The Resistance Man (Bruno Chief of Police 6)

my car or have they sealed that too?’
    ‘You’re free. You can pick up your car whenever you want. I was going to suggest you follow me back to my place, take a shower there and change and you can have the spare room until you decide what to do.’ Bruno turned and called to the barman to bring him a pack of Marlboros and some matches.
    ‘I didn’t know you smoked,’ said Valentoux. ‘That’s a very kind offer – why are you doing this?’
    ‘I don’t smoke. They’re for you,’ Bruno said. ‘You’ve been all night and half the day in a jail cell and interrogation rooms. You’re out of cigarettes. I don’t think you killed Fullerton and nor does the chief of detectives. If any evidence to the contrary turns up, we’ll know where to find you. Will there really be a problem with your job at the drama festival?’
    Valentoux shrugged, pulled out his mobile phone and said: ‘Three messages from them asking me to call urgently. This job’s supposed to last me all summer and I turned down other opportunities to do it.’
    ‘Phone them. If there’s a problem, I’ll speak to them.’
    Valentoux called, exchanged a few sentences, and then said: ‘There’s a policeman here wants to talk to you.’ Bruno took the phone and Valentoux whispered: ‘Festival director.’
    ‘Chief of Police Courrèges on the line,
Monsieur le directeur
. I understand you have some concerns about Monsieur Valentoux.’
    ‘The news reports have been troubling, but I understand Yves has now been released,’ the director said.
    ‘He was never arrested, simply helping us to understand what happened. He was the one who found the body of his friend. He is completely free and I know of no suspicions attached to him, whatever the media might be saying.’
    ‘I’ve been asked to cancel his contract.’
    ‘Excuse me, I thought you were the festival director,’ said Bruno, putting some frost into his voice. ‘Are you not in charge? Should I speak to somebody else?’
    ‘I’m the director but there’s the board chairman, the Mayor, the sponsors …’
    ‘And there’s a contract. If you cancel it, you’ll have a lawsuit on your hands, and I’d have to testify that I had formally informed you that Monsieur Valentoux has been released with the thanks of the police for his assistance and without any shadow on his name. We don’t want any unpleasant accusations of discrimination or homophobia.’
    Bruno spoke over the protests that came down the line. ‘I suggest you give me your email and I’ll send you a message within the hour confirming what I have said and I’ll put a hard copy in the post tonight. That should suffice for your sponsors and your board.
    ‘No? Then I’ll send those off to you and confirm to Monsieur Valentoux that his contract stands and he is free to come and see you tomorrow, if you wish. Thank you for your time and
bonne journée
.’ He handed the phone back, took a long pull of the cold beer and watched Valentoux light a cigarette with shaking hands.
    ‘Why are you doing this?’
    ‘You’ve had a rough time. No need to make it worse,’ Bruno said. ‘Stay here, have another beer while I send off the email and letter and I’ll pick you up back here in thirty minutes. OK?’
    As he walked back up the main street toward his office in the
Mairie
, Bruno tried calling the house where Yvonne, Murcoing’s sister, was staying and where she was supposed to be resting on sick leave. Again there was no reply. He called Annette to thank her for her intervention and explained that Valentoux had been released and that he’d be at the drama festival as planned.
    ‘They’ve assigned Bernard Ardouin to the case, so you’re in good hands,’ Annette said. ‘I told him that Valentoux had enough of a reputation in cultural circles to get the Paris newspapers interested. I also told him to make sure to talk to you about the case.’
    ‘You’ll destroy your reputation,’ he said, smiling as he spoke. He liked Annette, a keenly competitive rally driver who had once scared the life out of him by putting him in the passenger seat for a hair-raising drive around a forest track.
    ‘What reputation? Anyway, if Valentoux is out and in the clear, I’d love to meet him.’
    ‘In that case, come and have dinner at my place tonight. He’ll be there. Are you still vegetarian?’
    ‘In principle, but as you know it’s almost impossible to live in Sarlat and not to eat a little duck.’
    ‘Duck it shall