“We here in Paris are inclined to agree,” De Vincent said in his usual laconic fashion.
“Please do us the favor of bringing all of us up to date on that unfortunate crime.”
Grégoire gave as thorough a presentation as he could while still as brief as necessary.
“On fifteen August 1962, General Malboeuf was shot to death in broad daylight with a crowd of people watching in the Jardin du Luxembourg Park in Paris. He died of a single gunshot wound to his back. We believe there was only one killer, but witness evidence varies considerably. Some witnesses claim more than one, and there is no consensus on a description of the murderer or murderers. There are people who described the killer as a black or Moroccan man, some an older limping man, some even a blond woman. He was seen as tall, short, old, young, male, or female. The most common description was of an older man in a gray morning suit wearing a large fedora.
“My staff has done a considerable amount of effort to delve into Gen. Malboeuf’s life to determine if he had enemies or others with reason to kill him. He had a mistress who was well known to his wife of many decades; so, there is the potential for a motive involving jealousy. He had children who stand to inherit his considerable fortune. He was a career army general who accumulated virulent enemies along the way. Those included soldiers who considered his disciplinary measures to be overly harsh and the remnants of a German SS army division manned entirely by expatriate Frenchmen. There are rumors of atrocities connected with the surrender of members of that division, and it is not outside the realm of possibility that family members of that division have carried grudges for all of these years since the war’s end. Following the war, he was active in the efforts to track down Nazis and Nazi sympathizers; so, the ODESSA probably harbors keen resentment against our murder victim.
“Those areas of inquiry have not been leading us anywhere as yet, but we are beginning to focus our attention on his postwar activities in Algeria—in the unfortunate Algerian war. I presume you are well familiar with that debacle.”
His listeners made brief replies to assure him that they—like everyone in France—were all too familiar.
“I will spare you the details except to say that the general was stationed in Algeria in the mid-1950s and early 1960s when forces for independence from France—largely the FLN [National Liberation Front]—launched the Algerian War of Independence. That uprising pitted the nation of France against the fighters associated with the several independence movements. The vicious struggle lasted from 1954 to 1962 and finally resulted in Algeria gaining its independence. Gen. Malboeuf and his fellow senior officers pledged themselves to defending the honor of France—as they perceived it—to the bitter end. The war—like many civil and revolutionary conflicts—descended into barbarity and produced thousands of lasting examples of personal and group-defined enmities. Gen. Malboeuf and many of his colonial compatriots entered into the civil war between loyalist Algerians supporting a French Colonial Algeria and insurrectionist Algerian Muslim fighters. The conflict shook the foundations of the French Fourth Republic (1946–58) and led to its eventual collapse and a legacy of enmity.
“President De Gaulle finally decided that the war in Algeria could not be defended politically on the international stage. Finally, he announced that France would no longer contest the colony’s eventual independence. Gen. Malboeuf very publically voiced his anger and his sense that Frenchmen and the army were deeply offended. The French settlers and the French city-dwellers—joined by the dissident members of the army—were so enraged that they staged two armed uprisings. Reluctantly de Gaulle sent regular army units and fanatical foreign Legionnaires—which included remnants of the German POWs who had no homes to which they could return—to the colony to suppress the settlers and troops. During the second uprising, in April, 1961—with Gen. Malboeuf as one of the principal leaders—a threat of invasion of France itself was raised in what came to be known as the Generals’ Putsch, as you well know. Rebel paratroops landed on French soil. Retaliation was swift, excessively brutal, and decisive. In the Paris massacre of 1961—De Gaulle’s government and police machine gunned dissidents and herded them into the River Seine to drown. The Algerian rebels and angry colonial soldiers made several attempts on de Gaulle’s life.
“The massacre and the assassination attempts were kept secret for some time. De Gaulle won decisively and was then faced with the thorny issue of what to do with the French generals in Algeria who had defied him in armed conflict. De Gaulle was a thoroughly unforgiving man, but also a pragmatist. His overwhelming victory could easily have been capped by executions or other draconian punishments visited upon his officers. He knew–however–that reprisals would expose to the world and to his own people the fragmentation of the French armed forces and would explode the myth of French honor and cohesiveness.
