Page 116 of The Last Library of Paris

‘Could it?’ Henry looked straight at him.

‘Perhaps.’ Digby sighed. ‘It is possible that Reed and Oxley have been killed,’ he admitted. ‘But the good news is, we have no evidence of that. No bodies. No word from any of our chaps in Paris that it has happened. If they’d captured Oxley, they’d have crowed about it, there’s no doubt.’

I nodded quickly. ‘That’s good,’ I said. ‘Something positive.’ But I still feared the worst.

There was silence as we all sat and thought about what to do next.

‘Right,’ I said eventually, trying to sound in control, though I felt completely hopeless. ‘I think there are two things we need to do. Firstly, we need to tell Bea what’s happened. Frances is her friend and it’s only fair we tell her she is missing.’

Digby nodded. ‘I’ll send someone round to the bookshop to speak to her,’ he said.

‘Someone nice,’ I warned.

He nodded again.

‘And the second thing we need to do …’ I began. I swallowed. ‘We need to go to Paris.’

‘No.’ Digby put both hands flat on the desk. ‘Absolutely not.’

‘We need to go and find Frances and Oxley.’

‘It’s too dangerous,’ Digby said. He sounded quite cross. ‘If I send you to Paris, you could be lost too.’

‘We can’t just leave them to their fate,’ I said. ‘That’s an awful thing to do.’

‘Of course not,’ said Digby. ‘And we won’t. Trust me. We’re doing everything we can …’

But I wasn’t listening. ‘We could go,’ I said again. ‘We could use the escape routes in reverse, perhaps we could drive up through Spain – the way Archie did it – then cross the Pyrenees, up through France. We could find safe houses along the way, speak to the Resistance …’

‘Even if it was safe – which it is not – that would take days and days,’ said Digby. ‘Weeks, even.’ He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. It was disconcerting to see him so rattled. ‘It’s not an option.’

‘So it’s just more waiting?’ I said. My voice was thick with tears and I swallowed.

‘I’m afraid so.’

‘If there’s anything we can do in the meantime …’ said Henry.

‘Thank you.’ Digby nodded. He stood up. ‘I must go, I’ve got things to do elsewhere.’

‘We’ll get on then,’ I said. ‘Henry?’

‘Coming.’

We both stood up and Digby nodded goodbye.

Silently, we made our way through the embassy corridors and back to the office. Once we were inside, I shut the door and stood with my back to it.

‘We’re going to Paris.’

‘I knew you were going to say that.’ Henry sounded defeated. ‘I knew from the moment you suggested it.’

‘How can we stay here, knowing anything could have happened to poor Frances?’

‘I don’t disagree,’ said Henry. ‘But it feels like looking for a needle in a haystack. She could have left Paris altogether.’

I scratched my chin, thinking.

‘How about if we—’ A knock on the office door made me pause as Trisha, who worked on the front desk, came in.