"So you showed up as you were told?"

'Course he did. You think anyone else was offering employment to escaped convicts?

"And the money was waiting for you."

It was. Genuine, too, don't think Herbaux didn't give those gold coins a good bite.

"Can you describe this Monsieur?"

Never saw him. Met him every day-same place and time-but the curtain was always closed. Only saw the hands, and they were gloved.

"Describe his voice, then."

Strange. Whispery. He was probably disguising his real voice.

"Old? Young?"

Somewhere between.

"Educated-sounding?"

Oh, yeah, real cultured.

"And what did this Monsieur ask you to do?"

Leblanc was the first job. Herbaux and his friend Desfosseux tailed him from his apartment and brought him to earth.

"Brought him to earth? That was all?"

They were supposed to ask him a question. Where is he?

"Where is who ?"

Monsieur never said. Said Leblanc would know who they were talking about.

"And Leblanc never told you?"

No, the bastard. Took a load of punishment, too. But at least they found a letter in his pocket. It was from Saint-Cloud.

"How did you know, if you can't read?"

Monsieur told him.

"And that led to your next job?"

Sure. Except, by then, Desfosseux had gotten picked up on a forgery count, so Herbaux asked Noel to come along.

"And Monsieur told you exactly what to do?"

Supplied everything: Tepac's description, his address, his walking habits. Had it all scouted out and planned.

"So you did your job, you made it back to Paris. And you kept seeing Monsieur every day at Saint-Sulpice? Even though you knew the police were after you?"

Figured it was safe, seeing as how no one expected to find the likes of him in a church. And Monsieur was true to his word. Paid him in full each time.

"And after a few weeks, he said-what?-he had one more job for you."

Yes .

"And that job was to follow Dr. Carpentier and his friend?"

That's right. Monsieur gave Herbaux the doctor's address, so he would know what the two men looked like. Herbaux was to follow them wherever they went and wait till they were alone. Well, that very night, he tailed them to the Palais-Royal, and off they went with the two tarts, and Herbaux followed right behind. Waited a bit, then went straight up. Told the tarts if they knew what was good for them, they'd leave now.

"So it was going to be just another quick kill, was that it?"

Oh, no. Monsieur was in a merciful mood. He said if Charles agreed to leave town on the next diligence, his life could be spared. Herbaux was just to scare 'em a bit.