A typical cévenol village |
... and perhaps to give away one or two juicy pieces of info about what has been
happening in the village of Messandrierre since we last saw him…
AW Welcome back Jacques, and you’re not in
uniform I see.
JF Yes, that’s right. I’ve left the rural gendarme service and I now
work in investigation Mende.
AW So, just to recap on your career thus
far. You joined the police force in
Paris as a detective until you were injured whilst on duty and then came to
Messandrierre as a rural gendarme.
JF That’s
correct. It was after I recovered that I
came here.
AW So why the further change?
JF I found I missed the intricacies of handling
major investigations along with the thrill of solving such complex crimes. My last case in Paris involved breaking a
drugs cartel and I’ve worked on cases involving people trafficking. All very testing with many and varied leads
to follow. My current case means that I
can use those skills again.
AW And can you tell us anything about your new
case?
JF It’s very different from my previous cases
and involves commercial sabotage, but some the evidence is pointing to other
types of crime. The more I delve the
more complex this case is becoming.
AW How interesting. Any suspects yet or dead bodies?
JF It’s early days yet. I only picked up the investigation a week ago,
but there are a number of suspects that need to be narrowed down. There are also some lines of enquiry that are
leading me to believe that there are other malpractices that need to be
investigated which might mean a fraud is also to be uncovered. There are no dead bodies at the moment but…
if the evidence does lead me where I think it might, then yes, someone might
have the motive to commit such a serious crime.
Naturally I will do all I can to ensure that doesn’t happen.
Old City of Mende |
AW Of course.
Working in Mende, has that meant many changes for you here in the
village?
JF Not really.
I’m still the Policeman from Paris to everyone living here and I still
seem to be the first person they come to when there’s trouble. Gendarme
Thibault Clergue has taken my post here in the gendarmerie. I don’t want to tread on his toes so we work
on things together when necessary.
AW Back working in investigation, does that mean
you’re working with Magistrate Bruno Pelletier again?
JF Not at the moment. I do sometimes bump into
Bruno in the city, but if my case develops as I think it might, then I may need
to involve him. And I will do that as
appropriate.
AW When we first met I seem remember you saying
that you would like to ‘have ‘someone to share your life with.’ Those were your precise words, I think.
JF Ahh, I was wondering when you would get
around to that!
AW And you can tell us… what? The Readers do need to know, Jacques.
JF I also remember telling you that it was
complicated. It still is… But I know
what I want… Beth just has to make the right decision for her. Moving to another country requires a lot of
consideration.
The Cévennes, the setting for Merle |
AW Are you saying that you’ve asked-
JF Non!
And before you ask, I didn’t say that I was moving to England either. What I am saying is that, if Beth and I are
to move forward then we both need to consider very carefully how we achieve that.
AW Well, you may no longer wear uniform,
Jacques, but you are ever the policeman!
JF Perhaps
AW And that smile of yours tells me
everything. Thank you, Jacques, for
being here today.
You can read more about Jacques’
new case, the village and Beth in Merle
Book 2 in the Jacques Forêt mystery series (available for pre-order using the link above) is published on July 5th
Book 2 in the Jacques Forêt mystery series (available for pre-order using the link above) is published on July 5th
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