Her anxiety had brought her to the kitchen door, and seeing her, the man who was with him pushed past Lydia.
“Are you Madame Leontine Berger?”
“I am.”
“I am Monsieur Lukas, Commissaire de Police.
I have an order to search this house.”
He produced a document.
“Colonel Legrand has been designated by your son, Robert Berger, to attend the search on his behalf.”
“Why do you want to search my house?”
“I trust that you will not attempt to prevent me from fulfilling my duty.”
She gave the Commissaire an angry, scornful look.
“If you have an order I have no power to prevent you.”
Accompanied by the Colonel and the two detectives the Commissaire went upstairs, while the woman who had come with them remained in the kitchen with Madame Berger and Lydia.
There were two rooms on the upper floor, a fairly large one which Robert and his wife used, and a smaller one in which he had slept as a bachelor.
There was besides only a bathroom with a geyser.
They spent nearly two hours there and when they came down the Commissaire had in his hand Lydia’s vanity-case.
“Where did you get this?” he asked.
“My husband gave it me.”
“Where did he get it?”
“He bought it off a woman who was down and out.”
The Commissaire gave her a searching look.
His eyes fell on the wrist-watch she was wearing and he pointed to it.
“Did your husband also give you that?”
“Yes.”
He made no further observation.
He put the vanity-case down and rejoined his companions who had gone into the double room which was part dining-room and part parlour.
But in a minute or two Lydia heard the front door slam and looking out of the window saw one of the police officers go to the gate and drive off in the car that was standing at the kerb.
She looked at the pretty vanity-case with sudden misgiving.
Presently, so that a search might be made of the kitchen, Lydia and Madame Berger were invited to go into the parlour.
Everything there was in disorder.
It was plain that the search had been thorough.
The curtains had been taken down and they lay on the floor.
Madame Berger winced when her eyes fell on them, and she opened her mouth to speak, but by an effort of will kept silence.
But when, after some time in the kitchen, the men crossed the tiny patch of garden to the pavilion, she could not prevent herself from going to the window and looking at them.
Lydia saw that she was trembling and was afraid the woman who was with them would see it too.
But she was idly looking at a motor paper.
Lydia went up to the window and took her mother-in-law’s hand.
She dared not even whisper that there was no danger.
When Madame Berger saw the yellow brocade curtains being taken down she clutched Lydia’s hand violently, and all Lydia could do was by an answering pressure to attempt to show her that she need not fear.
The men remained in the room nearly as long as they had remained upstairs.
While they were there the officer who had gone away returned.
After a little he went out again and fetched two shovels from the waiting car.
The two underlings, with Colonel Legrand watching, proceeded to dig up the flower bed.
The Commissaire came into the sitting-room.
“Have you any objection to letting this lady search you?” he asked.
“None.”
“None.”
He turned to Lydia.
“Then perhaps Madame would go to her room with this person.”
When Lydia went upstairs she saw why they had been so long.
It looked as though the room had been ransacked by burglars.