Chapter 7 Chapter VII

Eugene was the first to arrive at the General Administration, and it was a few minutes before eleven o'clock.Although spring has not yet come, his clothes are already in harmony with the warm sunshine.He is wearing a dark and light gray intertwined suit. The material is very soft, and the muscle lines can be reflected with a little movement of the body.He wears a matching hat and suede shoes.When he pushed open the glass door of the Judicial Police Headquarters, a scent of fragrance drifted into the corridor with him. It was not the first time for him to come to the General Administration, he looked around casually like a regular visitor, and kept smoking filter cigarettes.The time for the daily report to work has passed, and there are some people with sad faces waiting at the door of the sheriff's office.

Eugene walked towards the usher and put a finger on the brim of his hat in salute. "Tell me, man, Inspector Amadillo must be waiting for me." "Please sit down" He sat down, crossed his legs generously, lit a cigarette, and then turned the newspaper to the competition section.His streamlined car was probably parked by the main entrance.McGarry had spotted it from a window, and went down the stairs to the street to inspect the car's left fender, but found not a single scratch. McGarry had been in the office of Sheriff Amadillo a few hours earlier, and the sheriff, wearing a cap, was eyeing him suspiciously.

"I'm bringing in someone who knows." "This matter is handled by the pre-trial court!" Amadeo replied while continuing to read the work report. McGarry, therefore, had to knock on the door of the Commissioner, who saw at once that his visit was unwelcome. "Hello, Mr. Commissioner." "Hello, McGregor." They were both equally bored, and there was no need for further conversation, both of them understood. "Mr. Director, I worked all night last night. I came to ask you for instructions. I hope you agree to summon three or four people here."

"It's a matter for the judge," the director said in a pretext. "The judge can't tell anything from these people. You know me." McGregor knew that everyone hated him and wanted to send him away, but he still refused to give up.This burly man spent a long time with the director, but the director gradually backed down, and finally he made several phone calls to the relevant offices. "Come to me, Amadillo!" "I'll go right away, Mr. Commissioner." The two of them argued. "Our friend McGregor said to me..." At nine o'clock, Amadeo walked resignedly through the corridors of the courthouse to Gastempobit's office.Twenty minutes later, he returned with the official letter in his pocket entrusting the investigation of the case, which was necessary for the interrogation of Caro, Odia, the owner of the Fontaine Hotel, Eugène, the Marseilles, and the little deaf man.

Odia has arrived.McGarry had forced him upstairs, and since morning he had been sitting at the end of the hallway, watching the police come and go with great annoyance. At 9:30, five plainclothes officers were ordered to set off to find five other people. McGregor was so sleepy that he wandered back and forth in the General Administration building where he had left his job, pushing open a door and shaking hands with an old colleague. , while pouring the ashes from the pipe into the sawdust in the spittoon. "How are you?" "It's okay!" he replied. "Do you know? They are very angry!" Luca said softly to him.

"Who?" "Amadio... Chief..." McGarry waited on the red velvet sofa, breathing in the air of what had been his office.Eugène showed no sign of impatience and even smiled a little wryly when he spotted McGregor.He's a good-looking lad, full of life and confidence.He looked very healthy, with a carefree and optimistic spirit exuding from every pore, and almost animal-like quickness in every tiny movement. A policeman came in from outside, and McGregor immediately went to meet him. "Did you go to the garage?" "Go! The garage owner said that the car hadn't been out of the garage at night, and the worker on the night shift confirmed his words."

This is totally expected.Eugene probably heard the conversation, showing a sarcastic expression. The owner of the Fontaine Hotel also arrived shortly afterwards, his eyes were sleepy, and his dissatisfaction was palpable. "I'm looking for Sheriff Amadillo!" he muttered to the civil servants in his office. "Please sit down." Pretending not to know Eugene, he sat down three meters away from him with his hat on his knees. Inspector Amadeo had McGregor invited in, and they met again in this small office overlooking the Seine. "Have all your cunning fellows arrived?"

"It's not here yet." "Please tell me exactly what questions you want me to ask them." His remark seemed to have no other purpose, and he spoke it in a friendly and respectful way, but it was a passive resistance.In fact, Armadayo and McGregor were equally aware that it was impossible to determine in advance every sentence to be asked during the interrogation. Even so, McGregor dictated several questions according to the different circumstances of each interlocutor.Amadeo, like a submissive secretary, wrote down these questions one by one, with a very satisfied expression on his face.

"that's it?" "that's it." "Let's start with Odia, shall we?" McGarry said that it was the same for him from whichever starting point, so Sheriff Amadeo rang the bell and gave an order to the policemen who came in.His secretary sat at the other end of the office with his back to the light, while McGarry sat down in one of the darkest corners. "Sit down, Odia, and tell us what you did last night." "I didn't do anything." Although the sun was shining directly into the café waiter's eyes, he spotted McGregor and made a face at him.

