Black Diamond

whistle when I come up the trail so you’ll know it’s me.”
    The baron tossed him the keys to the jeep, backed into the hide and settled down on one knee, his back against the stove.
    “This is not just a murder,” he said.
    “How do you mean?”
    “This is a killing that triggers phone calls to government ministers. Hercule was a
barbouze
, one of the top ones. He’ll have files and secrets that could shake la République.”
    “You didn’t tell me.”
    “I didn’t need to, until now.” The baron gestured withhis head toward the hanging corpse. “Somebody’s out for revenge.”
    “From his Algerian days?” Bruno asked. “Or is it something else?”
    The baron shrugged.
    Had Hercule been Deuxième Bureau, military intelligence or the SDECE foreign intelligence and counterespionage service or what? Bruno’s head spun a little at the thought of all the vague and shadowy organizations that had been charged over the past few decades with guarding France’s security by fighting her secret wars. “I know somebody in Renseignements Généraux, but that’s about it.”
    “He’ll do. Call him and just say Hercule was an old
barbouze
. Indochina and Algeria and the OAS. He’ll know what to do.”
    Bruno left, avoiding the footpath, in case forensics could find something useful on the trail, and kept a keen watch for any other signs of life. Before he reached the clearing where the jeep and Land Rover were parked, he slowed down, skirting around to approach the cars from another direction. Hercule’s vehicle was locked and showed no signs of tampering. Bruno’s phone still gave no signal. Before starting the jeep he looked carefully for any signs of different tire tracks in the clearing and on the track leading back to the road. He saw two possible tracks. He marked each one with a large stone and crossed branches, and then drove down the track toward Paunat, eyes darting to his phone for the first sign of a signal.
    As soon as the first bar appeared, he began to call J-J, but then paused. This was one report he had better make by the book. He began by calling 15 for the SAMU emergency ambulance service and told them he’d wait by the junction with the Paunat road. Then he called a number inParis that he had been given previously, in the course of a different inquiry, gave his name and asked for the brigadier. Apparently his name was still on the approved list at Renseignements Généraux because the brigadier was on the line within seconds.
    “How’s life in the Périgord, Bruno?”
    “Dangerous for some,” Bruno replied. “I’ve just found a body left hanging in the woods, murdered, probably tortured. He’s been killed within the last hour or two, and he’s one of yours. An old
barbouze
from Indochina, Algeria and the OAS, is how I was advised to put it by one of his military friends.”
    “What was his name?”
    “Hercule Vendrot. He had a Croix de Guerre and was a member of the Légion d’Honneur.”
    “
Putain
, Bruno. Hercule’s a legend in this business. You said he’d been tortured?”
    “I think so. It reminded me of some of the things I saw in Bosnia.”
    “
Putain
. Someone thinks he was an informer. What had he been up to? How did you know him?”
    “He’s been retired for as long as I’ve known him. He spent his time hunting for truffles. He was worried about some dirty goings-on at the truffle market in Ste. Alvère, where he lived. He and I go hunting together, and we were supposed to meet today in the woods.”
    “Have you told anyone else?”
    “Yes, I followed procedure and called the SAMU, told them it was a suspicious death. They’ll automatically inform the gendarmes and the Police Nationale when they send the ambulance. Next I’ll call our mutual friend J-J. Meantime, I’m waiting at a road junction to direct the SAMU guys into the woods. They’ll never find it otherwise.”
    “I need a favor, Bruno. As soon as you’ve directed them to the body, would you go to Hercule’s house and make sure nobody else gets in until one of my people shows up? They’ll have identification.”
    “I can’t keep the gendarmes out.”
    “I’ll take care of them. You’ve got your hunting gun. Just get to Hercule’s house as soon as you can and keep it secure. Whatever happens, I’ll back you. Even if you have to use the gun. Does anybody else know of this?”
    “Yes, my chum the baron. We were all going hunting together. He was the one who told me to call you and