Croissant Murder (A Patisserie Mystery with Recipes) (8 page)

“Come on. The whole team is pretty incompetent. You know the Paris police—are they ever on the ball?”
 

Mathieu sighed. “I suppose not, but there’s nothing I can do.”

“Yes, there is.
I’m
good at solving mysteries. I can help you find the killer.”
 

Mathieu looked up at her in surprise. “Really?”
 

“Sure. I’ve helped the inspector solve a number of crimes already.” She knew she was bragging a little, but she had to state her case. “Of course, I’m not guaranteeing anything, but I’ll give it my best shot. What about her workplace? Are there coworkers or clients who she didn’t get along with?”
 

“Nothing that I’m aware of. It all seems pretty harmonious there. She was going to be promoted, and the only thing she liked about this city was her workplace—and me.”

“Has she ever stepped on anyone’s toes to get to where she is now?”
 

“She’s very talented, beautiful and confident. I wouldn’t be surprised if people were jealous of her. But I don’t know who would be competing with her. If anybody hated her enough to want her dead, maybe Charlotte wouldn’t even have a clue.”
 

“What about you? What about your ex-girlfriend?”
 

Mathieu’s eyes widened. “You think Sarah could be a killer?”
 

“I’m not saying anything. I’m just trying to cover all the bases.”

“Sarah and I have a friendly relationship. We still keep in touch.”
 

“Why did you break up?”
 

“We were just better off as friends. Our relationship petered out when we realized how different we were. That was eight months ago. I met Charlotte last month and felt she was a better fit for me. Like I said, it’s better to be with someone who understands art, you know?”
 

“So what is Sarah doing now?”
 

“She does a few lingerie shoots for catalogs once in a while, but she also has a part-time job at one of Galeries Lafayette’s perfume booths.”
 

“Hmm. Does she have an online social media presence?”
 

“She has a Facebook fan page for her modeling.”
 

Clémence searched her name on her smartphone. The girl didn’t have a lot of fans, that was for sure—only ninety likes. She used to feel resentment toward Sarah for stealing Mathieu away more than two years ago, but the girl was now a salesgirl and her career was going nowhere. Clémence couldn’t help but pity her.
 

Unless, of course, she had killed Charlotte.
 

Chapter 10

After talking to Mathieu for another hour, she returned home and continued studying Sarah’s Facebook page on her laptop. Miffy barked at her heels in the kitchen.

“I know you want to walk, Miff, but I have to do some research right now. Can you wait?”
 

Miffy looked as if she understood. She began playing with a rubber dog bone in the corner. Clémence turned back to Sarah’s modeling photos. She was a gorgeous redhead with creamy skin, but her body shape was too curvy, not ideal for the stick-thin world of modeling. While she was incredibly beautiful, there was something awkward about her poses, as if she wasn’t in complete control of her features or her body, and wasn’t entirely comfortable being in front of the camera.
 

Clémence looked through Sarah’s friends list to see if they had any mutual friends. Mathieu was on it, of course. There were some names that Clémence vaguely recognized, but she wanted to find someone she knew well.
 

She thought about approaching Sarah herself, but there was less of a chance that she’d open up to her. Clémence preferred to ask a friend that Sarah was comfortable with to meet her and probe that friend with questions.
 

Just when she was about to give up on Sarah’s list of 3000 friends, she came across Madeleine Seydoux’s name.
 

She’d met Madeleine only recently after the whole debacle with Madeleine’s sister’s kidnapping. They’d reached out to each other several times in the past week. The kidnapping incident had bonded the girls in the short amount of time they’d known each other. Clémence figured she was the perfect person to ask.
 

When she pulled out her smartphone from her purse to make the call, she realized that she had two missed calls from Arthur, as well as a text message.
 

The message was simply a link. She clicked on it. It led to a gossip website,
Paris Social
, which had a special focus on Paris celebrities and socialites. This particular post featured a picture of her entering Mathieu’s house, taken earlier that day. Mathieu was embracing her. The headline read:
Clémence Damours returns to ex for the second time, cheats on boyfriend.
 

