27. When France’s Best Detective Made a Fateful Beach Trip
In 1887, things were going well for Robert Ledru, a 35-year-old Paris police officer who was considered to be one of the best detectives in all of France. So when the authorities in Le Havre asked Paris for help with a mysterious case of missing sailors, Ledru was sent to lend them a hand. He arrived in the Normandy port in evening and went to bed early. When he awoke the next morning, he was surprised to discover that his shoes and socks were wet.
When he got to Le Havre’s police station, Ledru was informed that the missing sailors’ case was now a low priority. There had been a murder during the night at the beach. The victim was a prominent businessman named Andre Monet, who had been discovered face down in the sand, shot through with a bullet. What initial investigators found odd was that the victim had not been robbed, and nothing pointed to any reason, motive, or suspect. Little did Ledru know at the time just how bizarre the murder investigation would turn out.