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Date Posted: 02:15:44 11/17/08 Mon
Author: Hannah
Author Host/IP: port190.dialup.bfree.on.ca / 66.207.116.190
Subject: Northern Woods, Chapter 161
In reply to: Hannah 's message, "Northern Woods, Chapter 160" on 21:00:37 10/28/08 Tue

Chapter 161

Gabrielle followed the dark clad security man towards what appeared to be a sound booth.

“He’s expecting you.” the dark haired man said with a slight smile as he opened the door.

Joseph was surprised that he felt this benignly towards this woman. Usually, reporters made him sick; especially if their job was to get ‘dirt’ on his boss. This one, however, according to the word passed along tonight had been gracious towards his employer’s new wife. Perhaps she wasn’t as bad as the rest.

“Merci.” Gabrielle said, to the handsome dark-suited man she had followed. She was a little nervous about this interview but she was certain she hadn’t done anything to merit the famous Samuelle wrath.

‘Monsieur Samuelle’s obviously heard I was kind to his wife… and he’s going to thank me with an exclusive!’ she crowed inwardly. ‘This is a sound booth! What a perfect place for an interview! Talk about hiding in plain sight! Fabulous! None of the other reporters will be able to see or hear us… I’ll scoop them all! Louis will be so impressed!’

The room was dimly lit, and as soon as she entered, Gabrielle’s eyes struggled to adjust.

“Close the door.” A soft voice commanded.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Gagne… report to the main entrance.” Davenport ordered seconds later in Joseph’s com unit. “We’re short staffed there, and I want you to help me by coordinating the teams.”

“Understood.” Joseph replied, leaving his post at the sound booth and ordering in another man in to take his place. “Where are you?”

“I’m, searching Lalonde’s office.” Chris replied. “So far, it’s been successful.”

“Meaning?” Joseph asked breathlessly.

“I’ve found evidence to link Lalonde with tonight’s events.” Chris said quietly. “Monsieur Samuelle is going to be very interested. I think the police will be too.”

“Acknowledged.” Joseph replied. “Do you need any further assistance there?”

“No.” Chris replied. “Just take care of team coordination while I finish here. I want to be as thorough as possible.”

“Understood.” Joseph replied, as he reported to the hotel’s exterior, and began the process of checking on each team’s reports.

A few minutes later, Joseph looked up from his paperwork to see Claude imprison the red haired society woman in the back seat of his cruiser. Her shrieking voice was plainly audible to his team and several of his subordinates grinned in amusement.

Joseph grinned as well, delighting in the patience the man in blue was displaying. However, as he watched the expression on the patrolman’s face as he dealt with the red haired woman, it was evident that the man in blue had reached the limits of his endurance.

‘I can’t blame him… that witch is certainly acting like a spoiled brat. It’s too bad that women like that think they should always be catered to. She’s no better than the former Madame Samuelle.’ He thought as he shuddered in disgust.

Just remembering that woman was enough to send chills up his spine. With a sigh, he turned from observing the Montreal patrolman and went back to his reports and reevaluating the data before him.

As Joseph mulled through the events of the evening, while sorting through the various reports before him. Suddenly, something clicked in his mind and his eyes widened in horror.

The red haired society woman’s presence and the Hispanics’ earlier mention of a woman of that description now made sense and upon that realization, Joseph’s eyes widened in horror.

‘What a bizarre juxtaposition of events!’ Joseph thought as his mind swiftly sorted the complexity and simplicity of the situation.

‘ Jurgen somehow managed to circumvent the standard security check and position the three Hispanic men inside the facility.’

