Max looked around for her nearest security camera. There was one at either end of the hall, but, she noticed, they would both just miss the painting. She walked to the nearest and started pulling faces at it.

Outside, police arrived. The alarms were turned off.

Come on, she thought, dancing for the camera. Check your screens. Look for the thieves. Come and get me.

When they arrived in her hallway at last, an army of dark blue, Le Goff was at the helm. Someone must have told him that his escaped captives had been found. He arrived at the doorway to the hall with Marguerite already in handcuffs, with Great-Aunt Elodie gliding at his side, closely followed by Suzanne. Suzanne glared at Max, and now that her fury and hatred no longer had to be disguised, her blue-green eyes seemed on fire with it. Ester and Klaus, forgotten, hurried along behind the knot of Turkish police officers.

“Diamonds!” announced the parrot. “Meddlers!”

“Quite,” sighed Le Goff. “Maximilienne. You again. I have had to interrupt my brunch.”

“Good morning, Commandant,” said Max politely. Her heart was thudding. She was working hard to sound calm. “Good morning, Great-Aunt.”

“Maximilienne Morel,” began Le Goff, “I am placing you under arrest—”

“I know,” said Max, “but please – I think you should check this safe first.” And she took the painting off the wall. Great-Aunt Elodie’s face twitched for a nanosecond into anger and shock, then she recovered, and restored her small smile. Suzanne’s eyes narrowed.

“Please,” said Max, “look. The security cameras just miss it.” She pointed left and right. “Why is that, Great-Aunt? Wouldn’t it be safer to have it watched? Why would you leave it uncovered?”

“Please, Maximilienne,” cut in Le Goff. “This foolishness is wasting valuable time—”

“Commandant Le Goff,” said Max, “if you look in this safe, I promise you I will come really quietly. You can go back to brunch. But if you don’t look, I’m going to be difficult.”

“Oh, me too,” said Marguerite, delighted.

“And me!” screeched Ester.

Le Goff shuddered. “Fine. Madame Morel, would you please open the safe?”

“No.”

“No?”

“I’m afraid I won’t be doing that, Commandant. It’s private.”

For the first time, a dull flicker of suspicion crossed Le Goff’s face. “Private?” he repeated.

“Yes,” said Great-Aunt Elodie, her voice steely. “And if you insist on waiting for me to open it, my dear, then you will not just miss brunch. You will miss your lunch break, your post-lunch coffee, your mid-afternoon coffee, your dinner, and your evening chocolat.”

Le Goff paled. He looked from Max to Great-Aunt Elodie to Max again. “All right,” he said. “Fine. Maximilienne—”

“Heartbreak!”

Le Goff, the knot of Turkish police, Ester, Klaus, Great-Aunt Elodie, Suzanne and Max all turned to look at the parrot. It heaved a heavy wing up, as if it was trying to call for their attention.

“Heartbreak!” it repeated. “Diiiiamond. Meddlers. Heartbreak!”