Le Roméo

Le Roméo is a newly opened nightclub on Rue Caumartin whose closed-door wedding reception becomes an important point in the investigation. Its entrance, illuminated by a neon sign, is the setting for a reported sighting of the woman in the blue evening dress; inside, her attempt to reach the bride gives the investigators a traceable connection between her and the wedding party.

Setting and Wedding Reception

On a Monday night, shortly before midnight, Léon Zirkt waits across from Le Roméo. The club is not admitting ordinary customers that night: it has been rented for a wedding reception celebrating the marriage of Marco Santoni, an Italian vermouth brand’s representative in France, and Jeanine Armenieu. A newspaper clipping identifies the occasion, which drew many guests and, according to the report, people from the smart world.

The Woman at the Club

A taxi driver’s account places a woman in a blue evening dress and dark velvet cape outside the club at about a quarter past twelve, as drizzle falls. Zirkt calls out to offer her a taxi, as he usually does, but she shakes her head and walks on. The neon sign makes the entrance bright enough for him to see that the dress is rather shabby. The club’s doorkeeper, Gaston Rouget, also recognizes the photograph shown to him, corroborating the identification.

Inside, the woman first stands just beyond the doorway. The head waiter speaks to her quietly, apparently asking whose party she has come to join; she shakes her head and moves through the crowd. Guests are standing, and couples dance between the tables and on the floor. The bride is dancing too, so it takes the woman some time to reach her. They talk for several minutes, but Santoni twice interrupts them impatiently.

Investigative Significance

Le Roméo supplies more than an address: the wedding’s restricted access, the staff’s observations, and Zirkt’s position opposite the entrance make the woman’s presence and departure available for reconstruction. The accounts converge on a distinctive blue dress, while the exchange with the bride establishes that the woman sought her out during the reception. Her refusal of a taxi leaves her walking away alone; the nightclub therefore marks both a brief attempt at contact and the point from which she disappears into the night.