Amelia Haylor

In France

* Means the character is speaking in French

 

In France

 

          It took two hours for the cargo ship to get from England to France, but we finally arrived in Calais. We thanked the captain for the lift and got off the boat. "Well we are in France at last," said Jimmy "now according to father's instructions we now need to catch a train for Paris". We called for a cab to take us to the train station. Luckily for us we managed to catch the train a few seconds before it left.

          I had never been on a boat or a train before, so I was enjoying the trip very much. Although of course I could not forget what we really came to France for. This was not a holiday, this was a mystery solving trip. After passing a lot of country sides, villages and towns for two hours we finally reached Paris. By the time we arrived it was late; it was now eight o'clock at night.

          "What shall we do?" I asked "I mean would the police mind seeing us at this hour?" "Well we should be all right," said Jimmy "police patrol through both day and night". So we walked to the police station of Paris. "It's a good thing we were both taught how to speak French" I said. "I agree with that," said Alfred "otherwise we would be in trouble if we didn't".

          When we reached the police station, an officer was patrolling outside it. Alfred bravely stepped forward to speak to him. *"Evening officer," he said "I know it is late but do you mind if we speak to the police chief?"* *"And what business do you have with the chief?"* *"Well my friends and I have some questions about a family called Werec".* *"Ah another one," the officer said "you better come in and talk to the chief right away"*. "The way the officer just said that gives me a bad feeling" I said. "It does to me too," said Alfred "I fear that we are not the only ones who are curious about the Werec family".

          When we met with the chief we told him about our encounter with the Werec family back home in England, and about our feelings towards them because of the rumours we heard. *"So my friends and I decided to come here to France to find the real truth about the Werec family"* said Alfred. *"Yes," I said "because after meeting them for the first time we couldn't ignore our bad feelings about them"*. *"You three were right to come here," the chief said "because we have heard of those rumours too. And we believe that they are true as well. To tell you the truth last week an old man named Maurice, who died three days ago, spoke with us a day before he died. He told us that he was a business partner of Bert Werec. They both worked hard together, but Maurice said that he felt that Bert was not treating him as a partner but as a tool. And he was right. Two weeks ago he became ill and had to stop working and stay in hospital to rest. On his last day of working he overheard Burt saying to his son Harry, who also works in the office, what he really thought about him. Apparently the truth is that Bert only thought of Maurice as a working tool in his office"*. *"So it seems that the rumour of Bert Werec being a swindler is true then"* said Jimmy. *"Yes," the chief said "and before Maurice died he asked us to stop Bert Werec from swindling anyone else. So we plan to go to the Werec family's home manor in Angers to find the true colours about the Werec family"*. *"Do you mind if we come with you sir?" I asked "we wish to know about them too"*. *"Certainly," the chief said "but first rest for the night in a hotel and we all go to Andres tomorrow"*.

          We thanked the police chief and left the police station. "Since the rumour of Bert Werec of being a swindler is true," I said "do you think that the rumours of Harry Werec being a philanderer and Mary Werec being a black widow are true?" "I don't know," said Jimmy "it's possible though. Anyway we will find out tomorrow. Right now we need to find a hotel and sleep". There was a hotel not that far from the police station; so we had dinner there and fell asleep, in our rooms, right away.

          The next day, after finishing a quick breakfast, Jimmy, Alfred and I walked immediately to the police station. Not only were the police there waiting for us, but five other people as well. The five people told us who they were; they were families of people who became the Werec family's victims.

          The first two people were brothers; Chip and Ray Gaston. Their father Jacques Gaston died leaving his sons his candy store in Angers. But his will was never found and Bert Werec produced a piece a paper saying that Jacques Gaston wanted Bert Werec to claim his shop, since he was a friend of his. But Chip and Ray didn't believe that and decided the paper was forgery.

          The third person was a man named Erwan Durrell. His sister Adele Durrell was raped a year ago and became pregnant by her attacker. Adele had given birth to a baby girl, who she named Alianor, but she died a few days after giving birth. Erwan said that he was taking care of Alianor now, but also said that before Adele died she muttered Harry Werec before she drew her last breath. So Erwan believed that Harry Werec was the one who raped her.

          The fourth person was a woman named Annella Blanche. Her elder brother Elroy Blanche was married to Mary Werec, but he suddenly died only a few weeks after. Annella was told that he had died from a heart failure, but she said he had never had heart problems. So she believes Mary Werec had something to do with it.

          The same was with the fifth person; Joan Durant. Her elder brother Russell Durant married Mary Werec a year after Elroy died. Russell was said to have died the same way as Elroy Blanche died. But like Annella, Joan didn't believe it and also believes that Mary Werec caused her brother's death.              

          These were the most outrageous stories that Jimmy, Alfred and I had ever heard. *"All more the reason to go to the Werec's family home and find out"* said Alfred. *"Come on everyone," the chief said "it's time to leave for Angers"*. We all agreed on that. Then we all boarded a train to Angers at once.