Manof Chpt 62

Chapter 62

A day after Picard's arrest, the station was visited by a natty young lawyer who handed his card to the policeman on duty.
"I am Maitre Baudouin. I am here to see my client, Maitre Picard".

The policeman reached for a large ring of keys. The two men walked down a long hall. At the end was a row of four cells. The last cell door held Emile Picard. He was reading a week old newspaper. He looked neither ruffled, surprised of nervous.

The lawyers met with a curt handshake and the policeman locked the door and walked back to his office.

The Case Is Far from Closed

Just upstairs Detective Drollet was filling out some forms. He was in a borrowed office at the Brantome police station and unhappy about having to be away from Montignac. But this case was far from closed. He had arrested the lawyer who had brought Dr Biot into the circle of thieves and he had a confession that Biot signed about the group's plans and each person's part in it.

The paper work for the arrests of Picard, Reyes and his son was only part of what he would have to do. Later that day he would drive up to Amboise and arrest the last of the suspects, Karl Hellstrom. It was to Drollet, somewhat of an anti climax. After all, he already had the man he thought was the leader of the group and the two men who were responsible for stealing the Da Vinci.

Hellstrom was just the last on his list. There was no fear that he would escape capture since the others were in jail cells and Hellstrom was far away and incommunicado.

The Arrest Would Come the Next Day

That arrest would have to be the next day as Drollet had to travel to Amboise and complete the arrangements for coordination of the different officers from the two jurisdictions. He had promised to allow Bruce to come along.

He called Bruce who agreed to meet him in the morning.

"If you can be here very early, it would help. I'd like to head out by 6 am. We'll bring along a search warrant too. You never know what you can unearth."

They decided to meet at the Hotel Tallyrand Perigord in Perigueux. He gave Bruce instructions and the address. "Look for the Napoleon III façade. It's easy to find on Place Francheville. Six o'clock, sharp. Is that good?"

(Souviens...Remember)

There was no way Bruce would be late. He sat with Marie Claude and Constantin. When Marcel served their coffee, Bruce invited him to join the group.
"I want to thank you for your help," Bruce began. "If it had not been for your comment about the repaired window, we may not have solved our mystery so quickly."

Marcel shrugged. "I was just trying to help. You asked me to make a list. When I was doing that, I remembered the broken window after that terrible storm. I'm just happy you found the drawing."

They discussed the personalities of those who had been arrested. As far as the lawyer, Picard, was concerned, Constantin had very little to say. All he offered was, "We shall see."

An Interest in the Spanish Connection

With regard to Reyes and his son, neither of the family knew them but were interested in the Spanish connection and again Constantin wondered about Carlos Diaz, his ex brother in law and Marina Alvarez.

Bruce still hadn't checked closely. Biot said he knew nothing of their connection with anyone in Spain. Bruce had his own ideas on the subject. After all there was a connection, he thought. Some of the names given to him by Marina were actually involved.

As for Karl Hellstrom, they didn't know much about him as Amboise was far away. Constantin only remembered meeting him once. Apparently he was a wealthy art dealer who had, at one time, thought about investing in their indoor riding arena, a building that was never built.

After a while, Bruce excused himself. "I have to rise very early. By this time tomorrow we should have closed the books on this unfortunate business."

He went to bed, but his mind was racing. It took a long time for him to fall asleep.

(Click here for Chapter 63)


	Chapter 62 A day after Picard's arrest, the station was visited by a natty young lawyer who handed his card to the policeman on duty. "I am Maitre Baudouin. I am here to see my client, Maitre Picard". The policeman reached for a large ring of keys. The two men walked down a long hall. At the end was a row of four cells. The last cell door held Emile Picard. He was reading a week old newspaper. He looked neither ruffled, surprised of nervous. The lawyers met with a curt handshake and the policeman locked the door and walked back to his office. The Case Is Far from Closed Just upstairs Detective Drollet was filling out some forms. He was in a borrowed office at the Brantome police station and unhappy about having to be away from Montignac. But this case was far from closed. He had arrested the lawyer who had brought Dr Biot into the circle of thieves and he had a confession that Biot signed about the group's plans and each person's part in it. The paper work for the arrests of Picard, Reyes and his son was only part of what he would have to do. Later that day he would drive up to Amboise and arrest the last of the suspects, Karl Hellstrom. It was to Drollet, somewhat of an anti climax. After all, he already had the man he thought was the leader of the group and the two men who were responsible for stealing the Da Vinci. Hellstrom was just the last on his list. There was no fear that he would escape capture since the others were in jail cells and Hellstrom was far away and incommunicado. The Arrest Would Come the Next Day That arrest would have to be the next day as Drollet had to travel to Amboise and complete the arrangements for coordination of the different officers from the two jurisdictions. He had promised to allow Bruce to come along. He called Bruce who agreed to meet him in the morning. "If you can be here very early, it would help. I'd like to head out by 6 am. We'll bring along a search warrant too. You never know what you can unearth." They decided to meet at the Hotel Tallyrand Perigord in Perigueux. He gave Bruce instructions and the address. "Look for the Napoleon III façade. It's easy to find on Place Francheville. Six o'clock, sharp. Is that good?" (Souviens...Remember) There was no way Bruce would be late. He sat with Marie Claude and Constantin. When Marcel served their coffee, Bruce invited him to join the group. "I want to thank you for your help," Bruce began. "If it had not been for your comment about the repaired window, we may not have solved our mystery so quickly." Marcel shrugged. "I was just trying to help. You asked me to make a list. When I was doing that, I remembered the broken window after that terrible storm. I'm just happy you found the drawing." They discussed the personalities of those who had been arrested. As far as the lawyer, Picard, was concerned, Constantin had very little to say. All he offered was, "We shall see." An Interest in the Spanish Connection With regard to Reyes and his son, neither of the family knew them but were interested in the Spanish connection and again Constantin wondered about Carlos Diaz, his ex brother in law and Marina Alvarez. Bruce still hadn't checked closely. Biot said he knew nothing of their connection with anyone in Spain. Bruce had his own ideas on the subject. After all there was a connection, he thought. Some of the names given to him by Marina were actually involved. As for Karl Hellstrom, they didn't know much about him as Amboise was far away. Constantin only remembered meeting him once. Apparently he was a wealthy art dealer who had, at one time, thought about investing in their indoor riding arena, a building that was never built. After a while, Bruce excused himself. "I have to rise very early. By this time tomorrow we should have closed the books on this unfortunate business." He went to bed, but his mind was racing. It took a long time for him to fall asleep. (Click here for Chapter 63)