a policeman, first and only. I was before the war and that is what I remain true to. This uniform and the rank and organisation were simply the obvious choice for the army to put me into, to best utilise my training and experience. I’m ‘Kripo’ – Kriminalpolizei.”
Again she responded with that flash and fire that he had observed when he had teased her here in this very spot the day before. “It doesn’t matter what label you claim,” she hissed, leaning forward in her seat, the better to hurl the words at him. “You wear the Nazi uniform and you are the occupier and oppressor of this city and country.” Leaving him with the clear impression that, if she were a cat and he a rodent, he would already be fatally wounded and twitching his residual heartbeats away under her claws, dead before the realisation that he had been struck had even reached his brain.
Aware that he was losing control of the situation, conscious of the eyes still watching them, the unknown motives and intentions of their owner, Marner raised a placatory palm. “Put that aside for now. For the moment we have a common purpose: find the true murderer of one of your countrymen, and one of mine. We also have another common issue: our safety.”
He saw Lemele tremble visibly for a moment, but this was not fear; it was her quenching, mastering the adrenalin and anger that had flared and been only for him. But she subsided docilely back into her seat, crossed her arms and affected a nonchalant examination of her fingernails, displaying no awareness or concern for the watcher along the street.
Marner continued, “I want you to get up and walk slowly away. Don’t go directly back to the Prefecture, just wander for a few blocks, take random turns but keep to the busier streets. I’m going to follow you and I’ll be only thirty metres behind you, maximum. I want to work out which of us is the object of his attention, and to see if there is anyone else that we haven’t spotted yet. If I’m the subject of his interest, I’ll lead him elsewhere. When you’ve walked around a couple of blocks, go back to your office and carry on as normal.”
“And then what happens?”
“I’ll contact you in a few days to let you know how I’ve progressed. You can still help. We need photos of Carlingue members, they are the primary lead that we have. These are people who have mostly been in prison or at least arrested at some point in their lives, so there must be photos in the police system somewhere. But only do it if you are sure that it is safe to do so. Remember that they have informers everywhere and open cooperation with your police colleagues. If you feel even the slightest danger, if you’re concerned about your safety, then contact me via my office. I’m living at the Hotel Aurore on Rue Delacre in the 16 th , you can call me there too in an emergency.”
If Lemele appreciated or even noticed the concern for her safety that had entered into the end of Marner’s discourse, she made no sign. After another barely perceptible tremble as she doused the last of the fire coursing through her veins, Lemele was up and moving away along the street. He was left marvelling once again at that single fluid motion, from sitting motionless to striding away that she had demonstrated here yesterday.
Chapter Seven
Trailing Lemele for a few minutes as she strolled leisurely through the busy commercial streets of the Saint Michel quarter, Marner wondered if their follower, who was maintaining a steady twenty metres behind Marner, was confused. Ultimately it did not matter; his objective was simply to identify which of them was of interest and it now seemed to be confirmed as him.
He waited until they had crossed the square around the small park at Cluny, enabling him to verify that there was no one else tracking parallel to them. Satisfied that any followers were his and his alone, he did what he always did
Again she responded with that flash and fire that he had observed when he had teased her here in this very spot the day before. “It doesn’t matter what label you claim,” she hissed, leaning forward in her seat, the better to hurl the words at him. “You wear the Nazi uniform and you are the occupier and oppressor of this city and country.” Leaving him with the clear impression that, if she were a cat and he a rodent, he would already be fatally wounded and twitching his residual heartbeats away under her claws, dead before the realisation that he had been struck had even reached his brain.
Aware that he was losing control of the situation, conscious of the eyes still watching them, the unknown motives and intentions of their owner, Marner raised a placatory palm. “Put that aside for now. For the moment we have a common purpose: find the true murderer of one of your countrymen, and one of mine. We also have another common issue: our safety.”
He saw Lemele tremble visibly for a moment, but this was not fear; it was her quenching, mastering the adrenalin and anger that had flared and been only for him. But she subsided docilely back into her seat, crossed her arms and affected a nonchalant examination of her fingernails, displaying no awareness or concern for the watcher along the street.
Marner continued, “I want you to get up and walk slowly away. Don’t go directly back to the Prefecture, just wander for a few blocks, take random turns but keep to the busier streets. I’m going to follow you and I’ll be only thirty metres behind you, maximum. I want to work out which of us is the object of his attention, and to see if there is anyone else that we haven’t spotted yet. If I’m the subject of his interest, I’ll lead him elsewhere. When you’ve walked around a couple of blocks, go back to your office and carry on as normal.”
“And then what happens?”
“I’ll contact you in a few days to let you know how I’ve progressed. You can still help. We need photos of Carlingue members, they are the primary lead that we have. These are people who have mostly been in prison or at least arrested at some point in their lives, so there must be photos in the police system somewhere. But only do it if you are sure that it is safe to do so. Remember that they have informers everywhere and open cooperation with your police colleagues. If you feel even the slightest danger, if you’re concerned about your safety, then contact me via my office. I’m living at the Hotel Aurore on Rue Delacre in the 16 th , you can call me there too in an emergency.”
If Lemele appreciated or even noticed the concern for her safety that had entered into the end of Marner’s discourse, she made no sign. After another barely perceptible tremble as she doused the last of the fire coursing through her veins, Lemele was up and moving away along the street. He was left marvelling once again at that single fluid motion, from sitting motionless to striding away that she had demonstrated here yesterday.
Chapter Seven
Trailing Lemele for a few minutes as she strolled leisurely through the busy commercial streets of the Saint Michel quarter, Marner wondered if their follower, who was maintaining a steady twenty metres behind Marner, was confused. Ultimately it did not matter; his objective was simply to identify which of them was of interest and it now seemed to be confirmed as him.
He waited until they had crossed the square around the small park at Cluny, enabling him to verify that there was no one else tracking parallel to them. Satisfied that any followers were his and his alone, he did what he always did
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