Murder in Nice (33 page)

“
No, we do. I have recently
made arrangements to form what is called a studio winemaking
operation. A few other vintners and an investor will join with me
in getting our grapes crushed and bottled.”

“
Great. Well, then problem
solved.”

“
Yes, but it will be
expensive for awhile, I’m afraid.”

“
So that’s why you said
we’ll be poor.”

“
Si
.”

“
Poor
as in no more weekend trips to Paris or
poor
as in no trips back to the
States?”

“
Oui,
chérie
. All of that. I am sorry, Maggie. It
is just until the new business finds its legs.”

Maggie turned to look out the window. She
looked down at the jeans she’d crawled around a medieval dungeon
in. The ER physician had had to cut a section of the pant leg away
to clean and bandage the cut on her leg. The cut wasn’t deep and
Maggie was relieved she hadn’t needed stitches. She turned her face
to the sun and felt its strong rays caress her cheek through the
car window.

“
Laurent,” she said, still
not looking at him, “the main thing is you and me and Jemmy. As
long as we three are together, that’s all that matters.”

Laurent seemed to hesitate
and Maggie turned to see why, but all he said was, “I am
glad,
chérie
.”

“
So that’s it?
That’s
what’s been
bothering you? I have to say I was worried, Laurent. This is no big
deal. But a little communication next time, please.”

“
Je sais
,
chérie
. I
should have told you sooner. Oh, but you’re right, there is
something else you probably should know.”

“
What?”

“
I might have broken your
brother’s nose.”

Maggie wasn’t surprised when Laurent pulled into
the parking lot of the little restaurant before they reached
St-Buvard. In his mind, any and all ills, whether physical or
emotional, were best dealt with on a full stomach. Food ranked very
high with him as aphrodisiac, panacea, and balm. The parking space
was dirt and parallel to the country road just off the
D17.

At first glance the
restaurant looked like a gas station to Maggie except for the
striped awnings over the windows. After washing her face at the
hospital and having her wrist bandaged and a sling immobilizing it
against her chest, she was amazed to realize she was hungry.
Laurent helped her out of the car and, holding her good elbow,
guided her into the
brasserie
.

Tin ceiling tiles stamped
with ornate patterns and hardwood floors, polished to a gleam, gave
the inside of the little bistro an immediate, cozy feel. Heavy
toile café curtains hung against the large windows facing the
street, and the gilded antique frames and mirrors on the dark walls
presented a touch of understated elegance along with a feel
of
en famille
.
Maggie instantly felt cosseted and pampered.

Of
course
, she thought, tears welling up in
her eyes,
that was
Laurent’s intention
.

A waiter greeted them and sat them in a
booth overlooking the parking lot. It was still warm outside but
even now, in late August, Maggie could see evidence of the mistral
and the coming autumn in the swirling, miniature cyclones of dead
leaves in the street. She relaxed into her chair while Laurent
ordered for them both.

If you’d have told me six
hours ago
that I’d be sipping a Pinot Noir
and waiting for a hot lunch
,
I would’ve worried a whole lot less about being
attacked by the spirits of crazed monks
.
The waiter brought the wine and poured their glasses.

“
One glass won’t hurt,”
Laurent said.

“
You mean because of the
drugs?” Maggie said. “They didn’t give me any. I’m only on
ibuprofen.”

Laurent gave her a strange look as if he was
about to say something and then thought better of it. He raised his
glass.

Maggie reached for her glass and then looked
at Laurent.

“
You think I’m pregnant,”
she said suddenly.

He raised his eyebrows and grinned. “Don’t
you?”

The waiter came and set a tureen of potato
and leek soup in front of Maggie and placed a large, silver
soupspoon by her napkin. Someone else came with a basket of fresh
baked bread.

She waited for the server to leave and then,
unable to hide the tears stinging in her eyes, smiled at Laurent.
“How in the world did you know? I wasn’t completely sure
myself.”

“
There is no one I know so
well as you,
chérie
,” he said, reaching for his own soupspoon. “I have made an
art of studying you in all your forms and incarnations. The one
where you are carrying my baby is one of my very
favorites.”

“
Oh my God, Laurent, we’re
going to have another baby. That’ll make two.”

“
Your mathematical
abilities continue to astound me
,
chérie
,” Laurent said with a smile, his
eyes shining.

Maggie ate her soup and enjoyed every drop
of her wine, vowing it would almost certainly be the very last she
drank until the baby was born. She ate several pieces of bread and
every bite of the luscious and creamy Quiche Lorraine that was
served after the soup. She and Laurent talked of their children and
their future until Maggie thought her happiness could not be more
complete. Finally, she dropped her napkin on the table and groaned.
“I ate too much.”

Laurent signaled to the waiter for the
bill.

“
How in the world did you
find this place? They act like they know you.”

“
They are trained to act
that way with everyone,” Laurent said.

“
Ben was sleeping with
Lanie.”

“
Comment
?” Laurent looked at her and frowned.

“
My brother, Ben. He lied
about not being with Lanie.”

The waiter delivered the bill and walked
away. Before Laurent opened his wallet, he said, “Is this important
information if Olivier is the murderer?”

“
I don’t think
Olivier
is
the
murderer.”

“
That surprises me,
chérie
.”

“
I think Ben got Lanie
pregnant—inconveniently pregnant.”

Laurent pulled bills out of his wallet and
tucked them into the folder with the bill.

