Chasing Ghosts Madalyn Morgan (free e books to read txt) 📖

his name and rank, and a photograph which, although burned on one edge, clearly shows Beckman’s face. And,’ he took a shuddering breath, ‘the death certificate of my grandson, the real Doctor Lucien Puel.’

Claire took the envelope, warm from being held against the old man’s heart. ‘I don’t know what to say.’

‘There is nothing to say, my dear.’ With a shaking hand, he reached for his coffee. ‘Oh,’ the old doctor said, his eyes brightening, ‘there is also a duplicate doctors diploma from the medical department of the Université Paris Descartes, dated and signed the same as the original certificate, which was stolen. They sent it to me after Lucien’s death,’ he said with pride. ‘The documents are all dated and stamped by the various authorities.

‘Take this to keep them in,’ he said, giving Claire his briefcase. Claire nodded and sniffed back her tears. He lay his hand on the case. ‘In here is a sworn statement from me, signed and witnessed by Matthieu and my solicitor.’ He shook his head and lifted his hand as if to wave away the necessity of signatures. ‘It gives you the authority to use the documents in whatever way you see fit.’

Claire looked for sadness in the old man’s face. She only saw relief. ‘I will look after them for you,’ she promised.

‘Do not look after them for me, I no longer have a use for them. Look after them for yourself, for your husband, and for my late grandson, Lucien.’ Doctor Puel leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. ‘Can you trust your husband’s commanding officer?’

Claire answered immediately. ‘I can. Commander Robert J. Landry is one of the most decent and honourable men--’

‘Then tell him what you have here. Clear your husband’s name first, and then take the documents to the war crimes tribunal and get justice for my grandson.’

Overwhelmed by such a huge responsibility, Claire looked at Thomas. He smiled to let her know she had his support, then gave Doctor Puel a questioning look. ‘Sir, I thought the war tribunals ended last year.’

The old doctor shook his head. ‘Halted, temporarily, but not ended. They will never end.’

‘Nor will the hunt for Nazis by the members of the Jewish Council.’ Doctor D’Aramitz, like Thomas had been silent until now. ‘The aristocratic father of the Resistance woman you are looking for is one of the leaders of the organisation.’

Claire sat in silence, stunned by this latest revelation. Then she said, ‘Simone is Jewish?’

‘Half Jewish. Her father, Guillaume Cheval, married a Russian Jew. Like her daughter, she was something of an enigma, a mystery. They say she was a beauty. Tall and slender with raven black hair. She was Russian aristocracy. Her family escaped to France during the Russian Revolution.’

Doctor D’Aramitz sighed. ‘She was one of the first Jews to be taken to Auschwitz. Her daughter, who fought with the Resistance under the name of Simone, and who was imprisoned with your husband at Saint-Gaudens, lives with her father at Chateau Je Reviendrai, on the outskirts of a small village called Vignes de la Seine, a couple of miles from Fontainebleau.’

‘And is Simone her real name?’

‘No. It is Eleanor. Eleanor Cheval.’

When they had finished their coffee Doctor Puel insisted on paying the bill. Claire thanked him, and gently shook his hand. Then holding both hands, reluctant to let him leave, she kissed him. ‘Thank you for entrusting me with the treasured belongings of your beloved grandson.’ With tears in his eyes, he said again that he didn’t need them. ‘What I have of Lucien that is important is in here.’ He put his hand on his heart. ‘Goodbye, my dear.’

While he was shaking Thomas’s hand and wishing him good luck, Claire turned to Doctor D’Aramitz. ‘Thank you for taking me to meet your grandfather. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for the help you have both given me.’ She picked up the briefcase containing the documents that would free Mitch and put Heinrich Beckman behind bars, and said, ‘I shall see you both again, when this monster has been arrested and is locked up where he belongs. Until then, look after your grandfather.’

Doctor D’Aramitz said he would. ‘All this has been a strain on Grandfather’s health, but he was determined to do as much as he could to help you clear your husband’s name and know that justice would, at last, be served on Heinrich Beckman.’

Doctor D’Aramitz said he was pleased that they could help each other and looked forward to seeing Claire again. Then, when Dr Puel had finished speaking to Thomas, he turned to his grandson, and together they left the restaurant arm in arm.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Claire sighed. There was so much going on in her mind; so much she needed to do, people to speak to, questions to ask, she couldn’t think straight. So much had happened during the last three days it was impossible to take it all in. ‘I can’t do this on my own,’ she said, looking down at the briefcase on her lap. She wanted Thomas to say You don’t have to, I’ll be with you. She looked up at him. He looked stunned, bewildered, which she suspected was how she looked.

‘Brandy?’

Claire shot him a look of astonishment. ‘Is alcohol your answer to every problem?’

‘No, but it will help me, and you,’ he said, ‘to calm down and think. Yes or no?’

‘Yes!’ He called the waiter over and ordered two brandies. ‘The problem is mine, not yours,’ Claire said.

‘That’s where you are wrong,’ Thomas said, ‘it is also my problem.’

She wanted to shout for joy but was overcome by guilt. Thomas had a life in Paris, a job at the Sorbonne, how could she ask him to put it all on hold for any longer. ‘What do you mean, it’s also your problem?