La Ciotat is a small place.
How small is it?
Lin Ze and Delacour walked on the only main road in the town for less than five minutes and counted the stores on the entire street.
There is a bakery, a hardware store, a coffee shop with a faded awning at the door, and a shop selling fishing gear. There are several rolls of fishing nets and a dusty anchor model in the window.
"Arrived."
Mr Delacour stopped in front of a beige two-story building, took out a bronze key from his pocket, and opened the old wooden door.
"Is this...?"
"Ministry of Magic settled here and bought a property a long time ago. Not many people know about it."
Mr Delacour opened the door and walked in. The furnishings in the room were very simple, with a few chairs, a table, and an old-looking telescope set up by the window, with the lens facing the direction of the dock.
Gee, French Ministry of Magic is indeed rich. It feels like there are properties on duty for them everywhere.
Lin Ze walked in, walked around the room, and wiped the table with his fingers.
No ash.
"Is someone cleaning it regularly?"
"A House-elf."
"This is the berthing record archived by the dock management office that was delivered this morning." Mr Delacour took out a piece of paper from his pocket.
"In the past two weeks, a total of 47 vessels have been registered at this pier, 45 of which are fishing vessels and the other two are cargo ships."
"The two cargo ships, one carrying olive oil and the other carrying wine, belong to two local trading companies in Marseille. They have clean backgrounds and there is nothing suspicious about them."
"What about the forty-five fishing boats?"
"They are all boats owned by local fishermen. The oldest one is probably a year older than you. The owner is an old man in his seventies. He goes out to sea every day before dawn and comes back in the afternoon. He is unstoppable."
Mr Delacour scratched the list with his finger, "I have had people check these ships, and no problems were found."
Lin Ze leaned on the back of his chair and tapped his fingers on the table. "Not finding the problem is the biggest problem. If there is no problem with the ships at the dock, how did Bados's supplies get shipped out?"
"So, the ship we need to check is not on the surface."
"Not on the bright side..." Lin Ze looked out the window thoughtfully.
In the direction of the pier, several small fishing boats were swaying gently with the waves, and the ropes on the masts were jingling in the wind.
The sea in the distance was shimmering in the sun and looked incredibly calm.
"No matter what, I still have to squat first."
Lin Ze dragged the chair to the window, sat down, then took out an orange from his pocket and began to peel it slowly.
The fragrance of orange peels filled the small room, and mixed with the sea breeze blowing in from the window, it actually smelled quite good.
"You still carry oranges with you?" Mr Delacour raised his eyebrows.
"My friend gave me some as a gift before, and I thought they were pretty good. After that, I took some with me... well... this is the last one left."
Lin Ze broke open the orange, hesitated for a moment, then broke it into half and handed it to Mr Delacour.
Mr Delacour glanced at the half orange, took it, and stuffed it into his mouth without saying a word.
The two of them just sat by the window, eating oranges and staring at the dock.
The sea breeze poured in through the half-open window, bringing with it a salty smell.
The sky is getting dark.
A few dim lights were lit on the pier, and the lights were reflected in the dark sea water, and were crushed into pieces of gold by the waves.
Several fishermen were squatting beside the trestle, sorting their fishing nets, with pipes in their mouths, and the smoke was blown away by the sea breeze.
A tabby cat squatted on the biting post and licked its paws. After licking, it curled up into a ball, put its tail on its nose and fell asleep.
Mr Delacour adjusted the angle of the telescope again, and then remained silent for a while. "I still can't figure out Richard's matter."
Lin Ze was chewing an orange and almost choked when he heard this.
He didn't expect Delacour to bring up this topic again.
"Does he know that you have groomed him as your successor?"
"Maybe." Mr Delacour leaned back on the chair and looked at the sea in the distance.
"Maybe I'm just too old and confused to make a mistake."
Lin Ze thought this is so interesting.
"Actually."
Lin Ze put the last orange segment into his mouth and said vaguely, "I think there's nothing wrong with your way of looking at people."
Mr Delacour turned to look at him.
"It's just that people will change over time."
Mr Delacour was silent for a long time.
"What about you?" he asked suddenly.
"Huh?"
"Will you change?"
Lin Ze was choked by this question.
He was stunned for a moment, and then laughed, "It depends on who you are talking about, Olivia, of course I won't."
Mr Delacour snorted and turned his gaze to the window again.
After nightfall completely fell, the activities on the pier gradually became less and less.
The last fishing boat returned to the port around 9:30. The boss of the boat was a big, round man. When he jumped off the boat, he stepped on the trestle and made the trestle creak.
Lin Ze counted and found that there were a total of six fishing boats returning to port tonight, which exactly matched the number on Mr Delacour's list.
No extra boats appeared, and no one stayed at the pier.
"It seems that there is nothing gained tonight." Lin Ze yawned.
"But that's normal. Today is not a supply day. Let's go check it out first. Tomorrow will be the main event."
Mr Delacour nodded and said nothing more.
The two of them stayed on guard for more than an hour, and after confirming that there was absolutely no movement at the pier, they left the safe house.
Lin Ze It was almost eleven o'clock when we returned to the hotel.
Tomorrow is Tuesday.
If Fenwick's information is correct, Bados's supply ship will appear at La Ciotat's dock tomorrow.
As long as you find the supply ship, you can follow the clues and find the abandoned cruise ship hidden on the bottom of the sea and the laboratory of Bados.
He turned over and closed his eyes.
At half past six the next morning, Lin Ze appeared on time at the small building opposite the pier.
He slept fairly well last night. Before going out, he bought two croissants from the bakery downstairs of the hotel. He ate one himself and stuffed the other in his pocket, ready to give it to him when Mr Delacour came.
But Mr Delacour arrived earlier than him.
Lin Ze When he opened the door, he was already sitting by the window adjusting the telescope, with a cup of steaming coffee beside him.
"Morning."
Lin Ze said hello, took out the croissant and put it on the table, "I brought it for you."
Mr Delacour glanced at the croissant that was a little flattened by Lin Ze stuffed in his coat pocket, nodded, then picked it up and took a bite.
"The taste is okay." Mr Delacour commented.
Time passed by minute by minute.
The sun rises from the sea level, dyeing the sea surface golden.
The pier gradually became lively, and fishermen began to busily organize their fishing gear and check the condition of their boats. A few fishmongers who got up early set up temporary stalls beside the pier, shouting at the top of their lungs about the fresh fish they had just caught.
No vessels suspected of being supply ships were seen.
"Could it be that Fenwick remembered it wrong?" Lin Ze whispered.
Eleven o'clock.
Twelve o'clock.
Two o'clock in the afternoon.
The hustle and bustle of the pier gradually subsided, the fishmongers closed their stalls, and the fishermen returned home one after another.
There were only a few seagulls left on the trestle, pecking at the fish scales on the ground, and the tabby cat, which had been replaced with a thicker bollard and continued to sleep. Lin Ze began to doubt life.
"Sir, are you sure there is only one terminal at La Ciotat?"
"Sure, this is the only one in town." Mr Delacour also frowned.
Four o'clock.
Five o'clock.
Lin Ze leaned his chair back, crossed his legs on the window sill, held a piece of hay pulled from the window frame in his mouth, and stared at the dock with dull eyes.
He now understands very well why those Auror who stay in the camp are always grumpy. This job is really not done by humans.