‘The former smoking rooms, the location of the poker game, were well to that side of the main entrance,’ said Herr Kohler.
‘A risk, a gamble, oh for sure, Hermann, but they did take that far staircase. Had they not, Room 3-54 was close enough. Nora would most likely have gone into room 3-38 when they reached it while Mary-Lynn, remaining in the corridor, would have continued coming towards where he was hidden.’
‘He would first have heard Jill and Marni coming up those stairs, wouldn’t have known what the hell to do except wait.’
‘That would have put him right on edge, Hermann, but then he did hear the other two shouting at each other and could easily have identified them by the names they were using for each other. Parking his chewing gum, he would push the one or both if necessary since it didn’t matter to him so long as he could tell Berlin that Colonel Kessler’s mistress had taken her own life.’
‘Nora, if she’d also been pushed, having simply made the mistake of rushing to her assistance and falling as well, Louis.’
They paused, letting all of that sink in, thought Nora. Again Madame Chevreul looked as if she would faint, Léa now with both hands on the woman’s shoulders.
‘But Caroline refused to be silent, Hermann. She had seen what had happened.’
‘A glimpse if that, Louis, but one she was absolutely certain of, though she couldn’t tell any of them and went so far as to even claim she’d been the intended victim.’
‘Had also just argued with Jennifer and had, I’m sure, discovered not only that she had never been loved but that Jennifer had used her and had been the one who had been stealing things.’
‘A money cowrie was found in one of Caroline’s coat pockets,’ said Herr Kohler, reaching out to place it in Bamba Duclos’s little basket, ‘which she had, no doubt, planned to return.’
‘A Star of David,’ said St-Cyr, ‘was found crammed in a pocket-an object, Mesdames Chevreul and Monnier, that you told me Cérès had spoken of last night during the séance you held in the absence of that girl. Something about the Milky Way, I believe.’
Again there was a pause, but this time it grew into a silence so deep, Nora felt she could hear the sitters’ collective hearts pounding.
‘A meeting place was needed, Louis, and a person to whom Caroline could entrust the note she had hidden in her collar.’
‘Unfortunately, mes amies, Jennifer knew all about this and went straight to you, her lover, Marguerite Lefèvre,’ said Louis, ‘to tell you not only what Caroline intended but that she greatly feared the girl would tell the new Kommandant who the thief was.’
‘That would, of course, have got straight back to Weber. Léa was all ears when you consulted her, wasn’t she, Marguerite?’ asked Herr Kohler. ‘You went straight to him, didn’t you, Madame Monnier?’
‘And he, having good reasons of his own to be concerned, suggested the Chalet des Ânes and that he would leave its padlock open since no one would question his having been near it,’ said St-Cyr.
‘Kessler had been recalled, so Weber could well afford to wait and let them deal with it first, Louis,’ said Herr Kohler, ‘but only if you, Madame Monnier, swore you’d come straight to him the moment the meeting was over and knew its result.’
‘And when Caroline left her room to go to that meeting, Madame Vernon, she had good reason to say to you, “It’s not what you think. You’ll know soon enough.”’
‘Marguerite Lefèvre,’ said Hermann, ‘you were told by your mistress and Léa to wait inside that chalet to convince that girl to say nothing, to just leave it or else. The Americans were conveniently claiming Mary-Lynn’s death an accident. Why take it further and bring trouble, why not simply let it rest?’
‘You see, mes amies,’ said Louis, ‘no other weapon or evidence of there having been one was found, hence we presume that girl’s killer didn’t want to physically harm, only to warn, but perhaps Cérès should be asked.’
‘You’re right, you know,’ said Marguerite with a shrug. ‘I didn’t mean to kill her. It. . it just happened.’
‘Caroline knew you and Jennifer were still madly in love and that she had been lied to,’ said Hermann.
‘She wouldn’t listen. By then she had that yellow star in hand and was thrusting it at me and in tears as proof of Jennifer’s stealing. I warned her. She backed away and said she’d been in love with a thief who had never been in love with her but had stolen her heart, and that she was going to tell the new Kommandant not only who had killed Mary-Lynn but who had been stealing things, and then. . then she would tell everyone else.’
‘You snatched up that pitchfork,’ said Herr Kohler sadly.
‘And then tidied the corpse-an impulse, perhaps-so as to make it look like Jennifer had done it,’ said St-Cyr. ‘Even though still in love with her, you had to save yourself.’
‘Which leaves us with that sprig of beech and coils of bark, Louis.’
Nora knew she would have to tell them. ‘All right, I did go there but not until I saw Becky turning away. I had brought those for Angèle, but Étienne had used his petrolette, and I guess I. . I must have dropped them in shock when I found Caroline like that.’
‘Which brings us now to another matter,’ said St-Cyr. ‘Marguerite Lefèvre, did you see Nora head towards that chalet after Becky had turned away?’
‘Oui.’
‘And did you not also see her from your windows, Mesdames Chevreul and Monnier?’
‘Since you know we did, so what?’ said Léa.
‘Hence Nora’s worrying that she would be pushed, Hermann, and Madame’s warning to us that Jennifer was in grave danger.’
‘Madame Vernon having hated that girl, offered answer to their little problem, Louis.’
‘You see, Madame Chevreul, you couldn’t have Caroline telling anyone that Jennifer had come to your maid for help and that Madame Monnier had then arranged for that meeting place, one that you could both watch even as the brother made a conveniently late arrival. Sergeant Matthieu Senghor, realizing that something was up, wisely ordered Corporal Duclos not to do as he had agreed.’
Again there was an uncomfortable silence.
‘A photo had been borrowed by Caroline from Madame Vernon’s suitcase,’ said Herr Kohler. ‘I take it Jennifer imparted that knowledge to you, Marguerite, and where a key to that suitcase was hidden in Room 3-38?’
‘Inspectors. . ’ began Élizabeth, only to be interrupted.
‘Madame Chevreul, you had to silence Jennifer and put the blame squarely on Madame Vernon’s shoulders,’ said Louis. ‘You had no other choice.’
‘That’s why you told us Jennifer was in great danger,’ said Kohler.
‘And why Marguerite told Jennifer of the telex Herr Weber had received from Berlin this afternoon, Hermann, a telex with details of Nora’s background.’
‘And why Marguerite then gave Jennifer a little present,’ said Kohler.
‘Hortense. . ’ began Madame Chevreul.
‘Your cook baked this pound cake, madame,’ said Louis, using his best sûreté voice. ‘It was admittedly a last desperate measure, even to making certain that enough seeds would be eaten no matter from which end a first slice was taken, but again, perhaps only a stiff warning was intended since Datura stramonium does not often kill.’
‘Now, let’s not keep that goddess waiting any longer,’ said Kohler, ‘but have her take us back to the night of 17 July, 1920.’
‘Madame Chevreul, you had just gone through a brief two years of marriage,’ said St-Cyr.
‘And had inherited plenty, Louis.’
‘And didn’t want nor need to repeat the same performance, had even registered here at the Hôtel Grand under your maiden name.’
‘Were free of all such encumbrances,’ said Kohler.
‘But found yourself wanting a little fun. The theatre, as Madame Vernon has told us, the séances and a little scheme which you had probably no intention of honouring, but then, ah then, Hermann, he wanted the gris-gris he had given her back.’