[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.