"And you, even though you were only sixteen then, showed me how love can change a person. It was through you that I discovered who I am. In order to show off your talent to the world, I started designing clothes for you to wear, clothes that had been in my head all the time, waiting to be transformed into fabrics, embroidery, accessories. We lived together and, even though I was more than twice your age, we learned together as well. Thanks to all these things, people started noticing what I was doing and decided to invest in it, and, for the first time, I began to realize my dreams. We traveled here to Cannes together, and no contract is going to part us."
She went to the bathroom to fetch the makeup case. Her tone grew more businesslike.
"You need to look really stunning tonight. Models rarely rise to stardom out of nowhere, so there'll be a lot of media interest. Just say you don't know the details yet; that's enough, but they'll keep asking and trying to get you to say things like: 'I've always dreamed of working with Hamid Hussein' or 'This is a very important step in my career,' etc."
She went with Jasmine down to the hotel lobby, where the waiting chauffeur opened the car door.
"Remember: you don't know the details of the contract yet; your agent is taking care of all that. Enjoy the party."
AT THE PARTY, OR RATHER, supper--although she can see neither tables nor food, only waiters walking about, proffering every possible kind of drink, including mineral water--people form into small groups, and anyone arriving alone looks somewhat lost. The event is taking place in a vast garden furnished with armchairs and sofas; there are also several pillars about three feet high on which half-clothed models with perfect bodies are dancing to the sound of music that emerges out of strategically positioned loudspeakers.
Celebrities continue to arrive. The guests seem happy; they smile and greet each other as if they'd known each other for years, although Jasmine knows this isn't so. They probably meet now and again on occasions like this and always forget each other's names, but they need to show how very influential, famous, admired, and well-connected they are.
The young woman, who initially looked so angry, reveals that she, too, is feeling completely lost. She asks for a cigarette and introduces herself. Within a matter of minutes, they know each other's life story. Jasmine leads her over to the balustrade overlooking the Mediterranean, and while the party fills up with strangers and acquaintances, they stand there gazing out to sea. They discover that they're now working for the same man, although on different projects. Neither of them has ever met him, and for both of them, everything has happened during this one day.
Men occasionally try to engage them in conversation, but Gabriela and Jasmine ignore them. Gabriela is the person Jasmine needed to meet, someone with whom to share her sense of having been abandoned, despite her partner's loving words. If she had to choose between her career and the love of her life, she would choose love over career every time, and she didn't care if such behavior seemed adolescent. Now it turns out that the love of her life wants her to put her career first and seems to have accepted HH's proposal simply so that she can feel proud of everything she's done for her, of the care with which she's guided her steps and corrected her mistakes, and the enthusiasm she's put into every word spoken and decision taken, however difficult.
Gabriela had needed to meet Jasmine too, to ask her advice, to feel less alone, and to see that good things happen to other people too. She confesses that she's worried that her companion has just left her there, when he's supposed to be introducing her to various people she needs to meet.
"He thinks he can hide his feelings, but I know something's wrong."
Jasmine tells her not to worry, to relax, drink some champagne and enjoy the music and the view. Unforeseen things are always happening, and there's a whole army of people ready to deal with them, so that no one ever finds out what really goes on behind the scenes of all that wealth and glamour. The Star is sure to be here soon.
"But, please, don't leave me on my own, will you? I'm not staying long."
Gabriela promises that she won't leave her alone. She's her only friend in this new world.
Yes, her only friend, but Jasmine's so young that Gabriela suddenly feels too old to be starting out on a new track. The Star had shown himself to be utterly superficial during the limousine drive to the red carpet; all his charm had vanished. And however much she likes the young girl by her side, she needs to find some new male companion for the night. She notices that the man who came into the bar earlier on is standing, like them, by the balustrade, looking out to sea, his back to the party, oblivious to everything else going on at this gala supper. He's charismatic, handsome, elegant, mysterious. When the opportunity arises, she'll suggest to her new friend that they go over to him and start a conversation, it really doesn't matter what about.
After all--and despite all--this has been her lucky day, and it might include finding a new love.
8:21 P.M.
The pathologist, the commissioner, Savoy, and a fourth person--who has not been introduced, but who arrived with the commissioner--are sitting round a table.
Their task is not to discuss the latest murder, but to draw up a joint statement to be presented to the journalists gathering outside. This time a really big Star has died, a well-known director is in intensive care, and the news agencies from around the world have obviously sent a stark message to their journalists: either come up with something we can print or you're fired.
"Legal medicine is one of the most ancient of the sciences, involved as it is with identifying poisons and producing antidotes. Nevertheless, in the past, royalty and the nobility always preferred to employ 'an official taster,' just to avoid any nasty surprises the doctors failed to foresee."
Savoy had met this "sage" earlier today. This time, he allows the commissioner to step in and put a stop to the pathologist's erudite lecture.
"That's enough showing off, Doctor. There's a criminal on the loose in Cannes."
The pathologist remains impassive.
"As a pathologist, I don't have the authority to determine the circumstances of a murder. I can't give opinions on the matter; I can only describe the cause of death, the weapon used, the identity of the victim, and the approximate time when the crime was committed."
"Do you see any link between the two deaths? Is there something that connects the murder of the film distributor and the actor?"
"Of course. They both worked in the movies."
He chuckles, but no one else moves a muscle. They clearly have no sense of humor.
"The only connection is that, in both cases, toxic substances were used, both of which affect the organism with extraordinary speed. What is really intriguing about the second murder, though, is the way in which the hydrogen cyanide was wrapped. The envelope had inside it a fine plastic membrane vacuum-sealed, but easily torn when the envelope was opened."
"Could it have been made here?" asks the fourth man, who has a strong foreign accent.
"Possibly, but I doubt it, because its actual manufacture is very complex, and the person who made it knew that it would be used to murder someone."