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PARIS
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BRIGHT SAT AT THE BACK of the large room with Marie Hapsburg, listening to Captain Fouret as he briefed his officers on the planned operation.
They were both surprised that the request from the Spanish police to have Philippe Noir brought in for questioning had been approved so quickly. It had only been two days since Marc Delcroix was arrested following his failed attempt on Sofia Torres’ life, and already the necessary paperwork and procedures had been completed in both Spain and France.
They had expected more problems, with either the French authorities dragging their heels in the hope they wouldn’t have to face the consequences of upsetting Philippe Noir, or Noir getting wind of the request and taking steps to block it.
“What do you think the chances are that this operation will turn into a bloodbath?” Marie asked quietly out the side of her mouth, trying not to draw attention to herself.
Bright shrugged. “I’d like to think Noir’s smart enough not to go down that route. Killing a bunch of cops on property he owns would guarantee he ends up either dead or behind bars for the rest of his life.”
He would have preferred it if a request had been submitted to Noir for him to come in voluntarily for questioning, rather than armed police going to arrest him, but he could understand the reasoning behind the decision. Such a request would have given Noir an opportunity to disappear, until either his lawyer dealt with the problem or the case in Spain collapsed, most likely due to the death of Sofia Torres.
“That’s true, but smart as he is when it comes to his legit businesses, he isn’t as smart when it comes to the illegal stuff. His idea of problem-solving there tends to be of the kill or smash variety,” Marie said. “It isn’t just Noir we have to worry about, though.” If it had been possible, she would have lowered her voice still further, not that the officers in the room were paying any attention to her. “A lot of these officers have lost friends and colleagues to Noir, officers who tried to infiltrate his organisation and were killed, officers who died trying to protect witnesses. They aren’t likely to forget that, and there’s a chance someone here will decided to take matters into their own hands, if they get the opportunity.”
“I’ve already considered that,” Bright said. He was sure the thought of simply shooting Noir had occurred to at least a few of the officers in the room, but he hoped they would all remain professional. “I don’t think there’s much we can do about it, though. If we bring the subject up, they’re likely to be offended, and they could get awkward about things. It might also put the idea in their heads if it isn’t there already. The only thing we can do is make sure that one of us, preferably both, is in the room when Noir is arrested. If they’re thinking about doing anything, they won’t dare do it while we’re there to witness it, and I doubt they’ll do anything once Noir is in custody. It’d cause too many problems given his connections.”
**
NOIR LOOKED UP QUESTIONINGLY when Jean-Paul walked in.
“I’ve just received word from my source. The police are on their way and should be here soon. Are you sure this is the best course of action?”
“Yes,” it was Olivier Boucher, Noir’s lawyer, sitting across the desk from his employer, who answered Jean-Paul’s question. “This is by far the best course of action for Philippe to take. If he leaves the country or goes into hiding, like you think he should, it will only cause more problems in the long run.”
“Since I’m going to let the police take me in,” the notion of simply giving himself up to the police when they arrived did not sit well with Noir, and it was only with the greatest of reluctance that he was going along with Olivier’s plan, “it would be best if you make yourself scarce, at least for today,” he told Jean-Paul. “I doubt I’ll be in any danger, and if you’re here, the police might be overzealous and arrest you as well, even if they don’t have a warrant for you. I’d rather Olivier didn’t have to waste his time getting you out. I need you to look after things while I’m in custody, which I hope won’t be for too long.” He looked pointedly at Olivier as he said that.
“Is there anywhere in particular you want me to go?”
“Not really. You should only need to be out of sight today. If the information your source gave you is correct, the police only have a warrant to arrest me. There should be no problem with you returning either here or to the townhouse tomorrow. Get hold of your contact while I’m away, I want everything he can get on that bloody witness: where she’s being kept, what sort of protection she has, the best way to get to her, and anything else that might be useful. Once you have the information, pass it on to Yves, he should have found somewhere in Barcelona to plan his operation by now.”
“He has. He contacted me last night. He has a pair of hotel rooms for him and the men he took with him.”