Against the advice of many of his senior officers who had remained loyal, President de Gaulle decided to show leniency … with a price. Every Algerian officer of the rebellion who preferred life over execution chose to resign his commission, to retire into silent obscurity, to foreswear any political activities for the rest of his life, and to accept a subsistence-level pension. Gen. Malboeuf was one of those.
“His life depended on his silence, and so he kept quiet and chose obscurity over the chance of almost certain death for ever speaking out. Gaullists retaliated against many of the old-guard army men and searched them out. Many were taken away and disappeared over the next few years; a few had unfortunate and unexplained accidents; and a few were frankly murdered with the murders never solved. Our working hypothesis is that Malboeuf was likely one of the casualties. We have something more than just policemen’s hunches. Malboeuf’s mistress reported a visit by one of de Gaulle’s administration figures—a man named Louis Charles de la Reynie. Ring a bell?”
“We are all familiar with de la Reynie. A rough character, reputed to do some of the president’s dirty work,” Eugène remarked.
“Another man mentioned by the mistress may prove to be a problem for us all. I have to be certain that what is said here is kept in strictest confidence.”
“You have my word.”
“The man is one you certainly know: Jean-Baptiste Berryer.”
Berryer was the sitting lieutenant general of police, the commander of all police forces in France.
“My associate and I warned the mistress that she would do well to be careful of that man who has the ear of de Gaulle and a reputation as a most political and unforgiving man. We should all know to tread lightly.”
Unseen by De Vincent, all of the listeners on the conference lines nodded their heads in agreement.
“One other man was mentioned by the mistress: Louis Thiroux d’Albert, whom she described as an ugly man with a deep scar on his left cheek and walks with a limp. At a reception for old veterans in Lyon, this d’Albert warned Gen. Malboeuf not to attend any more army gatherings. He told the general and his mistress that they were being watched, and the president might consider any further such attendance to be a violation of his promise not to associate with officers in public or private. It was the last army function the general ever attended.”
Louis Thiroux d’Albert was indeed a shadowy figure, and a man well known to INTERPOL. He was the head of de Gaulle’s intelligence service—the BCRA, or as it later became known—the SDECE [Service de documentation extérieure et de contre-espionnage, the Foreign Documentation and Counter-Espionage Service]—and a man more to be feared than Berryer or anyone else in government except de Gaulle himself. D’Albert was known to be—but seldom mentioned—the most senior officer in the SDECE, and one of the most feared individuals in French history.
Eugène asked only one other question, “Our brief research suggests that the esteemed general might have had dealings with organized crime, many members of whom sympathized with the Algerian generals against the Gaullists. Anything to add on that, Grégoire?”
“The general’s wife suggested—and his m
istress confirmed—that there was interaction between the general and perhaps his two sons and a Corsican syndicate criminal named Benedettu Paganucci. Seems that the mistress had previously had an affair with Paganucci. She insisted that the parting was amicable, which would seem to be the case since the general is known to have had business dealings with the Corsicans after he took up with the former mistress of the gangster. We haven’t ruled a gang killing out, but we don’t have any useful evidence.”
Haute Cuisine or Grande Cuisine Recipes
Note: Haute cuisine is characterized by meticulous preparation and elaborate, artful, and careful presentation of food by skilled chefs or teams of chefs—usually at a commensurately high price level—and accompanied by expensive wines. Georges Auguste Escoffier is credited with the change from regular French to haute [high] dining in 1900, which became known as cuisine classique.
Julia Potatoes—Serves 6-8
Ingredients
-2¼ lb peeled potatoes, 5 tbsp goose or duck fat, 6 cloves of chopped garlic, pinch of sea salt, pinch of ground peppercorns, parsley for garnish.
Preparation
-Slice potatoes as thinly as possible, no more than ¼ in. thick.
-Melt 2 tbsp of goose or duck fat in a large saucepan, adding potatoes and a pinch of salt once hot.
-Allow to simmer for 30 mins., turning occasionally with a spatula.
-Add in an additional 1 tbsp of goose or duck fat, along with chopped garlic, and cover for 2–3 mins. or until browned.
-Serve potatoes sprinkled lightly with salt, ground pepper, and parsley.
