Chapter Twelve

Twelve

T heir work in the field went on for hours; but eventually the Blackbird agents could do no more, and the work was left to medical examiners, their assistants and forensic teams.

Preliminary reports suggested that the two unknown bodies had been in the field any time between three to six months, perhaps up to a year and a half for one of them. While they couldn't give cause of death, lacerations on several bones of both victims suggested the victims had been tortured before death.

Jeannette had managed to get Jake Clayton alone with Mason and Della so she could introduce them. That was the high point of the day. Jake was incredulous he had met not just one, then two, but four living beings who could see him. He was equally pleased that finally he had been able to help—and might just be able to aid in actually bringing a heinous criminal to justice. Mason and Della, of course, were grateful to him. That part was good.

The new bodies...

Still, Jeannette could be grateful that her "instincts" had been worth following.

Of course, she thought, somewhat amused with herself, it seemed they had been good in another direction, too. She glanced at Daniel. He gave her a curious look, but nodded, approving again her idea that they needed to investigate further in the fields.

Since Gervais had decided to remain with his French teams, it was just Mason, Della, Daniel and Jeannette who determined that the morning cups of coffee had only gone so far. It was time to stop for something to eat.

Naturally, she suggested the restaurant where their waiter Alphonse worked.

And she was glad to see Alphonse was working today. Daniel asked that they be seated at one of his tables.

By the time they arrived, the lunch crowd was over, and it was an hour or so before even an early dinnertime would arrive.

Alphonse first appeared very happy to see them and to meet Mason and Della.

But when their drink orders had been taken and he returned to their table, he wore a worried frown.

"You have heard, of course, that our situation grows worse out here. Customers at lunch were saying there's a stretch of road filled with vehicles from the police spilling out all kinds of personnel and investigators. More bodies—everyone knows it. I am happy to see so many of you. I believe there is safety in numbers!" he told them.

"Alphonse—" Jeannette began.

"I know. I know. I figured out you're law people. You're Americans and..." he began, pausing as he looked at Daniel.

"Scottish," Daniel said.

"Right! Anyway... I don't care who anyone is—they can fall prey to monsters!" Alphonse said.

"Hey, I want you to be careful, too," Jeannette told him. "The bodies are male and female."

Alphonse looked around as if trying to make sure he could not be overheard. "I am not a policeman or any such thing, but just listening, doesn't it sound as if maybe the men who were killed were killed because they failed a greater power, the monster in charge?"

"That's possible. So," Mason suggested, "do yourself a favor. Don't think out loud and stay far, far away from any discussion regarding what's going on."

Alphonse nodded and looked away. "So! Have you seen anything in Reims yet? You must go by the churches, we have beautiful cathedrals and—"

"We actually recently learned the Nazis surrendered in Reims," Jeannette murmured.

"It is still a school, Lycée Roosevelt, but you can see it. And we are about four and a half hours, by vehicle, to the American Cemetery and Memorial in Normandy. But kings were crowned at the Cathedral of Reims. Truly, it's beautiful and remarkable. And we're very fortunate, of course, that it wasn't destroyed through the horror of World War II."

"Well, of course, we will try to see it," Daniel assured him. "But, Alphonse, while it's quiet here—despite us telling you to keep a low profile—is there anything that you've seen or heard—"

"Ah, the fields, and this place!" Alphonse said. He shook his head. "I see many people in here. Sometimes, even the local great families come by. Ah! Do you know what is strange? In the big companies, the major companies, the heads, the big money men, they are decent, they are polite, they tip... It's just...not always. There are..."

"Jerks?" Mason suggested.

"Wankers!" Daniel said decisively.

Alphonse paused to laugh. " Mais, oui! And still, it is Madame Giselle and Madame Leticia who..." He paused again, taking a breath, perhaps seeking the right explanation in English. "They behave as if we are worms on the floor."

Jeannette didn't have to say it out loud.

Della did.

"Being wretched elitists does not make them killers," she said.

