Bones of Paris (9780345531773) (48 page)

“Fortier tells me Le Comte had fifteen Displays on his bedroom wall. All had portions of photographs. He also found several typewriting machines, which he’s comparing to the letter you took.”

Stuyvesant got to his feet. “You look dog-tired. Get some sleep.”

“I’ve done nothing but sleep,” Doucet complained in a querulous voice.

“Yeah, losing a couple quarts of blood does that. However, your Sergeant told me not to leave Paris for a while, so when you get out, I’ll buy you a drink and some oysters. Build up your stamina.”

“I will hold you to it.”

Stuyvesant put out his hand again, glad for the man’s size. At the door, he discovered that Sarah had not gone for Doucet’s suggested fresh air. She was curled into a chair across the hallway, fast asleep.

Stuyvesant studied her, his tired body swaying with the surge of conflicting emotions. Love and guilt, regret and loss and thanks, all of it boiling down to pure and simple affection. After a moment, he let go of the door frame to look back to the room, knowing it was all on his face, letting the man see it anyway.

“Oh, and Doucet? Make sure Sarah sends me an invitation to the wedding.”

T
HIS IS A
work of fiction. Some of its characters share the names and general attributes of actual writers and artists of the early twentieth century. However, it must be said that Ernest Hemingway might well have bested Harris Stuyvesant in the boxing ring; the Théâtre du Grand-Guignol had no patron named Charmentier; Cole Porter does not appear to have been in Paris in September 1929; and there is no reason to suspect Man Ray of anything but genius.

Similarly, travelers to Montparnasse need not search for the rue Colle off the rue Vavin. It may have been there in 1929, but it is not there today.

Background information may be found on the book page for
The Bones of Paris
at
LaurieRKing.com
.

M
ARY
R
USSELL
N
OVELS

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice

A Monstrous Regiment of Women

A Letter of Mary

The Moor

O Jerusalem

Justice Hall

The Game

Locked Rooms

The Language of Bees

The God of the Hive

Beekeeping for Beginners: A Short Story

Pirate King Garment of Shadows

K
ATE
M
ARTINELLI
N
OVELS

A Grave Talent To Play the Fool

With Child

Night Work The Art of Detection

A
ND

A Darker Place

Folly Keeping

Watch Califa’s Daughters
(as Leigh Richards)

Touchstone

The Bones of Paris

Laurie R. King is the
New York Times
bestselling author of thirteen Mary Russell mysteries, five contemporary novels featuring Kate Martinelli, and the acclaimed novels
A Darker Place, Folly, Keeping Watch
, and
Touchstone
. She lives in Northern California.

www.​laurierking.​com

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