By the Trains - Part2 - Pearl is interviewed

***Peal Quinn is asked, by a gendarme, to enter a small room to be interviewed about a friend of hers who has just been found dead. It is the friends studio and office.***

So she entered ahead of him, going straight to a sideboard where she knew Jean had kept his journal. There it was, and then it was in her bag, it might come in handy, she thought, and Jean wouldn’t want gendarmes reading his private stuff.

The art community generally had a poor view of the French police. Pearl definitely did.

“ Madame? If you would sit here please.” he said. At least this one said please.

“Was he murdered? Where was he found? She threw at him immediately.

While he was momentarily dumbfounded, she glanced down at his notebook, he noticed and held it to his chest. She’d caught the words “papiers perdu? Ou vole?” and what looked like a time, either 19:30 or 23:30.

“ Madame. There he goes in that condescending tone. Clearly fed up with her already. “ Were you a close friend to the deceased?

“ Fairly close yes. We shared lunch now and then. Went to gatherings together. Though sometimes we didn’t see each other for weeks on end. You didn’t answer my questions-”

“ But you have to answer mine. When did you last see him?

“ Yesterday. Lunchtime. I only open for mornings on Mondays, so I just stopped by to see he was ready for his meeting, on my way home.”

“Meeting?”

“Oh you didn’t know? Am I the first person you’ve interviewed?”

“Yes, madame, what meeting?

“ He had wangled a meeting at the Mairie. About the improvement of culture opportunities here in la Souterraine. It’s a thing he’s keen on. He’s-was- head organiser of our group. You know about “L’Art et Vous”?

“ Ah, yes. We know about them. And are you part of this “group”?

“ Of course, that’s why I came to see Jean today, I wanted to know how he’d gotten on last night. He was supposed to be presenting it to everyone tonight. They be very upset when they hear the news…

“Do you know who he was meant to be meeting? And at what time?

“I didn’t know specifically. But it should be here somewhere, I’ll help you look! She said quickly eagerly jumping up and opening the drawers of the bureau before he could react.

“ I don’t think you should do that Madame, we haven’t searched through his belongings yet.

“Here! I found it, he had a habit of writing important things on scraps and losing them.”

I showed him a piece of paper, probably ripped from a form of some kind, knowing Jean, on it was written in his messy handwriting : “Mme Carole Roubeau, 20:30, big building up the hill. “

“Merci Madame, he said taking it, now if you could give me your address and contact details, we may need to question you further.

On her way out of the building, Pearl was very slow at closing the door, she heard :

“Anything important?

“Yes sir we might know where he was before he was murdered sir.

“Good, check it out would you.

“Yes sir.

Not if I get there first, she thought heading back for her bike as quickly as possible.