Page 14 of French Escapade

Ken

Ifeel like we just got here, and we’re on our way out again. I’m impressed by this woman. She’s got so much energy. Had we met under different circumstances … nope. What kind of brother am I, to forget why I’m here?

“It’s close,” she says, after forcing us to rush down the steps of the police station. The fastest way is to walk there.”

We follow her, and soon enough we’re back on La Croisette.

“You don’t have a partner?” Jimmy asks her.

“Nah, I work alone.” We’re walking fast, and she’s not out of breath.

“It’s strange—at home, all cops work in pairs,” he insists.

“So no one’s got your back?” My question makes her smile.

Without slowing down, she shakes her head in my direction. I half expect her to bark back that she’s a big girl who can take care of herself, which is very likely, but she surprises me again.

“I have the feeling that, with the two of you as my escort, I should feel pretty safe, no?”

Jimmy laughs as he glances in my direction.

“Here we are,” she says as we reach a big glass door.

She opens her mouth to say something, probably to issue a warning and remind us not to embarrass her in front of her friend, when the door opens on a young, short-haired brunette.

“I was waiting for you,” she tells Élodie. “I asked the chief housekeeper to rearrange her team schedule. You have a little less than ten minutes.”

If the woman is surprised by our presence, she hides it well. I’m guessing a good poker face is required in her line of business. No matter what happens, she needs to keep on smiling.

Élodie waits until we are all in the elevator, with the doors closed, to make the presentations.

“Olivia, those men are Jimmy and Kenneth. The young girl in danger is Kenneth’s sister.”

“I see,” she says, looking at us with a frown.

“Thank you,” I answer. “Really, I mean…”

She waves my thanks away. “It’s fine, really. I’ve seen way too many young girls fall for con artists on the Riviera to let you down. Still, I need you guys to hurry.”

When we reach the third floor, she uses her pass to open the door of a very nice room. In the room are a king-sized bed and a two-seater sofa. On the balcony sits a small round table with chairs.

While Olivia stands by the door she closed behind us, we start our search. I slide my hands in the fold of the sofa and push it around to see if there’s anything behind or underneath. Élodie goes through the nightstands and the open bed while Jimmy vanishes in the bathroom.

Two minutes later, we’re done. Nothing. Jimmy comes back to the bedroom and shakes his head. He hasn’t found anything either.

I notice the wastepaper basket. There’s a map of the town rolled up in a ball. I unfold it and my heart skips a bit. Now I know we’re in the right place. Madison has written the address of the nearest Starbucks on the map.

“You’re white as a ghost.” Élodie comes closer to me to look at what I have found. Is this her handwriting?”

“Yep, I recognize it.”

Jimmy comes closer as well to look at the map. “She’s addicted to Frappuccino,” he explains.

“Anything in the bathroom garbage?” Élodie asks Jimmy.

“Just three Q-tips, clean but wet.”

“Q-tips!”

---