Chapter 3
375 Words
Chapter 3Paris, France
THE MANY-NAMED man sat alone in a corner reading the Tuesday edition of the International New York Times, a cup of coffee in his hand. Unconcerned with the information his lawyer had provided, namely of the government's knowledge that he had skipped the country, he had agreed to meet the lawyer for breakfast. Arthur Salzmann approached the table and waited. Koppler, known to his waiter as Richemartel, gestured for the man to sit.
Before Salzmann had pulled his chair in, the waiter arrived with a freshly-brewed pot and a cup and saucer. “Merci, Armand. Two house specials, s'il vous plait.”
“Oui, Monsieur Richemartel.”
“Arthur, lose the frown. I haven't skipped. When they want me back, you'll let me know and I'll come back. All this publicity is arduous and upsetting. I needed to get away.”
“Thomas, you're not talking to the reporters or the lawyers. This is me. The only thing that you're upset about is not controlling the new Cabinet. Your Caballeros have turned on you. The case is filling in with eyewitnesses. You may be my brother-in-law, but I doubt any lawyer anywhere can get you out of this mess.”
“You'll be leaving tonight, Arthur. By the time your plane departs, I will have shown you how you will get me out of this mess. It's going to be quite simple. They have nothing but circumstantial evidence of crimes I couldn't have committed.”
“What about the teacher? The president himself saw you attack with that blade in your boot.”
“The president. No one believes him. He's old news. He's packing up to leave. Russell attacked me. What boot?”
“Come on. I've known about that blade for years. Joseph bragged about how he built it for you.”
“You've never seen it, have you?”
“No, but Joe…”
“Joe is dead. Shot by the intruders. You, of all people, know how his imagination got the best of him. Arthur, how many times did you have to get him out of trouble, even as a kid?”
Koppler watched as the arguments slipped away from his brother-in-law, the final fact sucking the air out of them. “Now you know how you're going to get me out of this mess. Let's eat.”
When Armand returned carrying their breakfasts of croissants, cheese, fruit and imported Danish ham, his customers had vanished.
- Writer
