by Pirate Irwin
“Don’t be so pessimistic papa, I am returning at a good time when Bousquet is not the force he was and this Abwehr colonel, well I am not sure yet how deeply involved he was. If it is just the burglary then I might let it slide.
“I am more interested as to whether you have had any news of Leon,” Gaston asked referring to his brother.
“The limited news I get he seems to still be alive, so let us hope that remains the case. I just pray that if we all survive the war that he will still talk to me,” said Pierre.
“Yes, well it looks like he will be the one who collects the victor’s spoils now, doesn’t it, so we will have to kneel before him,” said Gaston dryly.
“As for Vanessa, well all I hear is bad stories about her lover Bonny and his gang of thugs. You know that Lafont has actually sworn an oath to Hitler and goes round wearing SS uniform! I mean we may have collaborated in the interests, rightly or wrongly for France, but this common criminal has gone beyond the pale,” said Pierre grimacing.
“Vanessa of course thinks it is all hilarious and fun, of course she would as she is getting rich from all their crimes.
“She won’t find it so amusing if the Resistance get hold of her. I keep on telling her to break off with Bonny but she refuses to contemplate any such thing. She always was a bloody fool,” he added.
Gaston nodded in agreement but truth be told he couldn’t feel the slightest bit of sympathy for his sister, who had always sought out the richest man in the room or the most powerful and paid scant regard to advice from her family.
She deserved a good lesson and he told his father as much.
“However, Gaston don’t you think that this girl, Suchet, deserves about as much sympathy as Vanessa. Ok von Dirlinger might not be in the same category of criminality as Bonny but he is still a German and that girl must have been aware of the risks she ran of consorting with him,” said Pierre.
“Your mother and I are concerned that perhaps this case has had a detrimental effect on your health and your mind.
“Antoinette of course detests Bousquet as much as you do, but she isn’t risking her life by opposing him so openly and in accusing him of a capital crime.
“If you think that by achieving a condemnation of Bousquet that you will receive clemency or better justice from the Allies should they win then I think you will be sorely disappointed.
“You have after all served the regime, and done so after returning as a prisoner of war which should have convinced you not to work alongside the Germans,” said Pierre.
Gaston was irritated by his father taking the moral high ground, given he had collaborated at a much higher level than he had done, and after all he had been spending most of his time back in the police deliberately ignoring dubious orders.
As for his mother he could barely believe that after helping him convince his father to talk to Petain now she was anxious for him to return to Nice and see out the war performing mundane domestic duties.
“Papa I will speak openly with you. Your lecture would be all the more effective if it was not for the fact you have spent the majority of the war bending over for the Nazis, allowing your superior to pass laws that would have shamed Robespierre and the Committee for Public Safety during the Terror,” said Gaston.
He could see his remarks had angered his father but he persisted.
“I mean if you had seen what I did in July last year. Your secretary general of police, the man chosen by Petain, implementing acts that made me physically sick and ashamed of being French then you would regret ever being associated with this regime, this joke of a government that exists here.
“I think that you would do well to visit one of the spas here and cleanse yourself of the crimes that have been committed in France’s name not just by the Nazis but willingly by Frenchmen.
“You can sneer at Lafont and Bonny, and by god they are execrable, but don’t you dare use them as a moral guide, for you have made them possible.
“You and Petain hide behind the fact that laws were passed so they are legal, well I’m sorry but what democratic body passed them, did the people vote for them?
“No, an elderly former war hero and a bunch of second rate ideologues and profiteers voted to pass them into law, even decreeing Jews were no longer entitled to be French citizens before it was asked of them by the Germans.
“So don’t sit there and preach to me about Marguerite Suchet and was she worth risking one’s life for,” said Gaston.
His father looked shocked at this outburst, but he pulled himself together and stood up.
“Gaston, you are my son and I love you because of that. However, your comments are reprehensible and go beyond what a son should say to one’s father, a man who has always served France as he believes is best,” said Pierre his tone calm but glacial.
“I cannot allow you to remain here and continue to insult me and one of France’s finest men. But for him France and its allies would have lost the last War.
“We have stood and done our best again for France while others fled across the water and moaned and whined and falsely claimed they were the government in waiting. We have remained to try and give the young of France a future albeit in the hardest of circumstances.
“Yes, certain things have taken place, which are, in normal times, illegal but we decided that a little bit of give here would allow us to survive as a country.
“Those acts you refer to well I’m sorry you were a witness to them but they were not crimes committed against French people. They were for the most part foreign Jews, who had overstayed their welcome and many lest you forget were not even legally residents of the country.
“So I have no regard for your remarks as I find them totally disproportionate and grossly defamatory.
“I would like you to leave now Gaston, what becomes of you in Paris well I leave to you, but honestly unless you change your attitude I fear that it will be your funeral the next time our paths cross.
