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THE CHOICE OF DRIVER. Lab results released last week indicate that Henri Paul, the Ritz's 41-year-old deputy security director, had been in a state of "moderate chronic alcoholism" for at least eight days. Tests of hair samples, moreover, show that Paul had been regularly ingesting Prozac (since May) and tiapridal (since July), a combination of drugs commonly prescribed for the treatment of alcoholism. Earlier tests had shown that Paul had drunk the equivalent of nine shots of whiskey before taking the wheel of the Mercedes. How could his state have escaped the attention of the people around him? Rees-Jones, interrogated before his departure for Britain this week, told investigators that Paul seemed "just fine" that night. The other Fayed-family bodyguard on duty that night, Alexander ("Kez") Wingfield, 32, has also said Paul behaved normally and did not smell of alcohol even at close range. Both bodyguards told investigators that it would have been their duty to prevent Paul from driving had they had the slightest suspicion that he was drunk.
But several of the photographers declared Paul's behavior "bizarre." He emerged from the Ritz on several occasions to chat with the paparazzi and even told them the couple would be coming out after dinner. He was so voluble at least two photographers suspected he had been drinking. Another source who knows Paul well and was with him that night found him "chattier than usual."
Whose idea was it, then, to put Paul in the driver's seat that night? During his initial questioning by Judge Stephan on Sept. 19, Rees-Jones said it was "Dodi who called Henri Paul so he could drive us from the rear of the hotel." It was Dodi as well, said Rees-Jones, who "changed the plan" and decided to send his regular chauffeur, Philippe Dourneau, and another driver off in two decoy vehicles while Paul whisked the couple away in a different car. Rees-Jones reiterated those statements last week, and fellow bodyguard Wingfield confirms that Dodi made these fateful decisions. But it is also clear that other senior Ritz officials were aware of the plan to use an extra Mercedes for a surreptitious getaway and even took part in organizing it.
THE MERCEDES. Shortly after the tragedy, there was a flurry of articles in the French press, quoting anonymous Ritz chauffeurs, claiming that the Mercedes S-280 had recently suffered a serious accident and had to be totally rebuilt. The accident story is false, says Jean-Francois Musa, 38, manager of the Etoile Limousine company, which leased the car to the Ritz. But he told TIME it is true that the car was stolen in front of the posh Taillevent restaurant on April 20 and was found in a Paris suburb on May 6.
"The car was apparently stolen by professionals for parts," says Musa. "Mainly small electronic motors, switches and circuits." Devices ripped out included those that controlled the windows, power steering and antilock braking system. The car was repaired by a Paris Mercedes dealer at a cost of more than $20,000, Musa reports, adding that at the time it was totally checked out and showed no mechanical problems. On July 7 it passed its annual police inspection.