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Chapters (56)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. CHAPTER ONE
  4. CHAPTER TWO
  5. CHAPTER THREE
  6. CHAPTER FOUR
  7. CHAPTER FIVE
  8. CHAPTER SIX
  9. CHAPTER SEVEN
  10. CHAPTER EIGHT
  11. CHAPTER NINE
  12. CHAPTER TEN
  13. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  14. CHAPTER TWELVE
  15. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  16. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  17. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  18. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  19. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  20. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  21. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  22. CHAPTER TWENTY
  23. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  32. CHAPTER THIRTY
  33. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  42. CHAPTER FORTY
  43. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  44. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  52. Acknowledgements
  53. ‘The Survivors’ Ad
  54. ‘The Betrayal’ Ad
  55. ‘The Liberation’ Ad
  56. Copyright

‘Miss Caussade, you are mistaken.’

‘About the aircraft being powered by nuclear energy? Or about it coming to Dumoulin Air Base?’

‘Both.’

‘Colonel, there are rumours about this prototype aircraft that are coming out of this air base. It clearly means you have an Intelligence leak. Are you aware of it?’ I kept my voice low and private. ‘The local Communists are using this information as yet more propaganda to turn people against American interference in our country. Rumours like this add fuel to the Communist fire.’

My father watched the colonel. Clarisse watched me. But I looked past them. I looked across the room, past the smart military khaki uniforms and the freshly pressed suits to the ornate gold mayoral chain of office with the horned head of a taureau noir at its heart, the symbol of Serriac. Its wearer, Mayor Charles Durand, brandished a glass in one hand and a cigar in the other, a fine-looking man in his grand regalia. Around him stood an attentive group. One man was voicing his opinions with a dramatic dance of his hands, but the mayor was not listening. He was staring at me. Not casually. Not out of boredom. He was staring straight at me like one of the USAF’s anti-aircraft rockets. As if he would shoot me down.

A hand cupped my elbow. I looked round. It was Léon. Firmly he steered me away from the CO to a quiet corner and said, ‘I have news.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

LÉON ROUSSEL

Léon did not let go of Eloïse’s arm. He stood close to her, holding on to it, because for some inexplicable reason he clung to the belief that while his hand was locked around her arm, she would be safe from rifle bullets and from knives sliding between ribs. It was self-delusional of course, he knew that. But right now it was all he had.

‘What news?’ she asked quickly.

She had a fire in her dark eyes today. It seemed to be consuming her. He recognised it at once. It was exactly how he felt when working on a crime case and knowing that the answers were close. The heat builds in your chest. A fire in there that never goes away. That’s what he saw reflected in her eyes and it made him want to whisk her away from here. He glanced quickly around the noisy reception room, assessing the mood the way he would a rowdy street gathering on a Saturday night. Across the room both Colonel Masson and Mayor Durand still had their eyes on her.

Léon put a small smile on his face for their benefit. ‘What the hell were you saying to Masson about the leak at the air base?’

She shook her head. ‘Tell me, what news?’

‘This morning I’ve been over at the burned cottage again with a couple of men, digging around. Literally.’