The Devil's Cave: A Bruno Courrèges Investigation (Bruno Chief of Police 5)

her for several years, not since one time when I was in New York on business. She was shopping around a film treatment to some independent producers and we met for a drink. She tried to persuade me to put some money into her film but I declined. We were never close.’
    ‘Did you know she was in France? Or why she’d want to kill herself?’
    The Count shook his head. ‘We weren’t in touch. Not even Christmas cards. I don’t know how she knew I was in New York that time, she just rang me out of the blue.’
    ‘How about you?’ Bruno asked Foucher. ‘You tried pretty hard to stop the boat with her body from drifting under the bridge. Are you going to tell me that was coincidence?’
    ‘I never knew her in life, so there’s nothing for me to recognize,’ Foucher said dismissively. ‘Isn’t all this financial stuff a bit above your pay grade?’
    ‘Not when I know someone involved has a conviction for insider trading,’ Bruno said, instantly regretting the impulse that made him play an important card for such a petty reason as countering a sneer.
    He stared at Foucher until the other man’s eyes fell and turned back to the Count, who was watching the exchange with eyebrows raised, an amused look on his face.
    ‘You have been busy,’ the Count said. ‘Looks like you’ve been underestimating our local police, Lionel.’
    ‘We’ll need somebody to come to the morgue in Bergerac and make a formal identification,’ Bruno said. ‘I’d rather not impose on your grandmother. Will you do it? It won’t take long.’
    ‘I’ll do it as a family duty, but I can’t say I’m keen to do you any favours. I hear you’re the one who’s been trying to stop my project.’
    ‘Whoever told you that is misinformed,’ said Bruno, with a glance at Foucher. ‘I want that sports hall you’ve kindly promised just as much as you want the project. I just want to be sure that St Denis gets the project it’s been promised, unlike Thivion.’
    ‘Fair enough,’ said the Count, with a half-smile that seemed genuine. ‘That’s what I want to build. This place is the nearestI have to a home, don’t forget. I was even baptized in the family chapel. And I’m serious about the sports hall. We even commissioned a design for it from the architects.’
    ‘I took care of that and delivered the plans to the Mayor myself,’ intervened Foucher. ‘What more do you expect us to do?’
    ‘Tell me about your charming manager,’ Bruno said, trying another gambit. ‘I’m wondering how you found her. Have you known her long?’
    ‘A few years,’ the Count replied vaguely. He was looking across at his other guests where the Baron seemed to have monopolized Béatrice. ‘She was working in the corporate hospitality business and we used her company a fair bit when I launched the private equity firm. She impressed me so I hired her.’ He handed his glass to Foucher, who went off to fill it again. ‘Any more questions or can we join the others? I can’t wait to talk to that fascinating singer. I hear she planned all the theatrics. Will you introduce me before we eat?’
    ‘Certainly,’ Bruno replied, leading the way. ‘But not all the theatrics. I think that last little thunderclap was arranged by you and the Baron and performed by the man who’s bringing your next glass of champagne. I’d love to know how you persuaded our priest to go along with it.’
    ‘He loved the idea, once it was properly explained.’

26
    A telephone call from Fabiola took Bruno from the table halfway through lunch.
    ‘It’s not entirely clear, but from the autopsy I think you may have two cases of murder,’ she told him. ‘The woman in the boat and Junot both died the same way, of what looked like a heart attack. I’m prepared to bet it was induced circulatory failure. I think they had air bubbles injected into their veins but I can’t prove it. What do you know about embolism?’
    ‘Not a lot,’ he admitted.
    When a pathologist suspected murder, she explained, or when the person had died gasping for breath, it was customary to X-ray the corpse before beginning an autopsy. Air bubbles showed up very clearly on X-rays. There was also a technique to conduct the autopsy underwater, when the air bubbles could be seen to escape, like putting a punctured bicycle tyre in water to locate the leak. But there’d been no reason to do that with the woman in the boat, and Junot’s circulation system had been compromised by his injuries.
    ‘We