- Chapter VI -
While Inspector Vergier interviewed his informant, Duchess Elizabeth took a pleasurable stroll through a park. Marie had told her she had to go somewhere, specifying that she would prefer to be alone.
The day was just beginning, but Paris was already thriving with inhabitants, traders and visitors. While cars zoomed through boulevards, inhabitants gossiped on terraces, and tourists explored the city's monuments, there was one apartment, on the corner of a street, that remained silent.
Raphael had struggled with the logbook as best he could, but sleep finally overcame him. He drifted off while he was reading his notes, Fondue snuggled beside him. It was his faithful companion who woke him, washing his face with large licks.
Raphael glared at the dog, still too groggy to understand the situation. His first proper reaction, seeing that he was lying on the carpet, surrounded by sheets paper, was to pick them up and put them on his desk. He let out jaw-cracking yawn. How long had he slept?
He absently listened to the radio while he was in the shower. He struggled to remember the date, not comprehending how it was possible that he had memories of the day that hadn't happened yet.
Then a stroke of genius hit him.
What if he tried to see if he had lived that day?
He knew what was going to happen. It was enough for him to see if this day coincided with the preceding one. Starting with meeting Marie near the police station.
But his enthusiasm was short-lived.
Simply put, he didn't want to hurt Marie again – break her heart again. He loved her too much. And he would rather avoid another beating from Josette.
Thinking fast, he decided he would go out to town with Marie if she wished and they would spend the whole day together, without returning to his apartment. It was a good plan. In theory.
"As for the weather… The showers of the west coast, coming from Brittany and Pays de la Loire, will head towards the capital. Expect heavy rain for this afternoon. "
He noticed this strange change of detail. He was sure he hadn't felt a single drop of rain. So it wasn't exactly the same day afterall.
He had to do something. He had to go out, and test the repetition of that day.
"I have an appointment with a colleague. Do not wait for me to have breakfast," Inspector Vergier told his daughter as he left his house. She had smiled back at him, and let him go without asking about his destination.
He had returned to his apartment at about eleven o'clock in order to retrieve some files concerning the Phantom R case, to which the Duchess Elizabeth's daughter had added her testimony.
Vergier found Loic, his subordinate, in his office. It was quite difficult for them to concentrate. They sat on either side of the desk, dissecting the facts relating to Phantom R. One focused on incidents of the previous year, and the other on the rest of the art thief's career.
As he was peeling through the police reports, page by page, everything clicked into place for Vergier.
He had already seen Phantom R when he wasn't thieving… in civilian clothes.
The smell of the dish she had ordered made Charlie's mouth water. Her father tutted and reproached her for having expensive tastes.
"If you go on like this, you'll ruin us, Charlotte," he repeated gently, but sternly.
Charlie huffed. Really, the post of inspector was not the best paid, but his wage was ridiculously low! Her father was working hard, working more hours than he could – He was even sleeping at the office! – but he still sometimes struggled to pay the bills at the end of month. It was as if a black hole swallowed all the money he was earning.
Charlie ran a hand through her dark blond hair. Her hair had grown a lot. Soon she would have to bring out her scissors.
Finally, she grabbed her cutlery and started eating.
The taste of the smoked salmon tickled her mouth, much to her delight. There wasn't a single crumb left on her plate. Soon the waitress arrived, took the dirty dishes, and offered them dessert, which Charlie accepted.
"Are you new here?" she asked when the waitress brought her order.
"Actually, I'm just a part-time employee."
Charlie noticed that the girl standing before her was relatively young – almost too young to work.
"I only help out when the restaurant is low on staff," the girl added, moving a red lock of hair behind her ear.
Charlie raised an eyebrow. She had been visiting this restaurant for a long time, so she knew the staff quite well. She was sure she had never seen this girl before. Yet, the temporary waitress seemed to know the restaurant perfectly. Clearly, it wasn't her first day here.
The girl turned on her heel and left Charlie to dig in to her slice of chocolate tart. Turning, the waitress regarded at Charlie from afar. Was she suspicious? She clenched her fist. She had to fall back – now wasn't the right moment.
She hurried to the kitchen, where work awaited her.
Charlie was sat at her favorite café, watching people parading past her on the sidewalk. It wasn't that crowded, thankfully, because it was a quiet day.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a touch of color stand out from the gray monotony of passers-by and tourists. She paid no attention to it until the person approached her and sat down opposite her.
"Hi, Charlotte."
She looked up and swallowed. Why him? Why here?
