To Kill a Troubadour by Martin Walker

Author:Martin Walker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quercus Editions Ltd
Published: 2022-05-02T09:41:24+00:00

Chapter 19

‘Bonjour, Bruno,’ said Flavie on his return. She rose from the terrace to give him the bise and pour him a coffee. He could smell her shampoo and soap. ‘Joel is shaving but he’ll be right down. Were you off somewhere? I heard the Land Rover coming back.’

‘Some police work came up,’ he said. ‘Boiled eggs and toast, or I could pick up some croissants in town?’

‘Croissant, please, and maybe some of that orange juice and coffee. I slept like a log after we dined well on your cheese and pâté and salad from your garden.’ The brightness of her tone seemed forced to Bruno, an impression confirmed when she looked away from him, raised a hand to her neck, and asked, ‘Any news about the fire?’

‘It was arson, sure enough. The Police Nationale are handling it with a forensics team.’ He tried to make a joke of it. ‘Could be some outraged music critic.’

As if he hadn’t spoken, Flavie said, ‘This is real, isn’t it? Not some bad dream that will go away.’

‘You’ve got a lot of well-trained people committed to keeping you safe, with reinforcements coming,’ he said, then changed the subject. ‘I’ll bring back some more provisions later today. But you might want to join me and some friends at a riding school nearby for dinner this evening. We get together every Monday night. Do you ride?’

‘Yes, I love it and so does Joel.’

‘If we drive over there in my van with you two in the back, that should be safe enough. I’m on duty all day but with luck I should be back here before six. I’ll call your mobile if I’m going to be late.’

‘That’s fine, but there’s just one thing, Bruno. We’ll need to meet and talk about this, the whole band. The concert can’t go ahead unless we all agree, and even if we do, we need to rehearse. Can we bring them here for that or meet them somewhere else?’

‘Let me consult people about that and I’ll give you an answer this evening,’ he said. ‘Give my regards to Joel and I’d better go. Is it okay to leave the dogs with you?’

‘Yes, please, I’d like that. And we’ll take them for a walk, just here in the woods around the house. We know we have to stay out of sight. See you this evening. Oh, and do you have spare riding boots?’

‘Yes, of course, it’s a riding school,’ he said, waving goodbye.

At the Mairie, he told Claire, the secretary, that he’d be out of the office most of the day but could probably be found at the gendarmerie that afternoon. At the sound of his voice, the Mayor put his head round the door and asked Bruno to come in. He then asked Claire to make two cups of his private brew of coffee, closed the door behind Bruno and handed him copies of the court transcript of Florence’s divorce case and of the latest hearing that had decided to grant Casimir parole.

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