The Geneva Trap

Chapter 31

It was a long drive to Cahors but Martin’s spirits rose as he drove, and by the time he reached the ancient town, sitting as it did in a hollow with the River Lot surrounding it on three sides, he was feeling cheerful. He knew the town well – he and his ex-wife had once owned a small gîte about fifteen kilometres away, where they spent the occasional weekend (occasional because it was a long way from Paris) and their longer holidays. On Saturdays they would come to shop in the outdoor market here, though in later years Martin usually found himself going there alone, since his wife had seemed less and less interested in his company. Later he discovered it was because she preferred the company of someone else.

He walked up one of the narrow side streets to Boulevard Léon Gambetta, a tree-lined street full of chemists and parfumeries and expensive clothes shops. Even in late morning it was crowded, with shoppers on the pavements and cars moving at a snail’s pace up the steep slope. A few hundred yards along he came to a large open square on the side of which was a café with tables set outside, their umbrellas up against the sun. This far south, it was warm even in early spring.

Isobel was sitting at a table inside, sipping a cappuccino and reading a paper. She was dressed for the part in jeans and a fisherman’s sweater, with sturdy hiking boots. Though she had a handsome face and a good figure, unusually for a Parisienne she seemed never to give a fig about her clothes.

‘Bonjour,’ he said, sitting down beside her and beckoning the waiter. Martin ordered his coffee and sat back comfortably.

‘Any luck in Toulon?’ asked Isobel, aware of his ongoing search for Antoine Milraud.

‘Nothing doing,’ he said with a shrug. ‘Not that I expected to find him. But there is a bit to report from Marseilles.’

‘So old Fézard has pulled his finger out.’ But before Martin could go on, a young man approached their table.

‘Ah, here’s Philippe,’ she said. Martin stood up and shook hands, as Isobel explained that Philippe was a DCRI officer stationed in Toulouse, an hour’s drive away. It was he who had been looking into the anarchist communards, and had managed to plant an informant in their ranks.

‘Tell Martin about your source,’ she said.

‘Well, it’s a couple actually. I recruited them about a year or so ago when they were picked up on a minor drugs charge in Paris. I intervened and pointed them at the commune. We were getting increasingly concerned about the activities of this bunch. My two were accepted quite easily – they had the right background to make them convincing. They’ve worked their way in now. Done very well.’

‘Yes,’ Isobel broke in, ‘you’ve done a good job with them.’

Philippe smiled at the compliment but then more soberly said, ‘Only one of them is coming today; his girlfriend’s staying at the commune. He may be quite nervous, though I’ve warned him that a couple of colleagues are coming to this meeting. He’s desperately afraid of their cover being blown. He thinks the commune members would hurt them badly if they found out he was working for us. Now, before we go to see him, is there anything in particular you want to know? If you don’t mind, I think I’d better ask the questions. He’ll be anxious enough as it is.’

Martin said, ‘There’s an English woman who left the commune recently and went back to Britain. Her name is Cathy – she has a little boy, though the father disappeared some years ago. Someone from the commune has been to see her – we know his name, René, though I haven’t got a surname. Apparently, he tried to get money from her. I’d like you to ask Marcel about this René.’

‘I know about René. He’s become the leader of the commune, even though their anarchist principles mean they shouldn’t have a leader – so much for ideological consistency. He’s a veteran of left-wing movements; I bet he knew more about Marxist dogma when he was twelve than the average French boy knows about football.’

‘A lifer,’ said Isobel.

‘That’s right, and it’s in the family. His father’s a politics lecturer with Maoist tendencies.’

‘That sounds very dated,’ observed Martin.

‘That’s because it is. The father was involved in the Paris student protests in ’68, and got caught up in a demo in the Latin Quarter. He was hit by a CRS van and has been in a wheelchair ever since.’ Philippe shrugged. ‘It seems that he lived his politics after that only vicariously – through his son René.’ Philippe looked at his watch. ‘We’d better be going. I’ve arranged to meet Marcel in a safe house near the cathedral. There’s a market today in the square, so no one’s going to notice us.’

