‘My lions have enough to eat. I have enough to feed the whole village.’

‘I believe you. I would just like to know what kind of animals are taking them from us – perhaps it’s wolves.’

‘It’s not wolves.’

‘How do you know?’

‘Look around at these hills. Millions of years ago, this land was at the bottom of the ocean. All these trees and meadows are growing on the remains of life at the bottom of the sea. When the sea retreated, the hills found fresh air, so plants grew, then animals appeared; some evolved into man. At the time wolves and men were equal, hunting the same prey on the same land, in the same forests. Then they began to organise, wolves in packs and men in groups, and were for a time allies in coordinating hunting. Still now, wolves and men are the same, except that when a wolf steals an animal it’s obvious; a wolf never thinks of hiding its crime.’

‘Why do you say that?’

‘If a ewe disappears without trace, it has not been killed by an animal.’

August 2017

August 2017

Franck went to pick Liem and Travis up from the station in Souillac. He could tell they were on the defensive as they walked along the platform towards him. They had taken the seven o’clock train from Gare d’Austerlitz and were exhausted after six hours of travel. They couldn’t believe it had taken such a long time. They kept saying that it took as long to get to the Lot as it would have taken to get to New York, as if it were some great achievement.

‘And it’s not over yet, guys. You’ll see, there’s still a good hour to go …’

‘You’re joking. Are you trying to kill us or something?’

Franck glanced at Travis in the rear-view mirror and smiled.

‘You won’t regret it when you get there, you’ll see. And it’s worth it for a signature, right? You wanted to do things quickly and soon it’ll be done! We’ll sign and everything will be sorted.’

‘Franck, we’re just signing the amendments, not a contract.’

‘That remains to be seen …’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Nothing, just that a signature is always a formal agreement.’

Travis tried to catch Franck’s eye in the rear-view mirror; he was keeping an open mind but he found Franck’s high spirits a little suspicious.

‘By the way, did you bring your walking boots?’