Claire gripped his hand. “Arnaud helped me break those ties. It was liberating. Adèle was stronger than me. She stopped speaking to our parents the moment we left Paulhan. I still spoke to my mom a few times a year after that.”
“And every time it devastated her.” Arnaud’s nostrils flared. “That woman had nothing positive to say to Claire. Ever. And she never made the effort to phone or make any contact. If it wasn’t for Claire phoning her, they would’ve never talked.”
“She’s an angry and sad woman.” Anger forced colour into Claire’s cheeks. “She blamed me for Adèle having a heart condition. As if I caused it. Adèle was born with it.”
“Did you know about all of this?” Daniel asked.
“Who? Me?” Arnaud touched his chest. “Yes and no.”
“I told Arnaud everything about my childhood, my parents and Adèle.” Claire bit her lip, guilt pulling at the muscles around her eyes and mouth. “I told him that Adèle paid for everything in my life and that he should never ask where the money came from.”
Arnaud’s lips tightened. “I asked only that once. It was the first time I looked at Adèle’s business website and realised things were off.”
“I begged him to let it be.”
His expression made me lean forward. “You didn’t.”
Arnaud blinked and moved away from the camera. Claire frowned, then turned to look at Arnaud. “What is she talking about?”
“I love you, Claire.” Guilt was now the dominant expression on his face. “But I worried and wanted to make sure you are safe.”
“What did you do?” Her question was breathless.
“I created a dummy account and ordered perfume from Adèle.” He relaxed, his smile small, but genuine. “She figured out it was me and came to my office.”
“She came to Paris?”
“She did. And she told me about the drugs.” His smile widened. “Then she told me in graphic detail what she would do to me if I ever told you she came to me or that I knew.”
Claire was sobbing. “Oh, Adèle.”
“It was easy to see she had a heart of gold.” He reached out and wiped tears from her cheeks. “So I let it be.”
“You’re right.” Claire took a shuddering breath. “Her heart wasn’t weak. It was strong. And big. I’m the one with the weak heart.”
“We weren’t able to find any records of Adèle receiving any medical treatment.” Daniel surprised me with that information. He’d been very proactive. “Did she use an alias?”
Claire nodded. “She had two aliases. One she used for her work. Her drug-dealing persona was élodie Baille and the one for her medical stuff was Janine Durand.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Francine lift her tablet. We had two more names to teach us more about Adèle.
“Was Adèle interested in art?” Daniel asked. “Or maybe she considered investing in art?”
Claire tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “If you’re asking whether she sold stolen art or forgeries, I truly don’t know. But I honestly don’t think she would’ve. She made a lot of money with her drugs. She always said that one shouldn’t change horses mid-race. And she was close to the end of her race. So no. I don’t think she dealt in art. That being said, it’s very possible the valuable things that were her ticket out were artworks. I honestly don’t know.”
“Only a few more questions.” Daniel gave her an apologetic smile. “We’re almost done.”
Claire straightened. “I don’t mind. I’ll help in any way I can.”
“Okay then. Did Adèle ever mention a Jason or Jace?”
“No.”
“Franz Roubaud?”
“No.”
“The Oxus treasure?”
She blinked in surprise. “No.”
Daniel glanced at the notes he’d made on his phone. “That seems to be all the questions I have for you at the moment.”
“Oh. Okay.” She leaned forward. “I’ll leave my phone on and will keep it with me all the time. If you need to know anything else, please phone me.”
“Thank you. I will.” Daniel paused. “You’re an exceptional woman, Claire. I see why Adèle did so much to see you succeed. Two exceptional women, the both of you.”
Claire’s eyes filled with tears. She tried to speak, but couldn’t. As silent tears ran down her cheeks, she nodded her thanks.
Daniel spoke with Fabien, then reassured Claire and Arnaud that he’d stay in touch. It took a few minutes to convince them to accept police protection until the case was solved. But they immediately agreed to keep the interview and all questions asked confidential. They understood that any leaked information could jeopardise the case and possibly put their lives in danger. A few more pleasantries and the call ended.
It was silent in my viewing room for a few seconds. My mind was racing with this new information. It was most frustrating to have so many unconnected bits of information. I put the photos from Adèle’s basement back on the monitors and stared at them. What had I missed?
Was there any information, any indication who the dangerous man was? Had I missed any mention of her aliases? I clicked on one of the photos and methodically started going through them. I didn’t know how long it would take me to analyse all this information. I barely heard Francine promising Manny she’d get all the dirt on élodie and Janine, and the ensuing banter.
“Jen-girl, get your butt over here.” Vinnie stood next to the round table and shook his index finger at the coffee and cookies in the centre of the table. “I didn’t make you fresh coffee for it to get cold.”
I glanced at the clock on my computer. I’d lost myself in the photos for more than four hours. It had been longer than that since I’d eaten and the thought of refreshments made my stomach rumble. I got up and walked to the table. Everyone else was already seated and Manny was sipping his milky tea. He appeared to be in slightly better humour.
“Can anyone tell me how this new information helps us understand what happened to Adèle and the other victims?” Manny put his mug on the table and took another cookie from the heaped plate. Vinnie’s oat cookies were my favourites.
“Well, I’m having one hell of a time trying to get anything on élodie and Janine. Adèle hid those two aliases as well as she hid her sister.” Francine lifted her tablet. “So far, I managed to get their national IDs. They’re both registered residents of Strasbourg with a really good backstory. Whoever sold Adèle the IDs did a great job. élodie is self-employed as a manicurist and earns just enough to survive, as per her tax returns. I am yet to find a bank account.”
“But that’s where we’ll see a shit-ton of money.” Vinnie pushed a cookie into his mouth.
“Most likely.” Francine’s frustration at her lack of significant progress was evident. “Janine is a virtual assistant who works freelance for entrepreneurs.”
“Both professions hard to trace,” Colin said. “Did you ask Da—”
“No, Mister Smarty-pants.” Francine rolled her eyes. “I actually asked Pink to dig deep to give me anything he could on these two. I’ve also been snooping around Adèle’s business. She registered her online shop for selling cosmetics just like Claire told us. Everything the sister said was true, including the outrageous prices Adèle charged for the perfumes. A bottle of Armani perfume that usually retails for around a thousand euros goes for nine to twelve thousand euros on her online shop.”
“Bloody hell.” Manny jerked. “Who on God’s green earth would buy perfume for a thousand euros?”
Francine shrugged. “I do. And you told me last night...”
“Enough!” Manny glared as Francine giggled.
Colin shook his head at them. “It’s such a simple, but elegant plan. Adèle didn’t even need to launder her money after the fact. These sales were all legit.”
“And she paid her taxes,” Francine said. “She had a successful online business that wouldn’t attract too much attention. I don’t know if her accountant was in on this as well, but it wouldn’t have been too difficult to keep him or her in the dark. Everyone would just have thought that Adèle was crazy selling perfumes at such prices and her customers even more insane paying those prices.”