“I’m sorry you have to deal with it,” Gabriel said sympathetically. “You’re going to be very busy. You should probably close the restaurant for a while,” he said, and in the background, Maylis agreed.
“I canceled everyone for tonight. I just didn’t know what was going to happen, but you may be right. I suppose we’ll have the press on our backs any minute,” Theo said, and an hour later, they were there, with news cameras and trucks, trying to get an interview with Theo, who said he had nothing to say at this point, except that it was a shocking and devastating event. And La Colombe d’Or sent over a note of sympathy. It hit close to home and could have happened to them too. They were just as vulnerable, and their art was just as valuable. It was the biggest crime that had ever hit St. Paul de Vence, it said later on the news. Inez called him that night and left a message on his voicemail, telling him how sorry she was. He was too busy to talk to her when she called. He was with the insurance inspectors at the restaurant until after midnight, and all the police details came back again the next day, along with the team from Paris to help them.
Theo felt as though his life had been taken over by aliens. He handled nothing but the art theft all week, with constant calls from his mother, asking questions. They closed the restaurant and canceled their reservations for the week, and had to figure out what to do after that. And on the fifth day the chief inspector of the art detail introduced him to two new officers who had joined their crew from the local art theft detail. They were younger than the others and seemed more aggressive. They wanted to speak to several of the employees again, and went over the crime scene with a fine-toothed comb, looking for clues. Athena Marceau seemed extremely bright and about Theo’s age. Steve Tavernier, her male partner, was slightly younger, and they asked Theo a million questions and then said they’d get back to him. He knew he was being investigated too, to make sure it wasn’t an insurance scam. And Theo had shared with the two new officers his concerns about Vladimir. Steve was not impressed, but Athena was intrigued.
The two detectives talked about it afterward on a break when they went to get coffee offsite and pick up some chemicals they needed for the investigation. The restaurant and main house were looking like a laboratory by then, and a high-tech junk shop with all their equipment.
“That’s crazy,” Steve said to her. “The guy’s upset. He’d accuse anybody right now,” he assessed, referring to Theo.
“Crazier things have happened. I worked on a detail in Cap-Ferrat a few years ago. Their neighbor stole ten million in art and had their dog killed, because his neighbor slept with his wife. Some of these people are nuts.”
“Maybe Luca did it himself. That happens too. For the insurance money. And a hundred million is pretty sweet,” Steve said cynically.
“I don’t think so,” she said seriously. “There’s nothing to support that.”
“Are you kidding? A hundred million in insurance? He should be our prime suspect.”
“He doesn’t need it. He’s worth way more than that in his father’s art, and he’s got plenty in the bank. We checked. He just looks homeless. He looks like he hasn’t combed his hair all week, but he’s not our guy.”
“You just think he’s cute,” Steve teased her.
“True.” She grinned at her partner. “If he’d comb his hair and put decent clothes on, he’d be hot. I wonder what he’s like when he’s not running around like a lunatic after a robbery. Don’t you want to go see that boat? We could go talk to Stanislas for the hell of it. You never know what will turn up.” She smiled mischievously, and her partner laughed and shook his head at the idea.
“We need clearance, and the chief inspector would go out there himself. He wouldn’t send us.”
“Maybe he would. We can ask. Who knows? Maybe Luca is right. He thinks Stanislas could have had something to do with it. I’m sure he’s no saint. Guys who’ve made that kind of money never are.”
“I think Luca’s nuts. Stanislas could buy the whole collection if he wants.”
“Not if they won’t sell it to him. Did you see all those ‘Not for Sale’ signs? They’re not selling any of it. Who knows? It could have pissed him off, just like Luca says. Some of those Russian guys are tough customers and have nasty friends.”
“Not Stanislas. Shit, he’s probably the richest guy in the world.”
“Then I’d like to meet him. Maybe he’s hot,” she said, teasing her partner again. “Don’t you like boats?”
“No, I get seasick.”
“You won’t on his. It’s bigger than a hotel. Let’s go for it.” Steve Tavernier rolled his eyes, but he was used to her. They had worked together for three years, and Athena Marceau followed every lead and ran them all to ground. She was tireless and clever, and often right. They had an amazing track record, which was why they had been assigned to the case. They were less seasoned, and zealous, Athena’s style was that nothing was too small to pursue, and her arrest record was astounding. Steve liked working with her. She made him look good when she broke a case, and he would do damn near anything for her. As far as he was concerned, her instincts were infallible. She didn’t have any about this case yet, but she was willing to check anything out. And a tour of Stanislas’s boat sounded good to her, for a kick if nothing else. She asked their chief inspector for permission that afternoon, not to search the boat, but just to visit Vladimir, and he shrugged and told her she was crazy, but he agreed to let them do it, although he said he would have liked to see the boat himself, but didn’t have time. He was following the serious leads, while they were planning to visit yachts.
“Just don’t ruffle him, or accuse him of anything. I don’t want a complaint on my desk tomorrow,” their chief inspector warned.
“No, sir,” she promised, which her partner knew was worth nothing. Athena always did what she wanted, and then played innocent with their superiors, and got away with it a lot of the time. She decided not to make an appointment and just show up. She managed to get hold of a police boat with a young officer to drive it, and two hours later they were on the way to Princess Marina, sitting at anchor off the H?tel du Cap.
“What if they don’t even let us on the boat?” Steve asked nervously. Athena wasn’t concerned at all. She was looking forward to it.