Ratatouille
Ingredients
¼ cp extra-virgin olive oil, 1 large onion chopped into chunks, 3 minced garlic cloves, 1 small red bell pepper, 1 small yellow bell pepper, and 1 small green bell pepper, all cut into 1 in. squares, 1½ pounds fresh tomatoes coarsely chopped (leave in skins and seeds), 1 small can tomato paste, ½ tsp dried thyme, ½ tsp dried rosemary, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 dried bay leaf, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, 1 med. unpeeled eggplant, cut into chunks, 2 average-sized unpeeled zucchini, cut into chunks.
Preparation
-Heat oil in a large pot with a heavy bottom over med. heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent, then add garlic and cook for an additional min. Once onions are a light golden color, add peppers and cook for five mins.
-Mix in tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, rosemary, basil, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Then add eggplant and zucchini and cook for~5 mins.
-Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender~30 mins. Remove bay leaf.
Sole Meunière
Ingredients
-½ cp all-purpose flour, Kosher salt and freshly ground black peper, 4 fresh sole fillets 3–4 oz each, 6 tbsps unsalted butter, 1 tsp grated lemon zest, 6 tbsps—3 lemons—freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 tbsp minced fresh parsley.
Preparation
-Preheat the oven to 200° F. Have 2 heat-proof dinner plates ready
-Combine flour, 2 tsps salt, and 1 tsp pepper in a large shallow plate. Pat the sole fillets dry with paper towels and sprinkle one side with salt.
-Heat 3 tbsps butter in a large (12-inch) saute pan over medium heat until it starts to brown. Dredge 2 sole fillets in the seasoned flour on both sides and place them in the hot butter. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 2 mins. Turn carefully with a metal spatula and cook for 2 mins. on the other side.
-While the second side cooks, add ½ tsp lemon zest and 3 tbsps lemon juice to the pan. Carefully put the fish fillets on the ovenproof plates and pour the sauce over them. Keep the cooked fillets warm in the oven while you repeat the process with the remaining 2 fillets. When they’re done, add the cooked fillets to the plates in the oven. Sprinkle with the parsley, salt, and pepper and serve immediately.
Classic French Soufflé
Ingredients
-Melted butter, to grease, dried (packaged) breadcrumbs, to dust, 50 g (~⅓ cp butter), 40 g (¼ cp) plain flour, 1 cp milk, 1½ cps coarsely grated vintage cheddar cheese, 4 eggs, separated.
Preparation
-Preheat oven to 375° F. Place a baking tray in oven. Grease a 6-cp capacity ovenproof dish with butter. Dust with breadcrumbs.
-Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Cook flour, stirring for 2 mins. or until it bubbles and comes away from the side. Remove from heat. Gradually whisk in half the milk until mixture is smooth. Gradually whisk in remaining milk until smooth and combined. Whisk over medium heat for 3–4 mins. or until sauce boils and thickens. Add cheddar and stir until cheddar melts and mixture is smooth.
-Remove saucepan from heat. Quickly whisk in egg yolks until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Use an electric beater to beat egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until firm peaks form. Be careful not to overbeat the egg whites. Add ⅓ of egg white to cheddar mixture. Use a large metal spoon to fold. Repeat, in two more batches, with the remaining egg white.
-Spoon into prepared dish. Run your finger around the inside rim of the dish. Place on preheated baking tray. Bake for 25–30 mins. or until golden.
French Parisian Bistro Steak Tartare
Ingredients
-3 med. oil-packed, rinsed and minced anchovy fillets (adjust salt if added), 2 tsps brined and rinced capers, 3 tsps Dijon mustard, 2 lg egg yolks, 10 oz prime beef tenderloin cut into small dices, cover and refrigerate, 2 tbsps red onion and
2 tbsps Italian parsley leaves all finely chopped, 4 tsps olive oil, 3 dashes Tabasco sauce, 4 dashes Worcestershire sauce, ¾ tsp crushed chile flakes.
Preparation
-Keep beef covered and refrigerated until you are ready to use it. Combine anchovies, capers, and mustard in a nonreactive bowl. Using a fork or the back of a spoon, mash ingredients until evenly combined; mix in egg yolks.