Clémence felt heat rising in her body.
Anger.
She was angry at the paparazzi scum who captured an innocent moment, and at Arthur for simply believing everything he read.
 

She immediately called Arthur. He didn’t pick up and she had to leave a message.

“Arthur, please, please don’t believe what they’re writing. It’s not true. I’m not cheating on you. The reason I went to visit Mathieu today was because his girlfriend was murdered last night. I’ll explain everything. Call me when you get this. Maybe you can help me? Just call me, please.”
 

He had to understand why she had to get involved. He
would
understand, wouldn’t he?
 

Next, she called Madeleine. She thought Madeleine might’ve been busy with work, but she picked up.
 

“Clémence, hello,” she answered brightly. “What’s new?”
 

“Well, actually, I’m in a bit of a pickle.” She explained about Mathieu’s girlfriend being killed.

“Oh, my God. Charlotte Lagrange. I’ve met her. How sad!”
 

“Did you know her well?”
 

“We’ve had a few conversations—you know, party small talk. So no, we weren’t close, but I can’t believe she was killed!”
 

“What would you guys talk about?”
 

“Mostly fashion, art, things like that. I don’t remember exactly. I talk to so many people at parties, although I did remember that she dressed to the nines when she came out. That girl had style.”
 

“Do you know of any enemies she might have had?”
 

“Hmm. I have no idea. You know how bitchy some of the other girls can get. I’m sure there were some who hated on her guts, but I really hope none of them would hate her enough to kill her!”

“It’s what I’m trying to find out,” Clémence said.
 

“Poor Mathieu. I hope he’s all right.”
 

“The thing is, I’m investigating a lead.”

“Really?” Madeleine exclaimed. “Who?”
 

“I hope you don’t take offence to this, but it’s Sarah. Sarah Jones. She’s a friend of yours, right?”
 

“Yes. Sarah. She used to come to parties with Mathieu and that’s how we became friends. She was an up-and-coming model, right? We weren’t too close either, but we used to see each other at parties all the time and she seemed like a nice girl, if a little timid. But she stopped going to parties a while ago. I haven’t seen her for months. Actually, I can’t remember the last time I saw her.”
 

“Why do you think she stopped coming?”
 

“I don’t know. She was tagging along with Mathieu at those things to begin with. I don’t think she enjoyed the spotlight. She was always by his side. Her confidence didn’t seem to be too high, and I always felt a bit bad for her so I’d try to talk to her and include her in conversation.”
 

“What do you know about her?”
 

“She’s Irish, but moved to Paris to study French literature, but she didn’t graduate because a modeling scout found her and she signed on to an agency. For a while, she was doing well with lingerie campaigns. The only thing really striking about her is her beauty. Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to have the personality to really succeed in the business. Plus she’d gained a bit of weight the last time I saw her. I mean, she looks fine in real life, but it didn’t fly in the fashion industry. But she’s a sweet girl. I don’t think she would’ve murdered Charlotte.”

“Who knows?” Clémence said. “Appearances can be deceiving. I really want to question her, but I was wondering if you can help me. She knows who I am, and I doubt she’d want to open up to me. Can you do me a favor and reach out to her? Ask her if she wants to have a quick coffee or something? I want to find out where she was last night, when the shooting happened. The murder is in the papers, but Charlotte wasn’t named in the articles, so it’s not common knowledge. She won’t suspect that you know that Charlotte’s dead. Are you up for it?”
 

“Sure. Sounds fun. I always wanted to be a spy, like in the movies! I can see if Sarah’s available tonight for a quick drink. Are you going to have me wear a
 
wire?”
 

Clémence chuckled. “I’m not so high tech. When you meet her, just call me and leave your phone on. I’ll tape your conversation from my end of the phone.”

“Oh, even better. It’ll be so much fun!”
 

