“How will proving Loup-Garou is the psychopathic son
of the Chandonnes help you take down this One-SixeyFiver cartel?”
“For one thing, we hope Loup-Garou will talk. He gets nailed for a string of murders, especially the one in Virginia . . . Well, we will have leverage. Not tó mention”-he smiled-“we I.D. Monsieur Chandonne’s sons, we get probable cause to search their lovely three-hundred-yearold he Saint-Louis home and offices and bills of lading and on and on and on.”
“Assuming we catch Loup-Garou,” I said.
“We have to.”
His eyes met mine and held them for a long, tense moment.
“Kay, we need you to prove the killer’s Thomas’s brother.”
He held the pack of cigarettes out to me. I didn’t touch it.
“You may be our only hope,” he added. “It’s the best chance we’ve had so far.”
“Marino and I could be in serious danger if we get anywhere near this;” I said.
“Police can’t go inside the Paris morgue and start asking questions,” he said. “Not even undercover cops. And it goes without saying that no one here at Interpol can.”
“Why not? Why can’t Paris police go in there?”
“Because the medical examiner who did the cases won’t talk to them. She trusts no one, and I can’t say I blame her. But it seems she trusts you.”
I was silent.
“You should be motivated by what happened to Lucy and Jo.”
“That’s not fair.”
“It’s fair, Kay. That’s how bad these people are. They tried to blow your niece’s brains out. Then they tried to blow her up. It’s not an abstraction to you, now is it?”
“Violence is never an abstraction to me.” Cold sweat was sliding down my sides.
“But it’s different when it’s someone you love,” Talley said. “Right?”
“Don’t tell me how I feel.”
“Abstraction or not, you feel the-cruet, cold jaws of it when it crushes someone you love.” Talley wouldn’t let it go. “Don’t let these assholes crush anyone else. You have a debt to pay. Lucy was spared.”
“I should be home with her,” I said.
“Your being here will help her more. It will help Jo more.”
“I don’t need you to tell me ‘what’s best for my niece or her friend. Or for me, for that matter.”
“To us, Lucy is one of our finest agents. To us, she’s not your niece.”
“I suppose I should feel good about that.”
“You certainly should.”
His attention drifted down my neck. I felt his eyes like a breeze that stirred nothing but me, and then he stared at my hands.
“God, they’re strong,” he said, and he reached for one. “The body that turned up in the container. Kim Luong. They are your cases, Kay”-he studied my fingers, my palm. “You know all the details. You know the questions to ask, what to look for. It makes sense for you to drop by to see her.”
“Her?” I pulled my hand away and wondered who was watching.
“Madame Stvan. Ruth Stvan. The director of legal medicine and chief medical examiner of France. You two have met.
“Of course I know who she is, but we’ve never met.”
“In Geneva in 1988. She’s Swiss. When you met she wasn’t married. Her maiden name is Diirenmatt.”
He searched my face to see if I remembered. I didn’t.
“You were on a panel together. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. SIDS.”
“and how could you possibly know that ?”
“It’s in your vita,” he said, amused.
“Well, there’s certainly no mention of her in my vita,” I defensively replied.
His eyes wouldn’t let go of me. I couldn’t stop looking at him, and it was hard to think.
“Will you go see her?” to asked. “It wouldn’t seem unusual for you to drop by to say hello to an old friend while you’re visiting Paris, and she’s agreed to talk to you. That’s really why you’re here.”
“Nice of you to let me know now;” I said as my indignation rose.
“You may not be able to do anything. Maybe she knows nothing. Maybe there’s not a single other detail she can offer to help us with our problem. But we don’t believe that. She’s a very intelligent, ethical woman who’s had to work very hard against a system that’s not always on the side of justice. Maybe you can relate to her?”