CHAPTER XVIII

M. CHARLES SAUERWEIN AND THE ROSSIGNOL AFFAIR

The next day M. de Labruyère came with a gentleman I had never seen before. "This is M. Charles Sauerwein, who is a relation of yours and who knows you very well...."

M. Sauerwein, whom I did not know at all, interrupted his colleague: "I have often met you in Society, Madame. I married Mlle. K., who is a cousin of yours." He spoke in a tone which very much displeased me.

I told him he was mistaken: "Mlle. K. is not my cousin; she is only a close friend of my sister, Mme. Seyrig."

"Had I not been ill recently," said M. Sauerwein, "I would have called on you sooner to tell you all I know about the so-called mystery of the Impasse Ronsin."

"I have seen many journalists," I said, "but I never saw you before. So you have left the Prince of Monaco, whose orderly officer you were, I have been told. You are now on the staff of the _Matin_.... Will you tell me in what way the Impasse Ronsin mystery interests you?"

M. Sauerwein told me that he had been "passionately interested in the Steinheil affair" from the outset, that he had spoken to M. Bunau-Varilla about the mystery....

To my great surprise, M. de Labruyère said to me: "I prefer to leave you together. What M. Sauerwein has to tell you is no concern of mine."

I refused to let him go. "I beg you to remember, M. de Labruyère, that I have nothing to conceal. Whether M. Sauerwein has made some startling discovery or has merely an interesting fact to disclose, let him speak before you."

I had seldom seen any one look so scornful as M. Sauerwein did then. I pointed out a chair to him, and, sitting down, he began in a melodramatic tone, which, I suppose, was intended to frighten me.

"Since you wish it, let M. de Labruyère remain in the room, but you will regret it when you have heard what I have to say, Madame."

"Come to the point."

"Just as you please. What I have to say is this. I know the murderers of your husband and mother." Then, looking me straight in the eyes, he added: "And you know them too."

"My position is rather awkward," said M. de Labruyère, but M. Sauerwein silenced him with a gesture, and went on:

"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, but I must say what I have to say without mincing matters. One of the assassins has fully confessed to me. He is your lover."

I was so indignant and dumbfounded that I could not speak. M. Sauerwein continued: "Two or three years ago, there was an attempt at burglary in this very house. You don't deny it, do you?"

"No!... Were I a man," I exclaimed angrily, "I would treat you as you deserve, for daring to say to me things which are false and which you know are false."

Taken aback, but still insolent, he said: "We will still get the whole truth out of you. Your husband went to the police commissary of this district, and an inspector was sent here to guard the house for a fortnight. The inspector was a tall, handsome and intelligent man. His name is Rossignol. After a good meal, he has confessed to me that he had relations with you, but they lasted only a short time. He was dismissed from the force for various reasons. It is no use denying that he was your lover. Rossignol is in our hands. If you confess the truth, we'll manage to arrest the two men and the woman who assisted him. They're all in Paris, and I know the haunt where they meet. Come now, admit the truth...."

I could not move, I could hardly breathe... I clutched my chair so as not to fall.... All I could do then was to listen, to listen intently. And the words M. Sauerwein spoke engraved themselves deeply on my mind. They are still there, and I repeat them to-day with _absolute_ accuracy. M. de Labruyère himself will not contradict me.

The man went on: "Confess, I tell you!... You are safe enough.... Those men will never mention you. We will arrange everything. The two men and the woman, who did not know you, will be sentenced. Rossignol will go to prison, but as a reward for his discretion, we will see that he is not kept there very long."

Once more, I ordered the man to leave my house.... It was all in vain. He defied me, and remained.

"It is useless for you to deny anything," he continued, relentlessly. "I know you well.... I know everything about the murder, I tell you.... Don't attempt to deny anything. Listen: I followed you from Bellevue; when you went to meet your lover Rossignol, I saw you. You took the train and reached the Saint-Lazare Station. I was in the same train; I did not lose sight of you; I watched you at the station while you walked about, in the 'Hall of the Lost Steps.'

"Rossignol arrived, saw you, rushed to you and you kissed him. Together you went to a restaurant in the Rue du Hâvre, outside the station. You talked very softly, but I sat at the table just behind you, and I overheard the conversation. You two were talking about the crime. Then you gave each other a _rendez-vous_.... Is that enough? Do you realise now the futility of a denial? Speak, speak...!"

