 Frimaire, Year XIII

  (Thursday, November 29, 1804)

  Fouché’s eyes narrowed when I told him the startling direction in which our investigation had proceeded.

  “You’re sure these workmen aren’t the ones we want?” he asked, a degree of shock in his voice as he realised the alternatives.

  “No. They might be the thieves. They had the opportunity especially if they were all working together, but they have had numerous opportunities to steal less conspicuous items. They handle gold and jewels every day. Also Margueritte vouches for them and I think he’s the type of man who would be careful before he trusted anyone too much. If one of his workers were dishonest, it should have come to light before now. Two of them have worked there for years. The apprentice stayed on the other side of the room and never came near to where the crown was lying. So, unless everyone is telling lies, he had no opportunity to take the crown. I sent an agent to Margueritte’s and asked Garnier to search the place again. He’ll take it apart if he has to. If the crown is there, he’ll find it. It’s not the type of item that can be accidentally mislaid.”

  Fouché sat back and raised steepled fingers to his lips. Then he sighed. “Garnier will be good at that. He possesses just the right amount of menace. Perhaps someone will be induced to talk by him. It would be so much easier to blame the workmen.”

  “But if Garnier does not find the crown..?”

  Fouché frowned. “Finding
the crown is undoubtedly our most important task. Arresting the suspect is of less concern at the moment. But let me be quite clear about this. You are saying that the suspects include the three Princesses and two of their equerries?”

  I nodded. “I made the workmen recreate the scene for me. Princess Élisa and both the equerries stood near to the bench on which the crown was lying. They had the best opportunity of all. The other two sisters passed nearby as they left the room, but did not linger. None of them can be excluded yet. Even if they prove to be completely innocent, they are witnesses to the event and may lead us to the true culprit. So I am asking for your permission to question them.”

  “The equerries are no problem, but even I cannot allow you to question members of the imperial family. Only the Emperor can do that. I hoped to reveal this affair to him, holding the crown in my hand. However, this cannot be kept from him any longer, under the circumstances.” He rang a small bell and a lackey came into the room.

  “My cloak and hat. Have my carriage ready for me immediately.” The lackey bowed and left to carry out his instructions.

  “Come with me,” Fouché said, rising. “The Emperor will undoubtedly want to question you and we can talk further as we travel.” I grimaced at the thought and then hoped he did not see my expression. If he had, he ignored me. Perhaps he felt, as I did, apprehensive about Napoléon’s reaction to the news we were bringing him.

  “Would any of the suspects recognise the crown for what it was?” Fouché asked me as we jolted our way towards the palace.

  “I don’t know about the equerries, but Margueritte told me that all the Princesses had seen it. They commented on it when they came to the workshop on other occasions. It was incomplete then, but the basic shape has not changed…” I hesitated.

  “You have had a sudden thought, what is it?” Fouché asked me swiftly.

  “It’s strange. None of the visitors mentioned the crown today, although it was lying there in full view of everyone.”

  “Unusual. Someone should have said something, unless there was a good reason for their silence,” Fouché said, frowning. “That in itself is suspicious. Perhaps it was not there? If the workman is lying that is possible.”

  “Indeed, Monseigneur. But if he is lying, where did he put it? He never left the room and the others vouch for his presence the whole time. It would have to be a conspiracy.”

  “Perhaps it is. It would be the simplest solution.”

  “Yet we have found no evidence.”

  “Garnier may be lucky. Let us hope so.” Silence fell for a while. Then Fouché said, as if musing, “If one of the Princesses did not take the crown, they may well be protecting their equerries.”

  “It’s possible. Fournier has gone to question them now. He’ll find out as much about them as he can. There is a suggestion that one of them, Dupré, may be in debt, which would give him a reason for committing the theft.”

  “Do not forget that there may be several other reasons besides money for this robbery to occur.” Fouché said and I nodded.

  Thoughts of alternatives motives had been niggling at me for hours. The thief would have to be willing to wait for months or years to see his money. If the theft had been planned, then Margueritte’s employees were the culprits and were working together. This theft did not seem like that to me. Conspiracies are rare because the more people involved, the more likely one of them is to crack and implicate the others. The workers seemed nervous when we questioned them but not quaking with terror. Jacques, in particular, did not seem to be the type of youngster who was courageous enough to be part of a plot. I would not have trusted him with the secret of my great-aunt’s age never mind the theft of a crown. If by any chance he was in a plot, Garnier was just the man to force the truth out of him. I had no evidence to support this theory, but the idea of a profit motive felt odd to me. Over the last few cases I learned the hard way to pay attention to my instincts. They have been right more often than wrong in various situations. If my feelings were correct this time, the theft was spontaneous.

  If this was impromptu, there were too many coincidences. Everything happened so fast and in the presence of a number of the most unlikely witnesses. The message from Madame de Herlay argued against this, though. The false summons could easily be a ruse to lure Margueritte from the scene of the crime. Otherwise it was a mistake and that, at this moment, seemed unlikely. If it was a ruse, who had instigated it? One of the workers or someone else? If we could find out, then we would be near to a solution of the whole problem.

