Читать книгу Strangled in Paris: 6th Victor Legris Mystery - Claude Izner - Страница 8

‘What about that washtub?’ grumbled Madame Guénéqué, when she saw that Corentin hadn’t obeyed her instruction.

Without replying, he went up to the attic. Where had he left it? Ah yes, under the bed. He pulled out a wooden box and took off the lid. Inside he found 420 francs, which he hoped would be enough for his needs. After all, the journey there and back in third class cost less than forty francs. The trip to Cherbourg wouldn’t cost much and Landry would be delighted with even such a small sum, which he would go and spend straight away in one of the bistros at the port. Then it would just be a case of renting a cheap room – would twenty francs a month be enough? – and cutting back on his meals. Luckily, he had never had a big appetite.

Paris! A noisy island, a crowded continent as mysterious as the ocean, where he could get lost for ever.

He put the money in his pocket, filled a haversack with clothes and then went back downstairs, dragging the washtub with him.

‘Madame Guénéqué, I’m going away for a few weeks – urgent business in Paris. As soon as I know my address there, I’ll send it to you in case you need to contact me.’

‘You’d be wasting your time – I can’t read or write.’

‘Then you can ask the nuns to help you.’

‘I’m surprised at you, Monsieur Corentin. For years and years you’ve never been further away from here than a rabbit from its warren. People will be talking about this all the way from here to Val de Saire!’

‘I’m counting on you to keep all those busy tongues from wagging, and to make sure the farrier mends that shoe of Flip’s that’s wearing down. The main thing is, don’t forget to give him some water before you feed him his oats, and brush him every day.’

Madame Guénéqué eyed him mischievously.

‘You don’t need to give me all these instructions, Captain, you’ve told me a hundred times before. Ah, Paris, Paris, everyone’s got Paris fever! That lovely lady you scrubbed up so carefully, she’s going to Paris too. The doctor told her over and over that she shouldn’t go, not in the state she’s in, but she’s as stubborn as a mule! They wouldn’t be linked, would they, your two journeys?’

‘Wherever do you get your ideas from? I don’t know anything about her – who she is, where she lives. It’s business, as I said, to do with my uncle’s investments.’

‘Whatever you say. I’ll look after the animals, but it’ll mean me trailing over here every morning …’

‘I’ll give you forty francs. If I’m not back by the end of January, I’ll send a postal order.’

‘Oh, no need for that, Captain, no need for that. Forty francs is a tidy sum!’ she blustered, her eyes round at the thought. She spirited the notes away as soon as he put them in her hand.

With a stroke for Gilliatt and a friendly pat for Flip, he was off. He was clutching the blue earring he had found under the table. Despite the black clouds and the occasional gust of wind, the storm had left the Cotentin peninsula and gone to wreak its havoc further south.

Why had he ever opened that confounded bag? Now, he knew things he wished he didn’t and, if he refused to act on what he had read, it would poison his very existence. He would not rest until he had found the woman whose secrets he had stolen. Come what may, he would seek her in that immense city, full of dangers far more deadly than the storm.