Chapter 16
1117 Words
Jacques Dufort entered the second-floor apartment at #8 Rue Serpente and followed Sophie Silvain up the stairs. Not yet thirty, married to an army officer stationed in Tunisia, she was an integral part of his network, an expert in logistics. With contacts that spanned the continent, she had obtained the information Camille needed to steal the diamonds from Sternberg and Sons—the building layout, escape paths, keys required, and the security circuit. She had worked with Jacques since the war began. They trusted each other, knowing difficult days lay ahead for both France and the world.
“Sit down,” she said. “I’ll get us a glass of wine.”
Jacques waited in the parlor. He went to the window, pulled the curtain aside and looked out, watching a taxi pull away from the curb and drive down the street. A few pedestrians wandered the pavement, an occasional automobile passed. He scanned nearby buildings, ensuring no one watched Sophie’s apartment. He could take no chances. And neither could she.
“Is it safe?” she asked as she came back with two glasses of chardonnay.
“I don’t see anyone,” he muttered, taking one last look.
She sat on the sofa, putting the glasses on a coffee table. “I haven’t received any more messages from Camille. Even though I expected an update.”
He sat beside her and picked up a glass. “I need to find out where she is. Guy Barbier is getting impatient. The diamonds are too valuable to the war effort.”
“Do you know if Roger is still with her?”
He shrugged. “I know as much as you,” he said. “Does your Antwerp contact have any updates?”
Sophie shook her head. “She hasn’t contacted me since the Germans came. But I expect a message from her as soon as she can send one.”
Jacques pursed his lips. “It’s harder to get information every day, especially in regions controlled by the Germans. Is it the woman who works at Sternberg and Sons?”
Sophie nodded. “Claudette Maes, a valuable resource. But don’t reveal her name to anyone—not even Barbier.”
“I never would,” he said, always amazed at Sophie’s reach. “Maybe she can tell us about Camille.”
“She’ll know more than we do. I only hope Camille is safe. Especially with the Germans after the diamonds, too. She took a lot of risks.”
“She did,” Jacques agreed. “But we all do.” He sat back and sighed. “I hesitate to contact her. It’s too dangerous. But I have to know what happened.”
Sophie sipped her wine. “It’s better we wait. She’ll send a message when she can.” She paused and gave him an anxious glance. “Assuming she can contact us.”
Jacques wanted to consider all possibilities—even those he hoped hadn’t occurred. “Do you think something happened to her?
“I don’t know,” she said. “But we should be prepared for anything.”
He knew she was right. “What are your thoughts?”
“She could have been captured by the Germans.”
“I hope not,” he said, frowning. “I assumed she was safe. She managed to send a message. But they must be looking for her. They want the diamonds as badly as we do.”
“Maybe she’s hiding, and that’s why she can’t contact us.”
“Don’t underestimate her,” he said. “She’s clever. When she came to my apartment, she noticed everything: a locked window, a brass-handled cane, faint footsteps in another room.”
Sophie paused, assessing a woman she did not know. “Are you certain she wouldn’t betray us—kill Roger and steal the diamonds?”
Jacques hesitated. It was a scenario he couldn’t envision. “Anything’s possible. But it’s unlikely. She has an unblemished record. And she’s highly regarded.”
“Everyone has a price,” Sophie said softly.
“Yes, I suppose,” he muttered. “But not her.”
“What were her contingency plans, assuming something went wrong?”
“I told her if she couldn’t get Roger to the port, or anything else went wrong, she should bring the diamonds back to Paris—but only as a last resort.”
“Something did go wrong,” Sophie said. “We know that from her message.”
Jacques nodded. “They probably couldn’t get to the port.”
“We should assume Camille has the diamonds and she’s trying to get them to you. She’s somewhere between Antwerp and Paris.”
“Not an easy task,” he mumbled. “The war wages across northern France. She can’t get to Paris.”
Sophie was quiet for a moment. “Unless she’s not even trying. She may sell the diamonds to the highest bidder.”
Jacques shook his head. “I doubt it,” he said. “We don’t know what she did. And we won’t until she contacts us again.”
“Did you provide a route, should the port be closed, or identify where she could hide?”
Jacques frowned, seeing a weakness in a plan he thought was well developed. “No, I didn’t. I should have asked you to do everything. You’re the expert.”
“It’s too late now,” she said. She paused, pensive. “If we assume she avoided the fighting, we can narrow down her location.”
“We don’t even know if she got out of Antwerp.”
“That wouldn’t be good,” Sophie said. “Antwerp fell the day she was there.”
“Now all of Belgium has fallen.”
Sophie hesitated. “Do you know anything about her—other than her name is Camille?”
“She was recruited at the Sorbonne, trained by the best—Nicolas Chastain. She speaks three languages, has been in Paris for less than six months, and was assigned to Tournai for two years before that.”
“Tournai?” she asked.
He paused, wondering why he hadn’t thought of the obvious explanation. “Yes, Tournai.”
“That’s where she is,” Sophie said. “She knows the city and has contacts there.”
“It does makes sense,” he admitted, annoyed that Sophie was always a step ahead of him.
“But Tournai has fallen to the Germans,” Sophie said. “She’s trapped.”
Jacques bit his fingernail. “We have to find her. The diamonds are too critical. We can’t let anyone else get them.”
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