The Crowded Grave

arrested.”
    “Not if the farmers decide not to press charges and if the magistrate finds that acceptable.”
    From his perch by the medical cupboard, Carlos suddenly spoke, addressing Teddy as if he were the more malleable of the two. “It sounds like a good deal to me. I’d take it, if I were you.”
    “You said we should pay compensation,” Teddy asked Bruno. “How much are you talking about?”
    “The Villattes lost about half-a-dozen ducks at six euros each and a couple of geese, and they had to repair the fencing. Say eighty to a hundred euros. And Maurice lost a couple of cold frames. Buy him some new glass and a good bottle of wine and get Sophie some flowers. Can you afford that?”
    “Kajte can afford a lot more than that,” said Dominique. “She’s been telling us she became Green because she feels guilty about her dad, who’s some sort of high-up with Shell oil.”
    Kajte looked daggers at Dominique.
    “I think we should take Bruno’s advice,” Teddy said, kneeling down to be at eye level with Kajte. “I didn’t get into this to get shot at and hurt some poor farmers.”
    “I can’t say I’m thrilled at being shot either,” Kajte retorted. She looked up at Bruno. “What happens to this trigger-happy Maurice if we do what you say?”
    “There’ll be an inquiry, but he’s got a good lawyer andhe’s already given a statement. You were an intruder, at night, and under French law he has the right to defend his property. What’s more, he called the police in, which is more than you did. Maurice should be in the clear.”
    “You’re getting off lightly,” snapped Dominique.
    Bruno sighed. It had been a mistake on his part to invite her. She and Kajte clearly disliked each other. But it had been worth a try, to bring in a local and a colleague of their own age who might be able to convince them to follow Bruno’s plan.
    “What now?” asked Teddy.
    “I have to make a few phone calls, and then take you to the Villattes’. I’ll arrange for Maurice and Sophie to be there.”
    “I haven’t agreed to anything yet,” said Kajte. Teddy’s face fell.
    “You’ll have a few minutes to make up your mind while I make these calls,” Bruno said. “When I come back, either you do it my way or I arrest you both and take you to the gendarmerie and charge you with criminal damage. Carlos, will you kindly stay here with them while I use the phone?”
    Bruno walked out onto the rugby field, thumbing in the number of Annette’s mobile phone.
    “I just got your message,” he said. “I was out on patrol in a place with no reception.”
    “I was calling to apologize,” she said. “I didn’t want to interfere with your attempt to settle things, but Capitaine Duroc insisted.”
    “How did he find out about it?”
    Annette explained that Duroc had visited her office that morning, making conversation over a cup of coffee. She’d mentioned what Bruno had told her about tracking the students down through the computer. A crime is a crime, Duroc had said, and insisted on her accompanying him to St. Denis to make an arrest.
    “Duroc doesn’t seem to like you,” she added. “I’m sorry if this makes things difficult.”
    “What’s done is done,” Bruno said. Annette had let herself be bullied by Duroc, a man who made no secret of his belief that country policemen like Bruno were an anachronism in modern France and should be replaced forthwith by gendarmes. “Have you got the fax I sent you?”
    “No, I haven’t been to the office yet. What’s it about?”
    “Those students went after another duck farm in the early hours of this morning, and the farmer thought it was a fox and fired his shotgun. Then he called me. There was some blood at the scene so one of them may have taken a few pellets.”
    “You mean someone has been shot?” Annette’s voice was shocked. “This is awful. Duroc was right, I should never have listened to you. If we’d arrested those students yesterday this would never have happened. And why do you only tell me this now rather than when I saw you at the dig? Are you doing some kind of cover-up?”
    “Hold on, Annette. Let’s be sure of our facts. Nobody has reported in to the medical center with shotgun wounds. But you were informed as soon as it happened. I took the farmer’s statement and faxed a copy to your office in Sarlat. It’s not my fault if you don’t check your in-box.”
    As soon as he said it, Bruno knew that the last sentence had been a