AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Can I go see it?’
He frowned. Then nodded, pushing the key towards her. ‘You may,’ he hesitated, adding, ‘It isn’t derelict but I would advise caution – it has been empty for some time and we still need to do a full building survey, but it’s not the safety that is the real concern.’
‘It’s not?’
‘No. Well, see, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you the full story; if you go there, of course, you are bound to find out. So I must warn you. As I said, to this day it holds something of a dark reputation. During the war, when the city was under occupation, the restaurant’s owner poisoned and killed all her customers one night.’
The colour drained from Sabine’s face. ‘What? How?’
‘Deadly nightshade,’ he said, and for a moment she wondered again if he were pulling some kind of a joke.
He continued. ‘It led the authorities to surmise it was a planned execution. Several Nazis were killed, along with two local Parisians.’
She blinked, horrified.
‘What happened to her – afterwards, do you know?’
He nodded. ‘She was executed.’
Sabine stared. ‘I can’t believe I never knew any of this.’
The lawyer nodded as if he were wondering the same thing. ‘And you’re quite certain your mother had no idea?’
She looked at him in utter disbelief. ‘That she was the child of one of the most evil women in Paris and just – what, forgot to tell me? I hope not. I hope she had no idea, if truth be told.’
