the sky was beginning to lighten when slim and the countess started to walk over to the chateau the general had abandoned. the countess had found slim some raggedy old clothes and he changed out of his fatigues into them, only keeping his army boots.
slim thought they were wasting their time but was humoring the countess.
“who lived here before?” slim asked the countess, just to be saying something.
“nasty people,” the countess told him. “collaborators.”
“not heroes of the resistance like you, huh?”
the countess laughed. “is that part of your secret mission, monsieur slim, to decide who was a collaborator and who was a hero or heroine of the resistance?”
“um - i guess not.”
“i did not think so.”
“well, here we are,” slim said, happy to change the subject, as they reached the driveway of the chateau.
the countess pointed to the jeep that had been left behind. “could we take that?”
“it might not be a good idea,” slim said. “it would be stealing army property. and besides, i can guarantee there is no gas in it - you would have to find your own.”
the countess ran her hand over the side of the jeep. “look how polished it is! just like everything in america, no?”
“everything that belongs to a general, maybe. or a millionaire.”
“you are sure there is no gas in it?”
“you can stick your nose in the gas tank if you want. but i will bet you everything you own it is empty.”
“oh? and why is that?” the countess persisted.
“because war is gasoline, “ slim replied. “the whole war is about gasoline. gasoline is civilization.”
the countess laughed. “you do not say so? i would not have taken you for a philosopher of history, monsieur slim.”
“i’m just repeating some of the general’s favorite sayings. “
“ah.”
“he had a lot of favorite sayings. and he liked to say them over and over.” slim pointed to the house. “do you want to go inside?”
the countess shrugged. “of course.” and with a last glance at the polished jeep, she followed slim through the front door.
in the morning light the inside of the chateau looked kind of crummy. other than that, it looked the same as slim remembered it from the night before.
except… there was something on the mantel of the fireplace.
slim went over for a closer look.
it was the frammis!
slim almost blacked out! but he pulled himself together, when he heard the countess ask,
“what is that thing?”
“i don’t know,” slim told her in as normal a voice as he could.
the countess made a move toward the fireplace for a closer look, but just as she did, they heard a car pull into the driveway outside!
“who can that be?” the countess asked.
was this some kind of crazy double cross, slim wondered. “i don’t know,” he told the countess, “but if you want to talk to them, you can.”
there was a hallway to the right of the fireplace that slim remembered led to the kitchen and slim ducked into it.
he heard the front door open. whoever it was had entered without knocking or ringing a doorbell.
slim kept inside the hallway, but in a mirror in the drawing room he saw two men enter - one in plain clothes, in a heavy belted overcoat and wide hat, and a uniformed policeman.
“who might you be?” the countess asked the man in plain clothes.
“i will ask the questions, madame. are you the comtesse sophie de fitzgriffin, resident of the house across the road?”
“i am she.”
“i am inspector gaboriau, of the criminal investigation department, and i arrest you for the murder of that most noble of patriots, the duc de lautreamont.”
“nonsense! the duke and i were the greatest of friends. i would never have harmed a hair on his noble head.”
“be that as it may, madame, i must ask you to company me to paris.”
paris!
slim reentered the room and walked up to inspector gaboriau. “say, pal, i am an american on a secret mission. think you could help me out with a lift to paris?
the inspector considered for a few seconds. “i do not see why not.”
the two policemen led the countess outside and slim followed them.
paris! and they had not even noticed the frammis on top of the fireplace!
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