The Winner Stands Alone (29 page)

Gabriela had needed to meet Jasmine too, to ask her advice, to feel less alone, and to see
that good things happen to other people too. She confesses that shes worried that her
companion has just left her there, when hes supposed to be introducing her to various
people she needs to meet.

He thinks he can hide his feelings, but I know somethings wrong.

Jasmine tells her not to worry, to relax, drink some champagne and enjoy the music and the
view. Unforeseen things are always happen- ing, and theres a whole army of people ready to
deal with them, so that no one ever finds out what really goes on behind the scenes of all
that wealth and glamour. The Star is sure to be here soon.

But, please, dont leave me on my own, will you? Im not staying long.

Gabriela promises that she wont leave her alone. Shes her only friend in this new world.

Yes, her only friend, but Jasmines so young that Gabriela suddenly feels too old to be
starting out on a new track. The Star had shown himself to be utterly superficial during
the limousine drive to the red carpet; all his charm had vanished. And however much she likes the young girl by her side,
she needs to find some new male companion for the night. She notices that the man who came
into the bar earlier on is standing, like them, by the balustrade, looking out to sea, his
back to the party, oblivious to everything else going on at this gala supper. Hes
charismatic, handsome, elegant, mysterious. When the opportu- nity arises, shell suggest
to her new friend that they go over to him and start a conversation, it really doesnt
matter what about.

After alland despite allthis has been her lucky day, and it might include finding a new
love.

The pathologist, the commissioner, Savoy, and a fourth personwho has not been introduced,
but who arrived with the commissionerare sitting round a table.

Their task is not to discuss the latest murder, but to draw up a joint statement to be
presented to the journalists gathering outside. This time a really big Star has died, a
well-known director is in intensive care, and the news agencies from around the world have
obviously sent a stark message to their journalists: either come up with something we can
print or youre fired.

Legal medicine is one of the most ancient of the sciences, involved as it is with
identifying poisons and producing antidotes. Neverthe- less, in the past, royalty and the
nobility always preferred to employ an official taster, just to avoid any nasty surprises
the doctors failed to foresee.

Savoy had met this sage earlier today. This time, he allows the commissioner to step in
and put a stop to the pathologists erudite lec- ture.

Thats enough showing off, Doctor. Theres a criminal on the loose in Cannes.

The pathologist remains impassive.

As a pathologist, I dont have the authority to determine the cir- cumstances of a murder.
I cant give opinions on the matter; I can only describe the cause of death, the weapon used, the identity of the victim, and the
approximate time when the crime was committed.

Do you see any link between the two deaths? Is there something that connects the murder of
the film distributor and the actor?

Of course. They both worked in the movies.

He chuckles, but no one else moves a muscle. They clearly have no sense of humor.

The only connection is that, in both cases, toxic substances were used, both of which
affect the organism with extraordinary speed. What is really intriguing about the second
murder, though, is the way in which the hydrogen cyanide was wrapped. The envelope had
inside it a fine plastic membrane vacuum-sealed, but easily torn when the en- velope was
opened.

Could it have been made here? asks the fourth man, who has a strong foreign accent.

Possibly, but I doubt it, because its actual manufacture is very complex, and the person
who made it knew that it would be used to murder someone.

So the murderer didnt make it?

I doubt it. A specialist group would almost certainly have been commissioned to produce
it. In the case of the curare, the criminal himself could have dipped the needle in the
poison, but hydrogen cya- nide requires special techniques.

Savoys thoughts immediately go to Marseilles, Corsica, Sicily, cer- tain Eastern European
countries, and terrorist groups in the Middle East. He leaves the room for a moment and
phones Europol. He ex- plains the gravity of the situation and asks them for a complete
run- down on laboratories equipped to produce chemical weapons of that type.

Hes put through to someone who tells him that theyve just had a call from an American
intelligence agency asking exactly the same thing. Whats going on?

Nothing. But please get back to me as soon as you have any infor- mationin the next ten
minutes at the latest.

Thats impossible, says the voice on the other end. Well give you the answer as soon as we have it, not before or afterward. Well havetoputinarequest...

