Naugier looked pointedly in both directions. 'Did you see or meet anyone in that time?' Foliage further down the riverbank was thin, the view virtually clear; most of the foliage and trees were clustered along the bank's ridge bordering the farm track.
'No.'
Following Naugier's gaze towards the flat bridge a hundred yards downstream, Molet suddenly picked up on the significance. The small bridge connecting the neighbouring farm to Breuille's wheat field was in the police report as 'where we think the boy crossed', mainly because there were no sightings of him walking through the village itself. But he hadn't realized it would be so visible.
Naugier pointed. 'You are aware that is the only connecting bridge for some distance. Can you see it clearly from here?'
Molet prayed for Machanaud to suddenly plead short-sightedness, but his 'Yes' came crisply.
'And you saw nobody crossing that bridge throughout your time here that afternoon?'
'No.'
Naugier looked thoughtfully in the other direction, upstream; then he slowly scanned up the river bank towards the path, as if he was following an imaginary line towards where the attack had taken place. 'Monsieur Machanaud. Can you see the gendarme we left standing on the path?'
'No. I can't see him.'
'And the afternoon you were fishing — did you see or hear anything from the position where the gendarme is now standing?'
'No.'
Naugier nodded. This made sense. The river bank dipped down sharply. The only part of the lane visible was lower down as it sloped towards the road. 'Now let us return to your sighting of vehicles passing that afternoon, starting with the first vehicle. What time would that have been?'
'Maybe forty minutes after I arrived.'
'What sort of car was that?'
'I didn't see. I only heard the noise and the direction it was travelling — up towards Caurin's farm.'
Caurin? Naugier flicked back a few pages in his file for the reference. Marius Caurin owned the farm behind and was the first to discover the boy. He'd been quickly eliminated: his tractor had been seen by at least three people going through Taragnon at the time of the assault, and Machanaud too had mentioned his tractor leaving in his first statement. 'The same Caurin whose tractor you saw heading down the track. What time would that have been?'
'Perhaps forty or fifty minutes before I left.'
Naugier ran through with Machanaud the remaining car sightings and timings, then flicked forward to some blank pages in his file and started writing: First car: up at 1.45–50. Second car: down at 2.15 (not heard by Machanaud). Third car: Caurin's tractor, down at 2.25. Fourth car: up at 2.45–50 (heard by Machanaud). Fifth car: down at 3.00, just minutes before Machanaud leaves himself (heard and seen by Machanaud). 3.03–05: Machanaud leaves on his solex, is sighted by… Naugier looked up towards Poullain. 'What is the name of the woman who saw Machanaud leaving?'
'Madame Veillan.'
Naugier wrote in the name, and added: 3.16–18: Caurin returns to his farm and discovers boy.Estimated duration of attack:40–60 minutes. Time of attack: 1.30-3.00. So certainly Caurin's tractor had passed while the attack was in progress, but possibly the first and second cars as well. He took out and lit a Gitane and blew out the first fumes hesitantly. With the various cars passing, if indeed there was someone else there that afternoon, they couldn't possibly have stayed on the lane. The final attack must have been a few minutes at most; any longer exposure in that position would have been too risky. For the rest of the time, they must have…
Machanaud's voice cut in. 'But it wasn't till later that I remembered that final car clearly. It was an Alfa Romeo.'
It took a second for Naugier to detach from his previous thoughts. He noticed Molet glaring at Machanaud; probably he had pre-warned his client about making uninvited comments during instruction. 'From your statement, I thought that it was a Citroen you saw?'
Molet stepped in before Machanaud put his foot completely in his mouth. 'It was — on my clients original statement. But later he went into the police station and advised of the change, which from checking I believe has never been recorded. He also later mentioned the same revised sighting to a gendarme in a local Taragnon bar. We expected this to be covered at a later instruction, at which stage my questions would have been put forward for you to pose to the gendarmes in question.'
'A bit late for that, isn't it,' Naugier barked. 'Your client seems to have brought the subject up himself.'
Molet duly nodded and looked down. One of the great inadequacies of the instruction process was that the examining magistrate could freely divert, while the lawyers were restricted by the schedule provided two days in advance of each hearing. Diversions were unchartered territory, to be avoided at all costs. The only consolation was that it also worked against the prosecution: Perrimond looked equally as uncomfortable.
Dominic's heart was in his mouth at the sudden change in questioning. He'd resigned himself to prepare for the later instruction and tie his answers in with Poullain's. But now with rising panic he realized that Naugier could turn on him at any second and he wouldn't know what to say.
Naugier turned towards Poullain. ‘I understand, Captain Poullain, you were the officer who took the original statement regarding the Citreon. To your knowledge was this at any later stage changed?'
Poullain fleetingly caught Perrimond's and Dominic's eye, but hid his concern quickly. 'Yes… I believe so.' He nodded back in the direction of Briant. 'A few days after his initial statement, Machanaud came into the station and saw one of my officers, Sergeant Briant, and he-'
Perrimond interrupted. 'Sir, I along with the defence council would like to protest. This was something scheduled to go into in more depth at a later meeting. We are therefore — as with Monsieur Molet — totally unprepared with any questions that could add valuable light. I see neither the prosecution or defence case benefiting.'
'That isn't quite how I feel,' Molet countered. 'I see my client benefiting from pursuit of this line of questioning. It's just that I feel he would benefit more with prepared questions, as is his right.'
Naugier held up one hand sharply. 'Gentlemen — in case you both need reminding. I, and I alone, will decide the benefit of any line of questioning at this or any future instruction hearing at which you are both present. You may still prepare your questions regarding this subject and propose them at a later date, as originally planned. But this now is for my curiosity.' Naugier pulled hard on his Gitane. 'Captain Poullain — I suggest you finish your answer.'
'Monsieur Molet was correct to mention inconsistencies, because that is exactly why no record was made of the change in statement.' Poullain was more confident, firm. The few seconds interruption had allowed him to gather his composure. 'Machanaud came into the gendarmerie a few days after his initial statement. It was late in the evening and he was very drunk. He advised that he now remembered more clearly the car that passed — it was an Alfa Romeo sports. An open top sports. In checking, there were no other sightings of such a car, but in any case we were about to ask Machanaud in to make his statement official when a day or so later he met one of my other men in a local bar. This time he said that it was an Alfa Romeo coupe that he saw.'
Molet exhaled audibly. He could see already where it was heading; his worst fears at the issue being tackled early were being realized.
Naugier gave him a sharp look, warning off any possible interruption, and turned back to Poullain. 'Well, surely one or the other should have been entered.'