Codename Eagle by Robert Rigby Read Free Book Online

would I need to take over?”
    Henri shrugged. “Just in case – the codename is
Eagle
.”

EIGHT
    T he warm spring day had turned into another chilly night, but sitting in the darkness beneath the vine-covered pergola on the back of the house, Josette was oblivious to the cold.
    There was enough starlight to make out most of the walled garden: the trees and shrubs, the bulbs poking through the grass, the old iron gate at the far end that was always closed but never locked.
    It was all so familiar; Josette had spent the entire seventeen years of her life living in that house. And the town of Lavelanet. It suddenly seemed a small world now that Paul would be flying away, probably forever.
    The house was quiet. Josette knew her parents had gone to bed, but had no idea where Paul was. She got up from the painted metal chair, wandered aimlessly over the paving slabs of the terrace and walked further into the garden.
    Soft footsteps sounded behind her and she turned to see Paul approaching. He was carrying one of her warm jackets. Josette smiled. There was no anger now, or panic, just an overwhelming feeling of deep sadness.
    “I saw you out here; thought you must be cold,” Paul said, handing over the jacket.
    “A bit, I suppose,” Josette answered, putting on the jacket and fastening the buttons. She hesitated before speaking again. “Paul, who do you think killed Gaston Rouzard?”
    Paul gave a short laugh. “That’s the last thing I thought you’d ask me now.”
    Josette smiled. “You thought I’d start complaining again about you leaving us. But I won’t, not any more. And I’m sorry for getting so angry; I think I understand why you want to go now.”
    “I want to go but… I don’t want to leave you. Any of you. It’s just that…”
    “I know. I’ll miss you, Paul.”
    “And I’ll miss you. Maybe one day…”
    “Don’t say it,” Josette interrupted. “Let’s wait and see.”
    They walked slowly back to the pergola and sat on the garden chairs.
    “You didn’t answer my question,” Josette said.
    “About Gaston? I don’t know. I’ve thought about it often, but I’ve never really come up with an answer.”
    “Try again.”
    “But why?”
    “Because when you’ve gone, I want us – Papa and Didier and me – to do more for the Resistance. Try to recruit again, become more organized. We’ve got lazy, even Papa. It’s because we think there’s nothing we can do. But we can. We must.”
    Paul considered his words before replying. “It won’t be easy, Josette. There hasn’t been much enthusiasm for the Resistance up until now.”
    “Then we have to change things. We have to be ready for the Germans when they come, and they
will
come, Paul.”
    “Maybe. But the trouble is…” He stopped, not wanting to spark another argument.
    “What?”
    “Nothing.”
    “Come on, what were you going to say?”
    “You won’t like it.”
    “Well, now that you’re leaving, it doesn’t really matter, does it? Please, tell me.”
    Josette shivered and pulled up the collar of her jacket against the cold as Paul leaned closer. “I was going to say that the trouble is, from what I’ve seen, there are too many people in this part of France who haven’t decided whose side they’re on.”
    Paul was expecting a familiar explosion of outrage from Josette. It didn’t come.
    “I know,” she said softly. “They sit on the fence, waiting to see which way the war goes before making up their mind. They’re not thinking about what’s right, just about what’s right for them. It makes me ashamed, Paul.”
    “Maybe we shouldn’t be too hard on them,” Paul said, surprised at Josette’s unusually subdued response. “Maybe it’s always been like this when one country invades another. Some people just want an easy life, no trouble. And not everyone wants to be a hero of the Resistance.”
    Josette’s fiery temper returned in an instant. “Well, I do! And I will be! And I’ll start by tracking down