They paid and left the café, then crossed the boulevard and walked down a cobbled side street towards the cathedral square. A child straddled a bicycle in front of them, and overhead a woman leaned out of a window, shaking out a tablecloth. Reaching the square, they found the market at the height of its activity. Long trestle tables laid with coloured cloths displayed the wares of the region: cheeses, cured meats, olives, breads, patisserie, and bottles of the local ink-black wine. The aisles were packed with customers – local housewives with their woven willow baskets, tourists holding cameras – all of them tasting, haggling, paying, then moving on to the next row of stalls.

In a corner of the square a pizzeria was open for early lunch business. Martin and Isobel followed Philippe across the market throng and through the restaurant’s open door. The owner stood behind a zinc bar, wearing a white shirt and apron and polishing a wine glass with a tea towel. Seeing Philippe, he gave a nod, and raised his head almost imperceptibly towards the upper floors of the building.

The staircase was at the back of the restaurant next to the toilets. At the top, across the landing, was a closed door. Without knocking, Philippe opened the door and went in, Martin and Isobel right behind. A young man in corduroys and a blue denim jacket was standing by the window on the far side of the room, which was dominated by a round table in the centre. Turning around as he heard them come in, he looked alarmed.

‘These are the colleagues I mentioned,’ said Philippe. ‘It’s all right. They are friends. It’s quite safe.’

He motioned Martin and Isobel to sit down. The young man, Marcel, hesitated then joined them, though he kept his chair back from the table – as if he wanted to be able to escape at any moment.

‘So,’ said Philippe, ‘you said last time that things were stirring at the commune. What’s happened?’

Marcel breathed out noisily. ‘It’s all quite tense. The G20 are meeting next month in Avignon, and we had made plans to protest. Half of Europe should be there,’ he added, with a mixture of defiance and pride. ‘But we’ve been having arguments about what exactly we should do.’

‘Do?’

Marcel shrugged. ‘René is not content with merely demonstrating. He wants some action.’

‘What kind of action?’ asked Philippe.

‘He wants something more explosive,’ said Marcel, and grinned at his little joke until he saw the stony expression on Isobel’s face. He said hastily, ‘René has been trying to buy guns in Marseilles, and I think explosives too.’

‘Why Marseilles?’ asked Philippe.

Marcel raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you serious? You can buy anything in Marseilles – from a kilo of coke to a Vietnamese girl with one leg.’

Philippe asked, ‘Are the others happy about this?’

‘Of course not. Marguerite told me all the girls are worried sick and I know that many of the men have doubts. But they’re keeping their doubts to themselves.’

‘Why?’

‘They’re scared.’

Philippe scoffed. ‘Of René? You told me he’s no bigger than a flea.’

‘But Antoine is,’ said Marcel, and it was obvious that he was scared too.

‘Tell us about this Antoine. Who is he?’

‘That’s a good question. From things he’s said, I’m sure he’s done time in prison. His politics are positively primeval – but he’s not there to discuss Bakunin with the rest of us.’ Marcel shook his head. ‘He’s violent. One of the girls criticised something he said, and he gave her a slap. When Jean – that’s one of the older guys – objected, Antoine punched him in the gut so hard he couldn’t breathe for over a minute. Jean’s face was blue.’

Martin caught Philippe’s eye, and he gave a tiny nod. He said to Marcel, ‘Was there a woman called Cathy living in the commune when you arrived? An English woman.’

Marcel gave a knowing smile. ‘Funny you should ask. She left before I came, but René and Antoine are going to see her next week.’

‘Why?’

Marcel gave his little smile again. He didn’t say anything, but rubbed his first two fingers against his thumb meaningfully, in the universal sign for money.

‘Why would this woman give them any money?’

This time there was nothing small about Marcel’s smile, and he laughed out loud. ‘For the same reason we do what René tells us to do. Because if she doesn’t, Antoine will knock her teeth out.’