Beyond the Grave by R.W. Wallace

Author:R.W. Wallace
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Varden Publishing
Published: 2021-06-17T09:32:26+00:00

Twenty-Seven

Nadine Tulle is clearly a miracle worker. When we walk into her tiny office an hour and a half later—that traffic was lethal—she has already done all the research Doubira asked her for.

“I can’t stay long,” Tulle says in lieu of greeting. “I wanted to wait until you got back to do the handover, but in ten minutes I’m on the metro on my way home.”

“Of course,” Evian says, the most genuine smile I’ve seen from her yet gracing her otherwise rather stern features. “Give us the highlights and the files and you can be on your way.”

A slight tension that I hadn’t even realized was there goes out of Tulle’s shoulders. She wants in on working with Evian but not at any price. Clearly, her personal life is important to her.

“Last things first,” Tulle says and hands over a tiny stick-like thing to Doubira. “Pierre Montbleu was Robert Villemur’s boss. Sort of.”

He was? Ironically, this is news to me. Because, yes, I was stupid enough to follow the orders of someone who—as far as I knew—wasn’t my boss.

“Sort of?” Evian asks. She is leaning against the windowsill. Tulle has her own office but it’s tiny. There’s barely enough room for a desk and a chair so with the door closed and two extra people—not to mention two ghosts—the space feels very crowded. I get the feeling Evian prefers to be close to the window to get the impression of space.

“Villemur worked for a woman named Durand, who worked for a man called Parayre, who had strong links with Montbleu.”

“A bit far-fetched if we’re looking at corrupt cops,” Evian muses. “Too many middle men. But it is a link.”

Tulle nods, making her blond braid jump against her chest. “Montbleu died almost twenty years ago—”

“A shame he didn’t come through our cemetery,” Clothilde comments lightly.

“—Durand is alive but in a nursing home and suffering from Alzheimer’s, and Parayre is still alive and kicking, working as a consultant for the police here in Toulouse.”

I shake my head. “I’ve never heard of Parayre or Durand. I took my orders directly from Montbleu because he promised me an easy promotion. I’m only now realizing that he actually could do that. Not sure if that makes me any less stupid. Still.” I shake out of my irrelevant thoughts and turn to speak clearly to Evian. “There’s no point in looking into the elderly middle men.”

Evian doesn’t say anything but signs for Tulle to continue her report.

“I’ve added location to all the deaths you had me search earlier. There’s a little bit of everything but the number of hotels is surprisingly high.”

“Those will be the ones we look into first,” Evian says to Doubira, who nods.

“I’ve done some cross-referencing,” Tulle says. She grabs her braid and throws it over her shoulder. That seems to be a nervous tic. “If any of the police officers had any kind of hierarchical link with Villemur or de Villenouvelle, the info is in the file. I’ve mentioned if the officer

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