Destiny

"Then Lesauvage picked them up."

"Why?"

"So he wouldn't be implicated."

Closing the computer, Richelieu looked at her. "I was hoping to establish the veracity of your claim, Miss Creed. I did find damage done out in the forest – which is federally protected, I might add, and something you might be called upon to answer for – but nothing that you and your friend couldn't have done yourselves."

"We didn't intentionally damage the forest," A

"So you say," the inspector said.

"I dosay."

"I will note your disavowal in my reports."

"Why would we do something like that?" A

Richelieu spread his hands. "You're a television personality, Miss Creed. Here in Lozère chasing a monster that's three hundred years old. Perhaps you thought tales of a ru

"I wouldn't do that," A

"Perhaps not. But there were no bodies out there. Nor was there a giant crevasse leading to an underground cave containing the remains of La Bête."

"The earthquake must have closed it back up."

Richelieu nodded. "Amazing, isn't it, that nature herself would align against you?"

"What about the bullet holes in the old man's SUV?"

"A lover's quarrel?"

Frowning, A

Richelieu laughed. "Perhaps it was over business. Perhaps you were both shooting at game and hit the truck instead."

"No."

"Your report here could be just to falsify an insurance claim."

"That's not what happened."

"But you are on the show with the woman with the… problematicapparel."

Terrific, A

"I have never had a problem with my apparel," A

"I have made a note of that, as well."

A

"This is La Bête," A

Taking the camera, Richelieu consulted the images, punching through them one by one. He handed the camera back. "Anyone with Photoshop could make these."

"And take the time to put them on a camera?" A

"It would," the inspector said as inoffensively as he could, "make your story seem more legitimate. When The Blair Witch Projectappeared in theaters, many people believed the video footage was part of an actual paranormal investigation. And Orson Welles anchoring The War of the Worldsin news reports on the radio in 1938 was also deliberate, causing mass hysteria throughout your country. Media people know best how to present anything they wish to."

"Those are real pictures," A

"If you insist."

Angrily, A

"A figment of your overactive imagination," Richelieu said.

Without a word, A

"Or…" Richelieu let the word dangle like a fishing lure.

A

"Or he's a man named Corvin Lesauvage," Richelieu said. "If it is this man, he's very dangerous. He's a known criminal, though that's never been successfully proved. Witnesses have a tendency to… disappear. Likewise, so do past business associates."

"Can you help me with him?"

"Can you offer me any proof that he's truly after you, Miss Creed?"

A

More interested now, Richelieu leaned forward. "Do you know something about that?"

Ignoring the question, A

"We don't know."

"Then I suggest you ask him."

Richelieu frowned. "We can't."

"Why not?"

"He was killed. Less than an hour after we took him into custody."

A

"We don't know who did it."

Meaning you don't know if it was done by an inmate or a police officer, A

"There was a local boy with me this morning," A

Richelieu nodded. "I know Avery. He's a sad case."

"Why?"

"His father died quite suddenly a few weeks ago."

"I don't understand," A

"His father was shot to death."

"By Lesauvage?" A

"No," Richelieu said. "By me."

A

"Gerard Moreau, Avery's father, was a small-time burglar," Richelieu said. "He'd been in and out of jail for years. That is a matter of record and was covered in the media. It was only a matter of time before we put him away for good or a homeowner shot him. As it happened, I shot him while investigating the report of a burglary. He hadn't made it out of the house and came at me with a weapon." The inspector leaned back in his chair. "Needless to say, Avery Moreau has been less than cooperative."

Thinking about things for a moment, A

Richelieu smiled. "Let's."

"Why would Lesauvage recover the bodies of the dead men?"

"To avoid being implicated."

"Which is what I said."

"You did. It's a conclusion that fits the facts as you present them. We're entertaining that for the moment."

"Why would Lesauvage risk sending men after me in the first place?"

"You know, Miss Creed," Richelieu said with a smile, "as I read your reports and listened to you now, I have asked myself that several times. I'm open to your suggestion."

A

"I don't know," A

Out in the main room, Roux was playing poker with some policemen. He looked up as A

A

"Gentlemen, it's been a pleasure, but I'm afraid I have to go now," Roux said as he gathered the pile of money he'd won. He winked at the policemen and fell into step with A