Evan and Elle - By Rhys Bowen Page 0,46
very proud of it. You’re one of his current heroes, by the way. You and Charlie’s grandson. When he grows up he’s going to be a fireman and a policeman, so he says.”
Evan smiled. Bronwen bustled around, clearing away cooking utensils and laying the table.
“Is there something I can do?” he asked.
She handed him the mixing bowl. “You can put that in the sink, and find us a bottle of wine.”
“White or red?” Evan asked. “I’m never sure of what’s proper.”
“White with a soufflé, I’d assume,” she said. “I think I’ve got an unopened Chardonnay in the fridge.”
“All right.” Evan found the bottle and set about uncorking it.
“So what do they know about the body? Have they identified it yet?” Bronwen asked.
“No. In fact it’s quite a little puzzle for us.”
“No identity, you mean?”
Evan nodded. “The only lead we have so far is an abandoned rental car, rented by a Frenchman under a false name.”
He saw Bronwen react to this. “Evan, do you think it could have been that man who came into the restaurant while we were eating? He looked French, didn’t he?”
“My thoughts exactly,” Evan agreed. “But we’ve no way of proving it.”
“There were some strange vibes going on between him and Madame Yvette at one point, don’t you think? She nearly set fire to our crêpes suzette.” Then she paused and shook her head. “But he left before we did. We were the last ones there before she closed up, weren’t we?”
“We were. But there was something going on between her and that man at one point. At least, the man said something that upset her, but she claimed it was just that he wanted lobster and she didn’t have any.”
“I suppose it could have been something as simple as that,” Bronwen said. “What exactly do you know so far?”
Evan poured the wine and handed her a glass. “It’s hard to know where to begin,” he said. “The body was burned too badly for fingerprints. We’ve got a dental chart but you need to know where a person comes from before you can match up his teeth.”
“Poor Madame Yvette,” Bronwen said. “I’ve been thinking about her. It must be awful. She’s lost everything and now there’s a strange man dead in her restaurant. It must be like a nightmare.”
Evan said nothing. He didn’t think that he should let on that the body had been stabbed and that Madame Yvette had to be considered a prime suspect at this time. Nor did he want to suggest any kind of drug connection.
“So what will she do? Where will she stay?” Bronwen asked.
“She’s staying at the Vaynol Arms at the moment,” Evan said. “She can’t go anywhere until this business is sorted out.”
“But how miserable staying at a pub, with no clothes, no nothing,” Bronwen said. “I’ll look in my wardrobe and see if I’ve got anything that she could wear, and I’ll ask the village women, too. I’d have her to dinner here, only I wouldn’t dare cook anything for her . . .”
“You’re a kind person, Bronwen,” Evan said.
“Yes, I do have some good points, I suppose,” she said, making him wonder yet again if the Llanfair spies were so good that she had already heard about Glynis.
“I wish you were coming down to Eastbourne with me. It would be fun.”
“I don’t think the police would fund naughty weekends.” Bronwen tossed him a challenging look. “And three is definitely a crowd. You’ve got Sergeant Watkins to keep you company. Besides, I have to keep thirty kids in line and stop young Terry from blowing anything up—”
She stopped, open-mouthed. “Evan, you don’t think . . . ?” she asked.
He picked up her thought instantly. “That he started the fires?”
She nodded.
“He was at all of them,” Evan said thoughtfully. “It did cross my mind, especially since he seems so obsessed with violence at the moment.” Then he shook his head. “I just don’t see how it’s possible. A little kid like him—where would he get a can of petrol? How would he lug it up the hill without being seen? And someone would surely have noticed him at the Everest Inn . . .”
“But you have to admit it’s just possible,” Bronwen said.
“Yes, it is possible.” Evan took a meditative sip of wine.
“So what do we do?”
“I’m leaving with Sergeant Watkins in the morning,” Evan said. “I think I’ll have a little talk with Terry tonight before I go, just to be on the safe side—let him know what I’m