XXV
Whosoever needs a loan of money, or a complete suit of clothes in thetop of the fashion, a pair of ladies' boots, or an Indian cashmere; aporcelain table service or a good picture; whosoever desires diamonds,curtains, laces, a house in the country, or a provision of wood forwinter fires--may procure all these, and many other things besides, atMme. Charman's.
Mme. Charman lives at 136, Rue Notre Dame de Lorette, on the first storyabove the ground-floor. Her customers must give madame some guarantee oftheir credit; a woman, if she be young and pretty, may be accommodatedat madame's at the reasonable rate of two hundred per cent interest.Madame has, at these rates, considerable custom, and yet has not made alarge fortune. She must necessarily risk a great deal, and bears heavylosses as well as receives large profits. Then she is, as she is pleasedto say, too honest; and true enough, she is honest--she would rathersell her dress off her back than let her signature go to protest.
Madame is a blonde, slight, gentle, and not wanting in a certaindistinction of manner; she invariably wears, whether it be summer orwinter, a black silk dress. They say she has a husband, but no one hasever seen him, which does not prevent his reputation for good conductfrom being above suspicion. However, honorable as may be Mme. Charman'sprofession, she has more than once had business with M. Lecoq; she hasneed of him and fears him as she does fire. She, therefore, welcomed thedetective and his companion--whom she took for one of hiscolleagues--somewhat as the supernumerary of a theatre would greet hismanager if the latter chanced to pay him a visit in his humble lodgings.
She was expecting them. When they rang, she advanced to meet them in theante-chamber, and greeted M. Lecoq graciously and smilingly. Sheconducted them into her drawing-room, invited them to sit in her bestarm-chairs, and pressed some refreshments upon them.
"I see, dear Madame," began M. Lecoq, "that you have received my littlenote."
"Yes, Monsieur Lecoq, early this morning; I was not up."
"Very good. And have you been so kind as to do the service I asked?"
"How can you ask me, when you know that I would go through the fire foryou? I set about it at once, getting up expressly for the purpose."
"Then you've got the address of Pelagie Taponnet, called Jenny?"
"Yes, I have," returned Mme. Charman, with an obsequious bow. "If I werethe kind of woman to magnify my services, I would tell you what troubleit cost me to find this address, and how I ran all over Paris and spentten francs in cab hire."
"Well, let's come to the point."
"The truth is, I had the pleasure of seeing Miss Jenny day beforeyesterday."
"You are joking!"
"Not the least in the world. And let me tell you that she is a verycourageous and honest girl."
"Really!"
"She is, indeed. Why, she has owed me four hundred and eighty francs fortwo years. I hardly thought the debt worth much, as you may imagine. ButJenny came to me day before yesterday all out of breath and told me thatshe had inherited some money, and had brought me what she owed me. Andshe was not joking, either; for her purse was full of bank notes, andshe paid me the whole of my bill. She's a good girl!" added Mme.Charman, as if profoundly convinced of the truth of her encomium.
M. Lecoq exchanged a significant glance with the old justice; the sameidea struck them both at the same moment. These bank-notes could only bethe payment for some important service rendered by Jenny to Tremorel. M.Lecoq, however, wished for more precise information.
"What was Jenny's condition before this windfall?" asked he.
"Ah, Monsieur Lecoq, she was in a dreadful condition. Since the countdeserted her she has been constantly falling lower and lower. She soldall she had piece by piece. At last, she mixed with the worst kind ofpeople, drank absinthe, they say, and had nothing to put to her back.When she got any money she spent it on a parcel of hussies instead ofbuying clothes."
"And where is she living?"
"Right by, in a house in the Rue Vintimille."
"If that is so," replied M. Lecoq, severely, "I am astonished that sheis not here."
"It's not my fault, dear Monsieur Lecoq; I know where the nest is, butnot where the bird is. She was away this morning when I sent for her."
"The deuce! But then--it's very annoying; I must hunt her up at once."
"You needn't disturb yourself. Jenny ought to return before fouro'clock, and one of my girls is waiting for her with orders to bring herhere as soon as she comes in, without even letting her go up to herroom."
"We'll wait for her then."
M. Lecoq and his friend waited about a quarter of an hour, when Mme.Charman suddenly got up.
"I hear my girl's step on the stairs," said she.
"Listen to me," answered M. Lecoq, "if it is she, manage to make Jennythink that it was you who sent for her; we will seem to have come in bythe merest chance."
Mme. Charman responded by a gesture of assent. She was going towards thedoor when the detective detained her by the arm.
"One word more. When you see me fairly engaged in conversation with her,please be so good as to go and overlook your work-people in the shops.What I have to say will not interest you in the least."