  On the other hand, the thief might simply have seized an opportunity when it was offered and acted on it. If we discounted the workmen, then the Princesses or their equerries must be guilty. It was a simple as that. They were the only other people present. Yet who would ever expect members of the Emperor’s family or of his court to act like that? I wondered if I had missed something. It was possible. If I had, I hoped fervently I would discover it soon. My heart sank. Then I realised that Fouché was continuing to speak and I had not heard some of his words,

  “…The Princesses and their equerries are not likely to agree to be questioned willingly?” I nodded since he seemed to expect an answer from me. “This event plays into the Bonapartes’ hands. None of them wants the Empress to be crowned. One must presume that the equerries share their opinions or at least would not openly run counter to them. If the crown has vanished, then, guilty or innocent, no one will want it to be found. You will need all your tact and address to find out anything at all. Try not to anger the Princesses unless it is necessary.”

  “I’ll try,” I said and there must have been doubt in my voice because Fouché smiled his thin smile. I did not ask him if he would come to my rescue if I made a mess of it. I am aware that Fouché considers the impact of any action on his own position first. He would not put himself in jeopardy to save a member of his staff. I doubt he would support his own brother if to do so was against his interests. That is why he has survived so long in the murky political arenas of the Revolution and the Directory. I have worked for him for four years and he has shown me a certain amount of favour, but I never trust him completely. So far, I have survived too. I crossed my fingers for luck and hoped to do so again.

  All too soon for me, we reached the palace. Fouché insisted on being admitted to the Emperor’s presence immediately. This obviously did not please Napoléon, who was frowning when we came into his salon. He did not stand or walk down the room to greet us as he usually did with visitors, a bad sign.

  “Sit down,” he ordered. “What is so important that you need to interrupt me? I am very busy as you can imagine.”

  “I am sorry, Sire,” Fouché said with a bow, “but this matter is urgent.”

  We sat down and Fouché began to tell him about the theft.

  “What?” Napoléon thundered, springing to his feet and slamming his fist on the desk, causing Fouché and I to jump. “You are telling me that the Empress’s crown has been stolen and that one of my sisters may be the thief?”

  He was scarlet with anger. I looked at him apprehensively. Although I had fought in two battles under his command, this was the first time I had seen him up close for some time. He had grown stout and his black hair was receding a little. The eager young general had turned into a middle-aged tyrant in a towering rage. I was glad I rarely moved in his circles. I only wished I was not standing before him at this moment. Fouché, however, knows him much better than I do and he did not seem ruffled in the least.

  “Calm yourself, Sire, I beg you,” he said. “Your sisters may prove to be only witnesses to the theft. Dupré and Saint Victor also had the opportunity.”

  “Dupré does what my sister, Pauline, tells him to do, or what he knows will please her. Saint Victor is too stupid to act on his own initiative.”

  Napoléon obviously knew that Dupré was rumoured to be the latest of Princess Pauline’s many lovers.

  “My sisters would be delighted if the Empress’s crown wasn�
�t available for the coronation,” Napoléon continued. “They do not like my wife and they do nothing but thwart me; after all I have done for them!” He swung round to gaze out of the long window and I could see his hands clenching and unclenching behind his back as he controlled his rage. Then he turned to face us again.

  “Very well. You may question them, Fouché, but go yourself. In a matter of this importance, why did you not investigate personally from the very beginning?”

  “Because Duval has acted most successfully for me before,” Fouché said. He reminded Napoléon of the affairs that had brought me to his immediate attention, the case of the missing Englishman among them. “At your Majesty’s command I will, of course, go myself, but I believe that an oblique approach is more likely to be beneficial at this time. People guard their tongues closely when they speak with me nowadays. They rarely let slip anything of importance. Duval, who is unknown to them, may discover things that I cannot. They may think he can be fooled until they find out their error.”

  For a moment both men stared into each other’s eyes and then the Emperor nodded, thoughtfully.

  “There is something in what you say. Very well, do as you think best, but remember that speed is of the essence. The crown must be found before dawn on the 11th of Frimaire at the latest.”

  “It will be, Sire, I’m sure of it,” Fouché agreed. “Duval will need written authorisation from you to show to the imperial ladies. Princess Caroline, in particular, is unlikely to accept anything less.”

  The Emperor went over to his desk and scribbled some hasty words onto a sheet of paper which he thrust at me.

  “Tell my sisters that, in this, they will, for once, obey my commands or risk dire consequences. I will not allow myself or the Empress to be made ridiculous before the whole of France, by my family or anyone else.”

  “If one of the Emperor’s sisters really did take the crown, what would happen to her?” I asked Fouché later, on our way back to the Ministry.

  “Very little, as long as the crown was found in time for the coronation. The Emperor is unlikely to denounce and punish a thief in his own family. It would cause far too much scandal. He would find ways of making her uncomfortable, but that is all.”