Savoy hangs up and rejoins the group. More paper. This appears to be an obsession common
to everyone working in the field of public security. No one wants to risk taking a step without first having a
guarantee that their superiors approve of what theyre doing. Men who once had a brilliant
career ahead of them and began working with creativity and enthusiasm now cower fearfully
in a corner, know- ing the enormous problems they face: they need to act swiftly, but, at
the same time, the hierarchy of command must be respected; the media are always quick to
accuse the police of brutality, while the taxpayers complain that crimes are never solved.
For all these reasons, its always best to pass responsibility on to someone higher up.

His telephone call was really just a bit of play-acting. He knows who the killer is, and
he alone will catch him; he doesnt want anyone else snatching from him the glory of having
solved the biggest murder case in the history of Cannes. He must keep calm, but hes
nevertheless impatient for this meeting to end.

When he goes back into the room, the commissioner informs him that Stanley Morris,
formerly of Scotland Yard, has just phoned from Monte Carlo, telling them not to worry
because he very much doubts that the criminal will use the same weapon again.

We could be facing a new terror threat, says the foreigner.

Yes, possibly, replies the commissioner, but unlike you, the last thing we want to do is
sow fear among the population. What we need to do is draw up a press statement to prevent
journalists from leaping to their own conclusions and broadcasting them on tonights TV
news. This is an isolated terrorist incident, and may involve a serial killer.

But...

There are no buts. The commissioners voice is firm and au- thoritative. We contacted your
embassy because the dead man comes from your country. You are here at our invitation. In
the case of the two other Americans murdered, you showed no interest at all in send- ing a
representative, even though in one case poison was also used. So, if youre trying to insinuate that were facing some kind of collective threat in which
biological weapons are being used, you can leave now. Were not going to turn a criminal
matter into something political. We want to have another Festival next year with all the
usual glitz and glamour, so were taking Mr. Morriss advice and will draw up a state- ment
along those lines.

The foreigner says nothing.

The commissioner summons an assistant and asks him to tell the waiting journalists that
they will have their conclusions in ten minutes. The pathologist tells him that its always
possible to track down the origin of hydrogen cyanide because it leaves a kind of
signature, but tracking it down will take not ten minutes, but a week.

There were traces of alcohol in the body. The skin was red, and death was almost
instantaneous. Theres no doubt about which poison was used. If it had been an acid, we
would have found burns around the nose and mouth, and in the case of belladonna, the
pupils would have been dilated, and . . .

Please, Doctor, we know that you studied at university and are therefore equipped to tell
us the cause of death, and we have no doubts about your competence in the field. Let us
conclude that it was hydro- gen cyanide.

The doctor nods and bites his lip, controlling his irritation.

And what about the other man, whos currently in hospital. The film director . . .

Were treating him with pure oxygen, six hundred milligrams of Kelocyanor via intravenous
drip every fifteen minutes, and if that doesnt work, we can add sodium thiosulfate diluted
in twenty-five percent . . .

The silence in the room is palpable. . . . Sorry. The answer is, yes, hell survive. The
commissioner makes some notes on a sheet of yellow paper. He knows that hes run out of time. He thanks everyone, and asks the for- eigner not to come
out with them, so as to avoid any further needless speculation. He goes to the bathroom,
adjusts his tie, and asks Savoy to adjust his as well. Morris says that the murderer wont use poison next time. From what Ive gleaned, the killer
is following a pattern, although it may be an unconscious one. Do you know what it is?

Savoy had thought about this as he was driving back from Monte Carlo. Yes, there was a
pattern, which possibly not even the great Scot- land Yard inspector had noticed. It was
this:

The victim on the bench: the murderer was close. The victim at the lunch: the murderer was
far away. The victim on the beach: the murderer was close. The victim at the hotel: the
murderer was far away. Therefore, the next crime will be committed with the murderer at his victims side, or, rather, that will be his plan, unless hes arrested in the next half
hour. He learned all this from his colleagues at the police station, who gave him the
information as if it were of no importance. And Savoy, in turn, had initially dismissed it
as irrelevant too, but, of course, it wasnt; it was the missing link, the vital clue, the
one piece needed to complete the puzzle.

His heart is pounding. Hes dreamed of this all his life and cannot wait for this
interminable meeting to end.

Are you listening? Yes, sir. Look, the people out there arent expecting some official,
technical statement, with precise answers to their questions. The fact is theyll do all they can to
make us say what they want to hear, but we mustnt fall into that trap. They came here not
to listen to us, but to look at us, and for their viewers and readers to be able to see us
too.

