0812996496 by Alan Furst

Author:Alan Furst [Furst, Alan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, British & Irish, Historical, Genre Fiction, Military, War, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, Thrillers & Suspense, Spies & Politics, Espionage, Historical Fiction, French, German, Thrillers
ISBN: 9780812996494
Amazon: B018CHH2A8
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2016-05-29T21:00:00+00:00

Mathieu did not make it home before curfew but there were no patrols out—the Rue Dauphine was deserted; he could hear his footsteps echo as he walked. Above him, ranks of blacked-out windows and a curved sliver of the new moon, which shone up at him, reflected by a puddle on the cobblestones in front of the shuttered umbrella shop. Then he stopped, just by the entry to the Saint-Yves, and tried to see if there was light at the edge of the blackout curtain in Joëlle’s room, but he saw none. So, she was asleep.

Mariana was waiting for him, just inside the hotel vestibule, and gave him a long, inquisitive sniff—What have you been doing? In his apartment, she lay on her side, tongue out, and watched as he prised up the floorboard. When he’d counted out five thousand dollars, and a few hundred more for expenses, he said, “We need to find more money, girl.” Ghislain’s crowd—lawyers, businessmen, a few children of wealth—had been generous, and would be again, but…

The only alternative was the dreadful Edouard. “Really, the British ought to pay for their pilot, no?” But that money came with strings attached. He found himself going back over de Lyon’s theory about the expansion of the German effort to destroy the escape lines, and decided it was a good theory. Not only that, but his bargain with Stavros’s friend the sea captain had a lesson for him if he cared to see it. Yes, Stavros had done him a favor, but he ought to have been able to pay the twenty-five thousand dollars. “Should I have a talk with Edouard?” he said. Mariana knew what a question was and answered always in the same fashion—a double thump of her thick, flowing tail. “I’m afraid so, girl.” He put the floorboard back in place, and, exhausted, lay down on the coverlet. It’s just for a minute or two, he told himself, then I’ll take off my clothes and get into bed. Mariana knew better and, now on guard for her sleeping master, settled on the threshold in front of the door.

—

The following day he stopped at the Ritz, handed the money to Bogdan who, red-eyed after a strenuous night, paged through the documents in a fat, leather passport wallet until he found the Ausweis and handed it to Mathieu. “Your friend is First Mate, I think,” he said. Then Mathieu was off to the two-story hotel in the Marais where the forger worked. Next, he sent Chantal to see her friend at the Préfecture, to secure a permit for Kalisz to leave the city. Finally, he made his way to the Café Welcome, its window now boarded up, where he found Jules behind the bar.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.