The woman lumbered to an overstuffed chair by the window and dropped heavily into it. A metal TV table to her right teetered, and a can of diet Pepsi wobbled with the tremor. She settled in and glanced nervously out the window. I wondered if she was expecting someone, or if she simply hated to have her surveillance interrupted.
I handed her the photo. She looked at it, and her eyes took on the shape of larvae, burrowing between their well-padded lids. She raised them to the three of us and realized, too late, that she had placed herself at a disadvantage. Standing, we had the benefit of height. She craned up at us, shifting the larvae from one of us to the other. Her mood seemed to change from belligerent to cautious.
?You are . . . ?? began Claudel.
?Marie-Eve Rochon. What is this all about? Is Jean-Marc in trouble??
?You are the concierge??
?I collect the rent for the owner,? she answered. Though there wasn?t much room, she shifted in the chair. Its protest was audible.
?Know him?? asked Claudel, gesturing at the photo.
?Yes and no. He?s staying here but I don?t know him.?
?Where??
?Number 6. First entrance, room on the ground level,? she said, making a wide gesture with her arm. The loose, lumpy flesh jiggled like tapioca.
?What?s his name??
She thought for a moment, fidgeting absently with a scarf tip. I watched a bead of sweat reach its hydrostatic maximum, burst, and trickle down her face. ?St. Jacques. Course, they don?t usually use their real names.?
Charbonneau was taking notes.
?How long has he been here??
?Maybe a year. That?s a long time for here. Most are vagrants. Course, I don?t see him much. Maybe he comes and goes. I don?t pay attention.? She flicked her eyes down and crimped her lips at the obviousness of her lie. ?I don?t ask.?
?You get any references??
Her lips fluttered with a loud puff of air, and she shook her head slowly.
?He have any visitors??
?I told you, I don?t see him much.? For a time she was silent. Her fidgeting had pulled the scarf to the right, and the ears were now off center on her head. ?Seems like he?s always alone.?
Charbonneau looked around. ?The other apartments like this??
?Mine?s the biggest.? The corners of her mouth tightened and there was an almost imperceptible lift to her chin. Even in shabbiness there was room for pride. ?The others are broken up. Some are just rooms with hot plates and toilets.?
?He here now??
The woman shrugged.
Charbonneau closed his notebook. ?We need to talk to him. Let?s go.?
She looked surprised. ?
?We may need to get into the flat.?
She leaned forward in the chair and rubbed both hands on her thighs. Her eyes widened and her nostrils seemed to dilate. ?I can?t do that. That would be a violation of privacy. You need a warrant or something.?
Charbonneau fixed her with a level stare and did not answer. Claudel sighed loudly, as though bored and disappointed. I watched a rivulet of condensed water run down the Pepsi can and join a ring at its base. No one spoke or moved.
?Okay, okay, but this is your idea.?
Shifting her weight from ham to ham, she scooted forward in diagonal thrusts, like a sailboat on a series of short tacks. The housedress crept higher and higher, exposing enormous stretches of marbleized flesh. When she had maneuvered her center of gravity to the chair?s edge, she placed both hands on the arms and levered herself up.
She crossed to a desk on the far side of the room and gophered around in a drawer. Shortly, she withdrew a key and checked its tag. Satisfied, she held it out to Charbonneau.
?Thank you, madame. We will be happy to check your property for irregularities.?
As we turned to leave, her curiosity overcame her. ?Hey, what?s this guy done??
?We?ll return the key on our way out,? said Claudel. Once again, we left with eyes fixed on our backs.
The corridor inside the first entrance was identical to the one we?d just left. Doors opened to the left and right, and, at the rear, a steep staircase led to an upper floor. Number 6 was the first on the left. The building was stifling and eerily quiet.
Charbonneau stood to the left, Claudel and I to the right. Both their jackets hung loose, and Claudel rested his palm on the butt of his .357. He knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked a second time. Same response.
The two detectives exchanged glances, and Claudel nodded. The corners of his mouth were tucked in tightly, beaking his face even more then usual. Charbonneau fitted the key into the lock and swung the door in. We waited, rigid, listening to dust motes settle back into place. Nothing.
?St. Jacques??
Silence.
?Monsieur St. Jacques??
Same answer.
Charbonneau raised a palm in my direction. I waited while the detectives entered, then followed, my heart pounding in my chest.
The room held little furniture. In the left-rear corner a pink plastic curtain hung by rusted rings from a semicircular rod, separating the area into a makeshift bathroom. Below the curtain I could see the base of a commode and a set of pipes that probably led to a sink. The pipes were badly rusted and supported a thriving colony of a soft, green life-form. To the right of the curtain, the back wall had been fitted with a Formica-topped counter. It held a hot plate, several plastic tumblers, and an unmatched collection of dishes and pans.
In front of the curtain, an unmade bed ran the length of the left wall. A table fashioned from a large plywood plank was placed along the right. Its base was formed by two sawhorses, each clearly stamped as property of the city of Montreal. The surface was heaped with books and papers. The wall above was covered with maps, photos, and newspaper articles, forming a cut-and-paste mosaic that extended the length of the table. A metal folding chair was tucked below. The room?s only window was to the right of the front door, identical to that used by Madame Rochon. Two bare bulbs jutted from a hole in the ceiling.
?Nice place,? said Charbonneau.
?Yeah. A thing of beauty. I?d rank it up there with herpes and Burt Reynolds?s hairpiece.?
Claudel moved to the toilet area, withdrew a pen from his pocket, and gingerly drew back the curtain.
?Defense Ministry might want to take scrapings. This stuff may have potential for biological warfare.? He dropped the curtain and moved toward the table.
?Dickhead isn?t even here,? said Charbonneau, flipping a blanket edge onto the bed with the tip of his shoe.
I was surveying the kitchenware on the Formica counter. Two Expos beer tumblers. A dented saucepan encrusted with something resembling SpaghettiOs. A half-eaten chunk of cheese congealed in the same substance in a blue china bowl. A cup from Burger King. Several cellophane packages of saltine crackers.
It hit me when I leaned over the hot plate. The lingering warmth made my blood turn to ice, and I spun toward Charbonneau.
?He?s here!?
My words hit the air at the exact moment a door exploded open in the right-hand corner of the room. It slammed into Claudel, knocking him off balance and pinning his right arm and shoulder against the wall. A figure lunged across the room, body doubled over, legs thrusting toward the open front door. I could hear breath rasping in his throat.
For just an instant in his headlong plunge across the room, the fugitive raised his head, and two flat, dark
