asked.
‘No Monsieur, that will not be necessary. A
doctor will carry out a brief examination, write a report, then sign the death
certificate, that is all.’
‘Thank God for that,’ Ross sighed. ‘I
wouldn’t want her mutilated any more than she has been already.’
‘I understand Monsieur. Do not worry, in
cases like this where the cause of death is obvious and there is no suspicion
of anyone else being involved, we do not request an autopsy.’
‘When will I be able to take her home?’
Ross asked. ‘I’d like to get her away from here as soon as possible.’
‘As soon as the doctor has made his report
and you have signed all the necessary paperwork, she can be released to you. We
will try to get it all done tonight so you can take her first thing in the
morning,’ Batard said.
‘I would be very grateful,’ Ross said with
a brave smile.
‘There is just one other thing, Monsieur.’
A spasm of fear went through Ross. ‘What’s
that?’ he asked, outwardly calm.
‘You must make a formal identification of
the body.’
Ross relaxed and said, ‘Of course, I was
forgetting. When do you want me to do that?’
‘As soon as you can, Monsieur. The doctor
can not complete the death certificate without it.’
‘I’ll just pack up my things here and go
straight down to the hospital then,’ Ross said. ‘Better to get it over and done
with.’
‘Quite right Monsieur. I actually need to
be there myself when you make the identification, so why don’t you go back to
the Jardin du Mont Blanc and I will pick you up from there in about two hours,
say at six?’
‘Six would be fine,’ Ross said. ‘I’ll be
waiting.’
Batard saluted and was halfway out of the
door when he stopped and turned back saying, ‘Oh, I nearly forgot!’ He came
back into the room looking rather embarrassed and shut the door. ‘I hate to
mention money at a time like this, but what arrangements have you made for
paying the reward?’
‘The reward?’ Ross asked blankly.
‘Yes Monsieur, the reward you offered for
finding Madame.’
‘Oh yes, I’d forgotten all about that,’
Ross said. ‘I’ve lodged the money with the Credit Agricole des Savoie bank in
Chamonix. If you give me the name of the chap who found her, I’ll phone an
authorization through, then he can go along and pick it up.’
‘Thank you Monsieur, I will write his name
down for you. When can I tell him to go to the bank?’
‘I’ll phone them straight away,’ Ross
promised. ‘He can go any time.’
Batard wrote Christian Lochet’s name on a
piece of paper torn from his notebook, then saluted again and was gone.
As soon as the door was closed, Ross stood
up and locked it, then he got his cell phone out. First he called the bank and
gave them Lochet’s name and the authority to release the money. He thought it
better to get that settled before he forgot it, because he didn’t want any
trouble from Batard. The next call he made was to Alex, who was by now back in
London. He answered it on the first ring.
‘We’re in business,’ Ross said simply.
‘Yes, I know, I’ve just been watching it on
BBC News twenty-four, they were showing it live. Where did they find her?’
‘Exactly where I thought she would be,’
Ross said triumphantly, ‘half way up the glacier.’
‘Weren’t they suspicious as to how she got
that high up?’ Alex asked with concern.
‘Not a bit. They reckon she walked up
there, then slipped and fell. What else could they think… that she flew?’ Ross
laughed at his own joke.
‘Very funny,’ Alex said. ‘What’s the next
step?’
‘I’ve got to identify the body and sign a
few forms, then they’ll release her. You know what to do your end, don’t you?’
‘Yes, I’ve already got a medevac plane on
standby at Biggin, ready to fly out to Geneva.’
‘Good, get back to them and tell them to be
down here first thing in the morning. After you’ve done that, find an
undertaker and get them to meet the
‘No Monsieur, that will not be necessary. A
doctor will carry out a brief examination, write a report, then sign the death
certificate, that is all.’
‘Thank God for that,’ Ross sighed. ‘I
wouldn’t want her mutilated any more than she has been already.’
‘I understand Monsieur. Do not worry, in
cases like this where the cause of death is obvious and there is no suspicion
of anyone else being involved, we do not request an autopsy.’
‘When will I be able to take her home?’
Ross asked. ‘I’d like to get her away from here as soon as possible.’
‘As soon as the doctor has made his report
and you have signed all the necessary paperwork, she can be released to you. We
will try to get it all done tonight so you can take her first thing in the
morning,’ Batard said.
‘I would be very grateful,’ Ross said with
a brave smile.
‘There is just one other thing, Monsieur.’
A spasm of fear went through Ross. ‘What’s
that?’ he asked, outwardly calm.
‘You must make a formal identification of
the body.’
Ross relaxed and said, ‘Of course, I was
forgetting. When do you want me to do that?’
‘As soon as you can, Monsieur. The doctor
can not complete the death certificate without it.’
‘I’ll just pack up my things here and go
straight down to the hospital then,’ Ross said. ‘Better to get it over and done
with.’
‘Quite right Monsieur. I actually need to
be there myself when you make the identification, so why don’t you go back to
the Jardin du Mont Blanc and I will pick you up from there in about two hours,
say at six?’
‘Six would be fine,’ Ross said. ‘I’ll be
waiting.’
Batard saluted and was halfway out of the
door when he stopped and turned back saying, ‘Oh, I nearly forgot!’ He came
back into the room looking rather embarrassed and shut the door. ‘I hate to
mention money at a time like this, but what arrangements have you made for
paying the reward?’
‘The reward?’ Ross asked blankly.
‘Yes Monsieur, the reward you offered for
finding Madame.’
‘Oh yes, I’d forgotten all about that,’
Ross said. ‘I’ve lodged the money with the Credit Agricole des Savoie bank in
Chamonix. If you give me the name of the chap who found her, I’ll phone an
authorization through, then he can go along and pick it up.’
‘Thank you Monsieur, I will write his name
down for you. When can I tell him to go to the bank?’
‘I’ll phone them straight away,’ Ross
promised. ‘He can go any time.’
Batard wrote Christian Lochet’s name on a
piece of paper torn from his notebook, then saluted again and was gone.
As soon as the door was closed, Ross stood
up and locked it, then he got his cell phone out. First he called the bank and
gave them Lochet’s name and the authority to release the money. He thought it
better to get that settled before he forgot it, because he didn’t want any
trouble from Batard. The next call he made was to Alex, who was by now back in
London. He answered it on the first ring.
‘We’re in business,’ Ross said simply.
‘Yes, I know, I’ve just been watching it on
BBC News twenty-four, they were showing it live. Where did they find her?’
‘Exactly where I thought she would be,’
Ross said triumphantly, ‘half way up the glacier.’
‘Weren’t they suspicious as to how she got
that high up?’ Alex asked with concern.
‘Not a bit. They reckon she walked up
there, then slipped and fell. What else could they think… that she flew?’ Ross
laughed at his own joke.
‘Very funny,’ Alex said. ‘What’s the next
step?’
‘I’ve got to identify the body and sign a
few forms, then they’ll release her. You know what to do your end, don’t you?’
‘Yes, I’ve already got a medevac plane on
standby at Biggin, ready to fly out to Geneva.’
‘Good, get back to them and tell them to be
down here first thing in the morning. After you’ve done that, find an
undertaker and get them to meet the
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