I summoned whatever strength I had left, and said: "I have nothing to tell you, Monsieur." I turned to M. de Labruyère: "You must tell M. Bunau-Varilla that I insist upon his sending one of his men here to-morrow morning, to go with me to the Police Commissary of this district.... And then this infamous plot will recoil on the heads of those who have conceived it."

M. de Labruyère did his best to calm me, and kept on saying in the most apologetic and kindly manner: "Don't be angry.... I don't know anything about this fantastic affair.... I am sure now there must be some awful mistake."

M. Sauerwein had not done yet: "I have spoken the truth. The facts I stated are undeniable."... Then abruptly changing his tone, he remarked with hypocritical sympathy: "Oh! I quite understand how painful it is for you to confess.... It must be hard for a society woman to admit that she once had a 'weakness' for a man of low origin."

This was more than I could stand. I walked up to M. Sauerwein: "If you do not leave this house instantly, I shall send for the police."

The two journalists beat a hasty retreat.

Hardly had I heard the gate shut behind them, than Mariette came to tell me that M. de Labruyère had returned. Before I could say that I refused to see him again, he came in himself.

"Madame," he began, "I beg you not to mention this painful incident to any one; above all, not a word to other newspapers. You know I have always done my best for you. Surely you have some confidence in me.... Well, tell _me_ the truth. Will you not admit that this Sauerwein story is true?"

"What, you too!" I exclaimed, bitterly hurt, for I trusted M. de Labruyère, and believed him incapable of insulting a woman, wantonly or otherwise. "How can you place the least credence in that vile story!"

M. de Labruyère murmured, reluctantly: "Sauerwein, I understand, has _all_ the proofs. M. Bunau-Varilla knows all about this affair, but he may help you, if you tell us everything. Briand (the Minister of Justice) will help us... the whole matter will be arranged. Those men and the woman will not mention you. Certain promises will be made to them.... Remember the _Matin_ is almighty...."

I stopped M. de Labruyère: "I have heard enough. I have no one and nothing to fear. The _Matin_ does not frighten me in the least. I shall come to the office and demand apologies for your colleague's vile insults, and, if necessary, I shall speak to M. Bunau-Varilla himself. Now, go, and remember that to-morrow morning some one on the staff of your journal will accompany me to the Police Commissary."

Need I say that after this new shock I passed such a night of anguish that my weary, harassed brain tottered one step further towards the brink of madness.

The next morning, quite early, M. Barby, of the _Matin_, called and said: "We are all indignant, Madame, at the way M. Sauerwein has treated you. I am ready to go with you to prove the absurdity of that accusation."

With Marthe and M. Barby I went to the Police Commissary. I told him what had happened, and he said: "This accusation against you is shameful...." He remembered the attempted burglary and the fact that M. Steinheil had requested him to have his house guarded by an inspector, but that his wife was to know nothing about it. The inspector had watched the house for about a fortnight, from outside, in the Impasse.

As a matter of fact, I had only heard of this attempted burglary by accident. A man came from the police to inform me that the house would no longer be watched. As I knew nothing more about the matter, I expressed surprise and asked a few questions, and it was then that I heard of the attempt. (Men had been seen climbing over the wall of our garden, by some compositors at the printing works at the end of the Impasse Ronsin, and an alarm being raised, the burglars hurriedly escaped.) I spoke to my husband on the matter, and asked why he had not warned me. Somewhat embarrassed, he replied: "I did not want to alarm you, and gave orders that you should not be told about it."

* * * * *

Meanwhile, newspapers published articles in which it was said that a former police inspector was suspected of being the author of the Impasse Ronsin murders, and that it was rumoured that he had been my lover!... The reader can imagine the sensation such "revelations" caused, and the amount of harm it did me, with the public! Anonymous letters reached me in greater numbers than ever, I was dragged in the mire, and when I left or entered the Impasse, there were loud cries of: "Death to her" or "Look at the murderess." It was enough to drive any one mad--and it did drive me mad.

I went to the _Matin_ offices, and M. Sauerwein apologised. Then he and M. de Labruyère begged me to accompany them both, with some detectives in the pay of the journal, to some awful cut-throat place, at one in the morning, where they would show me the two men and the woman they had mentioned, so that I might state whether they looked like the persons I had seen on the fatal night.

