The Secret Of The Cathars (2011) (10 page)

She explained this to the sergeant who grunted and made a note.

“
My grandmother found some old papers which suggested that my ancestor spent some time at le Bezu. That is why I came here. I wanted to see if I could find out anything about the castle and its owners in the Middle Ages. That is why I climbed up to look at the castle yesterday.”

Jacqueline had raised her eyebrows at this additional disclosure. However she translated it for the policeman to write down. When he had finished, the man had a further question to ask.

“
Is that the only reason for your visit here? Did you know any of the people in this area before you arrived?”

“
No. It was a surprise to me to find archaeologists working at the chateau.”

“
What was your opinion of Andre Jolyon?”

Philip considered. “I didn’t really know him well enough to have an opinion.”

She conferred with the sergeant and turned back to him. “Apparently Gaston has told the police that you had an argument with Andre yesterday and that he ordered you off the site. Is that correct?”

“
No!” he exclaimed. Then he thought more carefully. “Well - yes, I suppose it is, in a way. Jolyon didn’t seem to like me being there although you had told him earlier that I had a complete right to look round.” Philip looked straight at her. “You were there when I first arrived. I think, that if you hadn’t over-ruled him, he wouldn’t have let me on to the site in the first place. Do you agree?”

She explained his reply to the man. He asked her a couple of short questions and she seemed to agree. She turned back to Philip.

“
What was your argument about?”

He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. “What happened was this. After you left I spent about an hour looking round the chateau. Then I went back to look at the roped off area where Jolyon and the others were working. I didn’t go inside the ropes because you’d asked me not to.” He paused. “Well, as soon as he saw me he told me to move away because I might have been in danger if one of the boulders had fallen while they were lifting it onto the trolley.” He shook his head. “So I moved to a higher point on the other side of the site - but it was still outside the rope.”

He continued looking straight at her. “However he didn’t seem to like me being up there either and he came to order me off. When I didn’t immediately move he called to Gaston and one of the others and they started to come up to where we were. I saw that Gaston was carrying a pick-axe and the other guy had a crow-bar. It looked to me as though they intended to use them on me if I didn’t go.” He grinned sheepishly. “So I decided to leave to avoid any further confrontation. I told Jolyon that I would come back this morning to meet you as we had arranged. Then I left.”

She raised her eyebrows when she heard his explanation but she didn’t respond. It took quite a long time for her to translate all his comments. Once again she was asked several questions and seemed to agree to the points put to her. Philip hoped she wasn’t twisting his story. Finally she turned back to him.

“
The sergeant will check these details with Gaston. Now he wants to know what you did after you left the site.”

“
I went back to my car which was parked in le Bezu village. By then it was nearly lunchtime, so I drove into Quillan, where I found a bar and got myself a glass of wine and a baguette. I believe the bar was called the Moulin Blanc. After that I drove back to Carcassonne where I am staying. My hotel is in the industrial area. It was still quite early and the day was pleasant so I walked in to the town centre and strolled around for a while. Then I had a meal in a bistro - I’m afraid I can’t remember the name but I can take you there if necessary. After the meal I walked back to the hotel and I read a guide-book for a time until I went to bed.”

All this was translated and written down.

“
Can anyone confirm this?”

“
Not really. I still had my room key so I didn’t need to go to the hotel reception. I don’t know if anybody in the bar or the bistro will remember my being there.”

There was a long discussion between Jacqueline and the sergeant. At last she said, “I am told I must ask you this - did you come back to Quillan or go up to le Bezu chateau later yesterday or during last night?”

Philip couldn’t prevent the ghost of a smile appearing on his face as he answered. “Certainly not. After Jolyon ordered me off the site - as Gaston put it - I didn’t come back again until I saw you this morning.”

There was further consultation between them.

“
The sergeant has one more question. When you were looking round the site did you interfere with any of the ropes which were fixed?”

“
No. I didn’t touch any of them.”

“
Did you hit or pull at any of the anchors?”

“
As I said, I didn’t touch any of the stuff which your men had fixed around the place.”

There was further long discussion before she spoke to him again. “Usually you are asked to read what the sergeant has written and sign it to say you agree that it is a fair record of what was said. However I have pointed out that your poor knowledge of French would mean that you can’t honestly do that. So it will be left for now. The sergeant says that if anything results from the enquiry which might involve you, your lawyer would be able to have this part of the report translated independently and you could sign it then or change it if you wished. He will put a note to that effect on the report.”

“
Does that mean I can go?”

She addressed this question to the policeman. Philip detected a shake of the head in the middle of the loquacious exchange. There seemed to be a lot of discussion on this request. At last she looked back at him.

“
The sergeant says that his enquiry will continue for several days. He needs first to be able to go and check the place where Andre’s body was found. To do that he will need some special help which he may get later today, but it may not be until tomorrow. Also Andre’s body has been sent to Toulouse to establish the exact cause of death.” Her exhalation of breath was close to a sob. “That may take several days. Until he is able to finish his report he wants to be able to get in touch with any of the witnesses. If you lived in France you would be able to go home provided you left an address and telephone number so that you could be called back if necessary. However, because you are a foreigner, he wants you to stay in the area -preferably in Quillan.” She had the grace to look embarrassed. “I have told the sergeant that there are spare rooms at our hotel. He would be pleased if you would agree to stay there until the investigations are complete.”

“
What if I don’t agree?”

She addressed the question to the sergeant. His reply was long and involved. She turned back to him. “He says that might cause a problem.”

“
What sort of a problem?”

“
He says that an allegation has been made against you. Therefore he cannot let you leave France until the matter has been looked into.”

