‘But he’s our friend—’ Jason began, before Nico grabbed his arm and pulled him away. You didn’t argue with the cops, not even if they looked about fifteen. Ari knew he’d had to explain that one to Jason on more than one occasion.
She followed, not knowing what else to do. A shadow fell over her, a cloud passing over the sun, and she looked out to the sea, the surface of which glittered where the sun struck it. It shouldn’t be such a beautiful place. It shouldn’t be so perfect. Thierry was dead. And what had he done to earn that?
‘Ari?’ Rafael called from the edge of the road. He’d just got out of his car and hurried towards them, ignoring everyone else. ‘What happened? I got a call from the Mairie.’ He took in the fact that Jason and Nico were with her and nodded to them in greeting.
‘It’s Thierry Jacquet, our diver. We don’t know anything. We just…’ She held up her hands helplessly. There was nothing more to say. They simply didn’t know anything else. ‘We just got here. Alix phoned. She and Milo found him.’
Rafael nodded and frowned. ‘Come with me.’ He started striding back towards the gendarme, who eyed him warily as he approached.
‘But we can’t just—’ she began to protest but he cut her off.
‘I can,’ he growled. ‘Louis Martin, what is going on here?’
The young policeman blanched, but all the same, he didn’t budge. It said a lot about him and his training, she decided, because Rafael had gone full-on CEO crossed with a prince and a bastard. ‘Monsieur du Lac, you need to stay up there. I have orders.’
‘Yes, and I gave them,’ barked a voice from behind them.
Rafael turned sharply, but something like relief rippled over his handsome features. He didn’t retreat though. ‘Alain, it’s about time you got here.’
The man coming towards them wore plain clothes, smart but not flashy. Functional. There was a touch of grey in his dark hair and a penetrating gaze behind a pair of wire-framed glasses. And he didn’t look like he would take any nonsense from anyone. Especially not Rafael du Lac. ‘That’s Inspector Vannier to you. Now, let me do my job.’
Rafael ignored the rebuff. ‘Alain, I need to know what happened.’
The older man shrugged. ‘So do I, my friend. But you aren’t the CEO in this case. Step back. Madame…?’ He gazed for a long moment at Ari, waiting for more information.
‘Walker,’ she whispered. She felt like he was gazing deep inside her, searching her thoughts. She didn’t like the idea.
‘DoctorWalker,’ Rafael cut in when she didn’t supply anything more. ‘It’s her friend. The victim. Alain, we need to know—’
‘No, you don’t. This has nothing to do with you, Rafael. It’s a police matter.’ Then he sighed, relenting. ‘I’ll tell you what I canwhenI can.’
Reluctantly, Rafael nodded. What else could he do? But he didn’t step back. He stayed exactly where he was, watching everything, scanning the shoreline with the eyes of a hawk.
‘What happened?’ he asked Ari when the inspector had gone.
‘We don’t know. Not really. He was at the festival last night, and I don’t know if anyone saw him this morning. I didn’t. Alix wanted to go for a swim. That’s her there, with Milo, her boyfriend. They’re just students. They’re camping around the back of the house and they—’
His hand came up to cup her elbow gently in that way he did, the warmth of his touch a shock. She hadn’t realised that she was so cold. Or that she was shaking. She leaned against him, welcoming the human contact. ‘Come and sit in the car,’ he said. ‘I think you may be in shock.’
Shock? Was she?
Well, it made sense. Everything that had happened since she got here felt like a fever dream. Not to mention everything that had happened last night.
Jason jogged over to them, a ball of nervous energy and concern. ‘Did you tell him what you found out?’
What she found out? What was he…? Oh, the map and the various alignments in place names. He was talking about Rafael, not the detective.
‘No, not yet. It wasn’t… It isn’t the time, Jason.’
But that light was already in Rafael’s eyes. She was beginning to dread it. First Simon, then her brother, now Rafael…the mysteries surrounding Sainte Sirène just seemed to swallow the men in her life whole. It was like some kind of infection. Or madness.
She started at the thought. Rafael du Lac was not in her life. He was just a man, nothing to do with her. The constant attraction she felt to him was a mistake. She knew that. Even with her own grief and the magic of this place interfering with her emotions, what could she possibly be thinking?
‘Tell me,’ he said. ‘Please.’
She winced and glanced back towards the shore. They couldn’t leave. But they couldn’t do anything helpful here either, could they?
As if he had read her mind, Rafael went on. ‘They’d probably rather we weren’t here. I’ll get them to come to the manor as soon as they’re done. They can bring your friends there if you want. Or…’