"I understand."
"But no trickery, you know. I know where the closet of your bedroom is,well enough to be sure that everything that is said here may beoverheard in it."
Mme. Charman's emissary opened the door; there was a loud rustling ofsilks along the corridor; and Jenny appeared in all her glory. She wasno longer the fresh and pretty minx whom Hector had known--the provokinglarge-eyed Parisian demoiselle, with haughty head and petulant grace. Asingle year had withered her, as a too hot summer does the roses, andhad destroyed her fragile beauty beyond recall. She was not twenty, andstill it was hard to discern that she had been charming, and was yetyoung. For she had grown old like vice; her worn features and hollowcheeks betrayed the dissipations of her life; her eyes had lost theirlong, languishing lids; her mouth had a pitiful expression ofstupefaction; and absinthe had broken the clear tone of her voice. Shewas richly dressed in a new robe, with a great deal of lace and a jauntyhat; yet she had a wretched expression; she was all besmeared with rougeand paint.
When she came in she seemed very angry.
"What an idea!" she cried, without taking the trouble to bow to anyone;"what sense is there in sending for me to come here in this way, almostby force, and by a very impudent young woman?"
Mme. Charman hastened to meet her old customer, embraced her in spite ofherself, and pressed her to her heart.
"Why, don't be so angry, dear--I thought you would be delighted andoverwhelm me with thanks."
"I? What for?"
"Because, my dear girl, I had a surprise in store for you. Ah, I'm notungrateful; you came here yesterday and settled your account with me,and to-day I mean to reward you for it. Come, cheer up; you're going tohave a splendid chance, because just at this moment I happen to have apiece of exquisite velvet--"
"A pretty thing to bring me here for!"
"All silk, my dear, at thirty francs the yard. Ha, 'tis wonderfullycheap, the best--"
"Eh! What care I for your 'chance?' Velvet in July--are you making funof me?"
"Let me show it to you, now."
"Never! I am expected to dinner at Asnieres, and so--"
She was about to go away despite Mme. Charman's attempts to detain her,when M. Lecoq thought it was time to interfere.
"Why, am I mistaken?" cried he, as if amazed; "is it really Miss Jennywhom I have the honor of seeing?"
She scanned him with a half-angry, half-surprised air, and said:
"Yes, it is I; what of it?"
"What! Are you so forgetful? Don't you recognize me?"
"No, not at all."
"Yet I was one of your admirers once, my dear, and used to breakfastwith you when you lived near the Madeleine; in the count's time, youknow."
He took off his spectacles as if to wipe them, but really to launch afurious look at Mme. Char
man, who, not daring to resist, beat a hastyretreat.
"I knew Tremorel well in other days," resumed the detective. "And--bythe bye, have you heard any news of him lately?"
"I saw him about a week ago."
"Stop, though--haven't you heard of that horrible affair?"
"No. What was it?"
"Really, now, haven't you heard? Don't you read the papers? It was adreadful thing, and has been the talk of all Paris for the pastforty-eight hours."
"Tell me about it, quick!"
"You know that he married the widow of one of his friends. He wasthought to be very happy at home; not at all; he has murdered his wifewith a knife."
Jenny grew pale under her paint.
"Is it possible?" stammered she. She seemed much affected, but not verygreatly surprised, which M. Lecoq did not fail to remark.
"It is so possible," he resumed, "that he is at this moment in prison,will soon be tried, and without a doubt will be convicted."
M. Plantat narrowly observed Jenny; he looked for an explosion ofdespair, screams, tears, at least a light nervous attack; he wasmistaken.
Jenny now detested Tremorel. Sometimes she felt the weight of herdegradation, and she accused Hector of her present ignominy. Sheheartily hated him, though she smiled when she saw him, got as muchmoney out of him as she could, and cursed him behind his back. Insteadof bursting into tears, she therefore laughed aloud.
"Well done for Tremorel," said she. "Why did he leave me? Good for hertoo."
"Why so?"
"What did she deceive her husband for? It was she who took Hector fromme--she, a rich, married woman! But I've always said Hector was a poorwretch."
"Frankly, that's my notion too. When a man acts as Tremorel has towardyou, he's a villain."
"It's so, isn't it?"
"Parbleu! But I'm not surprised at his conduct. For his wife's murder isthe least of his crimes; why, he tried to put it off upon somebodyelse!"
"That doesn't surprise me."
"He accused a poor devil as innocent as you or I, who might have beencondemned to death if he hadn't been able to tell where he was onWednesday night."
