“Of course. That’s where they’d be on a fine Sunday afternoon. I used to go there myself when I lived in the neighborhood.”

“I went but I didn’t see them,” I said. “And I had to fight off a forceful young man who wanted me to dance with him.”

Mary laughed. “Yes, you always find a few of those. Well, never mind, you’ll find him when he’s back at work, I’m sure.”

“I can’t really make any progress until I know the name of that model,” I said.

“You can always ask at the model market in the morning,” Mary said so casually that I thought she was joking.

“Model market?” I saw she wasn’t smiling. “There really is a market for models?”

“Absolutely. Every Monday morning. In the Place Pigalle. Artists come from all over Paris to find the right model for the subject they want to paint.”

“The models just stand there, like cattle in the market at home in Ireland?”

Mary laughed at my indignation. “Well, some of them sit. And they chat together and share stories on which artists can be trusted and which can’t.”

“Fascinating,” I said. “I’ll go there tomorrow then. Now that Reynold Bryce is dead this girl may be looking for new work.”

Mary nodded. “Of course the girl might not want to talk to you. They are highly suspicious of anything to do with the police.”

“I can pretend to be newly arrived and looking for work. That Spaniard Picasso already said that he wants to paint me.”

Mary snorted. “I’d stay well clear of him, my dear. He has a mistress with a temper, so we hear. You might wind up with a knife stuck into you.”

I laughed too. “I observed that for myself. Don’t worry, I’ve no intention of actually serving as a model. I don’t think Daniel would approve.”

“Well, there’s nothing more you can do today,” Mary said. “And it’s a lovely Sunday afternoon. Would you like to take that son of yours for a walk in his buggy? I’m dying to get out of the house myself. We could walk down to the Trocadéro gardens and maybe even across the Seine to the Eiffel Tower. I know a little ice-cream shop and there’s a merry-go-round that you could take Liam on.”

“It sounds wonderful,” I said. “I’ll go and get him ready. It’s only too bad that Sid and Gus can’t join us. I hate to think of them trapped inside on a day like this.”

“I know. It must be hard for them, but with your astute detective skills I’m sure it will all be solved satisfactorily soon and they can start enjoying Paris again.”