An excerpt from chapter 12 of Trap –
The Spectacle of Paris at Night
“Beyond the neon sex district, Paris was an empty city, a blacked-out stage filled with buildings and sidewalks that were just props waiting for tomorrow’s performance. The time was well beyond midnight and even Paris traffic had disappeared. I could sail along boulevards, paying no attention to details like red traffic lights. Suddenly, I swept into a vast plaza lined by classical buildings with rows of Greek columns. I was driving in the spacious Place Vendome, home to shops that are the Rodeo Drive of Paris, with a glamour and snobbery that pulls the wealthy from around the world.”
“All around the square, window displays were brilliantly lit despite the ridiculously late hour. The jewels of Cartier glittered next to Charvet’s extravagantly expensive silk shirts and neckties. The center of the Place Vendome was highlighted by spotlights glinting on a huge cylindrical monument, the Vendome Column. The pillar’s spiraling bronze tiles were melted from cannons won by Napoleon in battle. This was the spectacle of Paris at its most decadent – history, greed, fame, dramatically lit at night. One side of the plaza was even more brilliantly lit by floodlights illuminating the luxurious Regis hotel, where Taylor Hansen claimed he was waiting for me.”