He regards Savoy with a superior air, as if he were the most knowl- edgeable person on the
planet. It would seem that Morris and the pa- thologist are not the only ones who like to
show off their knowledge, well, everyone has their own way of saying: I know my job.

Think visual, by which I mean, remember that your face and body say more than words. Look
straight ahead, keep your head up, and your shoulders down and slightly back. Raised
shoulders mean tension and are a sure indication that we have no idea what is going on.

Yes, sir.

They walk out to the
entrance of the Institute of Legal Medi- cine. Lights come on, microphones are thrust
forward, people start to push. After a few minutes, this apparent disorder becomes more
or- derly. The commissioner takes the piece of paper out of his pocket.

The actor was killed with hydrogen cyanide, a deadly poison that can be administered in
various ways, although in this case it was used in the form of a gas. The film director
survived the attack. His involve- ment was clearly accidental. He merely happened to enter
the room while there were still remnants of the gas in the air. The CCTV footage shows a
man walking down the corridor, going into one of the rooms, and, five minutes later,
coming out again and falling to the floor.

He omits to say that the room in question is not actually visible to the camera. Omission
is no lie.

The security personnel took swift action and sent for a doctor, who immediately noticed
the smell of almonds, which was, by then, too dilute to cause any harm. The police were
called, and they arrived at the scene less than five minutes later and cordoned off the
area. An ambulance came, and the doctors used oxygen to save the directors life.

Savoy is beginning to feel really impressed by the commissioners easy manner. He wonders
if all commissioners have to do a course in public relations.

The poison was delivered in an envelope, but we have not as yet been able to establish
whether the writing on the envelope was that of a man or a woman. Inside was a piece of
paper.

He fails to mention that the technology used to seal the envelope was highly
sophisticated. There was a chance in a million that one of the journalists present would
know this, although, later on, that kind of question would become inevitable. He also
fails to mention that an- other man in the film industry had been poisoned that same
afternoon. Apparently, everyone thinks he died of a heart attack, although no one has
actually told them this. Sometimes its handy if the pressout of laziness or
inattentiondraw their own conclusions without bother- ing the police. What was on the paper? is the first question.

The commissioner explains that he cannot reveal this now because doing so might hamper the
investigation. Savoy is beginning to see the direction in which hes leading this interview
and is filled with admira- tion; he really deserves his post as commissioner.

Could it have been a crime of passion? asks someone else.

Anything is possible at the moment. Now, if youll excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, we must
get back to work.

He gets into his car, turns on the siren, and speeds away. Savoy walks to his own vehicle,
feeling very proud of his boss. How amaz- ing! He can imagine the headlines already: Star
thought to have been victim of crime of passion.

That was sure to capture peoples interest. The power of celebrity was so great that the
other murders would go unnoticed. Who cares about a poor young girl, who died possibly
under the influence of drugs and was found on a bench near the beach? What did it matter
if some henna-haired film distributor had a heart attack over lunch? What was there to say
about a murderanother crime of passion involving two complete nonentities who were never
in the spotlight, on a beach away from all the hurly-burly of the Festival? It was the
kind of thing that appeared every night on the television news, but the media would only
continue speculating about it if a Major Celebrity was involved! And an envelope! And a
piece of paper inside on which something was written!

He turns on the siren and drives in the opposite direction from the police station. In
order not to raise suspicions, he uses the car radio. He finds the commissioners frequency.

Congratulations!

The commissioner is also rather pleased with himself. Theyve gained a few hours, possibly
days, but they both know that theyre dealing with a serial killer of the male sex,
well-dressed, with graying hair and about forty years old, and armed with sophisticated
weapons. A man who is also experienced in the art of killing, and while he may be
satisfied with the crimes hes already committed, he could easily strike again, at any
moment.

Have officers sent to all the Festival parties, orders the com- missioner. They should
look out for any men on their own who correspond to that description. Tell them to keep
any suspects under surveillance. Call for reinforcements. I want plainclothes policemen,
discreetly dressed and in keeping with their surroundingseither jeans or evening dress.
And I repeat, I want them at all the parties, even if we have to mobilize the traffic
police as well.