A Clean Pair of Hands Read Free

bedroom and saw silver duct tape still adhering to the chair, and plenty more at the foot of the bed and on the outer bed posts. The woman officer took photographs as they proceeded.
    When they came downstairs, Michel asked the police officers if they intended to have a forensic examination carried out.
    “We’d like to ask you some more questions first, if you don’t mind,” said the woman officer. She summarised, “As we understand it, four men, we’ll call them men for the time being, entered your house by removing a glass pane and turning the key which had been left in the lock. Do you always leave the key in the lock?”
    Charlotte answered, “Not normally, but sometimes we forget.”
    “So this time you forgot. The men make a small noise, perhaps when the glass fell or banging the door open, and when they hear movement upstairs they wait for someone to come down, render him semi-conscious, and grab you at the top of the stairs. They ask for money, but after throwing you in a cupboard and tying your husband to a chair, they leave with a few thousand in cash and two bottles of whisky. They appear to be efficient, professional burglars with identity disguise and protective wear. It doesn’t sound like an opportunist robbery attempt. Have we understood that correctly so far?”
    “Yes, that’s about right,” said Charlotte in a flat voice.
    “That’s it as far as we know,” added Michel.
    “Did they look around the house?” enquired the male officer.
    “They did in the bedroom, but we couldn’t see what they did in the rest of the house.”
    “Well, it looks as though they were very tidy people because there is no sign of what burglars typically do when making a quick search for valuables, especially money, and they left your credit cards, I believe.”
    “Yes,” mumbled Michel, his head hanging forward above the coffee cup.
    “It’s strange,” said the woman officer reflectively, creasing her face in puzzlement and pushing her glasses up her nose, “because there is usually a pattern to these things and there have been no reported incidents of this kind in the area. Can you think of anybody who would do something like this to embarrass or frighten you?”
    They both shook their heads.
    “Where were your other two daughters this weekend?”
    “Our middle daughter is studying at an international college in Spain. She comes home only a couple of times a year. And the youngest is on her way to stay with relativesin Ireland until Christmas. Only our eldest daughter, Annick, was staying here,” Charlotte informed them, nodding towards Annick.
    “And Mademoiselle Annick, how did you call the police, we noticed that the phone cable was torn out upstairs?”
    “Yes, and they did the same to the downstairs phone. As I said before, I had to go next door to our neighbours’ to make the call,” replied Annick.
    “Your call was timed at eleven thirty-eight. That’s quite a long time after you discovered your parents, isn’t it?”
    “Well, I had to see to my parents first and they were both suffering from shock, so I dealt with them as a priority. There was nothing more anybody else could do by then.”
    The woman turned to the male officer enquiringly, then back to the Bodins,
    “Well, I don’t think we can do much more here today, but if you remember any other details, however small, please call us on this number.” She handed a card to Michel.
    “Are you going to make any more enquiries?” asked Michel.
    “Yes, we will talk to the neighbours to check if anybody heard or saw anything unusual, such as any strange vehicles parked in the road. And we would like to take a statement from you, Mademoiselle, and from your friends, down at the office on Monday morning, so please let them know. We would also like to interview your sister when she is back from Ireland, so please ask her to come and see us as soon as she returns.” She smiled a cheerful but business-like smile, beaming it at each of the