Chapter 11

Madeleine called back twenty minutes later to inform Clémence that Sarah had been pleased to hear from her. She’d agreed to meet up with Madeleine in a small café in the ninth arrondissement near Galeries Lafayette, where she was working that day.
 

As Clémence and Madeleine chatted about their plan, Clémence went on Google Maps and saw that there was a crêperie across the street from the café, where she could watch Sarah without being seen. She told Madeleine to try to get a table outside.

It was past two and she still hadn’t received a call back from Arthur. Surely he had time to call her during lunch. She left another message on his voicemail, telling him that she was going to be out investigating and didn’t know what time she would be home.
 

She changed into all black: her spy outfit. She’d been wearing a lot of black recently, as if that would help her blend in with the shadows. She brought her black sun hat for good measure, to hide her trademark bob. This way Sarah wouldn’t be able to recognize her from across the street.
 

Clémence had met Sarah briefly after Mathieu dumped her. One day she dropped by the apartment that she used to share with Mathieu unannounced, to pick up some things that she’d left after she moved out. Sarah had been hanging around. Clémence wouldn’t have been surprised if Sarah had already moved in to replace her. It’d been a dramatic experience for Clémence, to say the least. While Sarah had been soft-spoken and polite, Clémence still hated her. She resented her long, luscious hair, her Scarlett Johansson curves, her pouty lips, and how Mathieu was simply obsessed with her.

Mathieu was a charmer. He could flit from girl to girl like a bee flitted between flowers. Of course, he dropped Sarah in the end, when the novelty wore off. In that, she sympathized with Sarah.
 

On the front steps of the Palais Garnier, she waited for Madeleine to show up. Clémence had told her that she’d be dressed in black, in case she failed to recognize her.

A cab pulled up, and Madeleine stepped out and waved to Clémence with a big smile. The eldest Seydoux sister had long brown hair styled in loose waves, large doe eyes and porcelain skin. She wore a soft pink designer pants suit, a silk cream blouse, and black Louboutin heels, looking every inch the chic working girl-slash-socialite she was.

“So good to see you!” Madeleine greeted her with
bisous
. “No pesky paparazzi at your back today?”

“Nope. Good riddance.”
 

“All this extra attention is draining Sophie, too. She can’t go to therapy without being harassed. But she’s making the most out of it. She signed a book deal to tell her story. Maybe it’ll be therapeutic for her. I heard they asked you too, but you said no.”
 

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“You’re modest. You saved her life.”
 

“Oh, it’s pure luck.” Clémence waved her compliment away. “Anyway, you’re looking fab.”
 

“Speak for yourself, fashionista. You were Best Dressed on the Paris Social blog this month. They love you.”
 

“Well, they’ve been a pain in the ass.” She explained how they’d managed to snap her going into her ex’s house two days in a row.
 

“They’re just desperate for a good scoop. At least the paps aren’t around right now, but let’s get walking since this is a photo hotspot.”
 

“So Sarah said she was coming at five thirty p.m.?” Clémence asked.

Madeleine nodded. “That’s what she agreed to. She says she has a break from work at that time. I don’t know what to expect. I haven’t seen her in ages. It might even be a year. Time passes so fast.”
 

“The important thing is to ask her what she thinks about Mathieu’s new girlfriend, and also to find out what she was doing last night.”
 

“Got it. God, what if she’s actually the murderer? I mean, I’d be talking to a murderer, then!”

“We’ll see. We don’t know anything, so we can’t jump to conclusions. Who knows? Maybe she might know something about Mathieu and Charlotte that nobody else does. Just ask questions, without sounding like you’re interrogating her.”
 

“It’s okay. I’m the nosy type and she knows it, so she won’t suspect anything out of the ordinary.”
 

“I figured you’d be the perfect person for this gig.” Clémence smiled. “You’ll be a good partner-in-crime.”
 

They reached the café that was on a side street from Galerie Lafayette.

“Perfect,” Clémence said. “There are plenty of empty seats outside. I’ll be inside that crêperie, watching from the window. Call me as soon as she comes, and leave the phone on.”