Alphonse nodded. He grimaced. "Well, if being nice does, then Delphine Matisse is who you seek! Oh, food, what shall you eat?"

They ordered their meals, and Alphonse moved away from the table.

"I truly hate to say this," Mason said, leaning toward Jeannette, "because I know that you two have believed in the magician, Jules Bastien. But he lied to you—"

"He didn't really lie. We never asked the right questions. It never occurred to us to ask him if he was related to anyone in the wine country," Daniel said.

"A lie of omission," Della said quietly.

"All right, he—and his mother—come off like saints. But you did just find his card by a body," Mason pointed out to Jeannette.

She nodded. "Trust me. I am rethinking. All right, Mason, he said we were welcome to come out with him to the House of Matisse at any time—and go through anything."

"Maybe we should hold him to it," Della suggested.

Jeannette looked at Daniel, who nodded. "It's a logical step at this time," he said. "So, I guess we go to see a magic show again tonight."

"Maybe we'll all go," Mason said thoughtfully. "We've, uh, in a way, solved the mystery of the man you saw working at the House of Deauville. The plot is growing thicker—more and more bodies—but we're running up against dead ends at every turn."

"A group party at a magic show. Sounds fun," Daniel agreed.

"Then, we'll let everyone know," Mason said, pulling out his phone.

"And," Daniel added, "while we're doing that..." He paused, shrugging, lowering his voice. "Alphonse just said that people from both the big places and the small are in here all the time. We'll talk to Jules Bastien tonight and make arrangements with him to come back out here. And as he suggested, we'll talk to him and his mother, and gently tear things apart. If we do so, I think we should go ahead and see if it's still possible to book a few rooms at the Matisse bed-and-breakfast."

"That's a good plan. We shouldn't overwhelm Jules and his mommy," Jeannette said, "but we'll all be within an easy commute if anything at all were to get out of control. I just..."

"Aye, it's hard, I know, to believe they could be culpable, but..." Daniel said.

"But yes, I wasn't expecting that card—"

"Which could mean anything. Just that someone involved picked it up at the show or even spoke with him or even knows him," Della said.

"Or it could mean it fell out of one of Jules's pockets when he was dumping a dead man," Jeannette admitted. "But one way or another, you're right. It's a good logical step. I guess we run it by Gervais?"

"Of course," Mason said. "He won't object. I feel quite badly for Gervais. This is his country, his home, and he's the law here. And he's finding that this situation is worse than it even appeared to be at first. And he—" Mason broke off.

Jeannette looked toward the door.

"Speak of the devil!" Della murmured.

They all laughed. "Hardly the devil," Mason murmured. "But, yes, wow. And here he is!"

Mason lifted a hand so that Gervais could see where they were sitting and join them. The Frenchman nodded and walked over to them, thanking Alphonse as he quickly supplied another chair for the table.

"I shouldn't be in a restaurant. I should be bathing in disinfectant," he said, shaking his head as he joined them. "The teams are still searching in that field. I'm hoping we did discover the last of the bodies...but..."

"You're worried there may be more in other fields?" Daniel asked him.

He nodded. "This...this has been going on under our noses for God only knows how long. I feel as if..."

"You didn't fail anyone," Mason told him quickly and with assurance. "None of us has the power to change the fact that the world is filled with those who are unfortunate as well as those who do extremely well. When someone who is transient disappears, no one knows it—and if they did, they wouldn't know where to start. This isn't your fault, Gervais. When you were alerted to what was happening, you acted immediately. And honestly, we're good at what we do and we still must go through all the hoops and investigate until we do get somewhere."

Gervais nodded. He shrugged. " C'est vrai , we all need to be scrubbed of...death. But! Alors! I did stop because I haven't eaten."

"Which is why we're here," Daniel told him. "And we have a plan."

He explained to Gervais that they wanted to go to the magic show again. Then they wanted to make arrangements to be out in Reims the following day with part of their team, taking Jules Bastien up on his offer to show them the Matisse winery. The other part of the team would lurk nearby in case there was trouble—or if a small army was needed to tear the place apart.

