Black Diamond

humor or resentment. She might have been discussing the weather.
    “How old are they?” He glanced down through her personnel file. She was thirty, born in Amiens. Pantowsky was her maiden name, so she was probably from one of the Polish families that came to work in the coal mines, when there still were coal mines in France.
    “Three. They’re twins, a boy and a girl. But I don’t think they’ve anything to do with this meeting.”
    “Very well, madame. But I need your help. I’m trying to understand how it is that a fraud might be committed here. We’ve had complaints that some of the truffles coming from this market are Chinese.”
    “It’s simple. Somebody must have made a substitution.”
    “Where and how?”
    “I’ve no idea.” Her eyes looked up at him. They were pale blue, almost gray. He thought of the Baltic Sea and remembered her Polish name.
    “Take a guess.”
    “It’s pointless to speculate.” Her face was impassive.
    “Why?”
    “It could take place anywhere along the supply chain, either here at the market or during delivery or at the end user. Proper controls could be installed at each stage, but it would be very expensive.”
    “What proportion of the truffles do you analyze?”
    “I am supposed to make random checks of an average of three percent. In rush periods, like the one that will last into February, the volume is simply too big for that scale of testing. In January, I might not even be checking one percent. The mayor and the market manager know this. They allow me to average out the three percent over the year. That means we are most at risk during the key period, when the really valuable items are being traded.”
    “Does that worry you?”
    “Yes, a great deal. I’ve proposed hiring a couple of part-time assistants during January. Any high school graduate could be trained to do the work, under proper supervision. The cost would be minimal, perhaps a thousand euros. But the manager refuses.”
    “Did he give a reason?”
    “Cost,” she said coolly.
    “Did you find this convincing?”
    “Of course not.”
    “What do you think was Didier’s real reason?”
    “I’ve no idea. That is, I don’t know if there is a real reason. He’s a man who often finds it necessary to show that he is in charge.”
    “Is that why you make the coffee?”
    “No, I make the coffee because I need this job.” Her voice was flat. A robot might have shown more emotion, more involvement in the conversation. Accustomed to the instinctive warmth of the people of the region, Bruno felt disconcerted.
    “You really think you could lose the job if you refused to make the coffee?”
    “I’m a part-timer on a contract, so I have no job security. It’s not a risk I want to take.”
    “What a pity you show it by making such bad coffee,” said Bruno, determined to provoke some kind of response from her. “A woman of your education and intelligence could make excellent coffee if she tried.”
    For the first time, she smiled. It was not a very convincing smile, but Bruno felt encouraged. He let the silence build.
    “I’m not used to dealing with the police,” she said.
    “Who told you I was a policeman? I’m doing a security review.”
    “You’re Bruno of St. Denis. I saw you at the closing of the sawmill.”
    “You were one of the Green protesters?”
    “I’m a Green Party member, yes. A lot of scientists are.”
    “I see you got your degree and your diploma in Paris. What brought you down here?”
    “Marriage, and then I grew to like the place more than I liked my husband. It’s a good place to raise my children. So I’ll do a lot to keep my job.”
    “Would that include turning a blind eye to some irregularities?”
    “No, I know there are irregularities. But I can’t prove it. I don’t know who’s doing what. I do know that by investigating these Chinese truffles you are looking at the molehill rather than the mountain.”
    “I don’t understand,” he said.
    She was studying his face as if trying to assess his character and whether she could trust him. He looked back at her, doubtful that he could control his features nearly as well as this woman controlled hers.
    “You might check the average price being paid at the final biddings for those items not sold by the end of the day,” she said eventually.
    “Why would you recommend that?” he asked. “Please understand that I’m new to this. I want to understand what exactly I should be looking for, and