The Saint-Florentin Murders Read Free Page A

office. What will this man do with them?’
    ‘Oh,’ said Bourdeau, ‘he’s become as important as a minister, even though he doesn’t have the title of minister. You know how much influence he has behind the scenes. He strikes down or he saves. He spreads darkness or light. His authority is as tactful as it is extensive. He elevates and humiliates as he pleases.’
     Nicolas shook his head. ‘The last one liked wigs, this one richly bound books.’
    ‘Which suggests,’ said Louis timidly, ‘that neither one of them can entirely cover up his own emptiness!’
    They all applauded. Nicolas smiled.
    ‘As our late King used to say,’ observed La Borde, ‘like father like son.’
    ‘He gets it from his grandfather,’ said Nicolas. ‘The marquis was never at a loss for a witty remark.’
    ‘Gentlemen,’ resumed La Borde, ‘allow me to abandon you to the aromas of this delicious omelette. I salute in passing the tenderness of these kidneys. In honour of young Louis, I lent a hand myself, as I used to at Trianon. Catherine and I are about to put the finishing touches to my surprise. Semacgus, prepare our host to resist temptation! Louis, come with me, I need a kitchen boy.’
    The boy stood up, already tall for his age. How many things there were to teach him! thought Nicolas. Riding, hunting, fencing … He was a Ranreuil, after all. He resumed his reflections. Naturally, the new Lieutenant General of Police had received him quite promptly. Following Sartine’s counsel, he had asked for an audience as early as possible. He had found Lenoir standing behind the desk where, so often, his predecessor had played with his wigs. The man was tall, with a full figure and a distinct paunch. He had a strong nose above a mouth with a fleshy lower lip which, when it moved to express dismissal or disdain, drew the eye to his double chin. His own eyes were lively and penetrating, with a hint of arrogance, a marked scepticism, and an undisguised self-satisfaction. A powdered wig with ringletsadded to the magnificence of cambric bands falling in a dazzling stream over an unadorned silk gown. The interview, cut short by the arrival of a visitor, could hardly have been classed as a genuine meeting of minds.
    ‘Commissioner,’ Lenoir had said, ‘my predecessor recommended you. I myself, Monsieur, had the opportunity to assess the skill and expertise with which you handled a delicate case. On the other hand, experience has taught me that personal methods, however useful and effective they may be, tend to get out of control and become a burden to those in authority. You cannot play with me the same role you played with Monsieur de Sartine. I intend to revise the rules and bring a new order to our methods, one more in keeping with my own conceptions.’
    ‘I am at the King’s service, Monseigneur.’
    ‘He appreciates you, Monsieur,’ retorted Lenoir, somewhat ill-temperedly. ‘We know he appreciates you. But the rules must be the same for everyone. Some older commissioners might be offended …’
    They probably hadn’t held back, thought Nicolas.
    ‘… that one of their younger colleagues should get all the attention and be allowed such independence. Can we entrust you with a district? That would hardly be appropriate. You have treated your colleagues very badly—’
    ‘Monseigneur!’
    ‘I know what I’m saying, don’t interrupt me. Many complaints and grievances have reached my ear. The sensible thing, Monsieur, would be to take things easy, relax, go hunting, and wait for more auspicious times to return. A position as police commissioner at the Châtelet can be sold at a good price and withexcellent interest. There is no shortage of candidates, as you can imagine. I have the honour to bid you good day, Commissioner.’
    Nicolas made no effort to counter this fall from favour. His upright nature balked at doing so, and he was unable to feign submission. Absorbed as he was by his discovery of Louis, he was more