Gervais nodded. "Put it all into action," he told them. "I will get you tickets. Can we make it back in time for the show tonight?"

"If we eat and run," Della said.

"And here comes our food," Jeannette noted. "And my plate is huge, Gervais. We may split it in half—"

"Della and I can share, and Gervais can take one of our plates," Mason said.

"But I can't eat all this!" Jeannette protested.

"Then Gervais will have a lot of food!" Daniel announced. "We'll just ask for another plate, and we can all pile on a few bites of delicacies for him!"

There was plenty of food to go around the table, and Gervais thanked them all while pulling out his phone to make arrangements for the magic show. Jeannette pulled out her own phone, discovering quickly that she could make reservations for three rooms the next night at Madame Matisse's B&B.

"We're set to go?" she asked Gervais.

He nodded, smiled and returned, "And on your end, we're good to go?"

"Three rooms rented via the booking site," she told him.

He nodded. "Good. Blackbird will take those—I have an arrangement with a hotel. At least...at least when we keep moving, I feel we are getting somewhere even when our clues lead us to solid walls. We find suspects—and they wind up dead themselves."

"Maybe the walls aren't so solid," Daniel offered. "Time to get the check and head on back!"

"There is still someone out there who hasn't been discovered as yet," Jeannette noted as Mason offered Alphonse his company credit card.

"The mysterious Aristide Broussard," Daniel said.

"They've been searching through every known avenue," Gervais said. "The last known phone he had hasn't been used in days. His credit cards haven't been used. When he disappeared from the House of Deauville, he did so cleanly. I'm afraid..."

"That he's in a field somewhere, too?" Della said quietly.

Gervais nodded.

"Either that," Daniel said, "or he knows he's in danger, and he's managing to keep himself off the grid. It's frightening what resources the very rich might have. Let's hope he's out there somewhere."

"And Shelley is doing fine?" Jeannette murmured, looking at Mason.

"She's fine—happy that she's safely hidden away," Mason said.

"And she doesn't want to go home?" Jeannette asked.

Mason shook his head. "No. She's in a safe house and under twenty-four-hour guard here. She's afraid she'd be in danger again at home, and she might not get the same protection."

"And what about the girls we met?" Jeannette asked Gervais. "They are still—"

"I have officers watching them and following them wherever they go. Officers are keeping guard at their little hotel through the night," he said.

Jeannette smiled. "Thank you!"

"Finding old bodies is one thing," Gervais said, and then he winced. "At least the new body discovered today may have been that of someone guilty of conspiracy to commit murder himself. No more innocent young women! Or men. But..."

"Let's get going or we won't make that magic show," Daniel said. "If we leave now, we may have time to shower first!"

At last, they all headed out to their cars.

And when they were driving back through Reims and toward Paris, Jeannette looked at Daniel curiously. "Interesting."

"What?"

"Gervais said he'd stay at a hotel. But there are six of us. I mean, obviously, he knows the others are together, but...no one blinked. About us, I mean. We have three rooms—"

"There is a couch," Daniel offered.

"I'm not sleeping on a couch!"

He laughed. "I was taking the high road!" he told her.

"No one is sleeping on a couch. And after last time, someone is keeping guard through the night, just as in Paris!"

Daniel nodded, grinning as he looked ahead.

"We'll deal with it, whatever."

"We'll admit we slept together," Jeannette said. "But we're not showering together now. We are not going to be late for that show!"

"Not to worry. We won't be late for the show."

They weren't. As unlikely as it seemed by the time they were leaving Reims and the wine region, they made it back to the house in Paris in time to shower and change—and for their entire team to arrive at the magic show on time.

At the house, Jeannette and Daniel had hurried to their own rooms—and showered and dressed for the evening in them.

They met in the hallway, grinning. Maybe it was the glitter of a new relationship. But they'd both known they hadn't the time for anything else.

Despite their speed, Gervais, also showered— disinfected , as he told them—was waiting for them. Jeannette and Daniel rode with him while Mason brought Della, Luke and Carly.