“It goes without saying that you disappoint me, that you at the age of 39 think like a naive adolescent. I would prefer that you did not stop by at our room and wish your mother goodbye for it would only upset her gravely.
“I will not mention this discussion with her for as you can see she is not the strong person she once was. I also would ask you not to contact her or me again until such time as you have come to your senses.”
With that Pierre opened the door and with his eyes bowed beckoned Gaston to leave.
This he did willingly, too stunned at his father’s vicious defence of himself and his superiors to offer any kind of response. In any case he realized that it would be pointless to do so for his father had pinned his colours to the mast of Petain and he was willing to sink with him.
Gaston for his part was not willing to join his father and sister in the dock either of history or if it came to it, show trials.
Solving the Suchet case or at least feeling he had enough evidence to accuse someone officially with the murder would suffice he believed to avoid such a fate.
The only problem now was that he really was on his own. There would be no safety net were Bousquet or von Dirlinger to turn on him using their power to crush him and that made him feel extremely uneasy.
*
Lafarge returned to Nice crestfallen over his row with his father, realizing that while they may make up eventually, their relationship would never be as warm as it had been prior to that.
He worried too that should Bousquet hear of their row he would feel he could do as he wanted with Lafarge without being concerned of the reaction from Vichy.
At the same time Lafarge felt he had the tacit support of Petain to bring down Bousquet and that would not change, though, were the Germans to oppose such a move then he really would be alone.
How Bousquet would react to to his being reinstated would be interesting, would he feel that it was another sign that he was finished in his present role or would he have Lafarge arrested on some spurious charge?
All these questions swirled round Lafarge’s head as he entered the house, but the confusion and anxiety were swept away once he heard the tinkle of the piano and the laughter of the children playing upstairs.
He entered the library where Isabella was playing and saw from behind that she had a student with her.
For Isabella had decided that it wasn’t fair for her wealthy father to pay for everything. Thus being a talented pianist she had advertised for students, and there were many, both male and female, who had availed themselves of this opportunity at the reasonable rate his wife charged.
Isabella heard him enter the room and turned, he raised a finger to his lips and made to leave but his wife touched the woman’s arm to stop her playing and got up to kiss her husband on the lips.
He enjoyed the moment until he saw over her shoulder who her student was. It was Aimee. His legs nearly gave way but he steadied himself and smiled at her as she too rose up from the piano and made to come over to him.
“Well hello again Gaston,” she said smiling, her tone warm, and lit a cigarette.
Lafarge looked at her and observed that being on the run had not left many marks. While her face was made up it didn’t appear to be hiding any marks. Nor did money seem to have been a problem as she was smartly–dressed, a dark green suit highlighting her perfect figure.
He by contrast felt his pangs of anxiety return and he made straight for the drinks cabinet to fix himself a stiff vodka and tonic, offering the women one as well, which they both accepted.
The way Isabella had kissed him suggested that Aimee had not revealed much, but he would have to be careful about what he said so as not to make a mistake about how well they knew each other.
What he really wanted was to be alone with her and find out what she wanted from him. Was she there to put a bullet in him, which he could understand after betraying her, her brother and sister–in–law, or simply to destroy his marriage?
He had to admire her investigative powers, of tracking him down when she herself was on the run, but all these questions would have to wait.
“My my Gaston you are a discreet soul. You never told me that your line of work involved meeting such beautiful women,” teased Isabella.
If only you knew the truth, thought Lafarge.
“Yes, well darling there are some bonuses. These days they are few but I shared an enjoyable few hours with Aimee on a train journey last year. No doubt she told you that,” replied Lafarge to which thankfully Isabella said she had.
“So Aimee how impressive that you came and found me,” said Lafarge, thinking it best to pay a compliment to start with.
She smiled and took a sip of her drink.
“Well as you know Gaston my acting career was not going in the direction I wanted it to and so I decided that I would prefer to live in a warmer climate far away from Paris, then of course the Germans took a similar decision.
“I came across the advertisement for piano lessons by a Madame Isabella Lafarge and I thought hmm there can’t be too many of that name living in Nice.I don’t know if you remember but you told me all about your domestic arrangements,” said Aimee still smiling.
Lafarge winced and tried to recall if he had, and then thought he must have at some point.
“Of course well it’s a lovely surprise to see you again. Are you planning to stay here long? I imagine it will take you a while to become a good enough pianist to change career,” said Lafarge, hoping that she would say she was leaving for another destination soon.
“No, I think I will stick to the day job, I am stubborn as you know and I believe with change certain to come I can benefit from that.
“So I am thinking of returning to Paris and seeking out Guitry again for he can perhaps at last help me properly. Although I know you also have acquaintances in the theatrical world so perhaps you could help too,” she said flashing her catlike smile again.
“Do you know people like that Gaston? Another secret kept from me,” said Isabella playfully.
