the great despair of a hairdresser’s assistant who was attempting to arrange his hair into neat curls. Two manservants were opening oblong boxes and carefully removing different styles of wigs that they placed, one after the other, on a dummy clad in a scarlet dressing gown. All Paris knew that Monsieur de Sartine had a strange hobby: he was a passionate wig collector. Such an innocent quirk could be tolerated in a man who had no other known weakness. But on this particular morning he did not seem satisfied by the display and was muttering menacingly.
Having protected Sartine’s face with a screen the assistant hairdresser applied large quantities of powder to his head, and Nicolas could not help smiling at the sight of his chief surrounded by a whitish cloud.
‘Monsieur, I am very pleased to see you,’ said Sartine. ‘Not before time. How is the marquis?’
As usual Nicolas was careful not to reply. But for once, Sartine repeated his question.
‘How is he?’
He gazed intently at Nicolas. The young man wondered if Sartine, who was always well informed, did not already know all that had happened in Guérande. He decided to remain vague.
‘Well, Monsieur.’
‘Leave us,’ said Sartine, dismissing the servants attending him with a wave of the hand.
He leaned against his desk, a position he often adopted, and, most unusually, invited Nicolas to be seated.
‘Monsieur,’ he began, ‘I have been observing you for the past fifteen months and I have every reason to be satisfied with you. Do not get carried away, you know very little. But you are discreet, thoughtful and precise, which is essential in our profession. I shall come straight to the point. Lardin has disappeared. I do not know the exact circumstances and I have some grounds for concern. As you know, I exercised my discretion in assigning him to some special cases, and he was to report back only to me. Upon your life, Monsieur, do not breathe a word of what I am telling you in confidence. Lardin enjoys great freedom in all this. Too much freedom, perhaps. However, you are too observant not to have noticed that I do sometimes question his fidelity, do I not?’
Nicolas nodded cautiously.
‘He is working on two cases,’ continued Sartine, ‘one of which is particularly delicate because it involves the reputation of my men. Berryer, my predecessor, dealt me this card, so to speak, when he left the position. I could have done without it. I must tell you, Monsieur, that Commissioner Camusot, the head of my Gaming Division and an essential cog in the police machine, has for years been suspected of protecting back-street gambling. Does he profit from it? Everyone knows that the dividing line between the necessary use of informers and unacceptable practices is a very fine one. Camusot has a henchman, a certain Mauval. He is a dangerous individual. Be wary of him. He acts as an intermediary to rig the card games with his agents. Then the police raids and arrests follow. And you know that, according to the regulations, the money confiscated …’
He gave Nicolas a questioning nod.
‘A portion of the sums confiscated goes to the police officers,’ said Nicolas.
‘There speaks a true pupil of Monsieur de Noblecourt! My compliments. Lardin was also working on another case, which I cannot tell you about. All you need to know and remember is that it is, in a way, beyond us. You do not appear particularly surprised by what I’ve said. Why must I speak to you like this?’
He opened his snuffbox, then snapped it shut, without taking a pinch.
‘The truth is,’ he went on, ‘I have no choice in the matter, and I have to confess that in this instance I am forced to try a new tack. I have here a special commission for you that will give you full powers of investigation and the ability to call on the assistance of the authorities. I will inform the criminal lieutenant and the lieutenant of the watch. As for the district police commissioners, you already know them all. Respect the conventions, however: be firm with them, but do not get into open conflict. Don’t forget that you are representing me. Solve this mystery for me, for a mystery it seems to be. Set to work immediately. Begin with the night reports, which are often very revealing. You will have to learn how to compare them and piece things together, even if they at first seem unconnected.’
He handed Nicolas an already signed document.
‘This, Monsieur, is an open sesame that will unlock all doors, including those of the gaols. Do not misuse it. Do you have any requests?’
Nicolas addressed the Lieutenant General calmly:
‘Monsieur, I have two things to ask …’
‘Two? You are suddenly very bold!’
‘First, I would like to have the services of Inspector Bourdeau to assist me in my task …’
‘You’re rapidly getting a taste for authority. But I approve your choice. It is essential to be able to judge men and their characters, and I approve of Bourdeau. What else?’
‘I have discovered, Monsieur, that information does not come free …’
‘You’re quite right and I should have thought of that first.’
Sartine went towards the corner of the room and opened the door of a strong-box. He took from it a roll of twenty louis d’or and handed it to Nicolas.
‘You will provide me with a full and faithful report of everything you undertake and you will keep an account of this money. If you run short, ask for more. Off you go. There’s no time to lose. Do whatever it takes to find Lardin for me.’
Monsieur de Sartine certainly knew how to surprise Nicolas. He was so excited as he left the study that, had it not been for the roll of gold coins weighing down his coat pocket, he would have pinched himself to check if this were not all a dream. But his pleasure at having been singled out and given an important assignment soon gave way to a nagging anxiety. Would he prove equal to the task? He already had an inkling of the obstacles that would inevitably accumulate along the way. His age, his inexperience and the intrigues that such a signal favour could not fail to provoke would further complicate his task. And yet he felt ready to face this new challenge. He compared it to the challenges taken on by the knights of chivalry whose adventures filled the volumes in the library of the Château de Ranreuil.
This thought reminded him of Guérande; he still felt sorrow when he thought about his guardian, the marquis and Isabelle …
He read the terms of the warrant Sartine had handed him:
We hereby instruct that the bearer of the present order, Monsieur Nicolas Le Floch, is, for the good of the State, charged with a special mission and shall represent us in all that he does and judges necessary to command in the execution of the instructions that we have given him. We instruct also all the representatives of the police and of the watch of the provostship and viscountship of Paris to afford him aid and succour in all circumstances, in which duty we are confident that you will not fail.
Nicolas swelled with pride as he read this, and he felt invested with a new authority. He suddenly realised what ‘the King’s service’ meant and how grand it was.
Convinced of being but a humble instrument in a task whose ramifications were beyond him, he went to the office in the police headquarters where the reports of the commissioners and the rounds of the watch were kept. He would see
