THE AWKWARD SQUAD
MacLehose Press
An imprint of Quercus
New York • London
Copyright © Editions Albin Michel—Paris 2015
English translation copyright © 2017 by Sam Gordon
Jacket painting © Miles Hyman and Carole Schilling
Series design by www.Salu.io
First published in the United States by Quercus in 2018
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eISBN 978-1-68144-001-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hénaff, Sophie, author.
Title: The awkward squad / Sophie Hénaff.
Other titles: Poulets grillés. English
Description: First edition. | New York : MacLehose Press, [2018]
Identifiers: LCCN 2017045299 (print) | LCCN 2017053710 (ebook) | ISBN 9781681440019 (ebook) | ISBN 9781681440002 (library ebook) | ISBN 9781681440033 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781681440026 (softcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Policewomen—Fiction. | Cold cases (Criminal investigation)—Fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Police Procedural. | FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths. | GSAFD: Mystery fiction.
Classification: LCC PQ2708.E53 (ebook) | LCC PQ2708.E53 P6813 2018 (print) | DDC 843/.92—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017045299
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, institutions, places, and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons—living or dead—events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
www.quercus.com
To my own little gang,
and my parents too.
Contents
Glossary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Epilogue
Thank you
Glossary
36, quai des Orfèvres—the iconic headquarters of the police judiciare in Paris; division often referred to by its address alone
brigade criminelle—the murder squad; combines elements of the American homicide division and major crimes unit; responsible for investigating murders, kidnappings, and assassinations; referred to colloquially as la crim
brigades centrales—the division of the six central brigades within the police judiciare, including the brigade criminelle
brigade de protection de mineurs—brigade dealing with the protection of children: kidnappings, distressed families, abuse
brigade de répression du banditisme (BRB)—the antigang squad
brigade mondaine—the vice squad
capitaine—captain; senior to lieutenant and junior to commandant
brigadier—sergeant
commandant—chief of detectives
commissaire—police commissioner, a rank just below that of divisionnaire; has both administrative and investigative roles plus full police powers
commissariat de police—the police station serving as the commissaire’s headquarters
divisionnaire (commissaire divisionnaire)—chief of police, one rank up from commissaire; has both administrative and investigative roles, plus full police powers
juge d’instruction—“investigating judge”; responsible for determining if a case should go to trial; a role somewhat similar to that of an American district attorney
IGS (inspection générale des services)—French police monitoring service; equivalent to the internal affairs division of an American law enforcement agency
lieutenant—the first rank of the French police officer’s scale
police judiciaire—the criminal investigation division of the police nationale; equivalent to the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
RAID (recherche, assistance, intervention, dissuasion): the elite law enforcement unit of the French police; deals with counterterrorism and surveillance of high-profile criminals
1
Paris, August 9, 2012
Anne Capestan was standing at her kitchen window waiting for dawn to arrive. She drained her mug in one gulp and set it down on the shiny green tablecloth. She had just drunk her last coffee as a police officer. Or had she?
The brilliant Commissaire Capestan—the star of her generation, undisputed career-ladder-climbing champion—had fired one bullet too many. As a result, she had been dragged before an Inspection générale des services disciplinary hearing, received several reprimands, and been handed a six-month suspension. Then radio silence, right up until the telephone call from Buron. Her mentor, now in charge of 36, quai des Orfèvres, the headquarters of the police judiciaire, had finally broken his silence. Capestan had been summoned for August 9. Typical of the man: right in the middle of the summer break. A gentle reminder that this was no vacation, that she was unemployed. She would emerge from this meeting with or without her badge, stationed in Paris or the provinces, but at least the waiting game would be over. Anything had to be better than wallowing in limbo—this hazy, uncertain space where moving on was not an option. The commissaire rinsed her mug in the sink and told herself she would put it in the dishwasher later. It was time to go.
She crossed the living room, where the familiar pulsating double bass of a Stray Cats record was thrumming from the stereo. The apartment was spacious and comfortable. Capestan had not skimped on the rugs, throws, and ambient lighting. Her cat, snoozing away happily, seemed to approve of her choices. But the coziness was punctuated by traces of emptiness, like patches of frost on a lawn in springtime. The day after her suspension, Capestan had watched as her husband left her, taking half the apartment’s contents with him. It was one of those moments in which life leaves you with a bloody nose. But Capestan was not one for self-pity; she refused to run away from what had happened.
Vacuum, TV, sofa, bed . . . within three days, she had replaced the essentials. That said, the round marks on the carpet were a constant reminder of the furniture from her former life. The wallpaper gave the clearest illustration: the shadow of a desk, the ghost of a bookshelf, the late lamented chest of drawers. Capestan would much rather have moved, but her precarious professional situation had kept her in this cage.