‘But why? Why would Jurgen go to all that trouble if they didn’t have access to Madame Samuelle? He’s demented… but he’s not stupid! . He had to have known they could access her! ‘But how?’ Joseph wondered. ‘Think this through logically Gagne! The only logical explanation here is there had to be someone else on the inside helping him! But how many people? First he’d need intel on security and how tight it was… and then he’d need someone with actual access to his target! So… one or more inside accomplices! Then he gets his *hoods* inside. Only his *hoods* aren’t very bright … they mention him by name… and he’s stupid and impatient enough to call them. Then there’s the mention of ‘a red haired friend’. The little society tramp that officer just put in his cruiser had red hair! Was she Jurgen’s ‘friend’? Oh man! Had she been present tonight simply as a guest… or was she one of his inside accomplices? Had she been recruited specifically in order to drive Madame Samuelle into the waiting arms of her potential kidnappers? Or I am looking at this backwards…was she the driving force behind this night’s events and was the real motivator to remove Madame Samuelle in order to give her access to him?’

A frowning Joseph re-evaluated the situation and the more he thought about it, the less he liked what he was deducing.
Joseph shuddered as his thoughts continued.

‘Whoever planned this.. there’s motive enough to implicate both Jurgen and that socialite! The redhead was already *inside* but how did either of them know there wouldn’t be any security in the hallways? Only someone involved *with* security would *know* that or be able to assist with that! I need to report this to Davenport as soon as possible so that he can conduct an internal investigation! How is it that he overlooked this possible anomaly? He’s supposed to be a professional!’

Joseph wasn’t sure what to think. Swiftly he reviewed all his notes from their first briefing on tonight’s party.

‘Whose responsibility was it for guarding the corridors and vestibules tonight?’

With a sigh of relief, he saw that hotel security had agreed to do that.

‘But if that’s true, then where were they? Who belayed the order to guard those areas… and why? Come to think of it…. I haven’t seen many hotel security men on duty tonight at all! When Davenport realizes that… and the near fiasco that had almost occurred… he’ll be furious! Monsieur Samuelle will be too! Wait! Didn’t Davenport say earlier that he couldn’t find Lalonde at all? Yes… the hotel security man who he spoke to before raiding the kitchen said Lalonde had left on holidays. That makes no sense! Why would he leave the *day* of an important event like this? You’d think he’d leave the next day… *after* all the security protocols had been implemented successfully! Given all that’s happened tonight…that’s suspicious! All I know it’s a good thing that Jurgen’s men were apprehended before Madame Samuelle exited the ballroom, otherwise Jurgen’s plan might have succeeded!’
~~~~~~~~~~~
Claude sighed as he slammed the rear door shut on the cruiser and his squirming, cursing prisoner.

‘My head’s still spinning from being near that woman! What a jumble of contradictions that bitch is! All the way to my cruiser she was either swearing at me or trying to seduce me!’

Claude shook his head in disgust, sighing as he remembered his encounter with the expensively clad redhead.

‘When I told her she was under arrest for committing assault, she looked down her nose and laughed at me! At me! An officer of the law! When she saw that I was serious, she began resisting until I threatened to charge her with resisting arrest in addition to assault! Mon Dieu! Then she began screaming! She wouldn’t listen when I told her to shut up either… but then she thought being seductive would help! What a pathetic tramp! She must have seen my amusement because then she began cursing at me! There’s no way in hell I’d ever be attracted to someone who acts like that!’

Claude sighed again, realizing that aside from money, looks and elegant apparel, Giselle had been just like this woman.

‘What *was* I thinking! How could I exchange Maria’s class for that tramp!’ he wondered, shaking his head at his own gullibility. ‘Yeah, life with Maria wasn’t always a party, but it was *real*!’

Claude briefly shut his eyes, and then after inhaling deeply, he turned towards the security men that were posted outside the hotel in hopes that one of them would be kind enough to give him some information about Maria. He could hear the muted cries of his prisoner, but he ignored her.

‘She’s not going anywhere! She’s hand-cuffed and locked inside the backseat of my cruiser. I really should just *go*… take her in….’ Claude thought with a sigh, ‘but before I do that I’m going to take five minutes to see if someone will give me any information on Maria! I need to know that she’s really working here tonight and that maybe.. just maybe there’s some hope…’

“Pardonne moi.” Claude said politely, as he tapped a dark-haired, black suited man on the shoulder. “Are you with security for the party?”

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