“
Is he saying I’ll be stuck in prison?”

She spoke again to the policeman whose reply was once again convoluted.

“
He says that decision would not be his to make. But the examining magistrate has the power to detain people who are refusing to co-operate with his enquiry.”

“
I see.” Philip smiled ironically. “It looks as though I don’t have any choice. But how will people treat me at the hotel if I stay there? Am I going to be treated like a murderer?”

She took a breath. “I’m sorry about it, Philip.” He noticed it was the first time she had used his first name. “However I will say to you that I do not agree with Gaston. I’m sure you aren’t responsible for Andre’s death. So I promise you that I will personally do everything I can to make sure that you are not badly treated at the hotel.” She looked at him appealingly. “Will that help?”

“
Yes, I suppose so. Thank you.”

“
Now - the sergeant tells me that he wishes to accompany you to Carcassonne to pick up your luggage. He will drive you in the police car and you can collect your car from the parking place outside when you return. Can you wait outside until he’s ready?”

That final request didn’t make him feel any less like a suspect.

- 11 -

The gathering at dinner in the Hotel du Chateau in Quillan that evening was a restrained affair to say the least. Jacqueline was there, of course, closely attended by Gaston. One of the other archaeologists was present as well - a young fellow called Armand - together with a young woman called Jeanette, who was wearing a rather revealing dress and seemed to be doing her best to bring some brightness to the evening. The four of them made up a private quartet. The other three men who had been at the police station were absent.

Philip kept to himself, sitting alone at his table and trying to avoid watching the archaeologists, although he was very interested in what he could make out of their conversation but struggled to understand them with his limited French. Unsurprisingly, they seemed to be talking mainly about the events of that morning. Jacqueline was clearly very upset by the death of Andre Jolyon. Philip gathered that the dead man had been her second in command. He wasn’t quite sure what the personal relationship had been between them.

The man who obviously intended to step into the vacancy left by Jolyon was a small but well-muscled character who Philip had discovered was called Gaston Lesmoins. The fellow seemed to regard the newly-arrived Englishman with a great deal of suspicion. This was the man who had alleged that Philip was responsible for Jolyon’s accident.

For himself, Philip felt less than happy with the way things had developed since he arrived at le Bezu. Following the questioning at the police station, the sergeant had driven him back to Carcassonne to collect his baggage. The policeman had obviously decided to try and take the opportunity to talk to the person in reception at Philip’s hotel to see if they could add anything to his story. He doubted whether the man would have had much success.

They had then driven into the town centre to look at the bistro where Philip had his meal the previous night. However the place was closed so there was nobody who was able to support his story. Throughout the journey there and during the return to Quillan the policeman scarcely spoke more than a dozen words to him, mainly asking directions. Philip had a distinct feeling of discomfort. He wasn’t actually being treated as a criminal but he was obviously a suspect.

Arriving back at the hotel, Philip was allocated a room on the top floor under the eaves. Jacqueline was there to explain that this was provided to him at a special price at the request of the police. However there was no lift and no porter volunteered to help him, so he had to carry his bags up the four floors on his own. This made him feel even less welcome.

So, after completing a satisfactory meal, he decided to take a break from the disagreeable atmosphere in the dining room and have an exploratory walk round the town. There was apparently no restriction on his movements in the locality. It was a splendid evening which had followed the beautiful spring day. Nevertheless the air was fresh and sparkling, with a hint of coolness and Philip was grateful for his padded jacket.

The town of Quillan was strung out along the banks of the river which threaded its way through the steep-sided valley. At one stage the road ran almost beside the river. There were seats beneath the plane trees that stood on the sloping grassy bank and Philip chose an empty one to sit and watch the sun gilding the castle and the houses beneath it on the opposite hillside. As the evening advanced, the bright sunshine gradually abandoned the lower buildings to the gloom of dusk until only the castle remained, lit up by the pink glow from the last of the setting sun.

There was now a decided chill in the air and Philip was considering returning to the hotel when he became aware of another person on the path close to him. He looked up and saw that it was Jacqueline Blontard. She looked surprisingly small and vulnerable, wrapped up in a light-coloured puffer jacket with the collar turned up and most of her long dark hair tucked away out of sight. Once again he noticed the startling blue of her eyes.

“
Oh!” He stuttered. “Oh! Bonsoir ma’mselle.” To his own ears the greeting sounded slightly foolish.

She didn’t immediately respond but continued to look at him for a few moments. Then she came straight out with, “I have challenged Gaston to say why he thinks you had something to do with Andre’s fall from the cliffs.”

“
And what did he say?”

“
He says that Andre told him that you were going to be trouble. But he admits he didn’t know why Andre said that.” She looked straight at him. “Did you have any previous contact with my assistant before you came le Bezu?”

“
I promise you,” he said solemnly, “that I had never seen him before yesterday.”

She shook her head. “I thought you would say that.”

She came and sat on the seat beside him, looking up at the last of the sunlight fading from the castle walls. However he noticed that she kept a space of a couple of feet between them.

“
Don’t you believe me?”

She remained quiet for a while, apparently digesting his comment. Then she turned to face him, the renewed energy in those bright blue eyes flashing at him. “Of course I want to believe you. But I have questions in my mind. Please tell me exactly why you came here.”

Philip was surprised by her sudden question. For a moment he felt an insane urge to tell her the whole story. Something made him want to make this remarkable woman trust him, to give him a sympathetic hearing. But the next moment he hesitated, aware that he was a foreigner invading the private space of the archaeologists. They would have a different attitude to his search for Phillipe de Saint Claire’s treasure - if it existed.