“Exactly,” Leroy said.
“Okay,” Vauvert said, standing up. “Was that hospital in Rodez?”
“It is down south, in the region.”
“I know exactly where it is, thanks,” Vauvert said with a sigh.
He walked over to the map of France, riddled with thumbtacks, and he stuck four new ones on the city of Rodez. Then he took a couple of steps back.
Seen from that angle, the city stood dead center in a swarm of red tacks.
“All right,” he said. “So maybe the Salaville brothers started their killing there.”
Leroy shook his head.
“Not them. Those girls went missing before they were sent to Raynal.”
Vauvert stared at the detective. Now he got it.
“You think our killer was already in that hospital?”
“Eva is convinced that we’re dealing with a deranged person. Someone who’s already been in treatment. Assuming that this person actually was at Raynal back then and also assuming that she managed to commit her first murders without anyone catching on.”
“The Salaville brothers could have met her when they came in for rehab,” Vauvert said. “And this person could have taught them how to kill, like some sort of mentor?”
“There you go.”
Vauvert scratched his two-day beard.
“It’s not like there haven’t been cases that are more far-fetched. Did you get in touch with the hospital?”
“Well, I tried,” Leroy said. “But there’s a problem. The place was shut down. Not profitable enough. New government regulations. Same old story.”
“When did it close?”
“Over six months ago. The building has already been leveled to make room for a mall. I asked for a copy of their archives, but you know the procedure. It’s going to take at least a week to get them.”
“We don’t have a week!” Vauvert burst out. “Eva is…. We’re losing too much time!”
“I know that,” Leroy said. “But listen, I searched the hospital staff, and I tracked down the ex-director, Jacques Fabre-Renault. He’s been transferred to Millau. That’s where he works now. I called him but only got his voicemail. I’ll get his personal number, and I’ll call him, okay?”
“Fine,” Vauvert said, calming down.
He picked up a photo of Barbara Meyer clad in vinyl and fishnet. A dead girl whose blood had spilled out of Eva’s mirrors.
He had to tell Leroy.
As he opened his mouth, a voice boomed in the hallway.
“Where is he? Where the fuck is he?”
Leroy frowned and looked toward the door.
“That’s Deveraux. Sounds like someone has him royally pissed off.”
“Where?” Deveraux bellowed.
A second later, he stormed into the office. It appeared that he had run all the way up the stairs, because he was out of breath, and the front of his shirt had come untucked from his pants. His cheeks were crimson, and his face was contorted. He was not just pissed. He looked like he was about to have a coronary.
“You!” he barked at Vauvert. “What’s with the bullshit?”
Vauvert straightened. He figured this kind of thing was going to happen eventually. He had just hoped it would take longer.
“Is there a problem?”
“The problem is that I called your supervisor, you fucking liar,” Deveraux yelled. “It seems that you never told Chief Kiowski that you were coming up here, and he certainly never gave you the go-ahead to join us. In fact, he was wondering where you were all morning. You abandoned your post without telling anyone!”
Leroy stared at Vauvert in dismay.
“Is that true?”
“What does it matter? I’m here, okay?”
“You don’t understand,” Deveraux said, still seething. “Not only did you lie to the chief, you disregarded standard operating procedure and chain of command in the middle of a manhunt where a cop’s life is on the line. This is a serious breach of professional ethics. Now get the fuck out of here.”
“But we’re making progress,” Vauvert responded.
“Well, you can go make your progress back down in the boonies and let us do our job.”
Vauvert slowly rose to his feet, his mass towering over Deveraux. Then, emphasizing every word, he said, “I don’t know what the fuck is going on in your head, man. We are not in competition here. I’m trying to help save a colleague, and we are running out of time. Every minute we waste…”
“I don’t give a fuck if that stupid cunt got herself in trouble,” Deveraux flared. “If she had followed procedure, we wouldn’t be in this sorry mess. The entire department wouldn’t have had to drop everything just to try and bail her sorry ass out because she had to get pounded once too many times by some dipshit she picked up in a bar!”
Vauvert stared at him, motionless for exactly two seconds.
Up until now, Vauvert had been proud of how long he had restrained himself. This much self-control was rare for him.
But he had reached the point where polite behavior would only slow things even more.
Jean-Luc Deveraux did not see the head butt coming. Vauvert’s forehead swooped toward his face so fast, he couldn’t have dodged it anyway. It collided brutally with his nose, lighting up a big scarlet sun behind his eyes.
45
“You did what?” O repeated, furiously eyeing Vauvert, who was sitting in a chair in the hallway while the whole department gathered around.
“He broke my nose! The hick broke my nose!” Deveraux whined. “I want Internal Affairs! Right now!”
O raised a hand to quiet him.
“They’re on their way, Jean-Luc. Now, shut up.”
Deveraux pressed his handkerchief to his nose. It was quickly filling with blood.
“You guys, get him to the infirmary, now,” O ordered curtly.”
Two officers helped their colleague to his feet. As Deveraux passed Vauvert, he shot him the kind of hateful glare Vauvert had often gotten from the criminals he busted. Vauvert looked away and checked the time on his cell phone. He vaguely heard Deveraux demand to see Internal Affairs again as the other officers tried to calm him down.
Chief O waited until they were out of sight. Then, clearly angry, he turned to Vauvert.
“Dammit who the hell do you think you are?” he bellowed.
“I’m sincerely sorry, chief. That dumb piece of…”
“I don’t want to hear it!” O thundered. “You lied to me! I would have helped you out anyway, and maybe I would even have covered your ass if you had just had the guts to be straight with me. Now let me tell you, I won’t cry if you lose your badge over this. We do take assaulting colleagues very seriously here!”
“That’s funny, you talk just like my boss, Kiowski,” Vauvert said with a forced smile.
O made an exasperated gesture and turned to his men around them.
“Chris, Florian, this man is in custody. He’s not going anywhere, even to take a piss. Internal Affairs will be here soon. They will sort this out. As for the rest of you guys, I want you back at your desks. Now! Then he turned to Vauvert. “I hope you’re proud of yourself. Like we need Internal Affairs around here right now!”