The Coldest Case by Martin Walker (mobi reader android txt) 📕

‘He’ll tell everything he knows if he can stay out of prison and be allowed to remain in Canada.’

‘Does the Elysée know about this?’

‘Not yet. I just briefed Lannes and he’s going to let them know. He’s hoping that they’ll now reconsider the deal with Maître Vautan.’

‘And in the meantime Henri Bazaine is allowed to remain free?’ Bruno asked. ‘Has J-J been informed of that?’

‘I don’t know but Lannes talked to Prunier. Is that not the chain of command you old military guys like to work with?’

Bruno smiled because he could hear the teasing in her voice and could imagine the mischievous grin on her face as she said this.

‘In principle, maybe,’ he said, chuckling. ‘But in practice, we old military guys usually find it easier to work somewhat less formally, a bit like the way you and I try to keep each other informed.’

After ending the call he went to the bio shop and bought the pumpkins and parsnips and a big tourte of bread. On the way back he saw an unusual vehicle that looked like a furniture van that had been painted red, heading down the Rue de la République towards the fire station. He followed on foot, to see another strange engine drawn up on the forecourt. It looked like a giant off-road four-by-four with enormous wheels but it was obviously some kind of fire engine, with pump settings and coiled hoses stashed along the side. Ahmed, Albert’s deputy, was standing talking to the driver of the huge van and Bruno asked him what it was.

‘A water tender, carries about eight thousand litres,’ Ahmed replied, before introducing Bruno to the driver who had come from Bordeaux.

‘We really should have more tenders like this because there’s never enough water when you’re facing forest fires,’ Ahmed went on. ‘It’s not like in town where you can connect your hose to a water main. And our power hoses pump out nearly a thousand litres a minute. With four hoses, we can empty a tender in two minutes.’

‘Can’t you stick your hoses in a river and draw it up that way?’

‘If the river is close enough, we do. Anything over four hundred metres and we’ll need extra pumps and we might run out of hoses. And rivers have silt and debris that can clog them. Quite a few houses around here have their own swimming pool, which is great because even a small pool can hold a hundred thousand litres. We’ve got drones identifying the pools near enough to the blaze to help. But if there are no pools, we’re dependent on the aircraft dumping water.’

‘But you pump water onto the flames. Just like you would with a house, don’t you?’ Bruno asked. He’d never thought much about the way firefighters had to work.

‘We usually save our hoses for the hot spots, they’re the main danger. A really bad one we have to try doing a knockdown to suppress it because they can suck in enough air to create their own small firestorm. Then they can move very fast, faster than a man can run.’

‘What if you can’t knock a hotspot down?’

‘You get out fast and try to set a control line some distance ahead to stop it. That’s what we mainly do on the ground, which is why bulldozers can be as useful as water when you’re fighting wildfires. We try to set control lines to steer the fire into directions we want it to go, like towards a river that’s wide enough to block the fire. We usually try back-burning, deliberately setting small fires ahead of the fire so it runs out of fuel.’

‘Is there anything untrained people like me can do?’

‘The main thing is to evacuate people in danger. We always need bulldozer drivers to help set control lines and people who are good with drones are really useful right now.’

‘Do you have enough skilled people?’

Ahmed shrugged. ‘You never have enough. But we have crews who’ve come in from as far north as Normandy. They’re now fighting the fires in the Landes. Even with them and the aircraft, we’re going to lose a lot of forest, that’s for sure, and maybe some of the walnut plantations.’

‘Are you on duty tonight?’

‘Yes, while Albert tries to get some sleep. He’s run ragged already. How about you? You’re on again tomorrow night?’

Bruno nodded. ‘What’s the forecast on how long that south wind keeps up?’

‘All week, at least. What are those blue things you’re carrying?

‘Japanese pumpkins, an experiment – I thought I’d roast them with shallots and potatoes with a few parsnips and get some slices of goat’s cheese melting over the top . . .’

‘Sounds interesting, let me know how it works out.’

‘Will do. I hope it’s a quiet night for you,’ said Bruno.

22

Bruno collected Virginie from Les Eyzies and brought her back to visit the Mayor and show him her recreation of Max’s head. He found him in an excellent mood. This usually meant that some event had gone entirely to his satisfaction.

‘Just had the Defence Ministry on the line, one of the Minister’s staff,’ the Mayor said. ‘As of tonight, the military will be taking part in fire-watch duties from their big transmission towers, not just ours but wherever there’s a fire alert. A rare victory for common sense.’

Virginie thanked him for his support of the project that had brought her to the region, and opened the hat box to display the head she had crafted of Max. Bruno handed him a copy of the composite photo and the Mayor nodded appreciatively as he compared the two.

‘I don’t think I’d have believed it if I hadn’t seen the result of your work with my own eyes. It’s a remarkable achievement and your first solo effort, I believe. Presumably you will have to show this to your teacher in Paris, but after that and when the court case is complete, we’d be honoured to display your work here in St Denis.’

‘Commissaire Jalipeau says he would like