Now the Fayeds, who had denied since the crash that Paul was drinking in the hotel, are admitting that he was. For the first time, Michael Cole, a Fayed spokesman, has told NEWSWEEK that Paul drank two glasses of pastis-a licorice-flavored liqueur-over a two-hour period in the Ritz Hotel bar on the night of the crash. Paul sold sailboats before joining the staff of the Fayeds’ hotel 11 years ago and had little formal training as a security officer. The Fayeds have pointed to a medical certificate Paul received three days before the crash to prove that he could not have been habitually drinking or using drugs. But the doctor who signed the certificate says blood isn’t usually screened in such cases.
Still, conspiracy theories persist. While Dodi’s father, Mohamed Al Fayed, has publicly expressed faith in the investigation, privately he is said to believe that someone conspired to kill his son and the princess. People close to Fayed say Diana thought she was being spied on by British intelligence and even believed that agents had arranged a motorcycle accident that killed one of her favorite bodyguards. They also say a drawing made by police after the accident has disappeared. Cole says questions surrounding the crash could grow to rival those that have dogged the death of JFK.
The Fayeds still think the paparazzi should share the blame, too. Cole says one photographer threatened bodyguards in an altercation hours before the crash. The Fayeds even suspect a photographer of stealing a necklace from around the dying Diana’s neck; the box it came in was found in the car, but not the jewels. Another missing piece of jewelry, an engagement-type ring Dodi gave to Di, was found among his effects in his apartment.
Meanwhile, the Brigade Criminelle, France’s storied investigative unit, is still searching the Paris area each morning for a mysterious white Fiat that may have been involved in the accident. Cops grumble that while these elite detectives go all out on what now seems to be a plain case of drunken driving, a suspected serial killer haunts the streets of Paris. Even in death, it seems, Di and Dodi can’t get out of the spotlight.
