what’s more, the description you’ve just given me corresponds to the one the Revolutionary Tribunal gave at the time of his trial.’
‘I see. Co on.’
‘He was believed to be dead. But instead of adopting a new identity and changing his life, Leaume once more joined a royalist group, the Alliance, and under his real name! He eventually came to the notice of the Commune police three years after his death. There was an investigation into the exact circumstances of his demise, which concluded that he had in fact escaped alive.’
‘That was all he had left: his real name. He had no family, no house, no money, and not even any country ... I don’t know if he’s
an impostor or if the real Louis de Leaume did escape and keep his real identity, through pride, to defy his enemies and humiliate them by letting them know that he had fooled them. But I can tell you this. If someone pretends to be dead, is wounded, thrown in a communal grave and spends hours entombed under corpses, when he finally gets out of the charnel house, he’s no longer the same man. Perhaps that’s the reason Louis de Leaume kept his real name. He wanted to keep a link with the man he had been before his ordeal.’
Margont had spent his childhood steeped in religion, and now he thought of Christ, who had also been ‘dead’. To confirm it, a legionary had wounded his right flank with his lance. Could one consider Louis de Leaume like a sort of perverted Christ, resurrected not to love, but to avenge himself?
Lefine disliked speaking of death. He therefore moved swiftly on to the next phase of Louis de Leaume’s life. ‘In 1796, he left the Alliance because he found its members too moderate. He emigrated to London where he spent at least two years. The police lost track of him until he reappeared in Paris in January 1813, where he formed a new group, the Swords of the King. That’s all I can tell you about his past. As you know, I have many “friends”, some reputable and others less so. But I have not managed to hear any mention of him. So this Leaume knows the capital extremely well!’ ‘If he’s the murderer, you can understand why he left the symbol of his group on the corpse. If you had seen them dithering about me ... He would be the type to cut to the chase to force them all into action. But why the fire?’
‘They wanted to cut his head off, he burns their faces ... And I do agree with you: after you’ve escaped from a grave, your ideas must become somewhat warped.’
‘That’s not what I said. I was only emphasising that an ordeal like that would change you.’
‘Well, anyway, I wouldn’t trust him if I were you. Because if he finds out who you really are ... He’s sure to have left his mercy behind in the communal grave. That’s all I’ve found out about him.’ ‘You don’t know anything about his stay in London?’
‘No. All our suspects live very secretly, so the facts are incomplete.’
The facts are like the people: you just have time to glimpse them in silhouette before they disappear again into the shadows. Tell me about Charles de Varencourt.’
‘Again, almost nothing is known about his past. He was born in 1773, near Rouen. His family belonged to the Norman nobility. Nothing else is known about them. In 1792, he emigrated to England. And after that we have very little. He claims to have lived in London. In January 1814, he contacted the police and offered to sell them information. As he distrusted the civilian police, he approached Joseph’s personal police force. He knew the names of some of them because the royalists kept tabs on the people hunting them. Joseph’s agents accepted his offer. He had to provide them with a variety of his own documents. He showed them his passport, which stated that he had returned to France in 1802.'
‘Ah, the great amnesty of 6 Floreal, year 10. Just like me.’
‘Exactly. And, as you know, it is widely acknowledged, given the level of corruption at the time,
‘I see. Co on.’
‘He was believed to be dead. But instead of adopting a new identity and changing his life, Leaume once more joined a royalist group, the Alliance, and under his real name! He eventually came to the notice of the Commune police three years after his death. There was an investigation into the exact circumstances of his demise, which concluded that he had in fact escaped alive.’
‘That was all he had left: his real name. He had no family, no house, no money, and not even any country ... I don’t know if he’s
an impostor or if the real Louis de Leaume did escape and keep his real identity, through pride, to defy his enemies and humiliate them by letting them know that he had fooled them. But I can tell you this. If someone pretends to be dead, is wounded, thrown in a communal grave and spends hours entombed under corpses, when he finally gets out of the charnel house, he’s no longer the same man. Perhaps that’s the reason Louis de Leaume kept his real name. He wanted to keep a link with the man he had been before his ordeal.’
Margont had spent his childhood steeped in religion, and now he thought of Christ, who had also been ‘dead’. To confirm it, a legionary had wounded his right flank with his lance. Could one consider Louis de Leaume like a sort of perverted Christ, resurrected not to love, but to avenge himself?
Lefine disliked speaking of death. He therefore moved swiftly on to the next phase of Louis de Leaume’s life. ‘In 1796, he left the Alliance because he found its members too moderate. He emigrated to London where he spent at least two years. The police lost track of him until he reappeared in Paris in January 1813, where he formed a new group, the Swords of the King. That’s all I can tell you about his past. As you know, I have many “friends”, some reputable and others less so. But I have not managed to hear any mention of him. So this Leaume knows the capital extremely well!’ ‘If he’s the murderer, you can understand why he left the symbol of his group on the corpse. If you had seen them dithering about me ... He would be the type to cut to the chase to force them all into action. But why the fire?’
‘They wanted to cut his head off, he burns their faces ... And I do agree with you: after you’ve escaped from a grave, your ideas must become somewhat warped.’
‘That’s not what I said. I was only emphasising that an ordeal like that would change you.’
‘Well, anyway, I wouldn’t trust him if I were you. Because if he finds out who you really are ... He’s sure to have left his mercy behind in the communal grave. That’s all I’ve found out about him.’ ‘You don’t know anything about his stay in London?’
‘No. All our suspects live very secretly, so the facts are incomplete.’
The facts are like the people: you just have time to glimpse them in silhouette before they disappear again into the shadows. Tell me about Charles de Varencourt.’
‘Again, almost nothing is known about his past. He was born in 1773, near Rouen. His family belonged to the Norman nobility. Nothing else is known about them. In 1792, he emigrated to England. And after that we have very little. He claims to have lived in London. In January 1814, he contacted the police and offered to sell them information. As he distrusted the civilian police, he approached Joseph’s personal police force. He knew the names of some of them because the royalists kept tabs on the people hunting them. Joseph’s agents accepted his offer. He had to provide them with a variety of his own documents. He showed them his passport, which stated that he had returned to France in 1802.'
‘Ah, the great amnesty of 6 Floreal, year 10. Just like me.’
‘Exactly. And, as you know, it is widely acknowledged, given the level of corruption at the time,
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