knee!
Dogged does it; I haven’t got beyond the two simple scenarios a cop thinks of. (1) A fellow’s got something you want, so you intimidate him into giving it to you. (2) The fellow might do or say something you don’t want: intimidate him into thinking better of it. But Raymond says that neither or these applies.
Sweet-reason means nothing to a lot of people; the fanatics, the monomaniacs, they’ve wheels missing. Not loony in any legal sense. Familiar problem; not a lot you can do but be ready; they’re apt to be sudden.
An ex-professional respects the professional approach. A government guard sees to it that he’s on a good footing with the local marechaussée, and where possible that he has also informal contact within. William is quite recently-ex, and these channels are not altogethersilted. A place like Strasbourg, Chiefs-of-State, important ministers (and a ruck of attendant politicians) are forever in and out of, and William knows a man in the PJ. The police-judiciaire service is largish here, and important. He does not know the boss; Le Patron is ambitious, on the way up, and intent on a good job in Paris. But he does know the chief of staff for that is a man whose local knowledge is valuable and impressive, and tends to stay where he is for several years. Xavier Picarlat is a middle-grade commissaire of much experience and doesn’t miss much of what happens in his territory.
“Sure there was a complaint. Proc did nothing with it because it doesn’t amount to anything, so there’s no instruction, there ain’t no witnesses neither. Nothing in that bloody alleyway of course, people are up and down there all day. Fella probably had a goodish idea when your Doctor Valdez would be coming home, wouldn’t want to hang around much. Darkish anyhow, rush-hour, nobody saw a thing. So we did a neighbourhood inquiry, likewise zilch, yer-man is well liked, keeps himself to hisself, all correct with his bills and his taxes, not known as heavy drinker or better: or touchy, inclined to argue, unpopular with local teenagers.
“Not thus a local brawl. Where do we go from there?”
“A Funny, maybe? – little boys? No sign of it. Why’s he living in a place like that?”
“Artist.”
“No law against it, I know of. Brief, couldn’t see anything to interest us, meaning it stays on the file but dead in the water. Try the neighbours.” He means the political police, interested in Turkish conspirators, Iranian subversives, Albanian Banditry.
“Keep as a rule the grievous-bodily-harm within the Brotherhood.”
“True. Well, remember to wash your feet, keeping company with the likes of us.”
William has plenty of professional relationships, also a friend or two, and after a fruitless day he went to see Albert, who was gardening; one reason why William feels little enthusiasm for this pursuit, because Albert is so damned meticulous, and his quite large suburban garden is always fiercely impeccable. Albert says things like‘Look before you leap’ or ‘Fast bind fast find’, means them quite literally (little twists of string stowed in his pocket) and William’s real friend is Mrs Martin who is a judge of instruction. But he likes and respects Albert who is a good man, devotes much time and money to the poor, is a municipal councillor in Geoffrey de Sainte-Anne’s territory (which was how William first met him), is an accountant by profession, but isn’t only the soul of integrity; has very good judgment and an unfailing kindness.
“There,” taking due pride in his compost-heap, “lovely out, perhaps we’ll have a beer when I’m ready. Bernadette might be late in that office, she so often is.” He took his gloves off to get the phone out of his pocket. “Good… she’s on her way. You can stay for supper? Splendid.” He suspects rather that William living alone is ‘not properly nourished’.
It’s an orderly household. Rather a ceremony of cleaning and polishing tools. Bernadette, the
Dogged does it; I haven’t got beyond the two simple scenarios a cop thinks of. (1) A fellow’s got something you want, so you intimidate him into giving it to you. (2) The fellow might do or say something you don’t want: intimidate him into thinking better of it. But Raymond says that neither or these applies.
Sweet-reason means nothing to a lot of people; the fanatics, the monomaniacs, they’ve wheels missing. Not loony in any legal sense. Familiar problem; not a lot you can do but be ready; they’re apt to be sudden.
An ex-professional respects the professional approach. A government guard sees to it that he’s on a good footing with the local marechaussée, and where possible that he has also informal contact within. William is quite recently-ex, and these channels are not altogethersilted. A place like Strasbourg, Chiefs-of-State, important ministers (and a ruck of attendant politicians) are forever in and out of, and William knows a man in the PJ. The police-judiciaire service is largish here, and important. He does not know the boss; Le Patron is ambitious, on the way up, and intent on a good job in Paris. But he does know the chief of staff for that is a man whose local knowledge is valuable and impressive, and tends to stay where he is for several years. Xavier Picarlat is a middle-grade commissaire of much experience and doesn’t miss much of what happens in his territory.
“Sure there was a complaint. Proc did nothing with it because it doesn’t amount to anything, so there’s no instruction, there ain’t no witnesses neither. Nothing in that bloody alleyway of course, people are up and down there all day. Fella probably had a goodish idea when your Doctor Valdez would be coming home, wouldn’t want to hang around much. Darkish anyhow, rush-hour, nobody saw a thing. So we did a neighbourhood inquiry, likewise zilch, yer-man is well liked, keeps himself to hisself, all correct with his bills and his taxes, not known as heavy drinker or better: or touchy, inclined to argue, unpopular with local teenagers.
“Not thus a local brawl. Where do we go from there?”
“A Funny, maybe? – little boys? No sign of it. Why’s he living in a place like that?”
“Artist.”
“No law against it, I know of. Brief, couldn’t see anything to interest us, meaning it stays on the file but dead in the water. Try the neighbours.” He means the political police, interested in Turkish conspirators, Iranian subversives, Albanian Banditry.
“Keep as a rule the grievous-bodily-harm within the Brotherhood.”
“True. Well, remember to wash your feet, keeping company with the likes of us.”
William has plenty of professional relationships, also a friend or two, and after a fruitless day he went to see Albert, who was gardening; one reason why William feels little enthusiasm for this pursuit, because Albert is so damned meticulous, and his quite large suburban garden is always fiercely impeccable. Albert says things like‘Look before you leap’ or ‘Fast bind fast find’, means them quite literally (little twists of string stowed in his pocket) and William’s real friend is Mrs Martin who is a judge of instruction. But he likes and respects Albert who is a good man, devotes much time and money to the poor, is a municipal councillor in Geoffrey de Sainte-Anne’s territory (which was how William first met him), is an accountant by profession, but isn’t only the soul of integrity; has very good judgment and an unfailing kindness.
“There,” taking due pride in his compost-heap, “lovely out, perhaps we’ll have a beer when I’m ready. Bernadette might be late in that office, she so often is.” He took his gloves off to get the phone out of his pocket. “Good… she’s on her way. You can stay for supper? Splendid.” He suspects rather that William living alone is ‘not properly nourished’.
It’s an orderly household. Rather a ceremony of cleaning and polishing tools. Bernadette, the
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