Eyes of the Innocent

  Chapter 5

  Later that afternoon Matt answered the door bell while he was still thinking about his call to Simon Urquet. A tall, smartly dressed man stood there saying nothing. Although Matt had never seen the man before, he had a horrible feeling he knew who this was.

  "Bonjour," the man said. "My name is Florian Lefarge, and it is important that I speak to Zoé."

  It was exactly what he feared. "No, it's not possible."

  "Who is it?" Zoé called from the back room. She probably recognized the voice.

  "I'll deal with it," Matt called back. Then, "You're not welcome here," he told Zoé's old boyfriend.

  The man stood his ground. "I am here to conduct Zoé home to France," he announced. "She has phoned me several times, and although she has not said it, I can tell that you are a bad husband for her."

  Matt slammed the door, leaving the visitor outside on the garden path. The noise must have woken Jack who was with Zoé, and he started to cry.

  "What have you done?" Zoé shouted. "You have probably hurt Florian, and you have woken the baby. I have had enough."

  Someone, presumably it was still Florian, was now knocking on the door.

  "Go away," Matt shouted. "Just get back to France where you came from."

  Jack continued to cry while Zoé struggled to reach the door catch. "I want to let Florian in. You have been no help at all to me, Matt. What have you done to help me?"

  "Help you? I've phoned Simon Urquet and I'm waiting for him to phone me back as soon as he's----"

  Zoé managed to reach past him and open the catch. Florian started to push the door open.

  "Zoé, my Zoé," Florian called through the half open door, "you must let me in."

  Matt pulled the door wide and Florian stumbled into the hallway. Before the Frenchman could get his balance, Matt pushed him hard outside again, and the last sight he had of Casanova was of him falling into the small flower bed. He slammed the door shut again and pulled Zoé away.

  "Go and see to Jack," Matt said, rather more harshly than he intended. Zoé had no right inviting the man over.

  Zoé, predictably, burst into a flood of tears but went to see to Jack who was now sounding frantic.

  Making sure the door was firmly locked, Matt went to join them. "Zoé," he said, trying unsuccessfully to put an arm around her, "don't do anything until I've heard back from Simon Urquet. There's a good chance DCI will pay our airfares to New York and the treatment for Jack at the clinic there. We just have to wait for him to give us the go-ahead. I have to phone the clinic and make a reservation for Jack. Then I'm going to check the flight times."

  Zoé stayed still and let Matt put his arm around her without protesting. "I can't do anything more than that, and I need you with me, not swanning off to France. Not even to stay with your parents in the Auvergne."

  Zoé seemed to welcome the arm around her shoulder, and even Jack had become silent. The only noise came from the front door where Florian was not only ringing the bell but hammering loudly with his fist.

  "You can tell him to go away, Matt. I did not ask him to come here. I wanted to see if I could get treatment for our baby in France. My mother, as usual, thinks she knows everything." She turned to him in amazement. "Surely you did not think I was going to stay with Florian?"

  "Well, it certainly sounded like it. I know for a fact you've made several phone calls to him."

  "Yes, I did. I thought you would not help me look for treatment in France. I do not feel well enough to make the journey on my own, but Florian said he would get me there safely with Jack. And that is all. Oh, Matt, is it true we might be able to get proton beam therapy in America?"

  Matt opened the front door. Florian was still there in his smart, dark gray suit, looking somewhat bedraggled from his fall. "I think there's been a misunderstanding," Matt said. "You'd better come in. Zoé isn't going anywhere with Jack. Not even to her parents. And I am not a bad husband."

  Zoé called from the living room. "Matt, it is the phone. Monsieur Urquet, he wishes to speak to you. It is, I think, with the good news."