there was something about her attitude , a mixture of haughtiness and condescension that threw paul off track , making him feel tongue tied and clumsy , well , you see , im her neighbour and we were just having dinner and all these police came and she ran away ... he took a much needed breath , and well , she gave me the crystal and asked , or told me to bring it here , and i dont know where she is and thats about it , paul finished lamely , feeling the blood starting to rise to his face , as mme dubois studied him hard .