A senior agent of the DGSE called Pierre de Vaumont on Monday, explained that there had been an unfortunate incident at the Château Pasquier on Saturday, and said they wanted to discuss it with him and have him examined to make sure it hadn’t affected him too. He assured them that he was fine, but they were adamant and refused to be put off.

Guy Thomas was in the interview with him. Pierre was very smooth on the surface, but Guy thought he looked nervous.

They explained that Theo Morgan Pasquier had been poisoned with a Russian nerve agent, as had her bodyguard, and they wanted to be assured that there were no traces in Pierre’s bloodstream. They insisted on taking blood to be examined, and at the end of the interview, Guy asked him casually if he would mind bringing them the gloves he had worn to the château to be tested. He suggested delivering them in a plastic bag, and Pierre had a quick answer. He explained that he had gone to several châteaux over the weekend for his client, and had lost the gloves. He had already called around, as he liked the gloves, and no one had found them or turned them in.

“That is unfortunate, isn’t it?” Guy said, looking him in the eye.

“It is,” Pierre said innocently, “and I just got them at Hermès.”

His bloodwork showed no trace of the nerve agent, not surprisingly since he clearly knew how to apply it. It had been put on the doorknob in a liquid form, which had neither color, nor odor. And the gloves that might have shown traces of it had vanished. Guy surmised that he had arrived the day before the appointed hour so he had time to apply it. Theo would be exposed as soon as she touched the doorknob. Lucky for him, she had been half an hour late so he had even more time. He was wily.

—

Guy, Mike, and Robert had the promised conference call on Tuesday. It was entirely about how to protect Theo if the kidnappers came back to Paris and tried to kidnap her this time, or if another group came along with the same idea. Guy vowed to put more of his agents on the detail following her, until some new evidence appeared suggesting that she was no longer in danger. None of them felt that was likely to happen. She was undeniably a highly desirable target. Mike trusted both men, but was uneasy about what might happen, especially given the rumors Robert had heard, and the recent poisoning.