April in Paris

by PD4758PW

Perry and Della end up in Paris at the end of "TCOT Betrayed Bride". In the television show, Perry says that they are there because their client Marie needed help explaining her ordeal to her parents. So have you ever wondered why it was necessary for Perry to bring Della along to Paris? I hope my story will explain that.

10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Without disturbing the sleeping beauty at his side, Perry managed slip out of bed as the sun was coming up over their château near Bordeaux. He quietly put on some clothes and collected the damp bath towels and bathrobes that they had discarded on the floor the night before. Perry left her bathrobe at the foot of the bed and took his bathrobe with the towels along with him to the bathroom. He hung up the damp towels and washed up a bit to get ready for his first birthday surprise of the day for his girl. After a quick glance at Della to make sure she was still sleeping, he walked out of the bedroom heading to the kitchen.

Perry silently assembled ingredients in the kitchen for the birthday breakfast he wanted to prepare for Della. With occasional glances at the kitchen clock to make sure he would have the feast prepared before Della would awaken, he put one of the items in the oven before he finished putting together the accompaniments to the main course. While coffee brewed in a percolator, he stacked some fresh croissants on a plate and placed them on the dining room table. After the place settings were put out on the table, he quickly rechecked his work to make sure he did not forget anything. He noticed that he was missing a flower for the table centerpiece. Searching through a china cabinet in the dining room, he found a small bud vase. He removed a single rose from a bouquet in the sitting room and placed it in the vase with a little water. The table was set.

Quietly walking back into the bedroom, he was able to set an alarm clock to ring in a few minutes. He tried his best to ease his large-framed body back into the bed without waking Della. When she didn't even stir as he snuggled in next to her, he knew that he had accomplished his mission so far.

The loud alarm clock surprised Della and she immediately sat up in bed to search for the clock and shut it off. Perry feigned sleepiness and pulled a pillow over his head while Della scrambled to turn off the alarm.

"Who set the alarm? I thought we were going to sleep in today?" After turning off the alarm, Della reached over to give Perry a poke. "Did you set the alarm?"

Perry just groaned and adjusted the pillow over his head. "What alarm? I didn't hear an alarm..."

She covered herself with the bed sheet and leaned over him to take the pillow off of his head. "How could you not hear the alarm?" When she got the pillow off his head she saw his sneaky grin.

He gently pulled her back down on top of him and found her lips for a nice long kiss. "Happy birthday, baby..."

Della slightly pulled back from him when she got a taste of his toothpaste from the kiss. She pulled back the bed sheet covering him and noticed that he was wearing a shirt and pants. "What in the world, Perry? You were already up and dressed weren't you? You set that alarm, didn't you?"

Perry rolled over and laid her back down on the bed to kiss her again as she gently fought off his advances. Then she clasped her hands around his neck as he spoke to her between soft kisses. "I wanted to surprise you..."

She giggled as his trail of kisses moved from her cheek, to her ear and along her neck. "Well, it certainly was a surprise! But I know when you're up to something more... What's next?"

He stopped kissing her when he got to her soft, bare shoulder. "Why don't you get out of bed and find out what's next?" He rolled out of bed and handed her a bathrobe. "You'll probably want this..."

Della got out of bed and put on the robe, tying the sash in a bow across her waist. "Give me a minute. I want to fix my hair and clean up a bit..." As she walked towards the bathroom she suddenly stopped and sniffed the air. "You're baking something! It smells delicious!"

"Then move along so you can come and taste it!"

When she walked into the dining room, Perry was popping the cork on a bottle of champagne. "Oooh! Champagne for breakfast? You're really going all out!" She stood near the table to admire his work.

Perry reached for her hand and guided her to her chair to get her seated. "This is just breakfast. There's more in store for you today... Would you like a mimosa or just plain champagne?" He began pouring the champagne into the flute glasses.

Della smiled up at him. "A mimosa would be wonderful, Monsieur."

