Deadly Tasting by Jean-Pierre Alaux, Noël Balen Read Free Book Online

serial killer has a certain method, and he’s giving us the code.”
    “We still have to decipher that code.”
    “Of course, but that is part of his cold reasoning. It appears to be a very calculated and staged revenge.”
    “Are you implying that part of his scheme is keeping us on his trail?”
    “That’s what I think. He has something to say, and maybe he reveals a little more each time another victim is found.”
    “We can’t very well wait for him to fill all twelve glasses! Two bodies and one desecration in two days. It’s no small matter!”
    “Right, he still has nine glasses to fill.”
    Benjamin opened his cigar box and selected two Villa Zamoranos.
    “Dessert, Virgile?”
    “Why not?” His assistant smiled and reached for the robusto Benjamin held out to him.
    With a clean snip of the guillotine, Benjamin chopped off the vitole and lit it with the brass lighter on his desk blotter. A puff of whitish smoke quickly enveloped them, drawing them further into the puzzle they were trying to solve.
    “Evidently all the victims have some kind of connection,” Virgile continued. “I’m sure, given their ages and what little is known of their pasts, the connection is related to World War Two.”
    “It’s very likely, Virgile, and that Nazi accusation on the grave marker confirms it. That’s not something you do lightly. It must be significant, especially considering what we’ve learned about Grémillon and Chaussagne since they were murdered.”
    “I know who might be able to help us,” Virgile said, blowing an almost perfect smoke ring toward the ceiling. “It’s someone I run into fairly regularly these days.”
    “Another one of your nightly encounters?” Benjamin joked.
    “Not at all, sir. I’ve been seeing the same girl for some time now. And I’ve been going out a lot less. She’s a homebody. I haven’t been to a bar for almost two months, and that’s really saying something.”
    “Be careful, Virgile, domestication is creeping up on you.”
    “Don’t worry, I haven’t become that conventional. I just decided to give myself a little break. I’ve been getting back into sports and swimming laps at the pool. That’s where I met the person who could shed some light on this matter. His name is Renaud Duboyne de Ladonnet. He’s thirtyish, not the type of guy I would hang out with ordinarily. He’s kind of a strange individual, if not downright bizarre. I tried to save him from drowning, but he didn’t really need to be saved.”
    “Hmm, that is odd.”
    “I was exhausted that day. I had just done fifteen laps, and I was resting at the end of the pool. That’s when I saw someone at the bottom. At first I didn’t worry, but after about a minute, maybe more, I thought it was fishy. He wasn’t moving, and I thought he was in trouble, so I dived down to pull him out. But when I grabbed him to bring him to the surface, he tried to fight me off. It was really a struggle to bring him up. You should have heard how he berated me after I got him out of the water.”
    “Quite the ingrate,” Benjamin said, his cigar wedged in the corner of his mouth.
    “In a way. After he calmed down, he explained that he often rested at the bottom of the pool for two minutes to clear his head. It was his way of focusing. Apparently, the lifeguards scold him for it, but he doesn’t care.”
    “And how can he help us?”
    “Well, let me tell you. At first I thought he was a nut, but once I started talking to him, I realized he’s brilliant. He was very impressed when I told him that I worked for you. He knows some of your books. He’s studious and very serious. He has a law degree and speaks fluent English and German. He manages a maritime insurance company and is fascinated by naval history, especially the German World War One military fleet.”
    Benjamin flicked his ashes into the alabaster ashtray and took another deep puff of his robusto.
    “It just so happens that it’s World War Two that