Chapter 11

Three days following the discovery of Ginny Novak's body in the Saint Lawrence River, An-toine Poirier was brought to trial for extortion, found guilty, and sentenced to ten years in prison. Throughout the horrible ordeal, Madeleine re-mained secluded, appearing only at the court hearings and always in the company of Gaston Larreau and his battery of attorneys. But there was hardly any escaping the newsmen who swarmed the court daily and badgered her at every opportunity; it was front-page scandal for weeks inasmuch as the nefarious Canadian crime czar was involved, as well as his nephew, along with the untimely death of the powerful under-world lord's mistress.

Madeleine had never been close to Ginny Novak, but it was nearly impossible for her to think of the lovely blonde girl as being a suicide. When she had first disappeared right after Antoine's arrest, Madeleine felt certain she had run away, back to the states perhaps, but then, all those weeks later when they fished her horribly bloated body from the river, the shock, on top of Antoine's pending situation, was almost too much to bear. Only Uncle Gaston seemed to have the strength and perseverance necessary to keep them all going.

"Antoine will be all right, ma chere," the little emperor would insist. "You mustn't worry. So... he has to do a little time; it won't hurt him, eh? He gambled for big stakes and lost. He's lucky he's got the syndicate behind him... otherwise, he could end up with twenty years." Then, he would take her hands inside his own little fat ones and hold them possessively. "But don't you worry about a thing, Cheri. I'll see that you're taken care of. You'll come to live with Uncle Gaston, eh? One big happy family..." He'd wink then and the blood would chill in her veins.

Madeleine remained in her and Antoine's apartment until the end. On that last rainy morning when the judge passed sentence, she thought she would lose her mind. She had screamed out in the courtroom, then fainted. Later, in an adjoining chamber, she had awakened with only Uncle Gaston beside her. He sat on the edge of the leather chesterfield where she lay, and she could hardly believe it when she felt his hot hand caressing her thigh beneath her mini-dress, his wet, rubbery mouth stretched in a warm, if, lecherous smile.

"There, there, my pet," he cooed down at her. "Everything's going to be fine. You'll come home with me and I'll take care of you... just you and me now, eh? We'll have some wonderful times together. We'll travel... see the world... whatever your little heart desires, ma chere..."

She stared up at him, her eyes widening in horrified disbelief, the meaning of his words registering fully in her sickened, heart-broken brain.

"First, we'll get the kid for you, eh? How's that?" he said, grinning, convinced that this of all things would influence her.

"Oh... Oh God... ! Y-You filthy... filthy, vile beast!" Madeleine hissed at him, shoving his hand from beneath her dress with such force that he nearly fell off the edge of the couch. Suddenly, she swung bodily around, pivoting on her buttocks, and was on her feet before the squat Larreau could regain his balance. "Damn you!" she half screamed at him. "You're the cause of Antoine's going to prison! You used him... and he's going there in your place... just as you probably had Ginny Novak murdered! All so that you could have me... is that it? Y-You despicable pig! Filthy swine!" She backed toward the door, her beautiful face drawn in vicious hatred. "Well... you'll never have me again, damn you! Never, you hear? Never!"

Abruptly, Larreau's expression changed, the blood draining from his round face, the scar on his right cheek suddenly becoming a livid purple in his mounting rage. He moved toward her then, but she was not there by the time he'd crossed the room; she had jerked open the door and was running down the corridor, her sobs and the pounding of her heels echoing back to him as he called after her.