La belle captive Page #2

I don't know, I'm not an estate agent

You can see there are patients.

You had no right to come in

Forgive my insistence, but

was it not you last night...

At night, sir, I sleep

But you are injured. Why didn't

you say you needed help?

You can trust me, I'm a doctor.

Sit down

It's nothing, just a scratch

Don't be alarmed by the

slight loss of blood

Quick, I must do a coroner's report

A vast, deserted beach

In the distance the sea,

a succession of breaking waves

Quick, I must do a coroner's report

In the foreground, red, half-drawn

theater curtains

Where from?

What were they doing there?

I was excessively worried by the

memory of this image...

...as by a dream which recurs

when eyelids are closed

One feels it means something

important...

...but one doesn't know what

Sara had told me to see de Corinthe

as soon as possible, I remembered...

...as if someone's life

was in danger

I'd wasted time, de Corinthe was the

only way to understand my own story

Monsieur Henri de Corinthe, please

Monsieur de Corinthe is dead

You're his cousin, aren't you?

Heart attack

The patient's state of exhaustion

contributed considerably

No doubt you collect postcards?

Me? No, why?

You just took one belonging to

the late Comte de Corinthe

I'm Inspector Francis

We're seeking the whereabouts of

de Corinthe's "fiancee"

As his cousin, you can help us

- l'm not his cousin

- Exaclly as I thought

May I ask what you're doing here?

I came on business

Quite natural. You were in business

with the deceased

Did you know his fiance?

No. I saw her for the first time

in the papers today

Perfect

By the way, the photo was wrong

It's not the vanished fiance,

but a former friend...

...who played a major role

in the Comte's life

The confusion is due either to

a resemblance between the two...

...or to the patient's state

last night

A final question and you're free

May I see the object deforming

your right pocket?

I hope it isn't a revolver

Don't worry, it's a woman's shoe

You're a fetishist, like everyone

Quite natural

A friend asked me to take her shoe

to the dry cleaner...

...to have some stains removed

Bloodstains

You see, these shoes were worn by

the lady we're looking for

It's inadequate to accuse you

of kidnapping...

...you wouldn't walk about with

such a compromising object

You just picked it up in a corridor

You're a private eye, conducting

your own investigation

It's all quite normal. However,

I must confiscate your find

In compensation, these are for

your collection

Monsieur de Corinthe had

a whole pile

Billowing waves...

...at rising tide

Shoe in the sand, painter's easel

Red curtains, urgent message,

for a corpse

Sand, shoe and blood

"My dear Comte, does this recall

anything? Sara Zeitgeist"

Symbolic exchange...

...curtains... from a theater

What could I do with your letter?

I couldn't give it to de Corinthe

So I came to receive orders

Why take the postcard on his desk?

Why show me this silly picture?

What has it to do with your mission?

Is it a likely trail? Does it

bring back a memory, or what?

No, nothing, I don't know

I brought it as the Inspector had

many copies. It seemed strange...

and I thought you might know why

But I took the postcard...

...without thinking, for no real

reason, no reason

Be careful, Walter.

You're hiding something

No. Hiding what? From whom?

It's true. I haven't felt at ease

since last night...

...as if I'd been drugged

at that club

I don't know what I'm doing.

It might be best if you...

Now what's happening?

Here I am

Here I am, Walter

What do you want of me?

How did you get in here?

What a way to welcome me...

...on my return from a long journey

You seem afraid, afraid of me,

your fiance

You said you so wanted to see me

again

Here I am. Don't you know me?

Do you no longer see the eyes,

the arms...

...and the mouth you so desired?

Don't you feel how I'm burning?

Devil, in a wedding gown...

...for what ancient crime

are you pursuing me?

Are you mad? Why bolt the door?

I couldn't open it

The door wasn't... I hadn't...

You're bleeding?

Are you hurt?

I must have scratched myself,

fighting

Fighting? Who? You were alone

You saw something?

You seem afraid. Like a child

haunted by a nightmare

No, I saw nothing special

I only felt... I was choking, as if

something grasped my throat

Frequently?

No. Sometimes, since last night

See a doctor

No! No doctors!

Calm down. Seeing a doctor

is quite normal

What is it? Choking fits?

Something like that. A sharp pain

in the neck...

...as though I'm being strangled,

then I fall, I'm drowning...

...but don't worry, chief, it'll go

I must go back to the Matchu Club

What for? I don't want anything

now de Corinthe is dead

Your mission is ended,

ended by default

Our plan failed

I must go back. There is still

one thing I must know

What? I'm not sure, but I'll go

Could you do me a small favour?

Man to man

Last night I danced here

with a pretty blonde...

...a black dress, very transparent

She laughed a lot. I must find

her. Didn't you see her?

Was she a regular?

There were many people last night

I had other things to do than see

who was with who and who wasn't

I didn't see any notable blonde,

transparent...

...dancing with you or anyone

Here is her photo in today's paper

It's to do with some trifling story

I know her, she often came here

But she couldn't have been here

last night

Why?

It must be six, seven years since

she died in an accident

Professor Van de Reeves' daughter

The old man experiments

in spiritualism

- What accident?

- Rather weird.

Killed by an underwater fishing

harpoon on a deserted beach

Her body was never found

She was with Comte de Corinthe...

...on a honeymoon, or something

like that

Gossip says the inquest was botched

It's strange you've never

heard that story

It does vaguely ring a bell

Well, the lady last night was so

like her it was confounding

There were many people

It was found by the cleaner

A drunk client must have hopped home

I'd like it as a souvenir

One of your colleagues

asked the same thing

Your inquiry seems to be

advancing rapidly

Now we have three shoes

of the same pair

Doubtless we'll find more

I think someone who wants to confuse

us puts them in our way

You are, dear collector, directly

involved in their discovery

From there to participating

in their distribution

Contrary to what I said

this morning...

...you turn out to be our

main suspect

And how is Sara Zeitgeist?

You know Sara?

The paths of parallel organizations

constantly cross

You are also in close contact with

Doctor Morgentodt

A strange man. Perhaps we will

arrest him, too, just in case

Now you seem to be interested in

Professor Van de Reeves

With his moving tables he may

reveal the secret of all this

To avoid fruitless searching...

...I've written down his address

So, don't you dare to tell me

clearly?

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