Part 49 (1/2)
And, whilst the diamond broker rid himself rapidly of skirt and bodice and regained his masculine appearance--for this diamond broker was a man--the masked a.s.sa.s.sin added:
”Nibet, you have played your part perfectly, and I will pay you to-morrow the sum we agreed on; but, I repeat, we have work before us this evening--so, be quick!”
There was a short silence, then the bandit asked:
”You have arranged to put among this fool's papers the rent receipts, which will enable the police to find this flat?”
”Yes, master!”
”Good! Now all we have to do, is to get away from this room, which we shall not see again ... until this evening at any rate!”
XXI
IN A PRISON VAN
In one of the rooms reserved for readers of _La Capitale_, Jerome Fandor was gravely listening to Madame Bourrat's account of what had occurred at her boarding-house during the night. She had rushed off to tell him and to ask his advice.
”What you tell me, madame, is truly extraordinary!” said Fandor, with an air of profound astonishment....
”How did you discover that the police inspector who seized the trunk and carried it away was not a genuine policeman?”
”Why, through the arrival of Monsieur Xavie, the police inspector of our district! I know him.... There was no mistaking who and what he was; and when I told him that the trunk had been carried off the preceding evening, rather in the dead of night, he guessed everything....”
”And what did he say?...”
”Oh, he made us all come to the police station; and I can a.s.sure you that he looked far from pleased!”
”You must admit, dear madame, that his annoyance was not without reason!... The police were made fine fools of in this affair.... But afterwards?... Whom did he take back with him to the police station?”
”He took me and my manservant.”
”And when you got to the police station?”
”Well, Monsieur Fandor, when we reached the police station, he made us come into his office, and there he put us through a regular examination,... just as though he suspected us!”
”But there must have been an accomplice in your house who let the robbers in,” said Fandor. ”I do not suppose the false police inspector forced the door open!”
”Ah, but, Monsieur Fandor, here is something I do not understand, nor does anybody else!... No, they did not try to hide themselves--not the least in the world! They rang the bell; they asked to see me; they told me what they had come for; and, accompanied by my manservant, carried away the trunk, and had it put on the cab--all in the most open and bare-faced manner!”
”It was your manservant who accompanied them?”
”But most certainly ... and that very fact turned against Jules, in a very nasty manner.... Poor Jules! Just imagine, the police inspector finished by ordering my house to be thoroughly searched from top to bottom! And when the policemen returned, without a why or wherefore, they took Jules away to another part of the police station!”
”I say! I say!”
”Oh, it was all explained! As soon as Jules had gone, the police inspector told me that they had found keys in his rooms, keys which could be made to fit any kind of lock whatever. Monsieur Xavie was convinced that my poor Jules was a burglar--imagine it!”
”And you, yourself, madame, are convinced of the contrary?”