Out of the Dark by Patrick Modiano Read Free Book Online

Van Bever hunched his back a little more and lowered his head between his shoulders, as if he were about to jump an obstacle.
    'You met him in the street?' I asked.
    'Yes,' said Jacqueline. ' I ran into him by chance. He was waiting for a taxi on the Place du Châtelet. I gave him the address of our hotel.'
    Suddenly she seemed very distressed that we were still talking about this.
    'Now that he's in Paris half the time,' said Van Bever, 'he wants to see us. We can't say no ...
    Yesterday afternoon, Jacqueline got out of the car after Cartaud had opened the door, and followed him into the building on the Boulevard Haussmann. I had watched them both. There was no trace of unhappiness on Jacqueline's face.
    'Are you really obligated to see him?'
    'In a way,' said Van Bever.
    He smiled at me. He hesitated a moment, then added: 'You could do us a favor … Stay with us, next time he hunts us down …'
    'Your being there would make things easier for us,' said Jacqueline. 'You don't mind?'
    'No, not at all. It will be a pleasure.'
    I would have done anything for her.

THAT SATURDAY Van Bever went to Forges-les-Eaux. I was waiting for them in front of their hotel at about five in the afternoon, as they had asked. Van Bever came out first. He suggested we take a quick walk along the Quai de la Tournelle.
    'I'm counting on you to keep an eye on Jacqueline.'
    These words took me by surprise. A little embarrassed, he explained that Cartaud had called the day before to say he wouldn't be able to give him a ride to Forges-Ies-Eaux because he had work to do. But Cartaud's apparent thoughtfulness and false friendliness were not to be trusted. Cartaud only wanted to take advantage of his absence, Van Bever's, to see Jacqueline.
    So why didn't he take her with him to Forges-les-Eaux?
    He answered that if he did, Cartaud would only come and find them there, and it would be precisely the same thing.
    Jacqueline came out of the hotel to meet us.
    'I suppose you were talking about Cartaud,' she said. She looked at us intently, one after the other.
    'I asked him to stay with you,' said Van Bever.
    'That's nice.'
    We walked him to the Pont-Marie métro station, as before. They were both quiet. And I no longer felt like asking questions. I was giving in to my natural indifference. All that really mattered was that I would be alone with Jacqueline. I even had Van Bever's authorization to do so, since he had asked me to serve as her guardian. What more could I ask?
    Before he walked down the steps into the métro, he said: 'I'll try to be back tomorrow morning.'
    At the bottom of the staircase he stood still for a moment, very straight, in his herringbone overcoat. He stared at Jacqueline.
    'If you want to get in touch with me, you have the phone number for the casino at Forges …'
    Suddenly he had a weary look on his face.
    He pushed open one of the doors, and it swung shut behind him.
    We were crossing the Ile Saint-Louis heading for the Left Bank, and Jacqueline had taken my arm.
    'When are we going to run into Cartaud?'
    My question seemed to annoy her slightly. She didn't answer.
    I was expecting her to say good-bye at the door of her hotel. But she led me up to her room.
    Night had fallen. She turned on the lamp next to the bed.
    I was sitting on the chair near the sink, and she was on the floor, with her back against the edge of the bed and her arms around her knees.
    'I have to wait for him to call,' she said.
    She was talking about Cartaud. But why was she forced to wait for him to call?
    'So you were spying on me yesterday on the Boulevard Haussmann?'
    'Yes.'
    She lit a cigarette. She began to cough after the first puff. I got up from the chair and sat down on the floor next to her. We leaned back against the edge of the bed.
    I took the cigarette from her hands. Smoke didn't agree with her, and I wished she would stop coughing.
    'I didn't want to talk about it in front of Gérard … He would have been embarrassed with you there … But I