For the rest of the holiday, a whole week, the commotion at 12, Rue d'Antin did not subside.
Residents who could leave did so, and those who couldn't stayed indoors and refused visitors.
As Paris's most sensational sex-and-murder case recently, it became a major pastime for Parisians to alleviate their boredom.
Not only did popular dailies like Le Petit Journal, Le Petit Parisien, and Le Matin all begin tracking and reporting on the case, but even Le Figaro published extensive reports and commentaries.
Lionel opened the newspaper and saw a series of sensational headlines—
Le Petit Journal— "Bloodbath on Rue d'Antin! Husband Shoots Adulterous Wife and Lover, Then Commits Suicide!"
[...Terrified neighbors rushed to the scene and witnessed a hellish sight: Madame Petit and Monsieur Panser lay in a pool of blood, their bodies torn apart by powerful buckshot, dead on the spot!
And Monsieur Grinheit, a usually quiet and honest man, known as a "model husband," sat in a blood-stained armchair, gun aimed at his jaw, blowing off half his head! The scene was a gruesome, bloody mess, unbearable to behold!...
We can't help but ask: Is such a tragedy the result of moral decay or the distortion of human nature?]
Le Petit Parisien— "Love Nest on Rue d'Antin Becomes Graveyard, Three Lives Lost!"
[Madame Petit had long maintained an illicit relationship with Monsieur Lucien de Panser, an opera actor living in the same building.
Monsieur Panser, handsome and dashing, had a rich romantic history, and his dissolute lifestyle was already rumored.
The catalyst for the tragedy is suspected to be Monsieur Grinheit catching the two in the act, leading to an instantaneous explosion of long-suppressed rage and humiliation, resulting in an irreparable tragedy.
Currently, the distraught relatives from both sides have arrived at the scene and are reportedly stable...]
Lionel's emotions remained relatively stable upon reading this, and he turned to Le Figaro.
As a newspaper whose primary clientele was the middle class, Le Figaro did not sensationalize the gruesome details of the crime scene but focused instead on deeply exploring the underlying causes of the case.
Le Figaro— "The Triple Tragedy of Rue d'Antin: Social Disorder or Individual Collapse?"
[Monsieur Grinheit was both perpetrator and victim.
He represented a typical good Parisian citizen: diligent at work, with a respectable income, striving to maintain a happy family life.
Monsieur Lucien de Panser, on the other hand, symbolized another type of urban dweller: relying on charm and a disregard for morality, living on the fringes of the law.
Madame Petit's actions exposed the alienation, even decay, of values in Paris during its rapid expansion.
Monsieur Alphonse Bertillon, head of the Parisian Police Department's Criminal Identification Bureau, pointed out to this newspaper that this case highlights the necessity of promoting a system for identifying "born criminals."
Grinheit's flat forehead and prominent brow bones indicate poor emotional control and a propensity for violent crimes; Lucien's long, narrow face and high skull are typical features of swindlers and erotomaniacs...]
"Born criminals?"
Lionel found it somewhat outrageous after reading it, murmuring,
"If this catches on, Paris will need ten more Bastilles."
But then, the report in La Croix made Lionel's scalp tingle— "Lewd Novels Spawn Real-Life Tragedies! Rue d'Antin Bloodbath Warns of Moral Decay's Consequences!"
[The blood spilled at 12, Rue d'Antin has not yet dried, and three souls have plunged into the abyss due to sinful lust!
It is the poisonous fruit of the continuous collapse of the moral foundations of Paris, and indeed, all of France!
And what nourishes this sinful soil are the rampant, blasphemous, and corrupting publications of today!
Look at the characters in the case!
That tempting, degenerate Lucien de Panser shares not only the same surname but also the same profession as the libertine character "Louis Panser" in the banned book, The Decadent City, which is poisoning countless souls! Is this a coincidence?
No, this is a divine revelation.
Bishop Guibert and His Eminence Cardinal Montelli have already issued thunderous warnings in the assembly!
The Decadent City and its ilk are a spiritual plague cast upon humanity by Satan!
The tragedy on Rue d'Antin is the latest, bloodiest example of this plague's outbreak!
We strongly demand: a complete ban on The Decadent City and all related publications!
Hunt down its publisher and that wicked author hiding behind the mask of an "honest Parisian"!
The blood on Rue d'Antin must not have been shed in vain!
It is a tearful accusation and a sacred warning to society as a whole!
Let us, under God's guidance, cleanse the filth and reclaim purity!]
Lionel felt a cold sweat break out on his back as he read the last sentence.
When he had used Lucien as a prototype to create The Decadent City, he had never imagined that the two would one day be linked by such an event.
If he were caught by reporters as a neighbor of Grinheit and Lucien, he would surely be grilled, and if someone were to read this report and let their imagination run wild...
Lionel dared not imagine what kind of chain reaction would ensue.
Fortunately, however, he was no longer at 12, Rue d'Antin, but at 64, Rue Laffitte, in an "Haussmannian" apartment of similar size to his previous one.
Unlike 12, Rue d'Antin, this apartment was not right next to the opera house but two blocks away, alongside Boulevard Haussmann and Galeries Lafayette, with residents mostly consisting of clerks, minor literati, grocers, and petty bourgeois.
The only minor inconvenience was that there was no running water in the apartment; water had to be fetched from a communal tap in the hallway, which lowered the rent to 80 francs per month.
He had swiftly moved in on the third day after the murder, bringing only the most essential items from 12, Rue d'Antin, precisely to disassociate himself from the case as quickly as possible.
The building manager at 12, Rue d'Antin did not make things difficult for him; on the contrary, he happily refunded the rent and deposit—after all, compared to a former tenant who wouldn't blab to reporters and had left early, a few hundred francs was more like cutting losses than a loss.
Lionel also noticed a bad omen—
Le Charivari hadn't even followed up on the murder case, simply publishing its usual vulgar stories, jokes, and gossip, and dedicating more and more space to advertisements.
This was clearly abnormal and raised Lionel's internal alarm to the highest level.
But there was also good news—
When he secretly returned to 12, Rue d'Antin a few nights later to retrieve some things, he received a reply from Émile Bergerat, the editor of La Vie Moderne.
Émile Bergerat agreed to pay 30 sous per line for "Letter from an Unknown Woman," and included a sample copy of the current issue.
On the front page of La Vie Moderne, were the large words "Letter from an Unknown Woman," beneath which was a large, Impressionistic illustration—
A living room with a deep red velvet carpet, curtains partially open, a warm but dim yellow winter morning sunbeam slanting in, falling onto the wooden floor;
A man sat on a sofa, clad in a half-unbuttoned dressing gown, holding a long, opened letter.
His expression was confused, bewildered, with an almost imperceptible slight upward curve at the corner of his mouth, carrying a hint of mockery or hesitation.
To Lionel's astonishment, the illustration was in color!
(End of Chapter)
---------------------
Support me on P@treon
[email protected]/charaz
$3 -> 50 chapters in advance
$5 -> 100 chapters in advance
$10 -> 200+ chapters in advance
Check my pinned post on P@treon