Beneath the Surface by R.W. Wallace

Author:R.W. Wallace [Wallace, R.W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Varden Publishing
Published: 2022-12-24T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-One

Blush under control, Evian settles onto her lone kitchen chair, her laptop open on the counter, and her trusted notebook ready with a pen lying across a blank page. The windows are closed despite the heat, to avoid the noise of the bus station, and the drapes are closed, giving the room almost a cozy feel. I say almost because all the cardboard boxes and files filling up every available space makes it look like someone is either on the verge of moving in or out.

I opt for leaning against the refrigerator, while Clothilde perches on a pile of boxes. She tends to prefer that pile to the others; I’m not sure if it has to do with the height or the content of the boxes. It contains a couple of old teddy bears and posters from her room. I suspect it’s nostalgia talking but wouldn’t dream of mentioning such a theory to her face.

When Evian calls Tulle, the other woman picks up after the first ring.

“You found something in the calendars?” Evian asks. “That was quick.” She puts the phone on speaker—for us—and places the phone next to her laptop.

“Well, it’s easy when I can do it all as a civvy,” Tulle replies, a smile in her voice. “That other task is going to take a lot more time and effort. But I’m making headway on that one, too.”

“Great. Just make sure you don’t get caught, all right?” Evian stares intently at the phone, as if it can transmit the power of a look through sound only. “I do not want you to get in trouble over this.”

“Don’t worry. I know how this works. It’s usually my job to catch the people snooping, remember? Anyway, the calendars were a piece of cake. I just used the credentials you gave me and asked to retrieve a six-month-old backup. It’s not easily done, but possible. Now, you might not want to talk about this too loudly, because it’s officially identity theft, but we did have the approval of the parents, so…”

Evian shifts in her chair and clicks open her pen, ready to take notes. “So you found the meetings? How many details?”

“The one for Lise had basically nothing. The location, which was the hotel her body was found in, the time, and the title ‘Meeting Cèdres.’ That’s the name of the senior center she wanted to transform into a homeless shelter, by the way.”

Evian nods and jots everything down in her notebook.

“Now Manon,” Tulle continues. “She put everything in her calendar. Location was the hotel she was found in, with the detail ‘meet at hotel bar, will hold meeting in hotel room.’ The time was eight thirty at night, which is about one hour before the estimated time of death according to the autopsy report. There are two names. Laurent Lambert.”

Evian grumbles under her breath and Clothilde swears loudly. That lawyer again.

“And Delphine Redon,” Tulle finishes. “I checked, and there’s only one Delphine Redon in the entire south of France. It’s the woman on the Regional Council.

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