In the past, such an ultimatum would have been like a red flag to a bull, but this time Elizabeth didn’t put up any protest at all. In fact, thought Lucy, she seemed relieved to have the matter taken out of her hands. She dutifully called Girard, but her call went to phone mail, so she left a message describing the attempted break-in. Bill had more luck with Lapointe, who agreed to see them at ten o’clock at the quai des Orfèvres.

Lapointe wasn’t the least bit surprised to see them; he seemed to regard their decision to meet with him as inevitable, part of the immutable course of events in any investigation. “You have something to tell me?” he said with a mournful sigh.

“Last night two men tried to break into my daughter’s apartment,” said Bill. “She was able to identify them as colleagues from the Cavendish Hotel.”

“Their names?” inquired Lapointe with a raised eyebrow.

“Adil Sadek and Malik Mehanna,” said Elizabeth. “They work at the Cavendish Hotel, where I work.”

“You say they tried to break in? They were not successful?”

Lucy jumped right in. “Fortunately, she had fastened the security chain.”

“But the locks?” asked Lapointe.

“They were locked, but they opened them somehow. I heard scratching sounds.”

“And why did you not open the door when they knocked? They did knock?”

“They knocked,” said Elizabeth. “But I was not presentable.”

“Ah,” he sighed, giving Elizabeth an appreciative once-over. “Déshabillée.”

Lucy didn’t think Lapointe was taking the attempted break-in very seriously. “You know what happened to my daughter’s roommate? Sylvie Seydoux? She was murdered. Her body was found in the Seine.”

“Ah,” said Lapointe. “I did not make the connection.” He paused. “Your daughter made a wise decision, I think.”

“No thanks to you or your department,” snapped Bill. “Do you guys talk to each other? Do you share information? Look for connections?”

Lucy thought it was time to intervene, before Bill completely lost his temper. “And those two men also broke into our apartment, where we’re staying with our friends. It was all caught on a security camera. They told the concierge they were police, and she let them in. She was in a hurry to get to the market.” Lucy paused. “We think it’s all connected to the Cavendish in some way. Chef Larry and Sylvie both had ties to the hotel.”

“What is this break-in? Why was I not informed?”