Page 12 (1/2)
On a Saturdayin November in 1969, a series of bizarre and inexplicable events occurred aboard the fifty-five-thousand-ton luxury liner SS Bretagne as it was preparing to sail from the Port of New York to Le Havre
Claude Dessard, chief purser of the Bretagne, a capa-able and ht ship" In the fifteen years Dessard had served aboard the Bretagne, he had never encountered a situation he had not been able to deal with efficiently and discreetly Considering that the SS Bretagne was a French ship, this was high tribute, indeed However, on this particular day it was as though a thousand devils were conspiring against him It was of small consolation to his sensitive Gallic pride that the intensive investigations conducted afterward by the American and French branches of Interpol and the steale plausible explanation for the extraordinary happenings of that day
Because of the fame of the persons involved, the story was told in headlines all over the world, but the mystery remained unsolved
As for Claude Dessard, he retired from the Cie Trans-atlantique and opened a bistro in Nice, where he never tired of reliving with his patrons that strange, unforgettable November day
It had begun, Dessard recalled, with the delivery of flowers from the President of the United States
One hour before sailing tiovernment license plates had driven up to Pier 92 on the lower Hudson River A ray suit had dise a bouquet of thirty-six Sterling Silver roses He had ed a feords with Alain Safford, the Bretagne's officer on duty The floere ceremoniously transferred to Janin, a junior deck officer, who delivered theht out Claude Dessard
"I thought you ht wish to know," Janin reported "Roses from the President to Mme Temple"
Jill Teraph had appeared on the front pages of daily newspapers and on rad Claude Dessard recalled reading that she had been number one in a recent poll of the world's irls were being christened Jill The United States of America had always had its heroines Now, Jill Tee and the fantastic battle she had won and then so ironically lost had captured the ireat love story, but it was much more than that: it contained all the eleedy
Claude Dessard was not fond of Ahted to make an exception He had tremendous adhest accolade Dessard could tender - galante He resolved to see to it that her voyage on his ship would be a memorable one
The chief purser turned his thoughts away froer list There was the usual collection of what the Americans referred to as VIP's, an acronym Dessard detested, particularly since Americans had such barbaric ideas about what made a person important He noted that the wife of a wealthy industrialist was traveling alone Dessard ser list for the name of Matt Ellis, a black football star When he found it, he nodded to himself, satisfied Dessard was also interested to note that in adjoining cabins were a prominent senator and Carlina Rocca, a South American stripper, whose names had been linked in recent news stories His eye moved down the list
David Kenyon Money An enorne before Dessard re, deeply tanned man with a lean, athletic body A quiet, impressive man Dessard put a CT, for captain's table, after David Kenyon's name
Clifton Lawrence A last- A small frown appeared on the chief purser's face Ah, here was a delicate problem What did one do with Monsieur Lawrence? At one time the question would not even have been raised, for he would automatically have been seated at the captain's table, where he would have regaled everyone with aent who in his day had represented many of the major stars in the entertainment business But, alas, M Lawrence's day was over Where once the agent had always insisted on the luxurious Princess Suite, on this voyage he had booked a single room on a lower deck First class, of course, but stillClaude Dessard decided he would reserve his decision until he had gone through the other names
There was er and a Nobel Prize-declining Russian novelist
A knock at the door interrupted Dessard's concentration Antoine, one of the porters, entered
"Yes - what?" Claude Dessard asked
Antoine regarded him with rheumy eyes "Did you order the theater locked?"
Dessard frowned "What are you talking about?"
"I assuo I checked to see that everything was in order The doors were locked It sounded like so a movie"
"We never run films in port," Dessard said firmly "And at no time are those doors locked I'll look into it"
Ordinarily, Claude Dessard would have investigated the report ient last-minute details that had to be attended to before the twelve o'clock sailing His supply of American dollars did not tally, one of the best suites had been booked twice by ne had been delivered to the wrong ship The captain was going to be furious Dessard stopped to listen to the fa He felt the ne as she slipped away fro her way into the channel Then Dessard once again becarossed in his problems
Half an hour later, Leon, the chief veranda-deck steward, came in Dessard looked up, impatiently "Yes, Leon?"