Read Online The Ghost Riders of Ordebec (Commissaire Adamsberg) by Fred Vargas - Free Book Online Page A

of darkness, and sets it alight. Find out about the victim, whether he could see and hear properly. And find out who was driving the car, whether it was someone the old man would have felt perfectly safe with. It shouldn’t take you long.’
    ‘Shall we check Momo’s alibi all the same?’
    ‘Yes. But get the remains of the petrol analysed – octane level and so on. Momo uses two-stroke, mixed with oil. Check the formula, it should be on file. But don’t try to reach me during the afternoon, I’m out now until this evening.’
    ‘Where?’ Justin’s enquiring glance said silently.
    ‘I’m going to look for some ancient riders in a forest. I won’t be long. Tell the others. Where’s Danglard?’
    ‘At the coffee machine,’ said Justin, pointing to the first floor. ‘He went to carry the cat to its feeding bowl, it was his turn.’
    ‘And Veyrenc?’
    ‘At the other end of the building,’ said Noël with a malicious smile.
    Adamsberg found Veyrenc in the office furthest from the large shared central office, leaning against a wall.
    ‘I’m immersing myself,’ he said, pointing to a pile of folders. ‘I’m looking at what you’ve been up to in my absence. My impression is that the cat’s put on weight, and so has Danglard. He looks better.’
    ‘Well, of course he’s put on weight! He spends the entire day next to Retancourt, lying on the photocopier.’
    ‘You mean the cat? If people didn’t carry him to his feeding bowl, he might make up his mind to walk for himself.’
    ‘We did try, Louis. He just didn’t eat, and we stopped the experiment after four days. He can walk perfectly well. When Retancourt goes away, he’s quite capable of jumping down from his perch and sitting on her chair. But if you meant Danglard, he’s got a new girlfriend: he met her at the London conference.’
    ‘That explains it. Still, when he met me this morning he seemed to be bristling with irritation. Did you ask him about the Riders?’
    ‘Yes. Very ancient, he said.’
    ‘Yes, very,’ said Veyrenc with a smile. ‘In the oldest of haunts lie the powers of the dead / Seek not for these secrets, buried deep under dread.’
    ‘I’m not seeking them, I’m just going for a stroll along the Chemin de Bonneval.’
    ‘Is that a grimweld ?’
    ‘Yes, the one near Ordebec.’
    ‘And did you tell Danglard about your little expedition?’
    Veyrenc was tapping into his computer.
    ‘Yes, and like you say, he was bristling with irritation. He loved telling me about the Riders, but he doesn’t like me going after them.’
    ‘Did he tell you about people being “seized”?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Well, you should know, if this is what you’re after, that it’s very rare for the bodies of those seized to be abandoned in a grimweld. You usually find them simply in their homes, or on a duelling ground, or down a well, or near some deconsecrated church. Because you know that abandoned churches attract the devil. As soon as the righteous leave it, the Evil One comes in, and those who are seized by the Riders are returning to the devil, that’s all.’
    ‘Logical.’
    ‘Look,’ said Veyrenc, pointing at his computer screen. ‘This is a map of the Forest of Alance.’
    ‘Here it is,’ said Adamsberg, following a path with his finger, ‘this must be it.’
    ‘And here you have the Chapel of St Antony of Alance. And there, in the other direction, south, a calvary. Those are the places you should visit. Take a cross with you for protection.’
    ‘I’ve got a pebble from the river back home in my pocket.’
    ‘That should do the trick.’

VII
    In Normandy, the temperature was about six degrees cooler than in Paris, and as soon as he was standing on the forecourt of the almost-deserted bus station, Adamsberg turned his head to catch the fresh breeze, allowing it to run over his neck and ears, in an almost animal gesture, like a horse shaking off flies. He walked round the north side of the small town of Ordebec and half