“Good. Make sure he understands that the witness must be removed as quickly as possible. As long as she’s around, the Spanish police will keep pressuring the locals here. I want her dead inside of a week. Get the same information for Marc. I want to know where he is and what’s being done to protect him. I want to know everything he’s told the Barcelona Police as well.”
“You think he’s talked?” Jean-Paul asked. “He’s been very loyal over the years. I doubt he’ll tell them anything, no matter what pressure they put on him.”
“I don’t know, but I’m not about to take any chances. I’m not risking jail on your belief that Marc can be trusted to keep his mouth shut. I want him dead,” Noir said firmly, giving his cousin a long hard look. “If he had done the job he was sent there to do, we wouldn’t have a problem now, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation. He knows the consequences of failing me.”
Reluctantly, Jean-Paul agreed. Everyone who worked for his cousin knew what they could expect if they failed him. As far as Noir was concerned, accepting failure encouraged it, so he made an example of everyone who failed him to discourage others from doing so.
“I’ll make sure Yves is aware of what he’s to do about Marc. It’s likely that he’ll be well guarded, so I’ll organise more men in case Yves needs them.”
“Good. You’d better get going now before the police turn up.” Noir turned his attention to his computer then, where he was clearing up some work for his legitimate businesses that his manager’s couldn’t take care of for him.
**
A SATISFIED SMILE ON his face, Captain Fouret strode across the room to stare down at the man on the other side of the desk.
“Philippe Noir, I am arresting you on suspicion of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.” As he read the man before him his rights, he held out the arrest warrant, which Noir ignored. “Do you have any questions?” he asked when he was done. He was still holding out the warrant, which was finally taken from him by Olivier Boucher.
Noir continued to ignore Fouret and instead looked questioningly up at Boucher, who had moved to stand at his shoulder when the police entered the room.
“The warrant seems to be in order. I’m afraid you’ll have to go with them,” Olivier said apologetically, as if neither he nor Noir had been aware of what was to happen before then.
The sound of footsteps from outside the office made Fouret turn towards the door.
“The house is clear, sir,” the officer who entered reported. “There’s no-one else here.”
Fouret nodded. “Can I take it you’re not going to resist, Mr Noir?” he asked, turning back to the desk. He was prepared to take Noir into custody in handcuffs if he had to, he wanted to in fact, but given how rich and influential the man was, he didn’t think it a good idea, especially when Noir was cooperating and putting up no resistance.
“I will be more than happy to go with you, Captain,” Noir said pleasantly. “I just hope you won’t have to detain me for long, I do have a business to run, several in fact.”
“If you’ll accompany me, sir,” Fouret said. He felt cheated by the way the arrest had gone. He had arrived with enough officers to arrest a dozen heavily armed people, when he could have made the arrest with just himself and two uniformed constables. “I’m afraid your lawyer will have to make his own way to the station.”
“Noir was warned we were coming,” Marie said quietly to Bright as the two of them followed Fouret and his officers from the house.
“What makes you say that?” The thought had already occurred to Bright, but he was curious to know if she had something more definite to go on than he did.
“The absence of Jean-Paul for one. I suspect Noir sent him away to avoid any unnecessary trouble. Then there’s the absence of not only the staff but the security guards as well. We know from surveillance that there’s normally at least half a dozen guards patrolling the grounds and two dozen people working here, either in the house or around the vineyard. None of them are here today. There’s also the fact that Noir’s lawyer was with him, and neither of them showed much surprise when we burst in.”
“Do you think it was one of Fouret’s officers or one of your team who warned him?” Bright asked. He didn’t like suggesting that an Interpol agent might be corrupt, but he knew it was a possibility that couldn’t be ignored.
“I’d like to say it’s definitely someone from Fouret’s team,” Marie said. “But Noir’s had enough warnings over the years to make me suspect everyone. It’s entirely likely that he’s got multiple people on his payroll, both in the French police and in Interpol. Unfortunately, I’ve never been able to find any proof of who is keeping Noir informed of the investigations into him and his business. If I had any evidence, I’d have done something about it by now.”