He topped off her champagne glass with some freshly squeezed orange juice. "I hope this pleases you, Mademoiselle!"

Still standing after topping off his own glass of champagne with the orange juice, he raised his glass to make a toast. "Happy birthday to the most beautiful woman in the world!" They clinked their glasses together and after a sip of champagne, he leaned down to kiss her.

The fizz from the champagne and Perry's kiss moistened her eyes. "Thank you, Perry. This is a marvelous start to the day."

Perry put his glass down before turning to walk to the kitchen. "It's only going to get better. I hope you're hungry. Breakfast will be served in one minute."

While Della placed the cloth napkin on her lap in anticipation of the meal, Perry emerged from the kitchen carrying a round baking dish in one hand and a bowl of assorted fruit in the other hand. As he placed the baking dish on the table, he announced his creation. "For Mademoiselle, quiche florentine and fruit salad."

"Quiche? You've never made a quiche before... It looks too good to eat!"

He cut a slice of the quiche and placed it on her plate. "I thought it was time for something different. If you don't like it, I can always go back to omelettes or waffles..." He sat down after putting quiche and fruit on his own plate then looked to her for her reaction after her first bite.

"Well?"

Della swallowed and dabbed her napkin to her lips. "Magnifique, Monsieur Mason! I hope this wasn't too much trouble..."

Perry swallowed his first bite. "I'm glad you approve... It was no trouble at all. I'm just glad that, at my request, all of the ingredients were stocked here by our caretaker. Wait until you see what I have planned for your birthday dinner!"

"Dinner? There's enough quiche, croissants, and fruit here to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner..."

He pointed to her plate between bites of his meal. "Eat more, baby. We have a long day ahead of us..."

"I don't know if I can handle any more of your surprises..."

Perry sipped more of his champagne and slowly put his glass down to reach into his pocket. "Speaking of surprises..." He brought a small square gift box out of his pants pocket and placed it on the table in front of Della.

She just stared at it for a moment before Perry prompted her to open it. She was smiling from ear to ear as she opened the box. When she saw the diamond earrings inside she gasped. With her fingertips lightly touching her chin, she looked across the table at him – her eyes glistening with joy.

"They're just beautiful, Perry. Thank you so much – but you really shouldn't have. Taking me to Paris for art classes was more than enough..." She reached a hand across the table to gently squeeze his hand. "I love you!"

Perry brought her hand up to his lips. "Enjoy your day, baby. I love you, too..."

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Paul was seated at an outdoor cafe in Paris drinking his second cup of coffee when the couple he was waiting to meet finally showed up. He glanced at his watch and noted that Jimmy Meacham and Marie Claudet were only thirty minutes late. Paul began to stand up, but Jimmy motioned for him to stay seated.

"Sorry we're a little late, Paul." Jimmy put his arm around Marie and looked down to her smiling. "We had a quick breakfast meal with Marie's parents who are here in Paris and got a late start. Now we're here, so what is it that you want and why couldn't you tell us over the phone?"

"Please have a seat. It's a long story..."

Jimmy pulled out a chair for Marie to be seated and then sat down next to her. "I couldn't believe it when you said that you were here in Paris. Are Perry and Della still here also?"

A waiter arrived to find out if Jimmy and Marie wanted anything and they ordered coffee. Paul lit a cigarette and replied after the waiter left.

"Perry and Della are still here in France – but they've had a little trouble since you last saw them. That's why I've asked you to meet here in person and see if you would like to help them."

Marie was concerned right away. "Monsieur Mason and Miss Street are in trouble? What kind of trouble? I would like to help in any way that I can! I owe them so much for all of the problems I caused them."

Paul tapped an ash from his cigarette in the ash tray. "My plan was to see if Jimmy can give me a hand. It's a problem that involves a highly unethical policeman and I'm working with local authorities to catch this cop in the act."

