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vehicle is
parked in the place where the president of the savings bank parks. He’s still
out at lunch right now, but he’ll be back before too long, and you can
understand what his feelings are going to be if he discovers an out-of-state
vehicle occupying his customary place.’
    Charlie stared
at the deputy in disbelief. The wind whispered through the maples, and over by
the commercial district a dog was barking. At last, Charlie said, with
uncompromising coldness,
    ‘Take off those
sunglasses.’
    The deputy
hesitated at first, but then slowly removed them. His eyes were green and one
of them was slightly bloodshot.
    Charlie said,
‘Do you happen to know where I can find a French-style restaurant called Le Reposoir ?’
    The deputy
glanced at the two old men. ‘Is that what you asked these gentlemen?’
    ‘Yes it is. But
now I’m asking you.’
    ‘Well, sir, Le Reposoir isn’t open to the public.
It’s more of a dining club than a restaurant. The way I understand it, you have
to make a special appointment before they’ll let you in there.’
    ‘I see. But can
you tell me where it is?’
    The deputy
looked uncomfortable. ‘The people who run Le
Reposoir are not too keen on unexpected visitors, sir. A couple of times
they’ve called us out to take away trespassers.’
    ‘I’ll deal with
that when I get there, deputy. All I want to know from you is where it is.’
    ‘Sir – believe
me – it doesn’t have too good a reputation. I don’t know how you got to hear
about it, but the people round here don’t speak too well about it. If I were
you, I’d take a raincheck. Billy’s is probably the best place to eat in Alien’s
Corners, if it’s good country food you’re looking for. My cousin works in the
kitchen, and that kitchen’s so clean, you wouldn’t mind them taking out your
appendix.’
    Charlie said,
‘You still haven’t given me any idea where to find Le Reposoir .’
    The deputy
pushed his sunglasses back on to his nose. ‘I’m sorry sir, I’m not sure that I
should.
    We do our best
to divert people away from Le Reposoir ,
tell you the truth.’
    Til make a deal
with you,’ Charlie suggested. ‘You tell me where Le Reposoir is, and I’ll move my car.’
    The deputy
didn’t look at all happy about that. ‘Let me tell you something, sir, Mr
Musette isn’t going to like it any.’
    ‘Mr Musette?
Who’s he?’
    ‘ He kind of runs Le
Reposoir , him and Mrs Musette. Well – I believe they run it, anyway. I
never saw anybody else up there, excepting some tall fellow who was working in
the garden.’
    A Jeep sped
noisly around the green, and the deputy glanced around with undisguised anxiety
in case it was the president of the savings bank, returning from lunch to find
that his sacred parking space had been usurped by a stranger.
    ‘Come on,’ said
Charlie. ‘A deal’s a deal. And what do we have at stake here? The sheriff’s five per cent mortgage?’
    The deputy
said, ‘All I can tell you is the name Musette. You can look it up in the
telephone book.’
    ‘Come on,’ said
Charlie. ‘You can tell me approximately where it is, can’t you?’
    The deputy
looked over at Christopher Prescott, as if he were seeking approval. Charlie
was sure that he saw Prescott almost imperceptibly shake his head, but he
couldn’t be certain about it.
    ‘You’d better
call Mr Musette first,’ the deputy repeated. If you try to go up there
uninvited, well
    - the next
thing I know he’s going to be yelling down the horn at me, telling me to come
up and get you because you’ve been trespassing. Mr Musette has a real obsession
with trespassers.’
    Martin said,
‘Come on, Dad, we won’t have any time left for bowling.’
    ‘Bowling?’
asked the deputy. ‘You won’t be able to do any bowling around here. Nearest
lanes are in Hartford. There used to be a bowl, sure, down by the railroad
depot, but they closed it nine months back. Too many old
folks in Alien’s Corners to make a bowl pay.