"Where were you yesterday afternoon?" "I don't remember exactly. I went to a movie and then had a drink in a bar in the Rue Fontaine. Yes..." Amadeo gave McGregor a signal, meaning: "Don't worry, I will ask questions according to your dictation." Sure enough, he put on his pince-nez and began to read the scriptures slowly: "What were the names of those friends you met in the bar?" This game has already been lost.The interrogation started off badly.The sheriff's appearance is no different from a student's endorsement, and Odia sniffed this out, so he became more and more indifferent.

"I haven't met any friends." "Don't you even see anyone sitting here?" Odia turned to McGregor, looked him up and down, and shook his head. "Perhaps I have seen this gentleman, but I cannot say, I have not noticed him." "and after?" "Then I came out of the bar and I had a headache because of the stale air in the movie theater, so I went for a walk on the boulevard outside the city. As I was crossing the street, I was hit by a car and when I woke up I found I was wounded and lying under a tree. This gentleman was there at the time and he told me that I had been hit by a car. I begged him to take me home but he wouldn't, took me to a hotel room." Another door opened and the Commissioner of Police entered, leaning silently against the wall. "What did you say to him?" "Nothing. He's talking all by himself. He mentions a couple of people, but I don't know any of them. He wants me to come here and say they're my mates." With a thick blue pencil in his hand, Amadeo scribbled a word or two on blotting paper from time to time, while the secretary wrote down the entire testimony. "I'm sorry!" the director interrupted and asked a question, "You just told us better than you sang, but you still tell us the truth, what did you want to do at three o'clock in the morning on Chapel Boulevard? .” "My head hurts." "It's not good for you to play tricks. You've been sentenced four times..." "Forgive me! You were pardoned the first two times, and you have no right to settle the old score." McGregor just looked and listened.He was smoking a pipe, and the aroma of shredded tobacco permeated every corner of the office, and wisps of smoke rose slowly in the sun. "Let's talk in a few minutes." Ama forced someone to take Odia to a room next door, and picked up the phone: "Bring in that Eugene Bernard." With a smile on his face, Eugene walked in leisurely, scanned everyone sitting there at a glance, and then stubbed out the cigarettes in the ashtray. "What did you do last night?" Amadeo repeated the question without confidence. "My goodness, Mr. Sheriff, I went to bed early last night because I had a terrible toothache. You'd better ask the night watchman at the Alsina Hotel." "What time?" "Twelve midnight." "Haven't you been to the Hotel Fontaine?" "Where?" "Walk! Do you know a man named Odia?" "Who is he? I know a lot of people in Montmartre!" McGarry made an excruciating effort to keep every minute of silence. "Bring Odia in!" Amadeo ordered over the phone. Odia and Eugene looked at each other curiously. "Do you know each other?" "Never!" murmured Eugene. "It's an honor to meet you!" the cafe waiter joked. The play didn't go well, and their eyes were smiling, which gave away the secret. "So you didn't play 'Brot' together last night at the Hotel Fontaine?" "Of the two of them, one opened his eyes wide, and the other burst out laughing." "Mistake, Mr. Sheriff." The sheriff confronts them with the Maasai, who holds out his hand to Eugène as soon as he enters the door. "You guys know each other?" "Of course! We live together." "Where?" "At the Hotel Alsina, our rooms are next to each other." The Commissioner gestured to McGarry to follow him out. The two of them walked up and down the aisle with long strides. Louis, the owner of the tobacconist, had been waiting, seated not far from Germain Carot. "What are you going to do?" The Commissioner glanced at McGarry a few times, his eyes full of uneasiness. "Do they really want you to fall into their trap?" McGregor was silent.Caro stared at them with the same silent sarcasm in Odia's and Eugene's eyes. "If only I could interrogate them myself!" McGregor sighed deeply. "You know it's impossible, but we can keep the confrontation going as you wish." "Thank you, Mr. Commissioner." McGregor knew that such a confrontation would be of no avail, and the five had formed an offensive and defensive alliance and took precautions.A deadly question like Amadeo's did not compel them to tell the truth. "I don't know whether you're wrong or you're right," went on the Commissioner. The two of them passed in front of Caro, who took the opportunity to greet the director. "It was you who summoned me here, Monsieur Commissioner?" It is already noon.Most of the plainclothes had gone to lunch or out on missions, and the long aisles were nearly empty.The Administrator shook hands with McGregor farewell at the door of the office. "What else can I say to you? All I can do is wish you good luck." McGregor took off his coat and hat, cast a last look at the office where the interrogation was continuing, and then he cast a disgusted look at Caro before walking to the stairs. McGregor couldn't help it, and for the first time in his life he was overwhelmed