They arrived to discover they had backstage tickets again.

Jeannette looked at Gervais and told him, "I think you're the magician!"

"No, one of the young women in the main precinct is a genius at the internet and finding what is needed. She is the one, I fear, who is the magician. But the show is about to begin!"

Lights dimmed. Jules Bastien arrived suddenly, appearing out of the softness of the fog. Tonight, he walked through the audience to the stage.

He stopped to draw a golden coin from the ear of an audience member, laughing and telling her first in French and then in English that he was heartily sorry, it should have been a real gold coin. But it was, instead, a gold-covered chocolate, and delicious nonetheless!

He went on to produce several things out of thin air, and then to introduce his assistant. Marni appeared, lovely in her skimpy magician's assistant outfit, smiling and bowing and gathering applause.

Jeannette wasn't sure how, but she was certain he had seen her and Daniel in the audience and the others as well.

And when he needed a volunteer, he turned to her again, grinning and winking as he brought her up on stage.

She went into the glass box. That night, as she went down, she could hear Marni talking to her from the works below the stage.

"You are returned! Well, then, you know what will happen, I needn't reassure you!"

"I am fine, thanks," Jeannette assured her.

And she was. The trick worked as it had before. As Jeannette popped her head up from the trunk, Jules Bastien came to help her step from the box. She smiled, thanked him and bowed with him for the applause. Then she returned to her seat in the audience.

That night, though, he had a trick they hadn't seen before. A guillotine. For this trick, the person would be closed into a box. The blade would fall.

And it was Daniel he chose for the trick.

For a moment, Jeannette felt a sensation of pure panic. The concept of the guillotine had come up a few times too many for her liking.

The box was explained, the parting of it was explained and then the trick went into action.

Jeannette hadn't realized she was gripping her seat until she felt a hand fall on hers. She turned to see Della was smiling at her.

"It's a trick. He'd not going to dispatch Daniel here in front of the audience. Come on. It's okay. You were on stage. And remember, you're the one who believes in the man," she reminded her.

She did believe in Jules Bastien.

But she could be wrong, as noted by the fact she'd found his card next to a dead body that very day.

Of course, the trick went off without a hitch. The box was parted, as a head might be parted from a body.

It was put back together.

And Daniel emerged, unharmed, unscratched.

The show went on. And when it was over, they headed out to position themselves at the end of the line to speak privately with the magician.

When the last of Bastien's fans had gone through the door to speak with him and it was their turn, they entered en masse. Jules didn't seem surprised.

"So..." he began, looking from one person to the next in their small crowd.

"I am not sure who you know and who you don't," Daniel told him politely.

"I have met Monsieur LaBlanc," Jules said, nodding to Gervais. He didn't seem distressed to see the man whose name was synonymous with law enforcement in Paris. He nodded politely. Daniel went on to introduce him to Mason, Della, Luke and Carly.

And to explain what they were doing there.

"Well, I hope you enjoyed the show. Jeannette, I knew, of course, you would be a wonderful volunteer. But Monsieur Murray! You were excellent, too. If all fails with law enforcement, you should consider a position on stage!"

They all laughed easily and Gervais started to go on, but Jules spoke before he could get a word out.

"I have seen the news. It is ablaze with the fact that bodies now seem to be as prevalent in the fields as wine grapes. It is incredibly distressing," Jules told them.

"That's why we have come to you for help," Jeannette told him. "Your mother has been wonderfully kind. But we'd like to come out to the House of Matisse, head into the fields and seriously speak to some of her workers, find out if any of them have seen anything, look around and see if the House of Matisse isn't being used by someone else as a staging place."

She was afraid he would protest and demand to know if that wasn't their way of saying his mother was guilty.

But Jules didn't protest at all. He let out a sigh.

"I'm not sure how it would look if you all—"

"No, no. Not all of us. Oh, we are all going to Reims," Jeannette told him.

"But it's because we figured that perhaps we could finally see the cathedral while these two were doing the talking!" Della said.

