The Diplomat's Wife by Michael Ridpath

Author:Michael Ridpath
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atlantic Books

PART THREE

ANNECY

Chapter 30

June 1979, Annecy

It was a long drive from Paris to Annecy, about six hundred kilometres. It took them longer than it might have done because Emma decided to follow the autoroute for only the first part of the journey. The weather had turned cooler – little balls of cloud spurted rain at them before hurrying on – but they managed to keep the top of the TR6 down for most of the trip.

They stopped for a late lunch at a tiny restaurant overlooking a vineyard in Burgundy. Phil ate snails for the first time in his life, and he liked them, or at least he liked the garlic and the butter. He enjoyed the driving, although he was tiring by the end of the day. It was almost dark by the time they arrived at Annecy, the ancient capital of Savoy – as Emma informed him – guarding the foot of the lake of that name. Although she had explored much of France with Roland over the years, this was her first visit.

Emma had asked the Ritz in Paris to book them rooms at a small hotel in the middle of the old town, right on the River Thiou. They dumped their luggage, wandered through the ancient narrow streets lined with timbered houses and covered arcades, and found a bustling restaurant for dinner, overlooking one of the canals that ran through Annecy. It wasn’t quite yet the grandes vacances in France, but the place was already full of tourists.

It rained overnight, but the weather was crisp and clear the following morning. From their breakfast table they could see the hulking medieval prison with its high stone walls standing on a narrow island in the river, and behind it, above the rooftops, the jagged peak of a mountain.

Phil had had an idea overnight. ‘Grams, Brunswick is near the border with East Germany, isn’t it?’

‘It is,’ said Emma, a smile playing on her lips. She had read his thoughts, which wasn’t that difficult.

‘I assume we’re going to Berlin after this?’ he said.

‘I don’t know, but I expect so.’

‘Do you think we could stop in Brunswick on our way back? By then Heike may have returned home.’

Emma smiled. ‘I can’t promise anything because even I don’t know exactly where we’re going, but if we can, we will.’

‘Thanks, Grams,’ said Phil. ‘I’ll send her a postcard today to warn her.’

‘Maybe I’ll get to meet her?’

‘Maybe you will.’

Emma pulled out a small map of Lake Annecy she had taken from the hotel reception that morning, and spread it out on the table.

‘How are we going to find this guy?’ Phil said. ‘There must be tens of thousands of people in Annecy.’

‘If you remember, Kurt told Dick he lived somewhere overlooking the lake. We needn’t worry about Annecy. It’s completely flat – you don’t look down on the lake from here. You see there are two roads around the lake?’

Phil leaned over the map. ‘Yes?’

‘The bigger one, on the western side, hugs the shore, as do the villages, which means you don’t really look down on the lake from there either.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.