“
You have reasons for
thinking this?”

“
Remember at dinner a
couple nights ago Ben said he didn’t really know Lanie in
school?”

Laurent nodded slowly.

“
It’s true they were in
different grades,” Maggie said. “Ben graduated by the time Lanie
and I were there, but it was a lie that he didn’t know
her.”

“
She may not have made an
impression on him.”

“
He took her to prom his
senior year.”

Laurent’s eyebrows shot up.

“
At the time I thought Ben
was trying to downplay it for Haley’s benefit, you know? But I’m
sure she knew about it. So why lie?”

Laurent stood and held a hand out to help
Maggie from her chair. “Is that all?”

“
When I was all alone and
so cold last night and wishing desperately I had your warm arms
around me—”

“
I must remind you that you
would not have been cold and sleeping in a viper-infested medieval
castle if I had been with you last night.”

“
Okay, but the point is
when I was really miserable last night, I remembered Ben saying
when I first came to Nice that he had no idea which hotel room was
Lanie’s.”

“
And now you think he
did?”

“
One of the maids told me
that Ben went to Lanie’s bedroom. At night. More than
once.”

“
Pas bon
.”

“
Yeah,
pas bon
at all. Why would he lie about
not knowing which room was hers?”

“
Évidement
he was not supposed to be in her room,
chérie
. A married man? It
is not
diffiçile
to
comprehend.”

“
I
get
that he lied to Haley about
cheating on her, Laurent. But he lied to the
police
.”

“
You think
your brother
might have
killed Lanie?” The look on Laurent’s face clearly showed he didn’t
share this theory.

“
I know Lanie was pregnant
with someone’s baby and it
wasn’t
her boyfriend. Don’t you think the cops should do
a DNA analysis of every man on the tour?”

“
What are the odds that
will happen?”

“
Zero,” Maggie admitted.
“The homicide detective in Nice told me they wouldn’t spend any
money collecting DNA to prove paternity. They barely have the
resources to check it at the crime scene. The only reason they have
it on Olivier is his defense team paid to have it done.”

Laurent handed her into the car and secured
her seatbelt around her.

“
What time is it in the
States?” she asked, reaching for his phone in the
console.

“
You are calling your
parents?”

“
No, I have to find out
about something that’s been bugging me all night—when I wasn’t
quaking in fear for my life.” She dialed the number from memory and
waited until Annie picked up while Laurent climbed into the
car.

“
Hello?”

“
Hey, Annie I know it’s
early. Sorry about that.”

“
Oh, Maggie, dear! That’s
fine. I am always glad to hear from you.”

“
I just have one quick
question and then you can go back to sleep. Lanie had her high
school reunion this year. Do you happen to know if she went to it?”
Maggie looked at Laurent, who was nodding his head.

“
Of course, dear,” Annie
said. “Can you imagine our girl missing it? She posted all about it
on Facebook. I wasn’t in direct contact with her at the time, but I
read about it.”

“
Okay, thanks, Annie.
That’s all I needed. Go back to sleep and I’ll talk to you later,
okay?”

“
All right, dear. I hope I
helped.”

Maggie hung up the phone and then leaned her
head against Laurent’s shoulder. “Take me home, Laurent. I have to
ask my brother a very big question.”

Twenty

Maggie didn’t wait for Laurent to get her
door when he parked the car at Domaine St-Buvard. She jerked the
door open with her good hand and ran up the slate steps to the
front door.

“
Faites
attention
,
chérie,
” Laurent called to
her.

But she couldn’t be careful, or wait another
moment. The front door was unlocked and Maggie jerked it open and
ran inside. “Jemmy?” she called. “Jemmy, Mommy’s home!”

“
Maman
!”

Maggie pivoted on her heel and saw the baby
sitting in his high chair in the kitchen. Haley stood next to him,
a spoon poised in her hand, her eyes wide with surprise. “Maggie,
what happened to you?” Haley gasped.

Maggie went to the baby and crouched in
front of him. She put her good arm around him and kissed his cheek,
then nuzzled his neck. “Hello, little man,” she said softly. “I
missed you so much.”

“
Go sit down,” Haley said,
unlatching the tray on the high chair, “I’ll bring him to you. What
in the world happened?”

Maggie knew she must look a sight: filthy,
bruised and battered. She settled on a dining room chair and held
her good arm out as Haley set the baby on her lap. Maggie kissed
his head.

“
Haley, I’ll never be able
to thank you enough for taking care of him while I was
gone.”

“
It was my pleasure,
Maggie. Is everything okay? What’s going on?”

Maggie lifted her head to see Laurent enter
the room. There was an electric charge when he did. She could feel
it. And Haley’s reaction to Laurent was immediate and palpable.

“
Where is Zouzou?” he
asked, looking around the kitchen.

“
She’s napping,” Haley said
stiffly, crossing her arms, not looking at Laurent.

Laurent held out his arms for the baby and
Maggie relinquished him. Her arm was hurting and she was afraid he
might slip off her lap. She smiled as she watched Laurent absently
kiss his son on his head.

“
Is Ben here?” Maggie
asked.

“
That’s a very good
question,” Haley said acidly. “In fact, you might want to ask
your
husband
why
your only brother spent the night in the emergency room in Aix. He
came home early this morning after I informed him that Laurent was
gone, and then only to pack his things and leave again.”

“
Where is he?” Maggie asked
as she stood next to Laurent and took the baby’s hand in
hers.