-Use a rubber spatula to fold remaining ingredients into mustard mixture until thoroughly combined. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately with toast points or French fries.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Headquarters, Metropolitan Police Service/New Scotland Yard, Criminal Investigation Department [CID], Victoria Embankment, August 31, 1962
Eugene’s next call in the series was made the following day to New Scotland Yard, where he asked to speak to Detective Chief Inspector Lincoln Crandall-White, the New Scotland Yard senior homicide detective who had the lead in another recent case—the murder of Lieutenant-General Sir Cyril Goeffrey Robert Hill-Brownwell, RA, Ret.
“This is Crandall-White,” the detective answered crisply—his usual professional telephone pattern.
“Thank you for taking my call, Detective Chief Inspector. I am Eugène Dentremont, Senior Detective Chief Superintendent of INTERPOL. I am calling in regards to your investigation of General Hill-Brownwell. I believe I can be of some help.”
“How would that be, Senior Detective Chief Superintendent?”
“Before we get down to details, would it be possible to do this on a first name basis, Inspector? The titles are awkward and tedious, in my opinion.”
“Efficiency is always best. My name is Lincoln, but people who know me call me, Linc.”
“I am Eugène.”
“What do you have for us, Eugène?”
“I will be very brief on the phone, Linc, but I can telex a ream of material on a series of murders that may well be related to yours. Would that be all right?”
“Of course. And I presume you intend the information to be kept in confidence?”
“Indeed, as both of us do in police matters; but especially in this case. I have recently learned of murders in Argentina, France, Germany, the USSR, and the United States that are very similar to yours. It is entirely possible that there are more to be found as we go along. While there are almost infinite possibilities that could be part of the cases and almost that many persons of interest, we at INTERPOL have formed a loosely arranged committee of fellow police officers to winnow down the field and to make all of our investigat
ions more manageable. This is what we have learned thus far that seems to have pertinence to all of the cases.”
Inspector Dentremont gave Detective Chief Inspector Crandall-White a succinct description of each of the murders and of the history of the victims—all of whom seemed to have made a great many enemies during their careers. He stressed the tentativeness of the information dredged up during the investigations in the several countries, but gave Linc the benefit of his long law enforcement experience’s hunch.
“I think the main thread is something that happened during or especially shortly after the war. There may be ties to organized crime; but, more likely, these killings are assassinations related to war time or to POW experiences. We are not neglecting the mountain of evidence that is accumulating about multiple avenues of investigation, but our group is moving in the direction of the military careers holding the secrets that are most germaine to all of our inquiries.”
“And you would like us Brits to join you with INTERPOL as the lead, is that about it?”
“Only as a central clearing house. We will serve and not be in the news, if you get my meaning. We have no desire or need to take credit or to interfere. I think a brief chat with some of your mates in the law enforcement community around the world will confirm how I work.”
“I am aware, Eugène. Your reputation precedes you, and we will be happy to join you. What can I do now?”
“Please bring me up to date on your case thus far, and then telex the larger amount of details to my office in Lyon. When you finish your communication, I will give you the name of my people who are receiving and collating the information and will ask that you get them in touch with one individual on your team who can link up with us. We want to keep this as tidy as possible.”
“All right Eugène, on the twenty-first of August, last, a call came in to the CID at the Metropolitan Police Service/New Scotland Yard reporting a witnessed murder in an exclusive men’s establishment—the London Army and Navy Club. As the name implies, it caters almost exclusively to military men—both past and current. As the detective chief inspector, I was assigned the case. DI Angela Snowden, DI Anthony Bourden-Clift, and I proceeded directly to the London club. There we found an elderly male victim, identified as Lieutenant-General Sir Cyril Goeffrey Robert Hill-Brownwell, RA, Ret. We interviewed an eyewitness, Major Algernon Donelly, and learned that the general was assassinated with an ice pick to his brain by a man the major presumed was one of the help because he was dressed in the uniform of the club attendant staff. Major Donelly attempted to capture the assailant, but was knocked unconscious in the struggle. The killer was not seen by anyone else and was not apprehended.
The Charlemagne Murders Page 42