Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 97 Killing two birds with one stone

The detention cells at the Paris police headquarters were permeated with a lingering damp, musty smell, the tarry odor of cheap tobacco, and the stench of sweat.

The cold gaslight hissed overhead, casting the distorted and enormous shadows of "Lionel Sorel" from the two adjacent cells onto the mottled stone walls.

One of the "Lionel Sorel" sat on a hardwood bench, still with his back straight, feeling somewhat uneasy but not afraid.

Before he was led out of Baroness Alexievna's castle, Mr. Turgenev had already boarded a carriage and was heading towards the center of Paris at top speed.

In another interrogation room, the imposter "Poor Lionel" appeared much more dejected. The carefully crafted aloofness and sarcasm on his face had vanished, leaving only fear and dejection.

He kept muttering curses under his breath, cursing the stupid purple pig who ruined his plans, cursing that damned "Lamarck," and cursing his own bad luck—

Just one step away! After tonight, he can take the 100 million francs promised by the Baroness to buy the "Lavender Estate" and fly away!
He knew that appearing in public was very risky, but after careful calculation and an understanding of human nature, he still decided to take this "perilous leap"—

Only by fully satisfying and completely releasing Baroness Alexievna's vanity can she completely let down her guard, and only then can the million francs be obtained smoothly!
For this million francs, he even painfully gave up an earlier 300,000 francs, allowing those glittering "Gold Louis" to be donated to the Sorbonne.

He was certain that even if someone recognized him, unless they were too close to the Baroness, they would be waiting to watch the spectacle and make a fool of themselves, rather than alerting her immediately.

But who would have thought that the real "Lionel Sorel" would also be at the ball!
Wasn't he supposed to be aloof and never attend ladies' salons? Why would he attend this boring masquerade ball—and even attract that damned cop...?

Outside the detention center, Inspector Claude, dressed in an 18th-century general's uniform, and Lefebvre, dressed in a nobleman's attire made of purple velvet, sat at the table by the door with gloomy expressions, neither wanting to look at the other.

The chaos, screams, the Baroness's roar, and the unexpected gunshot from the masquerade ball cast a dark cloud over everyone.

Catching either a "relationship scammer" or a "poisonous book author" would normally be a matter of public smugness, but the current situation is far too complicated...

At that moment, the outermost iron gate was violently pushed open, and Director Gigo walked in with a gloomy face.

His sharp gaze lingered on Lefebvre for a moment, filled with undisguised disgust and annoyance—

This idiot not only acted on his own, but also fired a shot at the Baroness's ball, making the police station look bad all over Europe!
Claude fared no better; although he caught the swindler, he also offended the Baroness.

The ladies may ignore Baroness Alexievna’s anger on a social level, but how could the Baroness not have connections to the upper class?

Who will bear the pressure then? It'll be him, the bureau chief, who'll be the one to shoulder it!
Moreover, of the two people they captured, one was useless and the other was a hot potato!
He had been keeping an eye on this conman for a while. There were mountains of case files in the provinces, but those cases were far outside of Paris, and the victims were mostly middle-class people from the provinces, so they wouldn't cause much of a stir.

Although Baroness Alexievna was also deceived by him, she would likely "handle it coldly" to maintain the dignity of the nobility.

There are probably at least eight or ten thousand of these swindlers in Paris—the only difference is whether they get caught or not. Parisians are used to it, and only some tabloids with sensationalist articles treat it as something unusual.

So catching this swindler wasn't much of a credit to him, the bureau chief.

Then there was the real Lionel, who was much more troublesome. He was a young literary star, a Sorbonne's darling, a junior whom Victor Hugo had publicly praised... He was reportedly arrested with Turgenev.

Although Director Gigo knew nothing about literature, he was very familiar with the name.

He was skeptical that Lionel Sorel could be the author of *Decadent City*, for a simple reason:
Firstly, he was too young. The erotic descriptions in the novel, which were so imaginative and broke all moral boundaries, could only have been created by a middle-aged playboy.

As a seasoned reader and practitioner of "The Decadent City," Director Gigo has a thorough grasp of this.

Secondly, according to the timeline, when "The Decadent City" was published, Lionel had already written "The Old Guard"—in France, even the most foolish young writer with a promising future would not do something that would ruin his career.

The line in Gabriel's letter, "Finding Lionel means finding 'an honest Parisian'," likely means that Lionel knew a clue about "an honest Parisian" and might even have known him.

For example, is "an honest Parisian" a professor at the Sorbonne who is a womanizer and has an inability to control his desire to express himself?

He was still thinking about how to use this statement to his advantage, but he never expected that the foolish Lefebvre would secretly arrest people without his knowledge, and in full view of everyone.

Although Director Gigo was not an "action man," his deep understanding of office politics allowed him to immediately sense Lefevere's true thoughts.

Only by arresting "an honest Parisian" in full view of everyone could he become a star in the police department, thereby winning the favor of Bishop Gilbert and even attracting the attention of the Minister of the Interior.

If Lionel Sorel was truly "an honest Parisian," then the credit really belongs to Lefevere...

And to touch Sorel? Gigo could almost see the sharp editorial in Le Figaro and the angry joint letter from the Sorbonne professors!
"Chief!" Lefèvre exclaimed, seeing Gigo as if he were a savior, pointing to the cell inside the door: "That's him! I've caught 'an honest Parisian'! The author of that filthy book, *The Decadent City*!"

Director Gigo gave a mocking smile: "Oh? How can you be so sure?"

Lefebvre was speechless for a moment, and after a long while he stammered, "My informant said... as long as I search his house, I'm sure I can find evidence!"

Gigo sternly silenced his subordinate, who was still trying to shout: "Enough! Lefebvre! Look at yourself now, do you still look like a policeman? You're a disgrace to all of us! Now, you, get out!"

Lefebvre's expression changed several times, and in the end he could only lower his head and say, "I'm sorry, Your Excellency..." before slinking away from the cell.

Chief Gigo and the others could no longer hear Lefebvre's footsteps before they looked at Claude with complicated expressions—at this moment, the detective was dressed in a general's uniform, which was equally ridiculous, but at least not ugly.

His actions tonight certainly caused him some trouble as the bureau chief, but at least they weren't intentionally targeted. In that respect, he seemed much more agreeable than that fat, cunning Lefebvre.

Thinking of this, Director Gigo walked up to Claude and solemnly said to him, "Congratulations, Claude! You've not only caught a conman who roamed the country, but you've also caught 'an honest Parisian'!"

Claude: "Huh!?"

(End of this chapter)