Jimmy replied right away as the waiter arrived with their coffee. "Sure I'll help, Paul. What do you want me to do?"

"Let me give you a little background on this. Perry and Della were victims of a theft. A group of thieves ran off with Perry's wallet, their passports, and some important legal papers. The cop we're working on has a very profitable racket going when he recovers the stolen goods and then tricks victims into paying him to get their property back. We think that this policeman has Perry's property."

Marie anxiously interrupted Paul. "Monsieur Mason is too smart to fall for a trick like that. Why can't he make the policeman give him back his property? He knows the law!"

Jimmy tapped Marie on the arm to calm her down and let Paul continue. "I think there's more to the story, right Paul?"

"Right. Long story short – we know how this cop operates, but what we don't know is where he's got a lot of the stolen property hidden. So, we're setting him up using a decoy victim as bait. Once our decoy is robbed, this cop will do the investigation. He always manages to recover the stolen property and then he keeps it. From there, he either sells it on the black market or uses it as ransom for victims desperate to get their property back. Jimmy, I was hoping to use you as bait tonight..."

While Jimmy thought it over, Marie wanted more information. "What is this decoy or this bait?"

"In this case it's a person who plays the part of a robbery or theft victim, am I right, Paul?" Jimmy waited for more information.

"That's the idea. Last night we had it all set up, but the usual gang of thieves didn't act on it. Then a rain storm ended our operation. Tonight I have a good plan that our local authorities think will work. I just need you to help out as bait."

Jimmy was raring to go. "Count me in! What do you want me to do?"

Before Paul could answer, Marie also wanted to be involved. "I can help, too, Paul. There must be something I can do."

Paul thought it over. "I think we can use both of you. My plan is to have Jimmy pose as a drunk tourist. Now that I think of it, you, Marie, can act as his girlfriend who needs help with him. We can set this up in the area where these thieves work and hopefully you'll become victims!"

After they finished talking over the details of the operation for later that evening, Jimmy was anxious to tell Paul some news. When Marie excused herself from the table to go to the restroom, Jimmy made sure that she was away from the table before he confided in Paul.

"You mentioned earlier that Marie can act as my girlfriend with this set up tonight. Well, my friend, hopefully she's going to be more than just my girlfriend soon... The reason we were late meeting you this morning was that I was meeting with Marie's father to get his permission to bring Marie back to Los Angeles and marry her. Tomorrow night, I'll pop the question to her!"

Although Paul was not exactly thrilled to hear anything about marriage, he congratulated Jimmy anyway.

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Gripping Perry's arm walking out of the Musee des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Della gently tugged his arm to get him to stop.

"Wait just a minute, Perry. I want to make sure I have that literature from the last collection that we saw." She opened her purse to search for the pamphlets. "Oh, here they are. I wrote notes on them for when we return to Paris and tour Musee d'Orsay later."

Perry watched as she closed the clasp on her purse and gracefully pulled her gloves onto her hands. He asked her, "What was your favorite exhibit here?"

As they continued walking away from the museum Della replied. "It's hard to choose a favorite. Each collection had so many beautiful paintings... But I think the Renoir exhibit was nice."

After a quick glance at his watch, Perry suggested that they find a quiet place for a light lunch and a glass of wine. There was no argument from Della – she told him that it was a good idea because she was starving.

While dining on soup and baguettes, they planned the rest of their afternoon. Della brought out her tour guide booklet and paged through it trying to decide what to do.

"There are so many things to see and do here in Bordeaux. Monuments, parks, cathedrals, other museums. Since I chose our last museum, why don't you choose our next adventure?"

Perry just shook his head and grinned. "It's your day, Della. Your special day..."

She smiled back at him. "I just can't decide... Why don't we take a walk after lunch and just take in the sights?"

