And, whilst the diamond broker rid himself rapidly of skirt and bodice and regained his masculine appearance--for this diamond broker was a man--the masked a.s.sa.s.sin added:
"Nibet, you have played your part perfectly, and I will pay you to-morrow the sum we agreed on; but, I repeat, we have work before us this evening--so, be quick!"
There was a short silence, then the bandit asked:
"You have arranged to put among this fool"s papers the rent receipts, which will enable the police to find this flat?"
"Yes, master!"
"Good! Now all we have to do, is to get away from this room, which we shall not see again ... until this evening at any rate!"
XXI
IN A PRISON VAN
In one of the rooms reserved for readers of _La Capitale_, Jerome Fandor was gravely listening to Madame Bourrat"s account of what had occurred at her boarding-house during the night. She had rushed off to tell him and to ask his advice.
"What you tell me, madame, is truly extraordinary!" said Fandor, with an air of profound astonishment....
"How did you discover that the police inspector who seized the trunk and carried it away was not a genuine policeman?"
"Why, through the arrival of Monsieur Xavie, the police inspector of our district! I know him.... There was no mistaking who and what he was; and when I told him that the trunk had been carried off the preceding evening, rather in the dead of night, he guessed everything...."
"And what did he say?..."
"Oh, he made us all come to the police station; and I can a.s.sure you that he looked far from pleased!"
"You must admit, dear madame, that his annoyance was not without reason!... The police were made fine fools of in this affair.... But afterwards?... Whom did he take back with him to the police station?"
"He took me and my manservant."
"And when you got to the police station?"
"Well, Monsieur Fandor, when we reached the police station, he made us come into his office, and there he put us through a regular examination,... just as though he suspected us!"
"But there must have been an accomplice in your house who let the robbers in," said Fandor. "I do not suppose the false police inspector forced the door open!"
"Ah, but, Monsieur Fandor, here is something I do not understand, nor does anybody else!... No, they did not try to hide themselves--not the least in the world! They rang the bell; they asked to see me; they told me what they had come for; and, accompanied by my manservant, carried away the trunk, and had it put on the cab--all in the most open and bare-faced manner!"
"It was your manservant who accompanied them?"
"But most certainly ... and that very fact turned against Jules, in a very nasty manner.... Poor Jules! Just imagine, the police inspector finished by ordering my house to be thoroughly searched from top to bottom! And when the policemen returned, without a why or wherefore, they took Jules away to another part of the police station!"
"I say! I say!"
"Oh, it was all explained! As soon as Jules had gone, the police inspector told me that they had found keys in his rooms, keys which could be made to fit any kind of lock whatever. Monsieur Xavie was convinced that my poor Jules was a burglar--imagine it!"
"And you, yourself, madame, are convinced of the contrary?"
"Oh, a.s.suredly! Why, I have known Jules a very long time! And in many little ways on many occasions, he has shown himself to be strictly honest."
"But those false keys?"
"Those false keys, Monsieur Fandor, why I myself made Jules buy them, hoping to find among them one that would open my coach-house."
"So that?..."
"So that, Monsieur Fandor, the police inspector was obliged to agree with me that Jules was honest!"
"And he released this servant of yours?" asked Fandor.
His tone expressed annoyance.
"No, and that is why I am so distressed. He said, that provisionally, at least, my servant, Jules, was to be considered as under arrest! What ought to be done to get him let out?"
"But, madame!... He will be set free to-morrow, you may be certain of it!..."
"No doubt he will!... All the same, there is my house turned upside down, and I need Jules to help me to-night!... I really do not know what I shall do without him! Poor fellow!... I simply cannot imagine how it is they suspect him!"
Fandor said, with mock gravity:
"Ah, madame, Justice is sometimes so stupid--so wrongheaded!... Look here now, would you like a bit of good advice?... Telephone to Messieurs Barbey-Nanteuil. They are well known and powerful--perhaps they would exert their influence in your servant"s favour? He might be set free this evening! I, you see, am but a journalist, and without a sc.r.a.p of influence!"
Madame Bourrat thought this a good idea. Fandor rang for an attendant.
"Take madame to the telephone!"
Left to himself, the reporter could not help rubbing his hands.
"I must get rid of this excellent woman, who is certainly the most foolish person it has ever been my lot to meet. Good hearing! That servant of hers is under lock and key--things are going in the right direction ... but they are not going well for me!... If he confesses, to-morrow, when he is had up for examination, then the police will have the information before me!... Then, too, they are such duffers--such bunglers--that they are quite capable of giving that Jules his liberty!... What the deuce must I do to prevent his being let loose, and how am I to stop the judicial interrogation?... What a dog"s life a journalist"s is!"
Madame Bourrat reappeared.
"Monsieur Nanteuil is not there," she said. "But I got into communication with Monsieur Barbey.... He advised me to wait till to-morrow: he said it was too late in the day to do anything...."
"But, will he not intervene to-morrow?"
"I don"t know. To tell the truth, I am sure Monsieur Barbey thought it very inconsiderate of me to disturb him about a matter in which he takes not the slightest interest."
"That"s a fact. What possible interest can the bankers take in such a matter?... My advice was absurd!"
Fandor rose. As he was seeing his visitor out, he said:
"In any case, dear madame, count on me to-morrow morning. I shall call at your house about eleven. If there is anything fresh, we can talk it over!..."