Chapter 59
IT DIDN’T TAKE much arm-twisting to get my friends to agree to come meet Alain at Susie’s. Claire, Cindy, and Yuki were all eager to be introduced to the Interpol officer.
The place wasn’t too crowded. Of course, it was a weeknight, and we were here a little earlier than normal.
Almost as soon as we strolled through the door, the house band stopped playing a Caribbean tune and switched to “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem. It felt like the scene from Casablanca.
At first, Alain was taken aback. Then he smiled and began singing along as the band played the entire song.
Which of my friends set up that little ploy? I wondered.
I thought it was kinda over the top, but Alain loved it.
Claire, Cindy, and Yuki were already seated at our favorite booth in the back dining area, and they all welcomed my visitor warmly.
Cindy said, “The band had been practicing ‘La Marseillaise’ before their first set. We felt it was the best way to welcome such a distinguished visitor.”
Alain smiled and gave Claire a little bow. “It is a welcome I could’ve only dreamed of. Thank you all so very much.”
I gave Yuki a quick look. How was she out of work before nightfall? I knew my telepathic glance would get my question across.
She smiled. “The judge had a personal issue and adjourned early. I’m not complaining about it.”
I introduced my friends individually, and we explained to Alain how we tended to work together. He found it fascinating that the four of us trusted one another so much.
Alain said, “I admire your teamwork. And it seems you all take your jobs quite seriously. I wish I could arrange such a group in France. I am consistently impressed by how effective medical examiners can be in determining details of a death. Of course, prosecutors are vital in any democracy. It’s only under a tyrant that there’s no need for prosecutors.
And the fourth estate is also essential to any democracy. ”
As earlier, Alain spoke of his work and his family, especially his grandchildren. By the time he was done, they all knew the children’s names, the games they liked, and how smart they were.
Yuki asked how he felt crime here compared to the crime in France’s cities.
Alain gave her a wave of his right hand. “All big cities have issues. Especially cities and countries with diverse populations. There is nothing here that I would consider unusual. I’m in Lyon now, but even when I was in Paris, there are enclaves I consider virtually impenetrable.”
Cindy had been waiting patiently to ask, “How’d you become an expert on human trafficking?”
Alain took a moment to gather his thoughts.
“While working as a detective in Paris, I had a simple missing persons case. A sixteen-year-old girl who everyone thought ran away from home. I kept looking but had no luck. Then, a few years later, there was an attack at a theater in Moscow by Chechen separatists. I read about it. Saw the news. Dozens dead, many more wounded. But it was far away and barely registered with me. Until I learned that one of the dead was the same missing girl. She was twenty at the time she was killed.”
“How did she end up in Russia?”
“It turns out she had been lured into prostitution at seventeen and sold off to a Russian oil baron. I still feel like I could’ve done more, done something different. It’s the worst regret a police officer can have.”
I agreed. Alain looked like he might cry, he was still so affected by the case. I felt his anguish.