A few moments later the woo-wah of sirens was heard, and a small fleet of tiny police cars with flashing blue lights swarmed down the boulevard, braking in front of the hotel. The flics dashed in, and moments later Richard emerged, handcuffed, and was stuffed into the back of a van. A few passersby stopped to watch, but the excitement was almost over before it began, and the police cars vanished as quickly as they had come.

“I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes,” said Bill, counting out euros and putting them on the table.

They were preparing to leave—Lucy was slipping the strap of her handbag over her head—when they noticed a harassed-looking Malik practically collapsing onto a café chair and lighting a cigarette with shaking hands.

This was her chance, she thought. She’d never have another opportunity to question him. “Malik, are you okay?” she asked, approaching his table.

Malik’s shoulders jumped. He was clearly startled, but he relaxed a bit upon recognizing Bill and Lucy. “Monsieur and Madame Stone,” he said, hopping to his feet. “Enchanté.”

“We were just leaving,” said Bill. “I guess you had some excitement at the hotel.”

“You saw? The flics, they arrested a man.” He took a long drag on his cigarette, clearly upset.

“But it was nothing to do with you, right?” asked Lucy.

“Not this time, but you never know, not when you are un étranger, like me. They see brown skin, and it means you’re not French, so you’re guilty.”

“Come on, Malik,” said Lucy. “It’s time to come clean. We know you and Adil searched our apartment, and you tried to break into Elizabeth’s place, too. What were you looking for?”

“Never!” he exclaimed, his dark eyes darting nervously from one to the other.

“There’s a video. You’re on tape,” said Bill.

“The police questioned us,” he said, surprising Lucy. “But we had alibis. We were with Adil’s grandfather. He told them so.” It was obvious he was reciting an agreed upon story, and realizing he didn’t sound very convincing, he added, “And the video images were not clear.” He paused, and this time his voice had the ring of truth. “But it was not so good at work. We were put on probation.”

Lucy’s emotions were in turmoil. On one hand, she felt guilty about getting the boys in trouble, but on the other, she was positive they had tossed the apartment. Even worse, they’d tried to break into Elizabeth’s place. “Look, I think you and Adil are good guys, but you’re involved in something dangerous,” she said. “I know Sylvie had a lot of money. . . .”

He was suddenly on it, like a drug-sniffing dog scenting a stash of coke. “You found it?”

“In her room. We gave it to the police.”

He sat down hard, his head in his hands. “I’m so screwed.”