![]() ![]() She is excited to meet a master thief, and suggests that he rob her mother, whose jewelry is insured, except the diamond dog, which must not be taken – even though this would be an obvious giveaway.īellini provides Robie with six tough ex- maquisards, including his old comrades Coco and Le Borgne. She mistakenly thinks that he is the leader of a gang, which staged all the apparent feats of Le Chat. He dismisses Danielle.įrancie Stevens has guessed that "Burns" is Le Chat. Paul doesn't recognize him, but Robie has to stop his scouting. Then Robie encounters Count Paul in Cannes. Paige announces an offer to buy back the jewels for 20% of their value – no questions asked. The thief strikes again, and Sûreté headquarters in Paris sends senior detective Lepic and additional agents. "Burns" has also attracted the attention of Francie Stevens, who is suspicious of men who may want to exploit her trusting mother. This annoys Claude, Danielle's muscular would-be boyfriend, but keeps Mrs. ![]() She decides that "Lucky" Burns is her personal good-luck charm, buys him drinks, and copies his bets, attracting unwanted attention.īellini provides Robie with Danielle, a pretty girl to escort "Burns" in the casinos. Stevens copies him with big bets, wins two million francs, and uses the money to buy a diamond dog pin with emerald eyes. He stands next to her in a casino (to study her jewelry), making small, cautious bets at roulette. He works out Le Chat-style plans for burgling their residences. He identifies three likely targets for the new Le Chat: Mrs. As "Jack Burns", vacationing American businessman, Robie scouts Riviera nightclubs and casinos. Jean-Pierre disguises Robie as a pudgy, middle-aged man. ![]() The thief is using Robie's methods, so Robie can help them catch the thief, and get the police off their backs. The police are cracking down, threatening to send all the old ex-prisoners back to prison. Robie wants to leave France, but Bellini asks him to help catch the new Le Chat. But after more thefts, Oriol's suspicion returned, and he tried to arrest Robie.Īfter escaping, Robie contacts Bellini in Cannes. Robie was suspected, but he assured Oriol that Le Chat was dead – killed in the Resistance. Then in 1951, there were new jewel thefts on the Riviera, exactly in the style of Le Chat. He comforted Paul during the tragic death of his wife Lisa from tuberculosis. He bought his villa, tended his garden, and played boules with the townsfolk, including his friends Commissaire Oriol and Count Paul. He had saved some of the proceeds of his thefts, and did not need to steal. Some returned to underworld occupations, but Robie retired. Their previous sentences were not remitted, but as long as they refrained from new crimes they would be left alone. He and many other released convicts joined the French Resistance (the Maquis), and fought against the Germans.Īfter the war, there was an unofficial amnesty for those released convicts who had been maquisards. He was caught and sent to prison in 1939.ĭuring the German occupation of France in World War II, the Germans released many convicts from French prisons, including Robie. In the late 1930s, Robie was a daring, supremely athletic burglar, known as Le Chat ("the cat"), who specialized in jewel thefts from hotels and villas on the French Riviera. He escapes, leaping over the garden wall. In August 1951, French police come to arrest American John Robie at his villa in Vence near the Côte d'Azur. The scene is the French Riviera, and the time is 1951. To Catch a Thief is a 1952 thriller novel by David Dodge. ![]()
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