Chương 7
Elias caught her elbow.
She tried to pull away, then stopped because she needed the support.
Neither of them mentioned it.
Renaud entered two minutes later and found Claire standing in hospital socks while Elias held her arm.
“I distinctly remember giving instructions involving not doing anything idiotic.”
Claire said, “These socks are ugly enough to qualify as medical abuse.”
“They are free.”
“That explains it.”
Renaud guided her back to the bed.
“You are not leaving until I clear you.”
“Then clear me.”
“No.”
“Renaud.”
“No.”
“I need to deal with my family.”
“You need functioning circulation.”
“My circulation is functioning.”
“Your personality suggests otherwise.”
Elias looked away to hide the brief smile.
Claire caught him.
“You’re enjoying this.”
“A little.”
“Traitor.”
For several seconds, she looked almost like herself.
Then the room door opened again.
Mercier entered without knocking.
His expression erased the moment.
“We found your shoes.”
Claire’s hand tightened around the blanket.
“Where?”
“Inside the study.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“They took them off in the foyer.”
Mercier nodded.
“That is what you told us.”
Elias stood.
“What else?”
“The shoes were placed beneath Étienne Delcourt’s desk.”
Claire stared at him.
Mercier continued.
“And inside one of them, officers found a USB drive.”
Claire looked genuinely confused.
“I’ve never seen one in my life.”
“We haven’t opened it.”
Elias felt a coldness unrelated to the weather.
Someone had moved the shoes.
Someone had hidden something inside them.
And whoever had done it had expected Claire either to find the drive later or never to find it at all.
Mercier said, “There’s one more problem.”
Claire gave a tired laugh.
“Of course there is.”
“The drive has a handwritten label.”
“What does it say?”
Mercier looked at Elias.
“Ghost.”
Claire looked at Elias first, not Mercier.
That hurt more than the accusation hidden in the word.
Elias kept his hands at his sides.
“I didn’t put it there.”
“I didn’t say you did.”
“You looked at me.”
“I’m allowed to look at my husband when the police find his criminal nickname hidden in my shoe.”
Mercier stepped between the bed and the door, not physically blocking anyone so much as quietly rearranging the room around procedure.
“The drive stays with us.”
Elias nodded.
“Good.”
Claire turned to the lieutenant.
“Can you tell when it was put there?”
“Not from the drive itself.”
“What about fingerprints?”
“Possibly.”
“DNA?”
“Possibly.”
She closed her eyes.
“I am beginning to hate that word.”
Mercier almost smiled.
“We also photographed the shoes where they were found.”
“Who found them?”
“One of our officers.”
“Was Vanel already detained?”
“He was being kept in a separate room.”
Elias said, “Could he have placed them there before police arrived?”
“Yes.”
“Could Viviane?”
“Yes.”
“Pauline?”
“Yes.”
Claire opened her eyes.
“Wonderful.”
Mercier tucked the notebook beneath his arm.
“There is another issue.”
Elias watched him carefully.
“The label appears old.”
Claire frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“The ink is faded and the adhesive has yellowed.”
“How old?”
“I’m not qualified to estimate.”
“But not written tonight.”
“Probably not.”
The room went quiet.
Claire’s expression shifted.
“My father.”
Elias looked at her.
She was already somewhere else in her head.
“What?”
“My father labeled everything.”
Mercier waited.
“Not neatly,” she said.
“He had terrible handwriting.”
She looked at Elias.
“He used little white adhesive labels on cables, keys, storage boxes, anything he thought someone might move.”
“Would he write a single word?”
“Yes.”
“What did his handwriting look like?”
“Awful.”
Mercier said, “Can you identify it reliably?”
Claire hesitated.
“No.”
The answer seemed to cost her something.
“I could recognize some letters, maybe.”
“That’s enough for now.”
Mercier turned toward the door.
“We’ll document it before anyone accesses the contents.”
Elias said, “You may need digital forensic support beyond the local unit.”
Mercier stopped.
“Are you offering yours?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“I’m offering to pay for an independent accredited lab if your department needs one.”
Mercier studied him.
“I’ll decide what we need.”
“That’s fair.”
He left.
Claire waited until the door closed.
“Was that difficult?”
“What?”
“Not taking over.”
“Yes.”
She looked down at the blanket.
“Good.”
Elias absorbed that without defending himself.
At 6:12, the sky outside the clinic windows turned from gray to a thin winter blue.
Renaud cleared Claire for discharge with instructions she immediately criticized and Elias immediately memorized.
No driving.
No alcohol.
Pain medication with food.
Return immediately for shortness of breath, worsening confusion, severe dizziness, or increasing chest pain.
Claire listened with the patience of someone enduring a sermon.
Renaud handed Elias the written instructions.
“Since one of you appears capable of obedience.”
Claire said, “He used to run an international criminal network.”
Renaud looked at Elias.
“You told her.”
“She asked.”
Renaud rubbed both hands over his face.
“I picked a strange week to stop smoking.”
Claire stared at him.
“You knew?”
Renaud lowered his hands.
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Before your wedding.”
Claire’s expression changed.
Elias saw the betrayal land again, smaller than the first one but sharper.
“You attended our wedding.”
Renaud’s voice softened.
“Yes.”
“You toasted us.”
“Yes.”
“You told me Elias was a decent man.”
“I believed he was.”
“You knew what he had done.”
“I knew enough.”
Claire looked toward the window.
“That seems to be everyone’s favorite phrase.”
Renaud sat on the edge of the counter.
“I’m sorry.”
She did not answer.
He let the silence stand.
Eventually Claire said, “Did my father know because of you?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“How did you know Elias?”
Renaud glanced at him.
Elias said, “Tell her.”
Renaud folded his arms.
“Eight years ago, I worked emergency medicine in Marseille.”
Claire waited.
“One night, three men arrived at a private clinic with gunshot wounds.”
“You treated them.”
“Yes.”
“His men?”
“One was.”
Renaud looked at Elias.
“One was him.”
Claire turned.
“You were shot?”
“Twice.”
“You never told me.”
“I had scars.”
“You said motorcycle accident.”
May you like
“I did own a motorcycle.”
Claire gave him a look so cold it almost impressed him.
