Apocalypse Baby Read Free

street. I make some coffee. He hums ‘J’aime tes genoux’, a Henry Salvador song, beating time with his shoulders and hips, not bothering to take his hands out of his pockets. He’s tall, thin, but strong-looking, with a powerful frame and a way of standing up straight, occupying a lot of space. His features are irregular, he has deepset eyes, a rather thick nose and a bulging brow. The kind of craggy face girls often like, but the ones it really turns on are his male colleagues. They think he’s a god. Jean-Marc is the only one on the team who dresses well. The rest of us look like sales reps from the provinces. We’re not doing a job where it pays to look conspicuous. He always wears a black tie and an impeccably white shirt, and tells anyone who’ll listen that by not wearing ties, men have lost their virility. Stop wearing a suit, according to him, and you stop representing the law. He rarely visits me, unless he needs to contact some kid who might be useful to him. I have a helpful network of youngsters willing to run errands on the cheap. Today he’s come to see me because I’ve been given this difficult case. Agathe must have filled him in. From her desk, she can hearand follow everything that goes on in the boss’s office. The Reldanch agency premises are a former blood testing lab, and the walls haven’t been soundproofed. I’d like it if Jean-Marc were to suggest working together with me on this enquiry. But he thinks I can handle it on my own.
    â€˜Where are you going to start?’
    â€˜That’s just what I’m wondering. This kid is half-crazy. I’ve no idea what’s happened to her. And the grandmother is so scary that I can’t lean on her about it. Honestly, I don’t know. Her biological mother, I suppose.’
    He looks at me without saying anything. I think he is waiting for me to outline my plan of attack.
    I ask, ‘
You
’ve done missing persons, haven’t you? Aren’t you sometimes afraid you’ll find something grim?’ I’m trying to sound casual, but just pronouncing these words opens up a hollow in my chest. I hadn’t realized how scared I was.
    â€˜Well, five thousand euros reward, what can I say? I don’t ask myself if I’m afraid of what I’ll find, I ask myself how I’m going to track down this kid. If you can’t see how to handle it yourself, just delegate. Everyone else does. You can share the bonus. Do you need some contacts?’
    â€˜I thought about that. I’m going to put a proposal to the Hyena. She knows the ropes.’
    It’s the first name that comes into my head that might impress him. I let it drop in the tone of voice of a girl who calls up the Hyena every time she loses her house keys. It’s true that I know this guy who knows her, but actually, I’ve never set eyes on her.
    Jean-Marc utters a slightly choked laugh. He doesn’t look anxious and concerned any more, he looks distant. TheHyena has a reputation. Declaring I could work with her is tantamount to saying I have clandestine activities. I’m already regretting the lie, but I go ahead with my yarn.
    â€˜I often meet people in this bar where she hangs out. The barman’s a pal of mine, and he’s a big friend of hers.’
    â€˜So one way and another, you’ve got to know her.’
    I don’t answer. Jean-Marc blows on his coffee then says, thoughtfully, ‘You know, Lucie, it’s just a matter of luck and perseverance. It may look impossible at first, but somehow or other a lead opens up, and then it’s just a matter of sweating it out.’
    I agree, as if I could see what he means.
    Jean-Marc has long been the star of our outfit, not just because he composes his reports in such a dazzling style that even when he fails on a case, by the time you reach the end you would think he had succeeded. He was the right-hand man of our old boss, and everyone