Madrigal (35 page)

Had he killed that girl? Had he done so for Madame Simondi?

‘
Artemisia absinthium
– that's wormwood to us, Nino. You take the leaves and flowers and pound them in a mortar along with angelica root, sweet flag root, the leaves of dittany of Crête, aniseed, the fruit of the star-anise and other aromatics. You macerate everything – soak it in a high-proof alcohol and let the mixture sit for eight davs before distilling, which gives an emerald green liqueur. To this you add more of one of the essential oils; anise most probably – my partner loves it – and
voilà
, you have
l'Extrait d'Absinthe
, the milk of the gods, he'd probably call it. Pure knock-out elixir. How close was Xavier to that woman, Nino? Did she tell him things she'd tell no one else? Did she offer him a job for life as her little companion if only he'd take care of a certain problem, but not like he'd taken care of Adrienne?'

Nino whined and snuggled closer, didn't raise her head.

‘Being under the empire of alcohol is no fun, my friend, but as sure as we're sitting here awaiting a disaster, that woman would have been in really bad shape. The shakes like you wouldn't believe. That's why Xavier had to do the killing for her; that's why he took you with him. An accomplice! He played on your loyalty and innocence. He forced you into it.

‘The reed warbler's nest!' he cursed, startling Nino. ‘I forgot all about it, didn't I? You and Xavier had been over to the Îie de la Barthelasse and were on your way home. That's how it was, and how you came to be in the Palais when it happened. You found the damned door open.'

Again he anxiously searched the darkness for Louis, but there was no sign of him.

Von Mahler looked at the revolver St-Cyr had promptly given up and placed on the desk not nearest to himself but to the one he had intended to kidnap.

‘Four things, Colonel, that's all I ask you to listen to.'

‘Agreed.'

The door to the office had been closed; the secretary had been told to leave and ordered to remain silent.

‘First, your wife planned to kill herself and had purchased a Belgian FN semiautomatic on the black market, and most probably in Paris on one of her periodic journeys there for medical help. She knew you were very fond of Mireille and that, in her mind at least, the girl would make an ideal replacement for herself.

‘Second: two weeks after Adrienne de Langlade's body was freed by the flood, Frau von Mahler took a Cross of Lorraine from beneath the lapel of Mireille's overcoat. This, though she hasn't admitted it, must have made your wife very afraid for your as well as your children's wellbeing. A
résistante
, a frequent visitor and close friend of the family? The Gestapo would most certainly have been interested in such an association should it ever have come to light.'

Was St-Cyr trying to blackmail him? ‘And the third thing?'

‘Dédou Favre was arrested by Alain de Passe in the early hours of Monday.'

‘
Verdammt
! What is this you're saying? De Passe …?'

‘Colonel, the reward of one hundred thousand francs was paid. Xavier turned the boy in. It's my belief that he didn't act alone, but was compelled to do so, not out of loyalty to the Reich, but to Bishop Rivaille, Madame Simondi, her husband and the other singers. Like all of them, he didn't want that girl destroying everything they had.'

‘And the fourth thing?'

Von Mahler would deal with de Passe in his own sweet time, thought St-Cyr. ‘Your wife knew something of what Mireille intended to do. She went to the Palais either to protect or to stop her. She had already told the girl you would refuse to act as the third judge, so was certain in her own mind you wouldn't be there. She has also admitted to having seen someone, Colonel, even if you think it too dark, and hasn't denied being there, but again I must remind you that as well as being a friend, the girl was very much a threat that couldn't be overlooked.'

‘And you want me to ignore an order from Gestapo Mueller? You must be mad.'

‘Doesn't the Army still believe it's above the Gestapo and the SS, or has it finally come to take orders from them?'

The High Command and upper echelons of the Wehrmacht still distrusted and despised the Gestapo and the SS with a vengeance and were extremely jealous of the Führer's misplaced trust in them. ‘How certain are you of this pistol you say she has?'

‘Very.'

‘Then let us hope she hasn't shot herself because if she has, you will be held responsible.'