"She's in love with French history," Mason explained dryly.

"Oh, yes! And Reims is the most beautiful city!" Della went on.

"I want to see the little schoolhouse," Carly said, shaking her head. "She loves older history, and I love newer history and to think of all that has gone on in Reims!"

"We have reservations at your mother's bed-and-breakfast," Luke put in. "It's so convenient and these two—" he paused to indicate Jeannette and Daniel "—loved it! It's close to everything. All right, I think we're getting carried away. We understand it would not look good, given the circumstances, if we were all to descend upon you. And Jeannette and Daniel have met your mother."

"I told you, I would be happy to take you out there. Just remember, it will be a tour day tomorrow, and she presents herself at the hospitality suite for the tastings—"

"Of course! We won't interfere!" Jeannette assured him. "We can wander then and talk to the workers."

"D'accord," Jules said, nodding seriously to Gervais. "I have said I would do whatever was needed to help. I know my mother feels the same way. Shall I meet you at the bed-and-breakfast? I run a bit late in my mornings and must drive out, too, so at eleven?"

"That would be wonderful," Jeannette said quietly.

Jules nodded. "Then it is set. And," he said to the others, "I hope you will enjoy Reims. It is truly one of the most beautiful cities, amazingly spared by the bombs of World War II. And with any luck and God's help, it will survive whatever wars man is determined to fight throughout time. Bonsoir , and merci !" he told them.

It wasn't until they were on their way out that Jeannette turned to Daniel, realizing they hadn't seen Marni at his side as he had greeted his fans.

"No Marni!" she murmured.

"She is good at disappearing," Daniel said, turning to Gervais. "Have we learned anything about her?" he asked.

"Nothing that creates a red flag, as you say," Gervais told him. "She is twenty-seven, grew up in Paris, attended university here..."

"Right. Maybe we should see if we can't dig a little more deeply into her life," Mason suggested. "And," he added, "maybe it should be at least one more of us with you tomorrow."

"I think an addition of one would be okay. Not Gervais. Too many people know his position with the Paris police," Jeannette said.

"Luke or I will come," Mason said. "We'll figure that—"

"No," Della said, "Mason, I think it would be better if it was Carly or I. Whoever is doing this—men have been killed, but I think we all believe they were killed because they were in danger of being brought in—and they might have spilled the truth. Carly and I are not as imposing to anyone involved in this as you or Luke might be."

"Ah, those fools!" Mason said lightly. "But you're right."

"All right. Three of us will go with Jules to the House of Matisse. The others will be nearby, ready to come at a moment's notice," Carly said.

They were still standing outside the theater. Jeannette was looking toward the cemetery.

"What is it?" Gervais asked her.

"Ah, nothing," she said.

Daniel hopped in to save her. She couldn't tell Gervais she was thinking they might just check in with the poor and wonderful woman, Henriette, who had met the guillotine during the turbulent early years of the French Revolution—for speaking out for the people, if Jeannette had gotten their conversations right, and she was certain she had.

"Gervais, the card we now have with evidence—Jules's card—was not mentioned on purpose. Should we have told him what we discovered?" Daniel asked.

"I think you were right," Gervais said. "The world knows that bodies were found. They do not know the body of a man who had worked for the House of Deauville was among them. If by chance Jules Bastien or his mother or anyone with the House of Matisse is involved, it's best they do not know we found anything that implied they were. So, I will drive you home for the evening. Tomorrow, I will meet you at the house here in Paris early so we may start out—and the lot of us are checked in for our stays in Reims."

Jeannette glanced back at Mason. "All right, we'll see everyone back at the house!"

She smiled and he nodded.

She knew he would go to the statue of St. Michael to see if Henriette happened to be there.

She and Daniel hurried on with Gervais, and he drove them to their headquarters on ?le de la Cité.

He dropped them off and was serious and quiet as he did so. Jeannette turned to him before getting out of the car and said, "Gervais. Please. We will find out what's going on. I promise you."