M. Lecoq said this lightly, with intended deliberation, so as to watchthe impression he produced on Jenny.
"Do you know who the man was?" asked she in a tremulous voice.
"The papers said it was a poor lad who was his gardener."
"A little man, wasn't he, thin, very dark, with black hair?"
"Just so."
"And whose name was--wait now--was--Guespin."
"Ah ha, you know him then?"
Jenny hesitated. She was trembling very much, and evidently regrettedthat she had gone so far.
"Bah!" said she at last. "I don't see why I shouldn't tell what I know.I'm an honest girl, if Tremorel is a rogue; and I don't want them tocondemn a poor wretch who is innocent."
"You know something about it, then?"
"Well, I know nearly all about it--that's honest, ain't it? About a weekago Hector wrote to me to meet him at Melun; I went, found him, and webreakfasted together. Then he told me that he was very much annoyedabout his cook's marriage; for one of his servants was deeply in lovewith her, and might go and raise a rumpus at the wedding."
"Ah, he spoke to you about the wedding, then?"
"Wait a minute. Hector seemed very much embarrassed, not knowing how toavoid the disturbance he feared. Then I advised him to send the servantoff out of the way on the wedding-day. He thought a moment, and saidthat my advice was good. He added that he had found a means of doingthis; on the evening of the marriage he would send the man on an errandfor me, telling him that the affair was to be concealed from thecountess. I was to dress up--as a chambermaid, and wait for the man atthe cafe in the Place du Chatelet, between half-past nine and ten thatevening; I was to sit at the table nearest the entrance on the right,with a bouquet in my hand, so that he should recognize me. He would comein and give me a package; then I was to ask him to take something, andso get him tipsy if possible, and then walk about Paris with him tillmorning."
Jenny expressed herself with difficulty, hesitating, choosing her words,and trying to remember exactly what Tremorel said.
"And you," interrupted M. Lecoq, "did you believe all this story about ajealous servant?"
"Not quite; but I fancied that he had some intrigue on foot, and Iwasn't sorry to help him deceive a woman whom I detested, and who hadwronged me."
"So you did as he told you?"
"Exactly, from beginning to end; everything happened just as Hector hadforeseen. The man came along at just ten o'clock, took me for a maid,and gave me the package. I naturally offered him a glass of beer; hetook it and proposed another, which I also accepted. He is a very nicefellow, this gardener, and I passed a very pleasant evening with him. Heknew lots of queer things, and--"
"Never mind that. What did you do then?"
"After the beer we had some wine, then some beer again, then some punch,then some more wine--the gardener had his pockets full of money. He wasvery tipsy by eleven and invited me to go and have a dance with him atthe Batignolles. I refused, and asked him to escort me back to mymistress at the upper end of the Champs Elysees. We went out of the cafeand walked up the Rue de Rivoli, stopping every now and then for morewine and beer. By two o'clock the fellow was so far gone that he felllike a lump on a bench near the Arc de Triomphe, where he went to sleep;and there I left him."
"Well, where did you go?"
"Home."
"What has become of the package?"
"Oh, I intended to throw it into the Seine, as Hector wished, but Iforgot it; you see, I had drunk almost as much as the gardener--so Icarried it back home with me, and it is in my room now."
"Have you opened it?"
"Well--what do you think?"
"What did it contain?"
"A hammer, two other tools and a large knife."
Guespin's innocence was now evident, and the detective's foresight wasrealized.
"Guespin's all right," said M. Plantat. "But we must know--"
M. Lecoq interrupted him; he knew now all he wished. Jenny could tellhim nothing more, so he suddenly changed his tone from a wheedling oneto abrupt severity.
"My fine young woman," said he, "you have saved an innocent man, but youmust repeat what you have just said to the judge of instruction atCorbeil. And as you might lose yourself on the way, I'll give you aguide."
He went to the window and opened it; perceiving Goulard on the sidewalk,he cried out to him:
"Goulard, come up here."
He turned to the astonished Jenny, who was so frightened that she darednot either question him or get angry, and said:
"Tell me how much Tremorel paid you for the service you rendered him."
"Ten thousand francs; but it is my due, I swear to you; for he promisedit to me long ago, and owed it to me."
"Very good; it can't be taken away from you." He added, pointing outGoulard who entered just then: "Go with this man to your room, take thepackage which Guespin brought you, and set out at once for Corbeil.Above all, no tricks, Miss--or beware of me!"
Mme. Charman came in just in time to see Jenny leave the room withGoulard.
"Lord, what's the matter?" she asked M. Lecoq.
"Nothing, my dear Madame, nothing that concerns you in the least. Andso, thank you and good-evening; we are in a great hurry."