10

No sentries stood in the darkness outside the Colonel's house. Unchallenged, Kohler anxiously nudged the Renault as far out of sight as possible. ‘Louis, this isn't right. First we have a meeting after curfew on the bridge and von Mahler tells us it never happened, and now he's given his boys time off to warm their toes.'

‘And I've been an even bigger fool than I thought. Was he there at the mill when that girl was drowned, Hermann? Isn't this really the reason his wife found it so necessary to go to the Palais on Monday night? Are they both covering things up as well?'

It was a heartfelt plea for answers. Von Mahler had had to get along with the local establishment. And sure he was pissed off about what de Passe had done with Dedou but had also wanted to talk to the boy before anything untoward had happened. Another cover-up, was that it? wondered Kohler.

‘It's all in the rebus, Hermann. The Archer points his arrow; two fishes are joined but swim in opposite directions; the sign of the Twins often lies beside them.'

‘Genèvieve Ravier and Christiane Bissert?'

‘The Colonel … Was he seen with those two at the picnic?'

‘Did he make mischief with them, Louis, and help those bastards drown that girl, or close his mind to it?'

Nino had to pee but her paws were still too sensitive to the cold and Hermann had to help her. Dogs and horses had always been his friends. He had a way with them. A natural. ‘Come on,' said St-Cyr gently. ‘Let's go in and get this over with. We haven't long until the audition.'

At 2200 hours …

*

‘In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance,' said Marie-Madeleine hesitantly, ‘the five-pointed star, the pentacle, was thought to be the most powerful of talismans and was worn not only to protect one from all enemies but to give long life, peace of mind and harmony. Mireille was convinced of this.'

Frau von Mahler had yet to say a thing. The belt was laid out on a table, the order book and pomander were beside it. Von Mahler was looking decidedly uncomfortable.

‘The tiny silver bells were to ward off the devil with their sound,' went on the former nun, her fingers lightly touching them as if in doing so she could bring back her friend. ‘This button in which the capital letter I intersects another, has the letters A, G, L, A in the quadrants so formed.
Ate Gebir Leilam Adonai
. Thou art mighty for ever, O Lord. People wore this in the fourteenth century to protect them from fever and … and other things.'

‘Against lies?' asked Louis sharply. Kohler sat in an armchair with Nino at his feet. Frau von Mahler sat some distance across the room with the Colonel nearby, but the woman had yet to look up. She was composing her thoughts, was deciding on what and what not to say.

‘Emerald,' said the former nun, ignoring Louis's question about lies. ‘This stone was worn because possessing it allowed one to foresee the future. Its mounting has no backing, and the stone was held up to the light. If clear, as this one is, the seeker immediately saw the truth.'

‘The signs of the zodiac, then,' said Louis gently.

The girl looked at him for a moment before taking up the order book to show him the glyphs that were used to denote each house. ‘The House of the Fishes is represented by the alchemist's sign for projection, a capital H, but with out-bowed sides,' she said. And then, still holding his gaze with her own, ‘Pisces, the twelfth house, is sometimes thought of as the house of one's own undoing. Though Mireille disputed this, she did agree scandal and imprisonment could sometimes dodge those who were born under its sign.'

‘Is Genèvieve Ravier the Pisces?' asked Louis.

She gave a slight nod and said quietly, ‘Christiane Bissert is the Gemini. The two are often linked because … because in life, their lives are almost as one.'

‘You spoke with Mireille de Sinéty on the night before the murder.'

‘Inspector, Mireille was very afraid. She knew that Bishop Rivaille and Maître Simondi suspected she was about to confront them but swore they couldn't possibly know how damning that confrontation would be.'

‘Then Dédou was arrested and they soon learned everything, through no fault of the boy's,' said Louis. ‘Most break under torture, mademoiselle. Dedou was not alone in this and shouldn't be condemned.'

‘
Merci
,' she said softly, but was so pale and afraid herself. ‘You see, Dedou was my brother and though I know it was God's will, I'll miss him terribly. And, yes, in their eyes, especially in those of the bishop, I stand condemned for leaving the Order and for speaking out, but I'll go with you and will confront them as Mireille must have done.'

