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“Ordouille-sur-Mer. It’s in the South of France,” Barney said. “She takes exactly two weeks vacation a year, and always at the house she inherited from her maternal grandmother.” He started walking in circles now, wearing out the carpet if he wasn’t careful. “Maybe I’ll tell her when she gets back. No need to alarm her.” He glanced up and fixed Odelia with an intent look. “Please catch this person for me, Odelia. Catch him and I’ll quadruple the reward. Quintuple it! But Audrey must never find out. In fact nobody can find out about this. A member of my staff.C’est terrible, ?a! Who would do such a thing! Who, tell me—but WHO!!!”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Odelia, alarmed at this emotional outburst from one who had until now appeared so sane and collected. “It’s entirely possible this cat burglar simply knows his way around the hotel very well. He will have studied the layout, and will have worked out an escape plan in case of an emergency like this. So he might simply have left that door open himself, to have an avenue of escape, and not be a member of your staff at all.”

“You think?” asked Barney, a look of hope now gleaming in his eyes.

“Well, it’s entirely possible, isn’t it? I mean, how many members of your staff remain on the premises at night?”

“Not many,” said the manager. “A night receptionist, one cook, in case a guest wants a snack, two security guards, the bartender, myself,?videmment…”

“Better ask those security guards if they noticed anything out of the ordinary, and check with the rest of your staff where they were when this happened.”

“I will.”

“Do you have CCTV in that part of the hotel?” asked Chase, hissing when Odelia put some disinfectant on his wounded foot.

“No, I’m afraid I don’t.”

“So maybe that’s why he chose that escape route,” said Odelia. “Because he knows there’s no cameras there.”

Barney’s face displayed a sort of jubilant expression now. “Oh, Odelia. I knew I could count on you. And you,Monsieur Kingsley!”

“Well, if you could really count on me,” said Chase, “I would have caught the guy for you.”

“Better luck next time,” said Odelia.

“Let’s hope there won’t be a next time,” said Barney. “Perhaps you have spooked him so much he won’t be back.”

I remembered the guy waving at Chase and felt compelled to say,“He didn’t look particularly spooked to me.”

Odelia nodded, to indicate she’d heard.

“The guy is brazen,” she said. “Absolutely brazen.”

Barney’s face fell again. “This isn’t over, is it?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” she said with a commiserative look in the manager’s direction.

“He did knock his head,” Dooley now commented. “So maybe he’s got a bruise? Humans do bruise easily, don’t they? Once when Uncle Alec got up too quickly and hit his head he had a bruise on the top of his head for weeks. He looked funny.”

“Dooley is right,” I said. “He did hit his head trying to get away. So maybe all you have to do is keep an eye out for a guest or member of staff with a big bruise on his face.”

Odelia translated my words and Chase nodded.“That’s right. I’d totally forgotten about that. Though with our luck, his mask absorbed the blow, and he’ll look right as rain.”

“I am keeping an eye out,” Barney said, tapping his index finger against his nose. “I am keeping a good big eye out all day tomorrow. And if I see a man with a bruise—snap! I have him nabbed! Oh, thank you,Monsieur Kingsley!”

“Chase, please,” said Chase, smiling at the little man’s excitement.

“Thank you so much for everything you do for my hotel. It is most appreciated. Most appreciated!”

And then he turned on his heel and strode out, taking Marion along with him.

“Tomorrow is the day!” he cried as he walked out the door. “Tomorrow we catch the big crook!”

CHAPTER 27

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The next morning, Odelia and Chase went down for breakfast in the breakfast room, along with all the other guests. This time they decided to bring us along with them, since today was an important day: the burglar-slash-murderer was finally going to get his due. Or at least that’s what Barney firmly believed.

“So all we have to do is look around for a man with a big bruise on his face?” asked Dooley as we sat between Odelia’s legs and kept quite out of harm’s way.

“Yes, and when we see him, we are to warn Odelia immediately, so she can tell Barney. And then he’ll call the police and they’ll come and arrest this man.”

Dooley glanced around.“Is Marion going to join us, too? She has very sharp eyes, and she was there last night with us.”

“I’m not sure,” I said. “Sometimes she likes to roam around the lobby of a morning, though not always.” Though she might be hidden in the walls, of course.

“So when is B?bel coming back?”

“No idea. Soon, I think, since this Audrey person doesn’t take a lot of vacation.”

“Two weeks vacation isn’t a lot. I thought the French had a lot more vacation?”

“They have, but Audrey doesn’t like to be away from the hotel for too long.”

“Odd,” said Dooley, “that a person would love their job so much they don’t want to take a vacation.”