The moment Julian Vance’s Delahaye roared away from 83 Avenue Foch, the atmosphere in the courtyard shifted. The shadows seemed to lengthen as Sergeant Bastien, the heavy-set, scarred gatekeeper of the Milice, stepped out of the guardhouse. Bastien was Arthur de Molay’s "third eye," a man who saw everything and forgot nothing.
Bastien entered the main house and found Madame Claire in the hallway.
"The Monsieur left in a hurry," Bastien noted, his voice like grinding gravel. "Did he receive any callers?"
Claire, clutching a duster, felt a cold knot of anxiety in her stomach. "He went to pick up Mademoiselle Elodie from the Lycée. He seemed... preoccupied."
Bastien didn't linger for pleasantries. He strode to the telephone in the foyer and signaled the exchange. "Headquarters? Trace the