"Hmm. Let me see that." He took the guide book from her hands and started to look at the contents. "When I spoke with the caretaker at the château this morning, he gave me a suggestion. Now if I can just find it..." He found a tiny street map in the book and using his index finger to guide his way through the street names, he found what he was looking for right away. "If the birthday girl can't make a decision, I'll make it for her. We're going for a walk along Rue Sainte-Catherine..."

Holding hands and strolling along the Rue Sainte-Catherine, Della was in awe of all of the boutiques and cafes on one long street. "I can't believe all of these stores. There are shops for everything all on one street! Shoes, clothing, perfume, jewelry." She pointed across the street from where they stopped and stood to admire the area. "Look! A delicatessen with wine and liquor! What an amazing area. We could spend the rest of the day here just window shopping!"

Perry chuckled. "I have a feeling that you won't be window shopping very long – you'll be wandering in to the first dress shop that you see."

Della gave Perry's hand a little squeeze as they continued their slow walk in the shopping district. "If you'll recall, Monsieur Mason, I brought along enough clothing for a week so I don't think I'll be buying any more clothing..." Then she stopped abruptly when she saw a dazzling dinner dress on display in a shop that they were walking by.

Perry followed her gaze to the mannequin in the display window. Without hesitation, he guided her into the shop where she was immediately greeted by a store clerk.

It only took Perry and the sales clerk two minutes to convince Della to remain in the shop and look for a new dress. Perry took the hint from the sales clerk and Della that the shopping experience in this exclusive dress shop needed only a 'woman's touch'.

"Okay. You've got one hour to try on any and all dresses that you want. I think I need a haircut so I'll be at the barber shop down the street." Before Perry left the shop, he gave the clerk his credit card for any purchases and gave Della a kiss on the cheek.

Perry returned an hour later as he said he would. Della was chatting with the sales clerk at the sales counter – her purchase wrapped and ready to take away. The sales clerk handed Perry his credit card to him while he lifted the package.

"I was expecting more than one parcel to carry out of here. Do I get a look at what's inside?"

Della grinned and placed her hands over the package. "You just need to wait. I'll model it for you at dinner tonight..." She gave him a quick wink.

Perry smiled at her wink. "Speaking of dinner, we need to get going. It's nearly four o'clock. We have another stop to make before we get back to our château." They thanked the sales clerk and walked out of the shop. Once they got outside, Perry continued. "On my way back here, I spotted a butcher shop. I'll just need two minutes in the butcher shop and we'll head back to the car."

"I'm a little confused. Why a butcher shop?" Della asked.

"No questions, birthday girl... You'll just have to trust me that you'll be fed a nice dinner for your special day."

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Shortly after four o'clock, Paul arrived in Captain Lavigne's office with Jimmy Meacham and Marie Claudet. The female operative that he worked with on the detail the night before was already in the office. Paul barely recognized her with her different clothing and the dark wig she was now wearing. Lavigne was on his telephone as other members of the team made their way into the office to go over last minute information before they were to put Paul's new plan into action.

Lavigne hung up the phone and addressed the team. "I think we are all set. Inspector LeMaire is on his way to work right now according to the team members tailing him. Earlier today he was seen with one of our local fences. That fence has been very active dealing with stolen goods but we have not come up with enough evidence to arrest him for anything."

He paused to sip from the coffee cup in front of him before continuing. "We're glad that Beauchamp and Bautiste were able to keep LeMaire and Gassiere from meeting last night. We're still keeping a close eye on Gassiere – he could ruin our strategy for getting to LeMaire... But enough of that for now. Let's listen to Mister Drake's plan for tonight's operation."

Paul introduced Jimmy and Marie to the group and then laid out his plan. "As soon as we see the usual theft suspects in the area, a drunk-acting Jimmy will come into that area and fall over. Marie will try to get him into our taxi that will be driven by one of your officers. We're hoping that the thieves will spot Marie and Jimmy, then rip them off while they help to get Jimmy in the taxi. If that goes as planned and their property is stolen, it will be off to see Inspector LeMaire for the report. Are we all clear so far?"

