"Panting and with his face distorted, Rémy Couillard cried 'I am caught!... I will talk only when I am before M. Hamard....'
"I then said to M. Chabrier that after this scene, the only thing for him to do was to return with the pocket-book to M. Hamard. I also told him to call first, at the Matin, to fetch M. de Labruyère, so that they might go together to the Sûreté...."
(Dossier Cote 43)
To me in my abnormal, almost morbid state of mind, those words: "I am caught!... I will talk only before M. Hamard!" came as a revelation. Couillard was livid and sank into his chair like a man who had been found out or who had given up fighting.... "I am caught!" That was a confession obviously! At last the truth would come out. I did not think Couillard guilty, but felt sure that he knew a great deal about the murder, and now he would have to speak.... Then suddenly a thought occurred to me: Would Couillard speak? M. Hamard had declared to M. Chabrier that he did not consider the stealing of a letter a serious offence.... If Couillard was to speak, to confess what he knew, something more was needed than the stolen letter.... Whilst the others discussed the "next move," I went into my room. I was frantic with excitement and thought: What shall I do to make him speak? I could not see then that those words, "I am caught," might have had no meaning and merely refer to the stealing of the stamp, and I kept muttering: "I am caught! I am caught!... What does he mean by that!" And I recalled a conversation between Couillard and Alexandre Wolff a few days before. Mariette was away at the time and I was able to enter the pantry, when I heard the two men talking together. (Alexandre Wolff had come to see his mother and had remained to dinner.) Wolff was saying: "You fool, why did you not do as I told you? Have you taken it away from the attic?" And Couillard replied, "She won't give me the key; it is not difficult to get in." Thereupon I heard Mariette returning, and I withdrew.
As I recalled that dialogue, I could not imagine that it merely referred to Couillard's bag, but found in it new grounds for my suspicions.
I had Couillard's pocket-book in my hand. I took from a drawer a pearl which came from the "new-art" ring I have already mentioned, wrapped it in tissue paper, and slipped it into the pocket-book.
Now, I thought, they will arrest him. He will be frightened, and if he knows anything, as I am sure he does, he will make a confession. If he is really quite innocent, I will tell my friend M. Leydet that I placed the pearl in the pocket-book, and I will explain why. After that I returned to the dining-room, and handed the pocket-book to M. Chabrier, who put it in his pocket and walked away.
I will now continue quoting from the evidence given by M. Barby.
"... Whilst M. Chabrier was carrying out his mission, Couillard remained seated in the dining-room, and did not utter a word. After a time, he said he wished to write a letter. I told Mariette to bring some note-paper, and he started writing. I saw that his letter began with the words: 'My dear mother....' and the first lines expressed regrets. When he had finished, and just as he was about to place his letter in an envelope, I told him: 'You read Mlle. Steinheil's letter; why should I not read yours?' He hastily put the letter in his pocket and remarked that I was not an examining magistrate, but only a journalist.
"Couillard remained in the dining-room until M. Chabrier's return. It was then about 8 P.M....."