The Shattered Tree
Page 29
“No, you don’t,” I told him roundly.
“Listen, Bess. Go back on that convoy tonight. You’ll be disciplined if you don’t. It isn’t worth it. He isn’t worth it. Don’t you see how he’s using you?”
That brought Philippe to his feet. “I have used no one. I’m leaving.”
“No, you aren’t. You’re my responsibility now,” Captain Barkley said in almost a shout.
“I found him,” I put in. “And if you won’t listen to me—”
At that moment, the library door opened, and the orderly from the front desk stuck his head in.
“Inspector Duplessis to see Sister Crawford.” And before he could withdraw, the door was pushed open wider and the policeman stepped into the room.
If we didn’t look like cats who had just eaten an entire cage of canaries, I would have been surprised to hear it.
He looked from one to the other of us. “I have interrupted something?”
Philippe rose and said quickly, “I was just leaving.”
Only, the Inspector was blocking the door.
He said, “I’ve come to say, we have a full confession from Broussard. He will be processed now. I wish to thank you for your assistance, Sister.”
I thought perhaps he’d rather eat glass.
“My pleasure,” I said, “but I need to know. Will this clear the man who has been considered guilty for all these years? Philippe Moreau?”
“Yes, I have seen to it only this afternoon. He is exonerated.”
“Thank you, Inspector.”
From the lobby I could hear the call for nurses and staff. The ambulances from Rouen had arrived.
Inspector Duplessis heard it as well. “Do I understand from Matron that you will be returning to your own lines tonight?”
“Yes. I believe so.”
He bowed punctiliously and said, “It has been my pleasure, Sister.”
And then he was gone.
I said to Philippe, “You heard what he said. You’ve been exonerated. Publicly.”
“But not from the charge of spying,” Captain Barkley replied. “That still stands.”
“If there are records of the court martial, there will be records of why he was allowed to escape. If you take him to Army headquarters and vouch for him, then it will go a long way to seeing that he’s treated fairly. That’s all I ask of you, Captain. To see that he’s treated fairly. It isn’t too much to expect. After all, you’ve done your duty as you were ordered to do it. You’ve found the man that Matron was worried about. You’ve heard for yourself the fact that he’s no longer accused of the Lavaud murders. It remains only for the French Army to recognize what they had asked of him, and to let him finish his own war in peace.”
I don’t know that he would have relented if it hadn’t been for the Inspector’s arrival. Or perhaps he just needed to put his anger aside and see the truth for himself.
Captain Barkley threw up his hands and said, “Very well. All right. I’ll do it. With objections noted.”
“Duly noted,” I responded.
“You aren’t leaving me to the mercy of this man?” Philippe asked in dismay.
“I must. He is a witness to what the Inspector has said just now.”
“I must trust to you once more,” he responded wryly, and took my hand in his. “Merci,” he said quietly.
The door opened again. It was the orderly.
“Matron is waiting to say good-bye.”
“Thank you. My kit is in my room. Could you bring it down, please?”
When he had gone, I turned back to Philippe Moreau. “Good luck, Lieutenant. It should be yours at last.”
And then I crossed the room to Captain Barkley, rose on tiptoe, and kissed him on the cheek. “We always manage to quarrel, somehow. I am so glad to see you again. Stay safe. They’ll be waiting for you in Michigan.”
He smiled against his will. “I swear to you, Bess Crawford, that you could—and no doubt have—tried the patience of saints and made me question my own duty. At least I’m getting you out of Paris in one piece, which your mother will be grateful for.” In his turn, he bent and kissed me. “I earned that.”
“Yes, you did.”
The orderly was back, my kit bag in his hand.
There were any number of the staff waiting to say good-bye. I got a kiss on the cheek from Major Anderson and Major Vernon, defying Matron’s frown, and an embrace from Madame Ezay. And then I walked out the door to the waiting ambulance without looking back.
I had left Lieutenant Moreau to Captain Barkley’s conscience, but he was an American, after all, and wouldn’t let me down. I hoped Philippe Moreau wouldn’t either.
There was an envelope waiting for me when I reached the forward aid station where I was next assigned. It had been sent in the diplomatic pouch to HQ and brought out to me by one of the motorcycle messengers.
I tore it open, thinking it might be from my father.
There were only two words on the sheet.
Promise kept.
And under them was a single signature.
Barkley.
About the Author
Charles Todd is the author of the Bess Crawford mysteries, the Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries, and two stand-alone novels. A mother-and-son writing team, they live on the East Coast.
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Also by Charles Todd
The Ian Rutledge Mysteries
A Test of Wills
Wings of Fire
Search the Dark
Legacy of the Dead
Watchers of Time
A Fearsome Doubt
A Cold Treachery
A Long Shadow
A False Mirror
A Pale Horse
A Matter of Justice
The Red Door
A Lonely Death
The Confession
Proof of Guilt
Hunting Shadows
A Fine Summer’s Day
No Shred of Evidence
The Bess Crawford Mysteries
A Duty to the Dead
An Impartial Witness
A Bitter Truth
An Unmarked Grave
A Question of Honor
An Unwilling Accomplice
A Pattern of Lies
Other Fiction
The Murder Stone
The Walnut Tree
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
the shattered tree. Copyright © 2016 by Charles Todd. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
HarperCollins books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. For information please e-mail the Special Markets Department at SPsales@harpercollins.com.
first edition
Digital Edition AUGUST 2016 ISBN: 978-0-062386298
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-238627-4
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