‘In asort of high-speed film, he imagined the consequences of the revelation. Did he hesitate? We don’t yet know, but we shouldn’t be in a hurry to judge him. His reason had already been under attack. Delivering the criminal is beyond his ability. His son has been returned to him. Will he lose him again? Will he discuss his well-being? A criminal son is still a son, and is not to be rejected once one has experienced the rare joy of finding him. Oh, I know there are morality and society to be considered. Richard has served both for many years, but this time he deserts them. He makes a quick decision. But, note one very important point: when he decides to poison the Russian, he doesn’t yet know that André’s bullet is in his chest. He cannot therefore foresee the baffling problem of the bunker. In fact, he assumes that he will automatically be suspected, and accepts that risk calmly. To save his son, he kills, almost openly.
‘You can see we’re a long way from the professor acquiring a taste for murder. He’s lost his footing, certainly, but he’s still only a father coming to the aid of his son.
‘That night changed everything. André had been able to approach the fort and, even though he was unaware of his father’s decisive intervention, he knew that the professor was aware of what he had done. What decision had he taken? André had to know and so, risking everything, he went to find his father at Rue Cassini.
‘What a scene! He told me about it this morning, with such cynicism that it left me shattered to hear it.
‘Following the discovery of Gregor’s body, the professor, having played his role with great art and precision, and leaving us in a state of alarm and mystification, returned home.
‘The completion of his work, after he’d found himself face to face with the horrible situation, triggered intense debates of conscience. On the one hand, all his passion for justice, all his habits of goodness and honesty, everything which had formed his character and which he refused to abandon, compelled him to remain Professor Richard, the great criminologist. On the other hand, the twin temptations of fortune and power and the desire, on the brink of death, to thumb his nose at society and inflict a stinging revenge. If you add to all that the fact that the tempter was his own son, you will understand that everything conspired to destabilise him.
‘I would add that André Richard explained to me that, during the eight days he forcibly incarcerated his father, he derived intense pleasure speaking to his listeners as his father would have done, with the same sarcasm and mockery. And all the more pleasurable because the opinions he expressed were as far as possible from his own personal convictions. There was a sort of macabre sadism, bordering on vampirism. He thus defiled the spirit of his father, at death’s door, abominably mocking the man he once held in the greatest esteem. And the better he played his role, the more his speech reflected the opinions of the dying man, and the more his satisfaction was complete.
‘From that moment on, the son had an accomplice who brought the advantages of his position to add to his qualities of intelligence and imagination. It’s a miracle that, in such circumstances, the two criminals failed to triumph over the police, who were at their service.
‘In my opinion, two factors worked against them: first of all, their self-infatuation. They thought too highly of themselves and imagined no one would ever tumble to their game. They neglected certain elementary precautions, such as my assassination. My second advantage is that I work outside normal police channels. I act alone and as I please, and that way I escaped the control that the professor exercised over the investigation. As a result, he believed that I hadn’t understood anything. Which proves that oneof the most useful qualities is to be able to pass oneself off as an imbecile.
‘But it’s fair to say that they tricked me almost completely and, as I say, without André Richard’s last fantasy, he at least would have escaped my attention. I have to say that, until this morning, I had absolutely no idea where he was hiding. I had an idea, but when I tried to verify it, it turned out to be mistaken. That shows you the strength of our adversary. This morning’s conversation was almost cordial. To the point that he made me a gift of the gold cigarette case you admired just now. Sportingly, he admitted being beaten and gave me all the information I needed to complete my documentation.’
‘It’s extraordinary to see the precision and meticulousness my cousin brought to bear throughout the affair,’ said Maryse. ‘The clues he left were so slight he had every reason to think we would never pick up his trail.’
‘It’s worth noting that André had, even before he disappeared, organised his hide-out and the preparation of false identities. Was he already planning the twelve murders? I doubt it. They were simply an excess of precaution. As soon as he and his father were in agreement, they used the means of communication he had already prepared.
‘It’s curious that no one has pointed out that all the crimes were pointless. They were committed to prevent any of the daltonians from deciphering the frescos from the photos prepared for l’Image. But the issue that was supposed to contain the reproductions never apeared. Richard could
