She asked him again what he was doing there, and he told her about his fictional client, mildly embarrassed to be lying to her. But he couldn’t tell her the truth that he had come for her, to push the investigation back to life, and hopefully to see her if he was lucky. He felt very fortunate that night, sitting close to her in the comfortable chairs in her office, as he enjoyed the mixture of fine art and personal memorabilia on the walls, and her company. He noticed the photographs of her son all over the room and didn’t comment.

“I thought I might never see you again,” she said gently, after the bodyguard brought the champagne and poured it for them. She had thanked him, and he disappeared.

“Why would you think that?” Mike asked her.

“Because New York seems a long way from here, and I didn’t imagine you’d have to come to Paris so soon. Did you know when I saw you?” she asked, curious that he hadn’t mentioned it to her, except that he had a client in Paris, but not that he was coming to see him.

“It just came up midweek. He needed to see me about some investments.”

“Will you have to work all weekend?”

“No, we finished today. It went faster than we expected. He left tonight for the weekend.”

“How long are you here for?” she asked.

“Till Monday. I hear you’re expecting protests and a strike tomorrow. I saw the police setting up today. It looks like they’re anticipating some heavy action.”

“People get crazy here.”

“What are they protesting?”

“Low wages, high taxes, all the usual things. They’re not wrong, but a bad element always infiltrates those protests and then they go nuts and start destroying property, burning cars, and looting stores. It’s very disturbing, and it can get dangerous.” She looked faintly concerned, but not too much so. It was a common occurrence here.

“Sounds like a good day to stay home,” he suggested cautiously.

“I usually do. They close all the shops and restaurants anyway. If you get bored, you can come here and watch from my windows.”

“Do they come to this neighborhood?” He was surprised.

“Sometimes. We have the guards, so I’m not worried. People won’t get in, but they can throw rocks through the windows. If it gets too bad, I’ll close the shutters.” It seemed run-of-the-mill to her and he was pleased to see that she was well protected. They talked easily for an hour, and then they left to go to the restaurant. He caught a glimpse of the grand living room and a huge crystal chandelier in the dining room from the front hall where she put a coat on, then he followed her out of the apartment. One of the bodyguards came with them, and her driver was waiting downstairs in a discreet Mercedes.