Very quickly she showed him the rest of the signs. ‘The House of the Goat rightly claims the bishop, that of the Scorpion, César Simondi.'

‘And Albert Renaud?' he asked.

‘The Ram – a bloodstone with blood-red flecks among the dark green. His family outwardly loved and secretly hated the de Sinétys six hundred years ago and Mireille was well aware of this but took it in her stride as she took everything else.'

‘And Madame Simondi?'

‘A Cancer. For her, Mireille used the cat's-eye which was said to be without equal in bringing success in gambling and in all other games of chance.'

‘Could Xavier have killed your friend on orders from her?'

‘Xavier …'

‘Mademoiselle, I regret having to ask, but time is of the essence and we still have much to do.'

‘I … I really don't know. I wish I did, but …'

‘What about Christiane Bissert?' asked Louis anxiously.

‘Genèvieve was to have been replaced, Inspector. Christiane felt this deeply. “Those two,” Mireille said, “are the ones I fear the most among the singers because they see me taking away everything they have.”'

Then it was true what Simondi had said of Genèvieve. ‘Was she also afraid of Xavier? Mademoiselle, again I must ask you to set aside feelings I know must be of despair.'

Faintly she smiled through her tears, then said bitterly, ‘You're wondering why, if she was so worried about him, did she ask Xavier to contact my brother. It's really quite simple, Inspector, and has as much to do with six hundred years ago as it has to today. Only Xavier can avoid the controls like no one else. Only he could have gone to warn Dédou that morning and not be seen by the préfet's men. I knew it; Mireille knew it, and so did he. When Xavier arrived well before dawn we both saw it as a sign, a supreme test, if you like, of the triumph of good over evil. God wouldn't let Xavier betray my brother. Dédou had to be contacted. What else could she have done?'

So silent had the room become, thought Kohler, not even Nino stirred.

‘Xavier is a Leo, and you can see that Mireille has used a sardonyx cameo to represent him. The deep flesh red of its stone is seen through the falsity of the white surplice – the coating that covers its surface. The sins of the flesh, are you wondering? The father of Adrienne's unborn child? Then, yes, Dédou told Mireille what happened last June, and yes she was very upset about it, but couldn't let on.'

‘Could she have changed the position of any of these things when told that Dedou wouldn't be coming?' asked St-Cyr.

‘It's … it's possible but … Oh, I can't remember the arrangement. I can't! Madame, I can't!'

Distraught, she turned to Frau von Mahler who still refused to look up or to acknowledge anything.

‘Mademoiselle, please try,' urged Louis.

‘I
am
!'

‘Then tell me why there is nothing here to indicate either Frau von Mahler or the Colonel.'

But was there? wondered Kohler, not liking the thought and bending over to take Nino into his lap.

‘Gentlemen,' said von Mahler, ‘Mireille was neither afraid of myself nor of my wife. She had no reason to be.'

‘Kurt, tell them about the picnic at the mill last October – the “party”. Tell them that you were there with Mireille and that, when she asked to leave, you thought it best to … to escort her home.'

‘I went to the office afterwards, Ingrid. I swear it.'

‘You stayed with her. You talked – I know you did because she told me of this. You were “very kind and understanding”, she said.
Understanding
, Kurt.'

Nom de Jésus-Christ
! swore Kohler silently. Now all the dirty linen comes out.

‘The girl was definitely a virgin, madame,' said the Sûreté brusquely. ‘Colonel, a little about this “party”, please. We gather things got out of hand.'

They'd find out everything. ‘Only later, after Mireille and I had left. She saw it coming, as I did, and didn't want to hang around. She tried repeatedly to convince Adrienne to leave with us but the girl refused.'

‘Adrienne was a Virgo, Inspector,' said Marie-Madeleine softly. ‘She had, unfortunately, both a willingness to admire and to submit to those in power. Bishop Rivaille worshipped the girl and thought her hair matched exactly that of Mary's in his ring. He had great plans for her, but as you can see by this
enseigne
next to his, the devil is allergic to Holy Water. The aspergillum in the friar's hand sprinkles its water over the lead button of the Goat upon which a
martinet
also falls as the Archer aims his arrow.'