Death on the Pont Noir

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

‘In the name of God, what were you doing?’ Claude muttered, scooping up Alix in his arms and pulling her out of the gate away from Tasker’s body. His voice was gruff with emotion and his face red. ‘Am I going to have to keep doing this, getting you out of trouble? Only I should warn you, my girl, my heart is not what it was.’ He pulled back and touched her neck where it had been rubbed raw by the pressure of the shotgun barrels. ‘And look at you — you’ve got yourself hurt by that monster!’

‘Father, stop it,’ Alix replied, shaking with a mix of relief and laughter and dragging him close in a hug. ‘I came down for some butter from the farm and he… God, I never thought I’d say it, but you’re my hero, do you know that?’ She glanced over his shoulder at Rocco, mouthing a silent thank you, the tears finally coursing down her cheeks as reality began to hit home.

Rocco walked over to check the body. Not that he had any fears that Tasker was alive; no man could have withstood that volley of shot. He flicked back the dead man’s jacket with the barrel of the Walther and checked for more weapons. Nothing. If Tasker had carried anything besides the sawn-off, he’d discarded it along the way.

He looked across the lane where the 2CV had ploughed into the verge, spilling the straw bale and its cargo of chickens in a heap across the bonnet. The driver was already out of the car, clearly unhurt, but staring back at Rocco, Claude and Tasker’s body with open disbelief.

A powerful car engine sounded, approaching at speed. Godard and his men, most likely. They would have had a distant, if grandstand view of what had happened from along the lane, and would be coming to secure the scene. And no doubt the villagers would be here soon, eager to see what the cop in their midst had dragged into their serene rural world.

Mme Denis was the first. She came out of her gate and walked up to him, and checked him over, fastening an eye on the shoulder of his coat, where a stray shotgun pellet had opened up the fabric.

‘You should learn to look after your clothes more,’ she said pragmatically, pointedly ignoring the body on the ground. ‘I can repair that, if you like.’ She brushed at some pieces of straw on his sleeve. ‘And it’s your new one.’

‘You don’t have to-’ he began. But she shushed him and tugged at the lapel.

‘Yes, I do. Can’t have you walking around looking like a tramp, can we?’

Rocco nodded and eased it off. If he didn’t give in gracefully now, he’d only have to do it later. She took the garment and put it over her arm, smoothing down the fabric.

‘Nasty business,’ she commented. ‘Is that it, then?’

‘Almost,’ he said, and thought about what he had to do next. ‘Just some tidying up to do.’

Mme Denis walked over to Alix and took her hand, and led her away towards her house.

Claude watched them go, then broke the shotgun and took out the two spent shells. ‘I only meant to fire one,’ he said shakily. ‘But I was so scared for her…’ He gestured at the trigger and coughed, blinking hard. ‘Do you want me for anything else, Lucas?’

Rocco thought about it. He needed someone. But Claude should stay here. There were plenty of others he could call on. ‘No. This is your turf. They’ll need to see you in charge. And you should be around for Alix. She’s been through a lot.’

Claude nodded. ‘Of course. Thank you. And… thank you.’ He lifted a hand, then marched along the lane to turn away a group of villagers coming towards them.

Godard’s vehicle appeared, and Desmoulins was the first out, followed by Captain Canet, who began issuing instructions.

‘You’ve done it again,’ Desmoulins complained, glancing at Tasker’s body. ‘All the fun and I was miles away — Jesus, what the hell happened to him?’

‘He got what he wanted.’

Canet came over and nodded. ‘Good work.’

‘Officer Lamotte ended it,’ said Rocco. ‘Is Massin coming?’ He needed to speak to the commissaire urgently.

‘No. He’s fielding calls from the Ministry, the security agencies and every minister with a telephone, wanting to know what happened and where exactly is Pont Noir and Poissons-les-Marais. Sooner him than me, is all I can say.’

‘It was hardly his fault any of this happened.’

‘I know. But they’ll still want to know why the area wasn’t secured for the visit. You know what they’re like: a bunch of self-interested pen-pushers looking for someone to blame.’

‘It was unscheduled. Nobody knew about it until the last minute.’ Only someone who shouldn’t have, he thought; someone who had slipped under the net.

Canet tilted his head. ‘Well, somebody clearly did; the man driving the truck for one.’ He lifted his eyebrows. ‘I’d wear a thick collar for a few days, if I were you. I know I will.’ He turned and walked away to continue organising his men.

Rocco looked at Desmoulins. There was nothing more he could do here. ‘How do you feel like taking a chance with your career and pension?’

Desmoulins grinned. ‘Hellfire, you’re going to close this down, aren’t you? What do you want me to do?’

Rocco wasn’t sure how things would go in the next hour or so, but he needed someone close to corroborate what he was about to do. ‘Stick close and listen. It could be interesting.’ He glanced at Godard’s vehicle. ‘I need a lift to my car near the cafe, then a fast drive to Amiens.’

Desmoulins was already moving. ‘Fast it is,’ he said. ‘Can we radio ahead?’

Rocco had thought of that. ‘No,’ he said. ‘What I want to do, we don’t want to broadcast.’