“Duck breast,” said Sue. “But I don’t have a clue about cervelles en matelote.”

“It sounds delicious,” said Rachel.

“If you don’t know what it is,” advised Bill, wiser after his encounter with tête de veau, “I wouldn’t order it.”

“Point taken,” agreed Sue. “I think I’ll have a salade niçoise.”

“Better safe than sorry,” agreed Lucy. “I think I’ll have that, too. I’m not really very hungry.”

“I’ve rather lost my appetite, too,” said Ted. “I guess witnessing the bloody aftermath of a violent stabbing does that to you.”

“It looks like we’re going to have plenty of time to get acquainted with French cuisine,” observed Bob. “From what the guy at the embassy said, the French cops can keep our passports for as long as they like and we have no recourse except to cooperate.”

“I called Richard this afternoon, and that’s pretty much what he said,” offered Ted, reaching for the carafe to top off his glass just as the waiter arrived to take their order. When that business was done, he continued his report. “Richard said we should tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. He mentioned this politician quite high up in the government who was tried for corruption and actually cleared, but, get this, the guy’s wife went to jail because she told some lies, attempting to cover up for him.”

“I thought there’s some rule about spouses not having to testify against each other,” said Pam, taking a bite of bread.

“Not unless they want to,” quipped Sue.

“That’s back home,” said Bob with a sigh. “But it seems it’s not the case in France.”

“Our only option is to cooperate,” said Lucy. “Not that we wouldn’t, of course. I asked Elizabeth if anybody at the hotel could help us.”

“Good idea,” said Pam, forever the cheerleader she was in high school.

“Don’t get too excited,” advised Lucy. “She was reluctant to get involved, and I guess I can’t blame her. She was afraid of damaging her professional reputation.”

“Well, I called Sidra,” said Sue. “I figured that if anyone could help us, it would be Norah—and I was right. As soon as Sidra told her about our problems, she called me and promised to make arrangements with some big international lawyer she knows who can assist us. . . .”

“That’s going to be expensive,” cautioned Bob.

“Even better, Norah said she’d cover any additional expenses while we’re detained here in Paris, including the lawyer.”

“That’s terrific,” said Pam.

“I had a nice little chat with our concierge,” offered Rachel. “She speaks quite good English, and I asked if it would be a problem if we wanted to keep the apartment a bit longer.”

“I hope you didn’t tell her we’re involved in a police investigation,” said Lucy.

“I didn’t, but why not?” asked Rachel.