The Art of Murder by Louis Shalako Read Free Book Online

aware of nothing
bothering Theo, far from it.”
    “ And you have no idea of why
he might wish to take his own life? There was nothing else going
on, no big problems, no un-resolvable issues?”
    “ None whatsoever, Inspector
Maintenon, in fact suicide would be quite foreign to his nature.
While I know nothing of his personal life, he was a very strong and
quite frankly, a persistent man. I can think of nothing that would
be sufficiently traumatic, to make him give up on life, let alone
commit suicide. If anything, he would only try harder, fight
harder. The man was a force.”
    It seemed to be a consensus, and while
not based on any discernable facts, fit with what Gilles knew of
what he always referred to as the archetypes of human nature. Duval
was used to getting his own way. So far, no one had a bad thing to
say about him, and there were no suggestions of problems in his
life.
    “ So you came for a business
meeting?” Gilles threw down the pen and leaned back, putting his
hands on the back of his head in a familiar and relaxing pose.
“Tell me about the young lady.”
    “ Oh, well, Inspector.” The
implication was that this would not be seemly. “I couldn’t really
comment.”
    Gilles knew that much before he asked
the question, but it was always worth a try.
    “ How long have they known
each other?”
    Babineaux sighed. He would try to
accommodate the police, against his better judgment and more
civilized manners. It was just a whiff of arrogance. He couldn’t
conceal it after all.
    “ I think maybe a few months.
Six months, maybe a little longer.”
    “ What does Duval Industries
do best? What is the company about?” This was a matter of some
pride, and of public record.
    It was easy bait. Gilles waited to see
what came out.
    “ The firm specializes in
taking Monsieur Duval’s drawings and prototypes, and bringing them
into production, sometimes by way of licensing agreements,
sometimes in partnership with other firms as well as suppliers and
stock holders—”
    Gilles grinned in spite of himself, and
the gentleman coloured, a faint blush in his cheeks. The brightest
blue eyes he had seen in some years gazed back at him with a
surprising familiarity.
    “ Yes, but what do you do?
What do you make, exactly?” Gilles was more succinct, more specific
as to the question.
    A small touch of humour, even humanity,
might go a long way.
    “ Ah! I’m sorry. Of course.
We produce household, er, forgive me, but I always call them
gadgets, for the kitchen. We make sporting goods, tools for work
and home, often with a great improvement in design, or convenience,
or even just weight. All kinds of things for the farm, and just
handy little things made more efficient. We hold numerous patents
in the automotive accessory field, for example.”
    “ Weight?”
    “ Yes, weight. To make
something lighter is to often make it more useful, I’ve heard
Theodore say that many times.” Those bright blue eyes glowed with
something now. “Theodore loved making things more
efficient.”
    Gilles had underestimated him a little.
It was possible for a man like Babineaux to like his work, perhaps
even to love the company. He wasn’t completely cynical, a
misjudgment on the part of Gilles.
    “ You know, my job is a lot
like yours.” Gilles settled into the seat, leaning forward to make
notes if necessary, if any little thing came up. “It is about
detail. It is about being meticulous, and not making one single
assumption about anything.”
    “ Yes, Inspector, and I agree
with you. If there is anything you want, or anything you need, just
let me know. And all of our staff members will cooperate fully with
the police. I can assure you of that. Theodore was extremely
well-liked by all of his people, myself included.”
    Gilles nodded in approval, as he could
think of no other response.
    “ So you’re up from Lyons?”
The other man nodded. “What’s down there?”
    “ One of our major plants, a
subsidiary. I was there for a