Getting Old Is Très Dangereux: A Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page B

covered with photos of French scenery. Large posters with author photos and book titles are spread about the area. There are small booths for meetings. And young people, dressed in waiter apparel, hand out champagne.
    The two redheads are easy to spot. Michelle and Colette are standing with a woman who reminds him of pictures he’s seen of Edith Piaf, the famous French singer of sad songs—tiny, dark, intense, dressed all in black. Everyone is speaking in rapid-fire French.
    Colette spots him and pokes Michelle. Michellewaves. She says a few hurried words to the Piaf-like woman. They kiss cheek to cheek and Michelle takes her leave.
    She hurries over to Jack. “I was hoping you would return.”
    “Are you busy? I could come back later.”
    “For you,
mon cher
, I am not busy. I have completed my editor’s
petite
meeting.”
    His heart is pounding again. He wonders if it’s excitement about seeing her, or guilt. What must Gladdy be thinking? He’s behaving like a schoolboy. He remembers how often Michelle made him feel this way. Awkward. Fearful of making mistakes.
Was I ever as comfortable with her as I am with Gladdy?
    Her loveliness makes him catch his breath. But then, any man would react to her beauty. He gives her a quick hug. She hugs back. He pulls away first.
    “It is such a lucky coincidence seeing you at this book fair. What about a brief stroll around the nearby shops, that would be nice. It’s a beautiful day. Away from the crowds,
n’est-ce pas?”
    “Much better,” Jack says.
    “And we shall find a café and we’ll chat. And you will tell me how you have managed to live so long without me.” She laughs out loud, enjoying Jack’s discomfort at her teasing. “Colette,” she calls out, dismissing her.
“À bientôt.”
    They stroll along the beach-cluttered T-shirttourist avenue. “Not quite Montmartre,” he comments.
    “Ah, you are remembering our many strolls around my city.”
    “How could I forget? It was a magical time.”
    “Real for me. Fantasy for you?” Her eyebrows rise.
    “I didn’t want to hurt you. But I did anyway.”
    “That is, how shall I say it—water under
le pont.”
She smiles. “I did think to look you up when I arrived, but I wished to avoid another rejection.”
    Jack reddens. Guilty.
    She puts her arm through his and leans into him. “But we found each other again. Perhaps fate meant us to meet again.”
    Uh-oh. What has he gotten himself into? he wonders.
    They reach a coffee shop and Jack suggests they go in. When they are seated, he changes the subject. “Tell me about the threats. And don’t make light of this.”
    “
Alors
. My worrywart little niece. Something to shrug off.”
    “Details. Come on.”
    “There were letters. Telling me to stop writing my books. If I do not, I will be killed.”
    “And you don’t think that’s serious?”
    She shrugs. “Over these years, after each book there have been many … complainers. Threats about lawsuits. Getting even with me—like that. Much name-calling. How you say—it goes with the territory.”
    “I don’t suppose you kept the letters?”
    She shakes her head. “No.”
    “Colette seems particularly frightened. Why?”
    “She feels that someone is stalking us. She thinks she saw a quick glimpse of the same man. But I look and I see no one. I am much too busy to believe this nonsense.”
    “I have advice for you and you are going to listen to me. Say you will.”
    Again that very French shrug and lifting of eyebrows.
    “Say it.”
    “I will do anything you say,
mon cher
. Anything.”
    Jack busies himself with his cup of coffee. As long as he doesn’t look at her, he can talk—like a cop. Like a friend.

4
MYSTERIOUS WOMAN
    W hen we arrive back at Lanai Gardens, we see Ida, Evvie, Joe, and a group of our neighbors standing in a large circle on the expansive lawn of Phase Two. Joe looks pale, which means he must have had his chemo treatment today. His clothes seem looser to me. But I’m