"What do you want?" she replied, frowning at the boy.
The last thing she needed right now was for him to be here.
"Look, I just need you to tell me something. Just one thing, and I'll leave you alone."
She folded her arms over her chest.
"I'm surprised you would dare to come back after everything you've done, Phantom R," she snarled without taking her eyes off him. "And you expect me to help you?"
He put his elbows on the table, and readjusted his dark blue hat. "You don't need to pretend to hate me just 'cause you're the inspector's daughter. You didn't have a problem helping me before – "
"Leave my father out of this!"
He sighed and rubbed his eyes. How could he reason with her?
"All I need is for you to answer a simple question. Nothing more. "
A waitress brought him a glass and a carafe of water. He didn't notice that he had been served without having placed an order.
Charlie massaged her temples. What did this idiot want? There hadn't been any sign of him for several months. Then, a few days ago, he'd randomly returned for a robbery that had turned the Paris constabulary upside down. But how could she help him?
"Go ahead. I'll see what I can tell you."
He smiled, but his smile disappeared as he edged towards her, leaning on the table.
"Have you been experiencing sensations of déjà vu lately?"
"Are you joking?"
With a disappointed sigh, he drew back into his seat.
"I wonder why I came to see you," he whispered.
He poured water from the carafe into the glass, and lifted it to his lips. Facing him, Charlie remained as still and cold as marble. She wasn't going to cooperate with him. She didn't even know what her answer could mean.
"I thought you could help me," he sighed.
"What do you mean by 'sensations of déjà vu'?" she asked, feeling that she was going to regret this.
He seemed surprised that she was so interested in the idea. Pleasantly surprised.
"It's just like… having the feeling that you've lived a whole day, before waking up and realizing that it wasn't true. "
She gave him a flat look.
He shrugged.
"So much for that idea," he murmured.
Charlie watched Phantom R get up, and go quietly, as if nothing had happened.
She shot to her feet and shouted for him to wait.
He turned to her, shocked.
What am I doing? grumbled a voice inside her head as she went to pay for her bill before returning to him.
He was waiting for her under the shelter of the terrace, just shy of the rain outside. She took an umbrella out of her bag and offered to walk a little. He nodded.
"Why did you come to see me?"
Her question seemed to grip the thief. He slipped his hands into his trouser pockets and answered in a grave voice, "You're the only one I can trust in the face of danger."
Somehow, she appreciated this unexpected sign of affection.
"I know that we're rivals," he went on, "but I feel that I can always come to you in an emergency."
"And how are you in danger?"
He kicked a small stone out of his path.
"It's like my past is catching up with me," he whispered.
Charlie frowned. It was like he was trying to give her a message.
"I don't think we're quite finished with Napoleon's plot," he confided, looking her in the eye.
She stared at him, trying to find a teasing glint in his gaze. Then she remembered. Shortly after the incident last year, she had continued her investigation. Her father refused to give her answers, while her thirst for knowledge grew more and more each passing day. Her search led her to the Chevaliers' base beneath Les Invalides. What she found there was...
"You don't remember, do you?" a mocking female voice muttered.
Charlotte turned round. She realised that no one was with her.
She released a nervous laugh.
"Stop messing about, Phantom," she said, trying to calm her frightened heart. "The case is closed, that's all. And that's not your little joke..." She stopped mid-sentence. She saw Phantom R running towards the restaurant as fast as possible. Without thinking, she pursued him.
Raphael was sure she was there. He had seen her. It couldn't be a hallucination.
That waitress who had brought him the carafe of water. He had a doubt, but something had brought him closer.
"You have an employee – a waitress – a redhead who works here, right? "
The barman he was interrogating blinked at him. "Yes, but it's the end of her shift – she's gone..."
Raphael thanked him quickly and, without asking permission, rushed into the kitchens. He burst into the employees' locker rooms, hoping that she would still be there, questioning other staff members as to where she would be.
"Well, she just walked through that door..." a maintenance agent said, pointing to the exit door, which Raphael ran out of in the next moment.
He found himself in the middle of a lane, between two rubbish containers. He approached the main street.
It was empty.
Charlie appeared behind him, a few yards away, and he called her over. She was suddenly caught by a security guard, who immediately immobilized her.
Phantom R flashed her a smile before he fled. She shouted at the top of her lungs, but he didn't come back to help her. She was left with the security guard, who was going to take her to Constabulary HQ.
Her father was going to kill her when he heard about this.