Chapter 33
At the mention of Milo, Tiphaine reacted like a tigress sensing a threat to her cubs.
Though she was appalled by Sylvain’s betrayal, it was the absolute necessity of protecting the boy from the attorney’s meddling that brought out her aggression.
Gérard realized it immediately. The moment he uttered the boy’s name, Tiphaine was transformed; her eyes shone with a belligerent gleam, and she gave him a venomous look.
That was when he knew for sure she was capable of murder.
Gérard was a veteran of the terrible things of which the human soul is capable, and he was undisturbed by Tiphaine’s suppressed violence.
But he felt an instinctive quiver in his solar plexus that told him to be careful, the woman’s dam of reason could, ceding to intense pressure, burst at any moment.
He knew from experience that it is vital to leave the door open for the enemy to escape, or rather to give the illusion that there is the possibility of escape: someone who has nothing to lose . . . has nothing to lose.
“It’s very simple,” he said after a moment’s pause.
“You leave my family alone, and I’ll leave yours alone.
Everyone goes back to how things were. And we’re all happy.
” He watched Tiphaine closely to be sure she had understood.
The hostility in her expression was no less intense, but he detected something in her eyes that unnerved him. Was she determined to hold her course?
He had to get out of there. If Tiphaine and Sylvain wanted to get rid of him, there was nothing to stop them doing so there and then.
Any lingering doubts he might have had about their guilt dissipated in the barely disguised hostility of the encounter.
They may not have confessed, but their demeanor made their guilt obvious.
He made his way to the front door, his mind teeming with thoughts.
He was going to have to watch his back now.
The confrontation with Tiphaine troubled him; she had a malevolent energy that made him very uneasy.
He had taken no precautions prior to his visit, beyond the plan to blackmail Sylvain, which had been rendered null by the man’s idiocy almost as soon as he arrived and was now no more than a vial emptied of its poison.
Even his secretary had no idea where he was.
“By the way, I must inform you I had a full medical check just recently, and I’m in excellent health,” he said, looking meaningfully at Tiphaine. “Heart, blood pressure, cholesterol levels. Tip-top!”
“I’m very happy for you,” she said, holding his gaze.
“I’m just saying that should anything untoward happen to me—a heart attack, say—my doctor would ask questions.
And furthermore, my secretary has a list of documents to forward to various people concerning files I’m currently working on.
Just a precaution I put in place for certain cases .
. .” He stopped for a moment, before concluding his spiel.
“So should anything happen to me, all the documents concerning you will be sent to Milo.”
It occurred to him that covering himself like this made a great deal of sense.
He would tell Mélanie when he was back in the office that if anything untoward were to befall him, she must send everything on to Milo.
And he would warn Nora too. Put her on her guard.
Maybe even convince her to come back home for a few days until things calmed down.
Now that Tiphaine knew she’d been having an affair with her husband, their neighborly relationship was unlikely to remain cordial.
Just as he was leaving, a young man turned up at the house. He didn’t need Sherlock Holmes’s gifts to deduce that the young man must be Milo. Gérard gave him a warm smile, then reached into the inside pocket of his jacket for his wallet and drew out a business card.
“Milo! Delighted to make your acquaintance.” Surprised, Milo barely had time to stammer out a greeting before the attorney went on, “Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Gérard Depardieu. I was your father’s defense attorney eight years ago, the night he was in custody, which was in fact the same night that .
. . Right, well, you know what I mean. This is my card, and if you’d like to talk about it, if you have any questions at all, please feel free to call. ”
More and more puzzled, Milo took the card and gave it a perfunctory glance.
“Depardieu. Any relationship to Inès?”
“Yes, indeed, young man. I’m her father.
The world certainly does work in mysterious ways.
” Behind him, Tiphaine stifled a cry of rage.
He glanced back and saw the anger in her eyes, a ferocious look of sheer hatred.
They glared at each other with mutual hostility for a few seconds that felt like a lifetime.
They both knew it now: war had been declared.