A Veteran Detective
The banking house of Badeau & Richter was situated at 48 Rue du Faubourg Poissopiere.
On October 17, 1863, an unknown man presented himself at the bank and left with them two drafts for collection, payable at the rooms of a monsieur Louis Vandier, 61 Rue Montorgueil.
Two days afterward the collecting clerk of the bank referred to, a young man named Goujet, only nineteen years old, started out on a long collecting tour, and was never again seen alive.
Such were the facts as reported to the police, and the detective force was at once set to work.
By diligent inquiry the missing clerk was traced to the house in the Rue Montorgueil, where all traces of him were lost.
Thorough search of the apartments occupied by M. Vandier showed that the person recently inhabiting them had flown and left no trace of his whereabouts or destination behind.
The name Vandier was written in chalk on the door.
Whether the clerk was in league with the person in the above-named street to defraud his employers, or whether he had been foully dealt with, was a very difficult question to settle at this stage of affairs.
No discoveries, however, were made, and it was determined on the 27th of October, ten days later, at the prefecture, to entrust the case to one Varnet, a veteran detective noted for his activity and shrewdness. His first step, taken with little hope of successfully unraveling the mystery at so late a day, was to visit Monsieur Gosseau, the leasee of the house, in the Rue Montorgueil, and to obtain from him as precise a description of M. Vandier as possible.
Varnet was informed that M. Vandier and a companion had occupied rooms in the house, and as M. Vandier had called upon him in reference to the lease of the premises, a description of him was easily obtained. Monsieur Gosseau further… Read More