No, he said, there had been no enquiry, no examining magistrate had opened a file. He had simply written his report and that had been that. There had been too much going on at the time to worry about a dead German. Usually they looked after their own dead, but this time no Germans were left. And it was a war death, a Resistance killing, so all that was required was a note of the name and number of the victim, time and place; nothing more could be done in the circumstances.

Nothing, Theo agreed. The question was, was it really a Resistance killing? The victim’s throat had been cut, he had been stripped of his clothes. Was that the sort of thing they did, the Resistance?

Petignat looked uneasy. His eyes were fixed on his boots, although he darted frequent, nervous glances at Theo.

‘Strange things happened then. I don’t want to say anything against the Resistance, of course, but … Well, it was war. Not like your war, maybe, but it was still war. And once the Germans had gone, it was time for settling scores. There were Resistance tribunals that shot people or tortured them, raped the women, cut their hair off, terrible things. Thank God, it’s calmed down now, but if you were in the Gendarmerie or the Police, you were at risk. If anyone denounced you … It wasn’t as if we were the Milice. Here in Lepech we came to an understanding with the Resistance early on, in spite of the mayor who had no time for the Maquis at all. Henri Menesplier was a good bloke. He didn’t want confrontation, so he used to let us know what was happening and in return we closed an eye, let him have a few litres of petrol when he needed it. But a mate of mine was taken to a chateau near Racines and tortured, beaten, by fellow Frenchmen from the Resistance, just because he transferred into the Milice to see some action. He still can’t walk, both legs broken.’ He stopped, breathing rapidly. Theo could see a dew of sweat on his forehead.

Such stories were not new and Theo did not want to go into them now. ‘The German officer …’ he said gently. ‘How does all this fit in with what happened to him?’

‘What I’m trying to say is that there were all sorts in the Resistance. There were stories of captured Germans with their balls cut off and stuffed in their mouths, or their tongues cut out. It’s my theory the major was caught by a Resistance group who had suffered under him. Maybe Group Rainbow. After all, that guy had shot Henri and hanged six others that evening. Mr Nikola, the Russian at Pechagrier, was Henri’s lieutenant. If he was willing, he might be able to tell you a thing or two about what went on.’

‘Was he there?’

‘When Henri was taken prisoner? I couldn’t say. He was in Lepech in the afternoon when the Germans attacked. His voice is unmistakable; I heard him shouting to his men in the streets.’