An hour later, Lewis and Hobson were wrapped up in a blanket, still on the couch. At a certain point Hobson, ever the realist, said to Lewis, "shouldn't you see who rang your mobile?"
"I suppose you're right, love."
"I always am."
Lewis crossed the room to retrieve his mobile. "Bloody hell, it was Lizzie. And James to boot!" He pulled on his clothes as he listened to the voicemails.
"Get this," Lewis said to Hobson. "After we left the restaurant, Sébastien Descombes got in touch with the station."
"To complain about your cheek?"
"No, according to Lizzie, one of his knives was missing after all."
"And what did James have to say?"
"He didn't say much, just asked me to ring him back." Lewis punched a button to summon his erstwhile sergeant.
"James, sorry I missed your call."
"No worries, I rang Maddox. I think I have a lead in your murder investigation. In any case, there's someone I think you should meet down at the station."
Lewis met Hathaway on the translucent side of the one-way glass that overlooked an interrogation room. Maddox was on the inside taking a statement from one Julien Descombes.
Hathaway explained the situation to Lewis. "You know how I've been doing more drugs cases as of late? As part of my community outreach, I met with some substance abuse groups. Julien Descombes was in a group whose mission is to develop other coping skills to alleviate the need for marijuana. He kept my card in case he ever needed it, and it may have come in handy."
"What does Julien have to say?"
"That he is not his brother's keeper, but that he is quite concerned. His brother has been awful moody and secretive since the murder of their father's girlfriend. Julien doesn't have proof that Antoine was involved, but he is actually worried about sharing a home with him. Julien seems reasonable enough, despite the weed."
"Does Maddox have enough to get a warrant to search the house?"
"Probably not."
"Well, we'll just have to go over there and interview Antoine next."
Lewis and Maddox made their way back to the home of Dorothy Descombes, where her sons Julien and Antoine also resided. The poodle yipped and leapt at their legs as they entered. Dorothy sent the poodle outside and made some tea while Antoine took his time coming downstairs.
The lad was certainly nervous as Lewis asked him some increasingly personal questions, but Antoine continued to provide plausibly innocent answers. Dorothy was getting agitated as well, as any mother should when her son is being questioned by police.
Maddox stood up and raised her phone to her ear. Lewis heard her say, "hey, Gurdip…" as she disappeared from view.
Lewis was thinking that he needed to get the mother back on his side. He looked at the window. "You have a lovely garden." From the corner of his eye, he saw the poodle digging voraciously in a patch of land. "Looks like your poodle is onto something."
"Mum, would you get the dog in, please."
"Why do you want the dog to stop digging, Antoine?" Lewis asked, but Antoine had no answer.
"The boys help out tending the plants. He just doesn't want to see their hard work disturbed, of course." Dorothy rationalized.
Maddox came back into the room. "Dorothy, can you tell me why the last known signal from Anne-Sophie's mobile phone came from this very house? Did you have a confrontation and then decide to kill her? You swiped her phone and sent the text to Laetitia cancelling their appointment, then showed up yourself in order to kill her." Maddox was quite clever to make Antoine think that his mother was the suspect.
Maddox was of course correct, but it was Antoine- not Dorothy. Lewis was happy to play along, fiercely reinforcing Maddox's interrogation of Dorothy. Finally, Antoine caved in and spoke up to clear his mother.
Antoine blurted out, "I stole Anne-So's phone. I just wanted to pick her pocket because… I hate her so much. And then I started snooping inside her phone. Her messages, her calendar… Mum, she was pregnant. Dad can't stand us as it is- but if they have a baby I'd be completely replaced and left out of the family and the restaurant business."
"Antoine, did you have access to the bridal boutique?" Lewis asked.
"I've helped my aunt with deliveries on occasion," he nodded. "I just wanted to scare her… but Anne-So started mocking me..."
"I don't think you should say anything else without a lawyer, son." Dorothy stepped in.
"Fair enough. We'll bring Antoine down to the station and your lawyer can meet us there." Lewis said. Maddox took the young man into custody.
On his way back to the car, Lewis made a detour into the garden where the poodle was digging up a bloodied chef's knife. SOCO is never going to believe this, he thought.
"Guess what, Lizzie?" He said when he went back to the car to get some gloves and an evidence bag to retrieve the weapon from the dog. "It was the poodle of blood after all."