THE AFFAIR AT THE LOUVREWhen Lieutenant Charles Desgrez reported himself to M. de La Reynie at his offices in the Bastille he found the Chief of Police disappointed and serious.
“Desgrez, the woman has gone. Though I sent round to this Lily Pot almost as soon as Clement made his report, she had fled. She must have been warned during the night. Not a trace of her! The houses either side are unoccupied, the other people in the street know nothing or will say nothing. Bax, the wool-merchant, has disappeared too. His wife says that he has been two weeks away in Flanders on his business — that is probably a lie, I cannot test it yet. She, too, of course, knows nothing.” La Reynie shrugged his shoulders. “The affair looks serious to me. I heard Clement’s story of last night. Both Doctor Rabel a