He managed to smile. "I cannot help but think of those people out there, so many homeless here in Paris alone. And it seems it might well be those unfortunate in life who have been taken as pawns in a cruel murderer's designs. And it has been going on for a while. And I missed it."

"No one can know everyone or know who has come and who has gone. Gervais, this is not on you, please, remember that!"

He nodded. "Bonsoir!" He lifted a hand, and she stepped back as he drove off.

Daniel keyed in the gate and then the door and Jeannette yawned and told him, "Long day! I cannot wait for bed."

"Hmm. That can be taken a few ways," he teased.

She laughed. "Well, I mean—"

"Whatever we mean," he said with a sigh, "I'm afraid we're up tonight. One of us for the first few hours with the next for another few hours and then we both get to sleep."

"Oh, right! Of course," Jeannette said.

"If you're tired, I'm happy to take first guard," he said.

"No, if you don't mind, if I fall asleep, I'm afraid you might have a hard time waking me up!" she told him.

As they spoke, Mason and the others arrived.

"Anything?" Jeannette asked them anxiously.

"No, we hung around talking in front of the theater for a bit, saw nothing except people leaving the show or heading for the night spots," Della told her. "And then we tried walking by the statue of St. Michael, but your friend wasn't there. I wonder..."

"What's that?" Daniel asked.

Della shrugged. "I wonder if, when this is all over, we might still spend some time with her! She was a voice for revolution before the hierarchy went down, and thus she was a victim of those who didn't want to hear her demands for the people. Then, of course, the time of the Terror began and it was others who met the guillotine's blade. Napoleon, fighting so valiantly for the French people, turned around, called himself consul , and then crowned himself emperor of France! They say it brought an era of stability for a bit. And Napoleon went the way of many such a man, dying in exile. Henriette was dead herself then, but..."

"She is fascinating," Jeannette agreed. "Now go to bed, everyone! I am first guard!"

"As you wish. People, we have a long day tomorrow," Mason said. "Guard duty tonight will be Jeannette, Daniel and then it's—"

"It's me," Della reminded him. "So! Good night, all!"

One by one, everyone disappeared up the stairs except for Daniel.

"Go! Get some sleep!" she told him.

"Are you sure—"

"I am. Please. I am waking you up in exactly three hours!"

"No need. I set an alarm. I'll be out here."

Jeannette headed to the table and the computers, thinking she'd keep herself awake by going over video footage again.

She did so. She watched the magic show.

The footage was updated every day. Now when she looked at the last video, she could see what Henriette had seen, Jules Bastien with Madame Delphine Matisse.

Time seemed to weigh on her hands, and the images in front of her blurred. She made herself a cup of coffee and watched the time crawl by. She was getting nowhere, trying to think, trying to reason. She reminded herself again that they could be entirely wrong, that all three of the smaller houses they'd been investigating might have nothing at all to do with the bodies in the fields.

But how can that be? How can no one who lives or works out by the fields have seen anything at all in all this time? How could they avoid people if they didn't know when others came and went, when they didn't know which fields might be traveled and which might not?

She realized she was getting nowhere and was just sitting, staring at the screen, when Daniel came out and grinned at her and assured her she could finally go to sleep and stay asleep until morning.

She smiled at him and murmured, "Maybe," before disappearing into her room.

But she didn't stay there. She stripped, changed and slipped through the connecting door to his room.

She did fall asleep immediately.

But she heard him come in. She was curled to the other side and couldn't see him, but she knew he paused, surprised.

And then he came in, stripping down, gun on the bedside table, before trying very quietly to lie down beside her.

She rolled into his arms.

"You're awake!" he said, surprised.

"Some things are worth being awake for!" she assured him, sliding into his arms. "Oh!" she said worriedly, looking down into his eyes. "But you must be exhausted."

"Not that exhausted!" he assured her. "We have about three and a half hours... Use a half hour, that leaves us three or...you know, however it works out!"

She smiled. Because there was something about his arms around her, his touch, that seemed to help everything make sense...

And when the morning came, it would be so much better because...

Humanity could be beautiful, too.