‘I see,’ said Alexandra. ‘But they’re really on the wrong track. Pierre would never have hurt a hair of Sophia’s head.’
‘He did have a mistress, though, and it had been going on some time.’
Her face darkened. Marc regretted his last remark. He had no time to think of anything intelligent to follow it with, because Leguennec walked into the restaurant. The godfather had been right. Leguennec had tried to pull a fast one on him. The inspecteur came up to their table.
‘If you’ve finished your lunch, Mlle Haufman, and if you could leave your son with one of your friends for an hour or so, I’d be glad if you would come with me. I have a few more questions I’m obliged to ask you.’
The bastard. Marc did not look at Leguennec. Still, he was simply doing his job, just as Marc had been a few minutes earlier.
Alexandra did not look troubled and Mathias confirmed with a nod that he would look after Kyril. She went out with the inspecteur and got into his car. His appetite gone, Marc pushed away his plate and went to the bar. He asked Juliette to serve him a large glass of beer.
‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘He won’t be able to accuse her of anything. Alexandra didn’t go out all night.’
‘I know,’ said Marc with a sigh. ‘That’s what she says. But he won’t believe her. From the start he hasn’t believed a word she’s said.’
‘That’s his job,’ said Juliette. ‘But I can tell you she didn’t move. That’s the truth and I can tell him so.’
Marc grabbed her hand.
‘Tell me, how do you know?’
‘I could see,’ smiled Juliette. ‘At eleven o’clock, I finished my book and put out the light. But I couldn’t sleep. I often can’t. Sometimes I hear Georges snoring upstairs and that keeps me awake. But last night there wasn’t even any snoring. So I went downstairs to get another book, and stayed down there reading until about half-past two. Then I thought I really ought to try and get some sleep. So I went back up and forced myself to take a pill and went off to sleep. But what I can tell you, Marc, is that between eleven o’clock and about half-past two, Alexandra didn’t go out. There wasn’t any sound of noise or cars. When she goes out at night, she takes the little boy with her. I don’t like her doing that. Anyway last night Kyril’s little nightlight was on. He’s afraid of the dark, like any child.’
Marc felt all his hopes evaporate. He looked at Juliette, aghast.
‘What’s the matter?’ said Juliette. ‘You ought to be happy. Lex is out of trouble.’
Marc shook his head. Looking round the restaurant which was starting to fill up, he moved closer to Juliette.
‘You’re sure that at about two in the morning you heard absolutely nothing,’ he whispered.
‘I just told you,’ said Juliette. ‘So you’ve no need to worry.’
Marc drank off half the glass of beer and buried his face in his hands.
‘Juliette,’ he said softly. ‘You’re very kind.’
Juliette looked at him, puzzled.
‘But you’re lying,’ Marc went on. ‘You’ve just told me a pack of lies.’
‘Keep your voice down!’ Juliette told him. ‘You don’t believe me! Why not, for heaven’s sake!’
Marc gripped Juliette’s hand even more tightly and saw that Mathias was looking across at him.
‘Listen, Juliette: you did see Alexandra go out last night and you know she’s lying to us. So you’re lying in turn to protect her. You may be trying to be kind, but you’ve just told me the opposite of what you wanted me to think. Because at two this morning, I was outside in the street myself. And I was in front of your gate, with Mathias, trying to get Lucien back in the house, he was drunk. And you were fast asleep with your sleeping pill, so you didn’t hear the racket he was making? You must have been fast asleep. And you’ve made me remember, now that I think of it, that there wasn’t a light in Kyril’s window. None at all. Ask Mathias.’
Juliette’s face fell. She turned to Mathias who nodded. Slowly.
‘So, please tell me the truth now,’ said Marc. ‘It’ll be better for Lex in the end if we’re going to protect her intelligently. Because your little plan won’t work. You’re too naïve, you think the police are stupid.’
‘Stop gripping my hand like that!’ said Juliette. ‘You’re hurting me. The customers will see.’
‘Come on, Juliette.’
Silently, her head bent, Juliette went back to washing glasses in the sink.
‘All we have to do is agree our story,’ she said suddenly. ‘You didn’t go out to fetch Lucien, and I didn’t hear anything, and Lex didn’t go out. Full stop.’
Marc shook his head. ‘Lucien was shouting like crazy, any neighbour could have heard him. It won’t work and it’ll only make things worse. Tell me the truth, it will be for the best. After that we’ll see how economical we need to be with the truth.’
Juliette remained undecided, twisting the tea towel in her hands. Mathias went over to her, put his big hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear.
‘Alright,’ said Juliette. ‘I went about it the wrong way. But how was I to know you were outside at two in the morning? Alexandra did go out in her car. She went out very quietly without putting on her lights, probably so as not to wake Kyril.’
‘What time was it?’ asked Marc, his throat dry.
‘Quarter-past eleven. When I went down to fetch a book. That bit is true. I felt a bit cross seeing her go off, if you must know, because of the boy. Whether she’d taken him or left him behind on his own, it still upset me. I said to myself that I must pluck up courage to say something to her about it next day, though it isn’t my business. The nightlight wasn’t on, it’s true. And no, I didn’t stay downstairs reading. I went back up and took a sleeping pill, because I was upset. I went off to sleep straightaway. Then when I heard the news this morning at ten, I panicked. I heard Lex telling you just now that she hadn’t left the house. So I thought the best thing to do would be…’
‘To back her up?’
Juliette nodded sadly. ‘I’d have done better to keep quiet,’ she said.
‘Don’t reproach yourself,’ Marc said. ‘The police would have found out sooner or later. Because Alexandra didn’t park her car in the same place when she got back. Now that I know, I remember that last night before supper, Sophia’s car was parked a few yards up from your gate. I went past it-it’s red, you notice it. This morning when I went to get the paper at about half-past ten, it wasn’t there. The space was taken by a grey car, I think it belongs to the people up the road. Alexandra must have found the space taken when she got back, so she had to park somewhere else. That’ll be child’s play for the police. This is a small street, everyone knows the cars, and other neighbours would probably notice that kind of thing.’
‘That doesn’t mean anything,’ said Juliette. ‘She might have gone out again this morning.’
‘Well, they’ll check that too.’
‘But if she really had done what Leguennec suspects, she would have made sure to park it in the same place.’
‘Juliette, don’t be silly. How could she do that if someone else had parked there? She couldn’t magic it away.’
‘No, I’m sorry, I don’t know what I’m saying. My head’s all over the place. All the same, Marc, Lex did go out, but she was just going for a drive, that’s all it was!’
‘I think that too,’ said Marc. ‘But how do you think we can get that into Leguennec’s head? What a night to choose to go for a drive. After all the fuss that’s already caused, you’d think she’d stay put.’
‘Keep your voice down,’ said Juliette.
‘Well, I’m getting bloody angry,’ said Marc. ‘Anyone would think she’s doing it on purpose.’
‘How was she to know Dompierre would be killed? Put yourself in her place.’