The English Girl: A Novel

passed through it once in another lifetime. That was the kind of town Rognac was, a way station on a road to somewhere else.
    Gabriel checked the date on the receipt. Then he searched the calling histories of the nine cell phones for the number written on the back. He found it on three of the phones. In fact, Lacroix had called it twice that morning using two different devices.
    Gabriel slipped the cell phones, the receipt, and the cash into a nylon rucksack and returned to the main salon. Once again he tore the duct tape from Lacroix’s eyes, but this time he removed the gag as well. Lacroix’s face was now heavily distorted from the swelling caused by the broken jaw. Gabriel squeezed it tightly as he stared into the Frenchman’s eyes.
    “I’m going to ask you a few questions, Marcel. You have one chance to tell me the truth. Do you understand?” Gabriel asked, squeezing a little harder. “One chance.”
    Lacroix made no response other than to groan in pain.
    “One chance,” Gabriel said again, holding up his index finger to emphasize the point. “Are you listening?”
    Lacroix said nothing.
    “I’ll take that as a yes,” said Gabriel. “Now, Marcel, I want you to tell me the names of the men who are holding the girl. And then I want you to tell me where I can find them.”
    “I don’t know anything about a girl.”
    “You’re lying, Marcel.”
    “No, I swear—”
    Before Lacroix could utter another word, Gabriel silenced him by sealing his mouth once again. Next he wrapped several feet of additional tape around the Frenchman’s head until only his nostrils were visible. Belowdecks he retrieved a length of nylon rope from a storage cabinet. Then he headed back upstairs to the flying bridge. Keller was clutching the wheel with both hands and squinting through the window at the turbulent seas.
    “How’s it going down there?” he asked.
    “Surprisingly, I wasn’t able to persuade him to cooperate.”
    “What’s the rope for?”
    “Additional persuasion.”
    “Anything I can do to help?”
    “Reduce speed and put us on autopilot.”
    Keller did as instructed and followed Gabriel down to the main salon. There they found Lacroix in obvious distress, his chest heaving as he struggled for air through the duct tape helmet. Gabriel rolled him onto his stomach and fed the nylon line through the bindings at his feet and ankles. After securing the line with a tight knot, he dragged Lacroix onto the afterdeck as though he were a freshly harpooned whale. Then, with Keller’s help, he lowered him onto the swim step and rolled him overboard. Lacroix struck the black water with a heavy thud and began to thrash wildly in an attempt to keep his head above the surface. Gabriel watched him for a moment and then scanned the horizon in all directions. Not a single light was visible. It seemed they were the last three men on earth.
    “How will you know when he’s had enough?” asked Keller as he watched Lacroix fighting for his life.
    “When he starts to sink,” replied Gabriel calmly.
    “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
    “Don’t ever get on my bad side.”
    A fter forty-five seconds in the water, Lacroix went suddenly still. Gabriel and Keller hauled him quickly back on board and removed the duct tape from his mouth. For the next several minutes the Frenchman was unable to speak as he alternately gasped for air and coughed seawater from his lungs. When the retching finally stopped, Gabriel took hold of his broken jaw and squeezed.
    “You might not realize it at this moment,” he said, “but this is your lucky day, Marcel. Now, let’s try this again. Tell me where I can find the girl.”
    “I don’t know.”
    “You’re lying to me, Marcel.”
    “No,” Lacroix said, shaking his head violently from side to side. “I’m telling you the truth. I have no idea where she is.”
    “But you know one of the men who’s holding her. In fact, you had drinks with him at a bar in Rognac a week after she disappeared. And you’ve been in contact with him ever since.”
    Lacroix was silent. Gabriel squeezed the broken jaw harder.
    “His name, Marcel. Tell me his name.”
    “Brossard,” Lacroix gasped through the pain. “His name is René Brossard.”
    Gabriel looked at Keller, who nodded his head.
    “Very good,” he said to Lacroix, releasing his grip. “Now keep talking. And don’t even think about lying to me. If you do, you’ll go back in the water. But the next time it will be