An Officer and a Spy

Labori resumes writing. ‘And what about this other document from the secret file he quoted yesterday — the report by the Sûreté officer, Guénée — can I tackle him on that?’

‘It was falsified, without a doubt. Guénée claimed to have been told by the Spanish military attaché, the marquis de Val Carlos, that the Germans had a spy in the intelligence section. Henry swore Val Carlos told him the same story three months later and he used it against Dreyfus at the original court martial. But look at the language: it’s all wrong. I raised it with Guénée soon after I discovered it. I never saw a man look so shifty.’

‘Should we summon Val Carlos as a witness? Ask him to confirm if he ever said it?’

‘You could try, although I’m sure he’d plead diplomatic immunity. Why don’t you call Guénée?’

‘Guénée died five weeks ago.’

I look at him in surprise. ‘Died of what?’

‘Of “cerebral congestion”, according to the medical certificate, whatever that may be.’ Labori shakes his large head. ‘Sandherr, Henry, Lemercier-Picard and Guénée — that secret file turned out to be a blood pact.’

I rise at five on Monday morning, shave and dress carefully. My gun lies on the night stand beside my bed. I pick it up, weigh it in my hand, ponder it, then put it away in the chest of drawers.

A gentle knock at my door; Edmond’s voice: ‘Georges, are you ready?’

As well as lunch and dinner, Edmond and I have also taken to having breakfast at Les Trois Marches. We eat omelettes and baguettes in the small parlour. Across the road, the shutters of Mercier’s house remain tightly shut. A gendarme wanders up and down outside it, yawning.

At a quarter to six, we begin to descend the hill. The sky is filled with rain clouds for the first time; their greyness matches the stone buildings of the quiet town; the air is cooler, glassy. Shortly before we reach the canal there comes from behind us a shout of ‘Good morning, gentlemen!’ and I turn and see Labori hurrying to catch us up. He is wearing a dark suit and a straw boater and swinging a large black briefcase.

‘We shall have some amusement today, I think.’

He seems in an excellent mood, like a sportsman eager to get into the arena. He joins us and walks between us, I to his right and Edmond to his left, along the wide dirt path beside the canal. He asks me some last-minute detail about Mercier — ‘Was Boisdeffre present in the room when the Minister ordered Sandherr to disperse the secret file?’ — and I am on the point of replying when I hear a noise at our backs. I suspect an eavesdropper and half turn.

Someone is there all right — a big, youngish fellow, red hair, black jacket, white cap — with a revolver pointing from his hand. There is a tremendous bang that sends the ducks scattering across the water, crying in alarm. Labori says in mystification, ‘Oh, oh, oh. .’ and drops to one knee, as if winded. I put out my hand as he topples forward on to his face, his briefcase still in his hand.

My first instinct is to kneel and try to support him. He sounds more puzzled than in pain: ‘Oh, oh. .’ There is a hole in his jacket almost in the dead centre of his back. I look round to see the assassin about a hundred metres away, running away along the side of the canal. A different instinct — a soldier’s instinct — kicks in.

I say to Edmond, ‘Stay here.’

I set off in pursuit of the gunman. After a few seconds I am aware of Edmond running behind me. He shouts, ‘Georges, be careful!’

I yell over my shoulder, ‘Go back to Labori!’ and lengthen my stride, pumping my arms.

Edmond runs for a little longer then gives up the chase. I put my head down, forcing myself to go faster. I am gaining on my quarry. Exactly what I will do if I get my hands on him, given that he presumably has five bullets left and I am unarmed, I am not sure: I will deal with that situation when it arises. In the meantime, there are bargemen up ahead and I shout out to them to grab the assassin. They look to see what is happening, drop their ropes and block his path.

I am close now — twenty metres perhaps — close enough to see him point his gun at them and hear him scream, ‘Get out of my way! I’ve just killed Dreyfus!’

Whether it’s the gun or the boast, it does the trick. They stand aside and he runs on, and when I race past them, I have to hurdle a foot that is stuck out to trip me over.