“Just me and Pierre. It’s my father’s apartment, so he has a key as well.” Rose jerked her head up at Clémence with a startled expression. “But there’s no way my father had anything to do with this. He lives in Berlin anyway.”
Clémence nodded. “Of course he wouldn’t.” Although the idea did cross Clémence’s mind. Anything was possible.
“Besides, my father likes Pierre. He even wants him to propose. Both my parents do.”
“We just need to focus on the people who don’t like Pierre,” said Clémence. “And find out why. We ought to start with this Paolo guy. What exactly did Pierre used to say about him?”
Rose refilled her wine glass and took another long sip. “Just a bunch of insults. He’d say that Paolo was an arrogant imbecile who didn’t know his ass from his elbow. Paolo is probably just a really smart guy. You have to be to work at F.R.Fraser. The company only hires the best. Paolo probably also rubs him the wrong way because he’s friendly. In fact, Pierre often complains about how much he smiles at work, and how talkative and upbeat his is.”
“Leave it to a Frenchman to find smiles irritating,” said Berenice.
“Paolo is Italian,” said Rose. “So he probably doesn’t fully understand how serious the work atmosphere is here. I haven’t met him though, because Pierre doesn’t like going to company holiday parties and he never socializes with his coworkers outside of work. I doubt he even has lunch with anyone. Actually, I doubt he eats lunch outside. He probably just eats at his desk.”
“Wow,” said Berenice. “He was that anti-social, huh?”
“He’s that, and his job is also incredibly demanding. Even on holidays, he’s always catching up on emails. There never seems to be a moment’s rest with him.” Rose sighed. “ Seemed , I mean. I haven to get used to speaking about him in the past tense, don’t I? The thing about Pierre was that he was brilliant and a hard worker. He was the first person in the office and the last to leave. That’s why he kept getting promoted over the others. Paolo was his main competitor at the position he was in.
“Maybe Paolo is also competitive,” said Clémence.
“Yeah,” said Berenice. “Maybe Paolo knew he couldn’t match Pierre’s level of productivity.”
“I definitely want to talk to him,” said Clémence.
“I suppose he’s at the office,” said Rose. “He should be. I’d go with you, but I don’t think I can handle that right now.”
“Don’t worry,” said Clémence. “I’ll just go. I’ll tell the truth and say that I’m a friend of yours, picking up Pierre’s things for you, and I’ll try to run into this Paolo guy.”
“Want me to go with you?” asked Berenice.
Clémence looked at Rose in her sad state. Rose was trying to keep strong, but Clémence knew that she was vulnerable and needed support in a time like this.
“Can you stay with Rose?” she asked. Then she looked at the clock. “Actually, it’s almost lunch time, and Paolo sounds like the kind of guy who would take his time enjoying his lunch. We can eat lunch together and I’ll go pay him a visit right after.”
Just then Miffy jumped up into Rose’s lap and snuggled into her. Rose’s sullen face crinkled into a smile as she stroked Miffy’s white fur.
CHAPTER 5
After lunch, Clémence took a quick shower and left. She wasn’t in a huge rush because she wanted to make sure that Paolo would be in the office when she got there. She had looked him up on the internet with Rose’s help. His photo on LinkedIn featured him smiling with both rows of teeth, and he was incredibly well-dressed in a well-cut suit and silk pink tie. With dark hair and tanned skin, Paolo looked too relaxed to have lived in Paris for long. But would this happy-go-lucky Italian also exhibit qualities of a killer?
As Clémence continued scrutinizing his photo and profile on her smartphone, the