I refused: "Since," I said, "those men have confessed their guilt, as you have said, and that Rossignol, the 'chief' murderer is in your hands, all you have to do is to inform the Law, and have them arrested. When they stand before M. Leydet, or before M. Hamard, I will come and identify them."

I heard no more of this sensational story, and the _Matin_ turned to other clues and theories. "Confess," I was told one day, "confess that it is a political crime.... Don't think we are fools! If the Rossignol clue is worth nothing, then there are other clues!... Help us...."

I had not quite lost my reason yet, but I was blind enough not to realise that to the _Matin_, I was merely a useful, nay, a capital sensation-purveyor, a news-supplying machine that meant a valuable increase in the circulation of the paper. They only had one idea; to make as much as possible out of the "Steinheil Affair" and its wretched heroine, whether she had any news to give them or not!

True, most newspapers looked upon me in very much the same manner, but a great number of them were fair and human, and drew the line at certain "methods."

I called on Maître Aubin, to whom I told all that had taken place. He shook his head, and said, "Be careful.... Don't make an enemy of the _Matin_.... At the same time, I am sorry you sought the assistance of the Press.... The newspapers are exasperating the authorities."

I was stupefied. Whom was I to trust? Whom was I to believe?... Here was I become the sport of every wind that blew....

* * * * *

_Not a word_ about the Rossignol affair was said at my trial. But, in prison, when the _Dossier_ of the "Steinheil Affair" was at last handed to me, I discovered among the 4500 documents and the 15,000 pages composing it, some sixty pages dealing with the Rossignol clue. Below, I give the essential parts of those sixty pages, quoting accurately from the _Dossier_:

[Report]

PARIS, _November_ 14, 1908.

Yesterday and to-day certain newspapers have indicated as having possibly taken a part in the crime of the Impasse Ronsin, M. Rossignol, a former police inspector. It is true that a M. Rossignol was inspector in the Saint Lambert district, and that he had a bad reputation. I believe he was dismissed in May last.... I was told that Rossignol is now a traveller for a firm that sells coffee.... The examining magistrate will be at liberty to decide whether it would be useful to make an inquiry, in order to establish how the man spent his time on the night of May 30-31, 1908.

The Chief of the _Sûreté_ (Signed) HAMARD.

(_Dossier_ Cote 909)

[Official Report.]

_November 23rd_, 1908.

We, Octave Hamard, Chief of the _Sûreté_, &c., have this day summoned to our Cabinet M. Rossignol... thirty-eight years old... who made the following statements:

"It is difficult for me to say exactly how I spent my time in May last. I left the police at the beginning of that month and remained without occupation till June 1st.... On May 30th, in the evening, I met my friend Thiret, a chauffeur; with him and another chauffeur we dined at Zimmer's, in the rue Blondel. We left the restaurant towards 10.30 P.M., and went to various cafés.... In one of the places where we called (the address was given), people are sure to remember my presence that night. At 2.30 A.M. we were in the Faubourg Montmartre. It was 4 A.M. when I returned home to my wife and children.... On June 1st, I was engaged as a broker by a coffee firm. Later I was sent to Arras (in the North).... Then, I was suddenly called back to Paris. Certain newspapers, principally the _Matin_, were shown to me.... I was told that I was suspected of being one of the authors or the instigator of the Steinheil Affair, and that I had refused to be confronted with the widow of the painter, I was then dismissed from the firm....

(Signed) ROSSIGNOL HAMARD."

(_Dossier_, Cote 910)

PARIS, _December 5th, 1908_.

Report from the Commissary of Police, Chief of the "Mobile brigade" to the Chief of the _Sûreté_:

In reply to your demand for details concerning a certain Cavellier (a friend of Rossignol), who once belonged to the "Mobile Brigade" as inspector, I have the honour to supply the following information:

"Cavellier was appointed Inspector on January 1st, 1906, and was ordered to resign on August 31st of the same year... (on account of various robberies, mentioned in this document).

The Commissary of Police. (Signed) VALLET.

(_Dossier_ Cote 921)

[Report.]

PARIS, _December 15th, 1908_.

...The inquiry made among the _entourage_ of Mme. Steinheil about Rossignol has established that the latter _is unknown in the house, that he has never been seen here, even at the time when he was inspector in this district_....