by a sense of powerlessness.Caro and Louie sat on two adjacent chairs, leisurely and at ease. They looked at McGregor who was walking back and forth helplessly, and felt indescribably happy. In Sheriff Amadeo's office, there were only calm whispers, asking and answering, without getting angry.True to his word, the Sheriff conducted the interrogation on the outline dictated by McGarry, but asked not a single question, and showed no interest in it. And Philip was in jail!Mrs. McGregor was anxiously awaiting a letter from her husband. "The weather is so nice today, sir!" Caro suddenly said to Louis who was sitting beside him. "It's a beautiful day. It's an easterly wind," answered Louie. "You were also summoned here?" These words were all spoken to McGregor, obviously sarcasm and sarcasm. "Yes. I think they wanted to ask me something." "Then you are like me. Which sheriff called you?" "One named Amadillo." When McGregor walked close to Caruo, the guy actually grinned and let out an insulting laugh, which caused a violent reaction on McGregor in an instant. He couldn't bear it anymore, and slapped " Notary" face. It was a mistake!However, this was the result of not closing his eyes all night and being continuously insulted. Caro was knocked dizzy by the sudden violent blow, while Louie stood up and grabbed McGregor's arm and wouldn't let go. "Are you crazy?" Will they fight in the corridor of the Judiciary? "What's up?" It was Amadillo's voice, opening the door and sticking his head out.Seeing the three men clenched their fists and glaring, it was impossible for him not to understand what was going on, but he pretended to be nonchalant and said calmly: "Would you like to come in, Karo?" The police again sent the other interrogators to the next room. "Please sit down." McGarry came in too and stood by the door. "I invited you here because I need your help to verify the identities of several people." Amadeo answered the bell, and Odia was ushered in again. "Do you know this lad?" At this moment, McGregor slammed the door and walked away, cursing loudly at the same time.He was almost on the verge of tears, and the farce irritated him to the core. Odia doesn't know Caro, and Caro doesn't know Odia!Neither of them knew Eugene!And so on, until the very end!As for Louis, he knew no one! Amadillo interrogated them, and every time he got a negative answer, he earned a point!what!How dare someone disturb his routine!what!Someone dared to teach him how to do his job!He will always be well mannered as he is such a well educated man!But we'll have to wait and see! McGregor descended the stairs with a sullen face, crossed the yard, and passed Eugene's fancy car. The sun was shining on Paris, the Seine and the white and dazzling Pont Neuf.As soon as you walk into a shaded corner, the warm air suddenly cools. In a quarter of an hour or an hour the interrogation would be over.Eugène would sit beside the Maasai, take the steering wheel and start the car.Caro will call a taxi home.They will exchange glances before breaking up. "It's all due to the stupid Philip!" McGregor muttered to himself, and the stone slabs paved on the street retreated piece by piece under his feet.Suddenly he felt a woman who passed him, deliberately turned her face away so as not to be recognized by him.McGregor stopped to take a look, and found that it was Fernand, who was hurrying forward at a faster pace.After driving a few meters, he caught up with her and grabbed her by the arm. He didn't even understand why he was so rough to her. "Where are you going?" She looked very alarmed and didn't answer. "When did they let you go?" "last night." He understood that the trust that had been built between the two of them had evaporated.Fernand called him, she just wanted to go on her way. "Did they arraign you?" McGregor asked her again, glancing at the Police Headquarters building. "No." She was wearing a sky-blue top and skirt today, which gave her the air of a petit-bourgeois lady.McGarry seemed particularly restless because he couldn't find any reason to keep her. "What are you doing there?" He followed Fernand's gaze and found that she was looking at Eugene's blue car. He understood, annoyed like a jealous man. "Did you know? He tried to kill me last night." "Who?" "Eugène" She was about to say something, but bit her lip and swallowed it again. "What did you want to say just now?" "nothing." The policeman on duty watched them.In the eighth window upstairs, Amadillo was still recording the testimony of the five collaborators.The car parked below, light and clean as its owner.Fernand kept a straight face, waiting for the opportunity to get out as soon as possible. "Do you think I got you locked up?" McGregor continued to ask questions. She didn't answer, but turned her head to the side. "Who told you that Eugene was here?" He asked another question stubbornly, but still did not get an answer. She is in love!She was Eugène's lover, and she must have slept with McGregor in order to tease him. "Damn it," muttered McGarry at last, "to hell with you, my old lady!" He expected her to return again, but she hurried to the car and stopped by the door. McGarry was the only one left on the sidewalk filling his pipe.He could never light his pipe because he packed the tobacco too hard.