Gypsy Read Online Free PDF Page A

like the one I once knew. The eyes with laughter, yes, but also the gaze that constantly searches, the heart most especially.’
    â€˜But … but you just said you were not to look at the guests?’
    â€˜Ah! this I could not help since the mirror I was polishing faced him and I could not stop him from pausing to straighten his tie. He was very smartly dressed, wore the pistol in its holster and had the Iron Cross at his throat. The attaché case … ah, now. Could there have been explosives in it, Inspector? L’eau de vie de nitroglycérine ? He has set the case very delicately on the table before straightening his tie and looking at me.’
    â€˜At about what time?’
    â€˜I cannot tell you. The watch, it is in for repairs.’
    â€˜The mont-de-piété ?’
    The pawnshop. ‘Yes.’
    He sighed as another 500 francs were found. ‘That’s to get your watch back.’
    The Boches were such fools! ‘At 8.15 he has gone along the corridor towards room 13. I have had to dust the spare suite that is always kept for the Reichsmarschall Goering, even though that one has a villa in Paris. My back, it was turned for some time.’
    â€˜At 8.15.’
    â€˜Yes. And then, Inspector, at 8.47 he has taken the lift. This I have also seen.’
    Verdammt , and so much for her not having had a watch!
    â€˜Henri will tell you what I have just said, but to grease the elevator operator’s memory you will need much more. 2000 at least.’
    A bargain, then. He was half-way down the narrow staircase when she hesitantly called after him. ‘Monsieur, has Mademoiselle Thélème been detained? It … it is only that she could not possibly be involved. You see, she has a little boy who is the light of her life. She would do nothing to endanger him. A mother’s love is beyond all loves. This I know though the heart, it has been broken now for more than forty years.’
    â€˜She’s okay. She’s in good hands. My partner’s looking after her.’
    The suit was very much in vogue, yet sensible, thought St-Cyr. Four stag-horn buttons complemented the finely woven, soft, grey-blue mohair, while a chain of gold links caused the jacket to flare over the hips, emphasizing the slender waist and long and shapely legs beneath the midcalf-length skirt.
    The ribbing of the wool ran the length of Mademoiselle Thélème. The high-heeled shoes were of glossy blue leather – Italian and pre-war but perfectly kept.
    A woman, then, who knew how to dress and was proud of it, even to following his scrutiny, not denying herself that little pleasure yet keeping her mind acutely alert to everything else.
    It was disconcerting to have to question her in front of Engelmann while the Generalmajor flitted nervously about in the background, uncertain still of her responses and of where things were heading.
    Hans Wehrle definitely didn’t like the attention he was getting but that could simply mean he understood only too well the sort of things that could happen. Ruefully St-Cyr wished his partner was with them, but Hermann had chosen to forget about the coffee and was, no doubt, engaged in other matters.
    â€˜So tell me, please, about the Gypsy?’
    She shrugged. ‘I know nothing of gypsies. Who cares about them?’ She tossed a dismissive hand. ‘They’ve all been arrested and sent away, haven’t they? Pah! We don’t see any of those people any more and if we did, we would have to report them.’
    Or worry that they were working for the Occupier – he could see her thinking this and acknowledged it with a curt nod. Safe … she had been so very safe and cautious in what she had said.
    â€˜But you sing at two of the gypsy places?’ he hazarded.
    â€˜Fiercely loyal White Russians, Czech and Hungarian balalaika and fiddle players. Sentimental songs that have been around for ages. They aren’t real gypsies. Oh mein