(Signed) INSPECTOR DECHET.

(_Dossier_ Cote 911)

_January 4th, 1909._

Before us, André, examining magistrate &c.,... at the Palace of Justice... has appeared... M. Maurey, thirty-seven years old, Inspector, of the _Sûreté_.

_Question._ "We have heard a rumour according to which you are supposed to know of several meetings between the ex-inspector Rossignol and Mme. Steinheil, before and since May 31st, 1908?"

_Answer._ "I can tell you of a number of facts which may explain the murder. Rossignol, whom I only met in circumstances which I may describe, was an Inspector, attached first to the Vaugirard, then to the Epinettes 'commissariat' of police. In March and April 1908, I tried to trace a gang of burglars, but did not succeed.... In April 1908, I became convinced that Rossignol was connected, most suspiciously, with this gang of burglars, and whilst searching for them, I came across Rossignol. In the middle of April 1908, one evening, towards seven o'clock, I saw Rossignol, after visiting a bar in the Avenue de Clichy, join at a bus station, opposite the Saint-Lazare Station, an elegantly dressed woman, of about thirty, tall and stout, with a long face. Rossignol and the woman went to dine in a restaurant opposite that station.... They parted, after kissing, at the corner of the Rue de Rome and the Boulevard des Batignolles, at about 11 P.M. That was the only time I saw the woman with Rossignol.

"Later, Inspector Dechet having heard that Rossignol might have had something to do with the Affair, it was agreed that when Mme. Steinheil returned--she was then at the seaside (Louvières, in Normandy)--she should be pointed out to me so that I might say whether she was or was not the woman whom I had seen dining with Rossignol, near the Saint-Lazare Station. This was agreed, not only with Inspector Dechet, but also with Chief-Inspector Dol.

"Now, between that time and the time I was able to see Mme. Steinheil this is what happened.

"In August 1908, being in the company of a colleague, I met several times a certain Cavellier, who for a year, a few years ago, was my colleague, though I did not know that he was an Inspector. I believe he is attached, officially at least, to the detective department of the Ministry of the Interior.

"In August, during our first meetings, Cavellier spoke to me about the Steinheil affair.... _He told me that he was working in that affair for M. Sauerwein, adding that this gentleman was a Special Police Commissary at the Ministry of the Interior._ He also said he was shadowing Rossignol, that he believed Rossignol was Mme. Steinheil's lover, that he thought she might have 'done the deed' (_fait le coup_), and that, in any case, he was certain that Rossignol and Mme. Steinheil had met, once before May 30th, 1908, and once since then, and both times in a restaurant or a hotel close to the Saint-Lazare Station.... Cavellier told me all this at the end of August....

"Cavellier has always impressed me as a man who, having discovered--I don't know how--that I had been concerned with Rossignol, was trying to 'bait' me in order to find out what I knew about Rossignol. _I have never believed one word of what he told me about Madame Steinheil and Rossignol._ I told Chief-Inspector Dol, however, of my conversations with Cavellier. Chief-Inspector Dol gave no more credence than I did to Cavellier's statements.

"In September or October, I went to Bellevue with Inspector Dechet.... I saw Mme. Steinheil. I then found that Mme. Steinheil had far more refined features and a much rounder face than the woman whom I had seen with Rossignol, in April 1908, and further that Mme. Steinheil was far slimmer and not so tall as the other woman. To make quite clear my absolute conviction that Mme. Steinheil and the other woman were not the same person, I told all this to Inspector Dechet, the moment we left Vert-Logis.

"A fortnight later, I told Cavellier, whom I happened to meet, of my conviction. He made no remark.

"Since then I have met Cavellier once or twice, but we never talked again about the Steinheil Affair.

(Signed) MAIRET, The Inspector. ANDRÉ, The Examining Magistrate. SIMON, His Clerk."

(_Dossier_ Cote 918)

[Report.]

PARIS, _January 5th, 1909_.

In the absence of M. Cape, Chief of staff at the _Sûreté Générale_, M. Sébille, Director of the Investigations Department, declared that M. Sauerwein was unknown as a special Police Commissary, and had never belonged in any capacity whatever to the _Sûreté Générale_.

(Signed) INSPECTOR MAIREY.

