"That's the one I'm curious to see!" said M. Desmalions. "He interests me
like the very devil! Did you read the report of the Foreign Legion?"
"Yes, Monsieur le Préfet, and I confess that this gentleman
puzzles me, too."
"He does, eh? Did you ever hear of such pluck? A sort of heroic madman,
something absolutely wonderful! And then there's that nickname of Arsène
Lupin which he earned among his messmates for the way in which he used
to boss them and astound them! ... How long is it since the death of
Arsène Lupin?"
"It happened two years before your appointment, Monsieur le Préfet. His
corpse and Mme. Kesselbach's were discovered under the ruins of a little
chalet which was burnt down close to the Luxemburg frontier. It was found
at the inquest that he had strangled that monster, Mrs. Kesselbach, whose
crimes came to light afterward, and that he hanged himself after setting
fire to the chalet."
"It was a fitting end for that--rascal," said M. Desmalions, "and I
confess that I, for my part, much prefer not having him to fight against.
Let's see, where were we? Are the papers of the Mornington inheritance
ready for me?"
"On your desk, Monsieur le Préfet."
"Good. But I was forgetting: is Inspector Vérot here?"
"Yes, Monsieur le Préfet. I expect he's in the infirmary getting
something to pull him together."
"Why, what's the matter with him?"
"He struck me as being in a queer state--rather ill."
"How do you mean?"
The secretary described his interview with Inspector Vérot.
"And you say he left a letter for me?" said M. Desmalions with a worried
air. "Where is it?"
"Among the papers, Monsieur le Préfet."
"Very odd: it's all very odd. Vérot is a first-rate inspector, a very
sober-minded fellow; and he doesn't get frightened easily. You might go
and fetch him. Meanwhile, I'll look through my letters."
The secretary hurried away. When he returned, five minutes later,
he stated, with an air of astonishment, that he had not seen
Inspector Vérot.
"And what's more curious still," he added, "is that the messenger who saw
him leave this room saw him come in again almost at once and did not see
him go out a second time."
"Perhaps he only passed through here to go to you."
"To me, Monsieur le Préfet? I was in my room all the time."
"Then it's incomprehensible."
"Yes ... unless we conclude that the messenger's attention was distracted
for a second, as Vérot is neither here nor next door."
"That must be it. I expect he's gone to get some air outside; and he'll
be back at any moment. For that matter, I shan't want him to start with."
The Prefect looked at his watch.
"Ten past five. You might tell the messenger to show those gentlemen
in.... Wait, though--"
M. Desmalions hesitated. In turning over the papers he had found Vérot's
letter. It was a large, yellow, business envelope, with "Café du
Pont-Neuf" printed at the top.
The secretary suggested:
"In view of Vérot's absence, Monsieur le Préfet, and of what he said, it
might be as well for you to see what's in the letter first."