Gaston heaved a sigh of relief that his wife was so relaxed, for it had always been a rule between them that his cases were his alone and not to be shared with her. The Suchet case was exceptional because he had had to explain why he had suddenly turned up last year and without a job.
However, details about nights in Suzy Solidor’s cabaret and sleeping next to a lesbian maid were not ones he was willing to divulge. She didn’t really appreciate why he had returned to the police service so any hint of sordidness would only confirm her prejudices.
“Ah well as it happens I too am returning to Paris so maybe our paths will cross there, though, I would have thought you might wait a bit before making your grand entrance as change is still some way off,” said Lafarge.
“Well Gaston, thank you for your advice but I feel it is time for me to take a chance on that and besides, Guitry offers some form of protection. Why, he might even convince your friend René Bousquet that I am not worth the bother,” she said, draining the last of her drink.
The mention of Bousquet deepened Lafarge’s sense of foreboding.
Having to cope with him was bad enough but to also have a vengeful Aimee prowling the streets would mean he could never relax for a minute.
Being an actress and having access to all sorts of different disguises she could follow him without him knowing. It made him wish all of a sudden he did have a partner to watch his back.
Still too late to change a lifetime’s habits old son, he told himself. He would just have to look out for himself everywhere he went. He felt like answering that Bousquet had a penchant for actresses but thought better to keep his dry comments to himself in case he sparked an unwanted revelation from her.
“Ah yes our good friend the secretary–general. I take it from the fact you are returning to Paris your meeting went well Gaston,” asked Isabella as she gestured to her husband to refill their glasses which he obediently did.
Early evening sunlight filled the room as Gaston handed them their glasses and he suggested they go out to the garden and sit there, but both laughed and said the sun may be out but it was early December and they didn’t feel like catching a chill.
He shrugged his shoulders and returned to the sofa and took his place beside Isabella.
“Yes the meeting went as well as I could have hoped for, and I am to leave in a couple of days. Hopefully it won’t take too long and I can return within a matter of weeks,” he said, suddenly feeling weary.
They carried on chatting for half an hour about South America mostly, anything but the case and the war which came as a relief to Lafarge, before Aimee said she should be leaving as she had a dinner to attend with some of her old theatrical friends.
Lafarge walked her to the door and down the steps to the gate, while Isabella said she would get the children ready for bed. He felt huge pangs of guilt as he opened the gate for Aimee and wanted to explain everything but as he opened his mouth to speak she took his arm and raised her fingers to his lips.
“There’s no need to explain Gaston, well at least not now. I just wanted you to know that I haven’t disappeared. You will get to explain yourself someday whether it be to me or to some court, I will let you mull over that conundrum while you kiss your children good night,” she said.
With that she kissed him on the lips and walked with her usual confident gait down the road leaving Lafarge to ponder whether returning to Paris really was such a good idea, or would it be best to leave France behind and try to get on a boat to Argentina.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
In the end Lafarge decided to take the train to Paris, but at the same time realised that if he came back alive he and his family would have to leave France for a while.
Isabella was delighted with his decision as she was disillusioned with the France she had once so loved and found to be the most cultured and magical place she had visited in Europe.
Despite her father having Fascist sympathies, born out of his fervent admiration for Argentina�
��s own despot Juan Peron, she had wearied of their ideology and found their hatred for anything but pure Aryan stock repellent.
She had already helped to hide several Jews and Communists and fund their trips over the border into Spain. But now the time had come for her to think of her children and their future and it did not belong on a continent that whatever the outcome of the war would take years to recover.
Lafarge was relieved too that Isabella had agreed with him. Whilst he had not got too many things right of late with regard to giving advice to family members he knew that he was on a winner when it came to suggesting Argentina as a destination.
Thus he climbed onto the early morning train to Paris in a brighter mood than he had experienced of late, but it soon darkened when he saw that he would have to share his compartment with two Wehrmacht officers.
The train was surprisingly not very full and the officers quickly found themselves another compartment much to his relief, courteous, though they were.
It struck Lafarge that if these two were representative of the Wehrmacht they looked a lot less self–confident than their fellow officers had done a year ago and normally they would have suggested it be he who looked for another compartment.
Thus nicely settled on his own, he read two of the woeful papers that had acted as odious mouthpieces for the Nazis since they entered Paris.
Le Nouveau Temps, owned by another of Abetz’s old friends Jean Luchaire, whose daughter had a Luftwaffe captain as her lover, and Aujourd’hui, edited by the loathsome anti–Semite Georges Suarez.
Of course there were no commentaries about the less confident air of officers in the Wehrmacht or their colleagues in other services, only that everything was progressing as planned, though, here Lafarge noted with glee, slower than expected in the East.
By that very admission even the diehard supporters were conceding that things were not alright at all. Aside from that there were the usual vicious diatribes against all enemies of Vichy and the Nazis : Jews, gypsies, communists and freemasons.