Paris: The Novel

you can. Tell him what happened, and that Monsieur Eiffel must be informed at once. Also the police. He will know what to do. Then you stay with your aunt. I shall wait here with Anna.” He reached into his pocket and gave her money. “If you walk fast you can reach him in less than half an hour. But if you see a cab, take it. And don’t say anything to anyone, even the police, until you get to Ney.”
    “If he’s out?”
    “Your aunt will help you. Try to find him. We have to tell the police, but it’s essential Monsieur Eiffel knows at once.”
    Édith didn’t like to leave Anna, but she agreed to go. As she left, Thomas kissed her and repeated quietly, “Don’t come back.”
    As she left, he wondered if anyone on the bridge had seen Pepe fall. They might have. But they might not. If they had, the police would probably arrive quite soon. That couldn’t be helped. But at least he’d done his best to protect the two people who mattered: Édith and Monsieur Eiffel.
    Then he sat down, put his arm around Anna, and waited.

    He waited an hour and a half. It seemed an eternity. Then a group of people all arrived together. Monsieur Eiffel and Ney and a small man with a neatly trimmed mustache were closely followed by a uniformed policeman, a young man with a camera apparatus and two men with a stretcher.
    While Eiffel moved slightly apart, Ney spoke.
    “As you see, Inspector,” he addressed the man with the mustache, “my client awaits you exactly as I said he would. And this young lady I am sure is the friend of the unfortunate young man.”
    The inspector glanced at Thomas briefly, moved to Pepe’s body, gave it the briefest inspection, glanced up at the tower and nodded to the young man with the camera, who was already setting up a tripod to take photographs.
    Meanwhile Ney had gone to Thomas’s side.
    “You have shown intelligence by your actions, young man,” he said in a low voice. “Now listen carefully. Answer the questions that the inspector puts to you, and answer them very briefly. That is the only information he wishes to know. Add nothing. You understand? Nothing.”
    Thomas saw the inspector look at Ney inquiringly. The lawyer gave him a slight nod.
    “My client is ready to help you, Inspector.”
    The inspector came across. Apart from his mustache, his face was clean shaven. His hair was thin over a broad brow. His eyes reminded Thomas of oysters. They were watchful and somewhat sad. He took out a notebook.
    The preliminaries were brief: his name, the address where he lived—Thomas gave his lodgings in the rue de la Pompe. The time of the incident. The name and occupation of the deceased. He had been with the deceased before the incident? Where? The Irish bar.
    “Had the deceased drunk anything at the Irish bar?”
    “Yes, monsieur. Both Guinness and wine.”
    “Was he inebriated?”
    “Not drunk. He had control of himself …”
    “But he had consumed both beer and wine.”
    “Certainly.”
    “Then he climbed up the tower.”
    “Yes, Inspector.”
    “How?”
    “Up the girders at first, since the staircase is closed. Then into the staircase and up to the first platform, then out onto the girders.”
    “You saw him do this?”
    “Yes.” He was about to explain that he had gone up with him, but remembering what Ney had said, and since the inspector had not yet asked where he was himself, he did not offer this information.
    “What did he do up there?”
    “He sang an Italian song.”
    “Then what?”
    “He fell.”
    “How?”
    “He took a bow, quite a big one. Three times. Center, then left, then right. Then he took a final bow, deeper than the others, and lost his balance. Then … it was very sudden.”
    “This girl is his friend?”
    “Yes. She is very shocked.”
    “Naturally.” The inspector turned to Anna. “I understand you are distressed, mademoiselle, but I must ask you a few questions.”
    Her name and address. Pepe’s name and address. Was he of Italian family? Was she? How long had she known him? Had she drunk Guinness and wine with him at the Irish bar? Did he climb the tower and sing an Italian song? Was she standing below? Did he take a bow three times, then a final bow and lose his balance? Did she see this, and was this what happened?”
    “Yes. Yes it was.” She burst into tears.
    The inspector closed his notebook, and turned to Ney and Eiffel.
    “It is very clear. I am satisfied. There will be some formalities later, of course, but unless