Retrospective: Paris - How things got messy

4.5. Charlotte Roux - Loss

Fall 1993, Mae's apartment

Charlotte wasn't too sure how much longer she should wait. At least one hour had passed since Mae had left, and neither her nor Francesco had returned. And Mae had looked so concerned.
Charlotte was worried.

So when the phone rang, she rushed to get it.
It was Arthur.
"Charlotte? Where's Mae? Did François come back?"
She told him that Francesco had send for Mae and since then they were gone, but it only upset her brother more.
"Mon dieu! This does not look good for them... Leroux looks everywhere for him, he was the last one known to have seen Etienne Armand alive."

Charlotte froze.
They had found Etienne's body in a side alley, not far from Mae's appartement.
"But it doesn't make sense, Charlotte!", Arthur was besides himself. "He was François' one good chance to clear his name, why would he kill him and run away?"
Apparently that was what the inspecteur thought.
"And now you tell me he's gone with Mae, and -"

But Charlotte didn't hear what her brother said anymore. She dropped the receiver back in its place and tried to calm her breath.

Etienne was dead. It was the only thing occupying her mind.
Dead.
It couldn't be.
Dead dead dead.
The word repeated itself endlessly in her mind, and she still barely could grasp its meaning.
The man she fell in love with, was dead.
Her baby's father was dead.
Shot down in a side alley like some worthless piece of trash.
How did that happen? Etienne just had called earlier and said he'd send Francesco back home and go to his next appointment.
Why would someone kill him? He was the kindest person she'd ever met...

For a few minutes she just sobbed, drowning herself in her pain and thoughts of a life that could have been.

But after a while, she tried hard and regained her composure.
Her tears wouldn't bring him back, but he deserved justice, at least.
And while Charlotte in general had faith enough in the police that they always did their best, she was quite certain that this time, they were on a completely wrong track.
She had to agree with Arthur, it didn't make sense for Francesco to kill the man who would have helped him. He could have fled long time ago with much less to risk, but instead he had agreed to cooperate with the police.

Think, Charlotte.
Of course there was always the possibility that he had led them all on, played a game that only made sense to him, but Charlotte refused to believe it.
She had got to know Francesco as a friendly and candid person once he had dropped his first reservations. Not exactly someone that would plan dark crimes.
And Mae believed him.
But now they were both gone -
Something was wrong, very wrong.

She had to ask Dante. He was the last one to see them both.
But when she called the Marchant's home, he still wasn't there.
Could it be that they all got into some big trouble now? Or maybe they were -
She shuddered. No, she didn't want to believe that they were dead too...
But if their disappeareance was related to Etienne's death, she would have to act quickly or it might be too late for them.

She went to the bathroom to refresh and put her make up on.

At the Roux mansion, Charlotte went straight to her father's office. Monsieur Roux' voice made her stop before she could enter. It would be much harder to get what she needed with him there.
"...can't believe you've drawn even more attention to us! How do you expect the deal to come through now?!" He was mad.
"I told you, this will fix it!", another voice yelled back. Charlotte didn't know it, she guessed it was another one of her father's many business partners.
"And I told you to stay out of it! I've hired already someone else to take care of it, but you had to make everything just worse!"
"But - "
"Leave!"

The door opened, and a man left the office. He was fuming.
What an idiot to mess with papa's business, Charlotte thought.

She took a deep breath and entered, wearing her brightest smile.
"Papa!"
"Oh, Charlotte...", her father greeted her, looking somewhat absent minded.
Good, it would make her task easier.
She glanced quickly over her father's desk. There it was.

"It's so hard to find good staff these days...", Henri Roux complained.
"Aw... but it will be fine, I'm sure of it", she purred, and quickly skimmed through the small address book until she found what she needed.
"What do you want, ma petite?", he asked her. "I'm sure you didn't come to listen to my worries."

"Oh... I've seen the most gorgeous gown in the town center - it would be perfect for the Marchant's dinner party next weekend!", Charlotte gushed and turned back to him. "But it has to be altered, so I need that tailor's number..."
"I'm glad you want to attend this time", he smiled, "instead of running off to yet another one of those - commoner's ordinary establishments...", he meant Tony's, of course, but Charlotte would rather call it the best night club in town. "But I'm afraid you'd have to ask your mère instead. She keeps even my tailor's number."
"Oh - bien sûr! How stupid of me...", Charlotte let out a small fake laugh, "I'll ask her tonight when she's back."
She pecked a small kiss on her father's cheek and left the office.

"Change of plans", Henri Roux was already back on the phone, "I need you to immediately..."
His voice trailed off while she ran to note down the number she memorized before she would forget.
In her aspiration to take over the family business - obviously Arthur wouldn't, being too busy playing guardian of the city - Charlotte had payed great attention to how her father ran it. She had managed to learn more than plain business administration - it was much more important who you knew to run a company smoothly. And now it was time to use one of those aquaintances.

Back in the town center, Charlotte rushed to the next pay phone and dialed.
Her heart raced when she waited for her contact to pick up. It was a mobile number, and she hoped she fed the pay phone enough change to keep up the call long enough.
"Hello?", a male voice with a light accent greeted her.
After making sure she got the person she wanted, Charlotte introduced herself.
"Roux' daughter? What can I do for you, signorina?", the contact asked, surprised but not unfriendly.

"Someone killed my - a friend of mine", her voice almost broke. "His name is Etienne Armand. And... I want revenge. Find out who killed him, and make sure they would be brought to justice. And - some friends of mine are missing. I'm afraid they might be kidnapped by the same people that killed Etienne..."
The man on the other side stayed quiet.
"I'll pay whatever you ask for", she added while trying to calm her breath. If there was anyone who could do this quickly, it was him.
"I am no detective", the man said.

"But you can do the job", Charlotte insisted. No way she would let him turn her down. This man had solved the Vanlemmens' kidnapping case in the matter of a day.
He chuckled. "Sure, I can. And you are lucky I am in Paris right now. Would you like to join me for dinner tonight? You can tell me more about your little problem."
"No, I need you as fast as possible. The life of my friends might depend on it."
She heard a muffled noise that resembled a disruption in the line and rushed more change into the pay phone slot.

"I am in the middle of a job now", the voice said. "But I can meet you in about half an hour."
Thank god.
They agreed on a place.

A rock was lifted from Charlotte's shoulders.
Now she only had to find some fancy dress to wear next weekend - she actually dreaded the stiff and boring dinner, but she had to go now to keep her cover.