The Case of the Black Pearl Read Online Free PDF Page B

delicately. ‘I came here tonight because I want to help. I am not on duty.’
    Patrick contemplated what that might mean, exactly.
    She laughed. ‘Don’t look so surprised, Monsieur de Courvoisier. I do go on dates, you know.’
    Patrick liked the sound of that. ‘And this is a date?’
    ‘Perhaps.’
    She moved to sit on the couch, taking her brandy with her. Oscar immediately offered himself as a lap companion, but she told him sternly to stay on the floor. The dog acquiesced with an alacrity seldom experienced by Patrick. Marie Elise, he decided, was formidable as well as beautiful.
    He joined her on the couch and listened while she told her story.
    ‘I met with Angele Valette in the ladies’ powder room. The surface by the sink was awash with cocaine.’ She contemplated Patrick for a moment. ‘However, I do not believe that Angele was high on drugs that night. Maybe high on her success. The movie was very well received. She was good. Arresting, yet somehow vulnerable. Like a young Marilyn Monroe.’ She paused. ‘We talked of make-up and men.’
    ‘Any men in particular?’
    ‘She mentioned Chapayev, the film’s backer. I could almost feel her recoil.’ Marie said this as though it was something she had experienced herself. ‘She didn’t want to make another film with him, no matter how successful this one was. She had other plans.’
    ‘Did she say what they were?’
    ‘No. She smiled like someone with a secret, applied her lipstick and left.’
    ‘And you saw her again that night?’
    Marie shook her head. ‘No. I was at work.’
    Patrick hesitated, not sure whether he could ask the question prominent in his mind. Marie seemed to anticipate this.
    ‘My companion was an American, keen to get into movies. He had money but, I suspect, little talent. His main topic of conversation was vampire movies. He knew a great deal about them.’
    They lapsed into silence. Marie finished her drink. ‘If that is all …’ She rose.
    Patrick found himself suddenly saddened by the thought of her leaving. It was a feeling that didn’t often occur with the women he brought aboard
Les Trois Soeurs
, and hadn’t done so for some time. He found himself saying, ‘You don’t have to go. We could have another brandy, talk some more.’
    Marie smiled. ‘Do you know what I would really like?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘To stroll along the harbour and have a crêpe next to the bandstand.’
    They took Oscar with them. Delighted, he walked alongside Marie. Had the dog possessed a tail, it would have been wagging wildly.
    They ordered crêpes with Nutella and a can of iced tea each. The evening was balmy, the plane trees lime green with new leaves. Behind them the men of Le Suquet played pétanque by spotlight, the click of the balls travelling on the night air.
    When she’d finished eating, Marie wiped her chocolate mouth. ‘I should get home.’
    ‘Would you like me to walk you?’ Patrick offered.
    ‘Then you would know where I live. Madame Lacroix would not be pleased.’ Marie laughed.
    As she rose to go, Patrick heard himself asking, ‘May we meet again?’
    Marie Elise observed him with warm brown eyes. ‘For a crêpe, maybe.’
    He would settle for that and hope for more. ‘How do I get in touch?’
    ‘Le Chevalier.’ She threw him a farewell smile.
    He watched the tall, slim figure pass the covered carousel and disappear behind the children’s boating pool. Oscar emitted a low sound that resembled a smothered howl. He looked up at Patrick, his eyes accusing.
    ‘We’ll both see Marie Elise again,’ Patrick promised.
    On his way home, he went by Le P’tit Zinc. There was no one there he knew, the tables commandeered by festival delegates. Patrick headed for the Irish pub, hoping to catch Stephen.
    The outside tables were packed with smokers, but Stephen wasn’t one of them. He’d quit some years before, but occasionally succumbed after a couple of pints of Guinness. Patrick and Oscar headed inside.
    Once his