Monsieur Pamplemousse and the Carbon Footprint by Michael Bond

Author:Michael Bond [Michael Bond]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780749040482
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 2011-09-10T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

‘Bad news?’ asked Amber, as Monsieur Pamplemousse returned after a brief chat with a member of staff at Bernay Station. From the look on his face, it was a self-answering question.

‘You win some,’ he said, ‘you lose some. Corby did indeed get off the train here. It arrived at 10.20 and he was the only passenger to do so.’

He glanced at his watch. ‘That was approximately an hour ago.’

Amber took in her immediate surroundings. ‘At least Bernay is nowhere near the size of Deauville. If he’s anywhere around we’re almost bound to come across him.’

‘Looks deceive,’ said Monsieur Pamplemousse. ‘In terms of population, Bernay is roughly three times the size of Deauville. It happens to be more concentrated. Anyhow, that’s academic. The bad news is he went straight out of the station and got into a taxi.’

‘And they have no idea where he was going to?’

‘None whatsoever, but I doubt if it was anywhere local. The first man I spoke to offered to help him with his bag, but he got short shrift. He simply got pushed aside without a word of thanks.

‘All the man could say was he might have been heading back the way he came. He seemed in a hurry and he wondered if perhaps he had left something important behind. On the other hand, apparently a little way along the road there is a roundabout with multiple exits, so by now he could equally well be forty or fifty kilometres away in any direction you care to name.

Amber looked downcast. ‘At least we know three things for sure,’ said Monsieur Pamplemousse. ‘He isn’t making for Alsace-Lorraine, nor is he heading for Paris or the Channel Tunnel. Even if he originally intended to catch another train at Lisieux, he wouldn’t want to go back there now for fear of meeting up with the Chef de Gare. Not much got past that gentleman.’

‘What are his possible options?’

‘From Lisieux? From Lisieux he could have picked up a train to Caen or Cherbourg. Opinions are divided, but the general consensus seems to come down in favour of Caen. Don’t ask me why, apart from the feeling I have that unless you have a boat to catch, who would want to go to Cherbourg? They were beginning to clam up, wanting to know why I wanted to know … that kind of thing. Once a policeman always a policeman. I wasn’t going to waste another €50 note on that one so, using my best bedside manner, I beat a hasty retreat.’

‘You have one?’ asked Amber in mock surprise. ‘Beside manner, I mean?’

‘Treating that remark with the contempt it deserves …’ began Monsieur Pamplemousse.

Amber did her best to look contrite. ‘I’m sorry. It’s just that … all this “so near and yet so far” is getting me down. How about Caen? Do you think it’s worth a shot?’

‘You’re forgetting one major problem,’ said Monsieur Pamplemousse. ‘My car is outside Lisieux Station. Ideally, we need to pick it up before we go anywhere else.

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