(_Dossier_ Cote 920)

And here is the report of the examination, by M. André, of "Cavellier, 31 years old, private detective."

_Question._ "Do you know Mme. Steinheil by sight? If so, when did you first see her?"

_Answer._ "I knew her by sight. I met her for the first time in August 1908, at Bellevue, near Vert-Logis. I recognised her with the help of a description which I possessed. I have never spoken to her."

_Question._ "Do you know Rossignol?"

_Answer._ "Two or three days after my encounter with Mme. Steinheil, I met him at the Saint-Lazare Station. Mme. Steinheil (whom I then saw for the second time) was there and talked with him and another gentleman. She lunched at Scossa's. During the early days of November 1908, an inquiry which I was making brought me into contact with Rossignol, who was then at Avesnes-le-Comte (in the North of France). I then recognised in Rossignol the unknown man whom I had seen in August talking to Madame Steinheil at the Saint-Lazare Station, and afterwards lunching with her at Scossa's. I could not absolutely identify Rossignol; but I had the impression, although Rossignol seemed to me about 20 livres (sic) lighter, that he was the unknown man I had seen."

_Question._ "Tell us in what circumstances you came to make investigations about Madame Steinheil and Rossignol?"

_Answer._ "I make personal inquiries for people.... As regards this particular case, _I would rather not tell you the name of the person for whom I made the investigations_, as I consider myself bound by 'professional secrecy.' _At first, the object of my inquiries was to find out all that Madame Steinheil did--that is, in August 1908._ That is how I took the necessary steps to see her, and did see her, at Bellevue. It was also in these circumstances that I watched her two or three days later at the Saint-Lazare Station, and saw her talk, then lunch with the man I told you of. I found out nothing in particular about Madame Steinheil's doings. In November I made inquiries about Rossignol. This was after the publication in the Petit Parisien which stated that Madame Steinheil had special relations with an inspector--afterwards dismissed--who had had to make inquiries at her house on the occasion of a burglary, which took place two years ago, I believe. I found out that the only Inspector in the Vaugirard district who had been recently dismissed was called Rossignol. I heard Rossignol was at Avesnes-le-Comte, and I went there. I had made inquiries, and had discovered that the man had a bad reputation, and had been connected with burglars. At Avesnes-le-Comte.... I talked to Rossignol about the article in the _Petit Parisien_; he said he had not seen it; I made him read it, and he said afterwards: 'No, I don't believe they mean me in that article, especially as _I have never known Mme. Steinheil, have never seen her, and have only heard of her through the newspapers_.' I then asked him whether he thought the murder in the Impasse Ronsin had been committed by one of the Vaugirard gang. To this he replied: 'No; there are no heads strong enough in Vaugirard to-day, to carry out such a crime.' I concluded our interview by telling him: 'I am returning to Paris to render an account of my mission to the person who sent me, and it is possible that that person will contradict the article in the Petit Parisien.' The contradiction appeared in the _Matin_ on November 17, but I must tell you that it was not for this newspaper that I went to Avesnes-le-Comte. Since my interview with Rossignol in that city, I have seen him--the last time at Dijon, towards December 10. I went to Dijon for the same person who had sent me to Avesnes-le-Comte. There Rossignol merely confirmed what he had told me before.... I am not sure that the woman whom I saw at the Saint-Lazare Station was really Mme. Steinheil. Two or three days before I had seen her, or rather the person I thought was Mme. Steinheil--for all I had was a description--near Vert-Logis, without a hat, in ordinary dress. The woman I saw at the station wore a full mourning and a thick veil, and it is quite possible I made a mistake. Also when I saw Rossignol at Avesnes-le-Comte, I was not absolutely certain that I was standing before the man I had seen at the station with the lady I have just mentioned."

_Question._ "_To sum up your explanations, it appears that you are unable to assert that in August last, at the Saint-Lazare Station and at Scossa's, you really saw Rossignol and Mme. Steinheil._"

_Answer._ "_No, I cannot be positive on the point; besides that is exactly what I have always told to the person for whom I made those investigations._"...

(_Dossier_ Cote 923)

* * * * *

And it was on the strength of such "discoveries" that M. Sauerwein thought fit to insult an unfortunate and innocent woman, and fiercely accuse her, to her own face, of a ghastly crime!