There were no questions from anyone on the team so Paul continued with his briefing. "Our other decoy will be trolling in the area carelessly carrying her purse and displaying wads of cash near all of the souvenir stands hoping any would-be thieves will take that bait. So potentially we could have two separate theft incidents being reported to LeMaire tonight. Once we get our victims to the police station, the next phase of our operation will take place."

With everyone clear on their assignments, Lavigne sent the teams out on the detail. The police radios came to life when the area surveillance teams spotted Zacharie and his band of thieves loitering in the area. Jimmy and Marie walked out of a wine bar towards a taxi stand and Jimmy made sure that people in the area would notice him by loudly singing a drinking song in English.

Slurring the words to the song, Jimmy staggered along the sidewalk while Marie struggled to walk with him. Just short of the taxi stand, Jimmy tripped and fell down on the sidewalk while Marie tried to get him up off the ground. Jimmy remained on the ground loudly singing while Marie looked around asking passerby's for help. Right on cue, the police officer driving the taxi drove up to the curb. The commotion was enough to get Zacharie and his group to make their move to check out the drunk American tourist trying to get in a taxi.

It only took Zacharie and his team of thieves a moment to go through Marie's unattended purse to remove the previously marked cash and even the loose bracelet on her wrist. While helping to get Jimmy in the taxi, they managed to get Jimmy's gold watch, wallet with marked cash, and a camera from him before they wandered off with the loot.

Paul and Lavigne watched the entire incident with binoculars from a van parked nearby. They both looked at each other and grinned knowing that their plan was working. Lavigne started the engine of the van. "Let's go and set up on the police station. I'll let the rest of the team keep an eye on our other decoy for a while."

When the officer driving the taxi pulled up in front of the police station, he flagged down two police officers walking out of the front door. Speaking in French, he told the officers that he needed help with the two people in his taxi that cannot pay him because they were the victims of a theft. The officers walked Jimmy and Marie into the police station and summoned Inspector LeMaire to assist with the theft report.

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Perry carried the packages into the château and made a suggestion to Della after he closed the entry door behind them. "Why don't you go ahead and get dressed for dinner? And take your time because I need a few minutes to get a surprise ready for you."

Della removed her package from his grip. "Another surprise? Aren't you going just a little overboard on this birthday thing?"

He leaned towards her to give her a kiss on the cheek. "You love to be spoiled. Now move along. I need at least thirty minutes so stay in the bedroom until I call for you." Perry walked her towards the bedroom door as she shook her head at him in a weak protest.

The first thing that Perry did after sending Della to the bedroom was to walk into the kitchen pantry to change into his chef's uniform that Vincent gave him. After fastening the buttons on the jacket, he placed the hat on his head and walked out into the kitchen to start preparing the surprise birthday feast for Della.

He brought out a loaf of french bread and began slicing the loaf to prepare the appetizer – Fromage fort. After laying out the bread slices on a baking tray, he combined slices of softened cheese with dry white wine, shallots, and garlic to spread onto the bread. Putting this aside, he began preparing the main course remembering the technique he learned in Vincent's cooking class. Opening the pantry door, he found the scrubbed potatoes that he had prepared earlier in the morning when he made Della's breakfast quiche. He continued to check his watch as he got the potatoes cooking for the garlic mashed potatoes. After assembling the ingredients for the main course, he took a break to open a bottle of red wine and set the dining table with plates and silverware.

Before he walked towards the bedroom to bring Della out into the kitchen, he double-checked his work. He replaced the faded rose in the bud vase on the dining table with a fresh one before he stood outside of the bedroom door.

Rapping his knuckles lightly on the closed bedroom door, he called for her to come out. "Dinner will be served soon, Mademoiselle. Are you ready?"

Della slowly opened the door and Perry stood at the door speechless as he looked at his beautiful birthday girl dressed in her stunning new black sequined strapless dinner dress. Her eyes sparkled as much as the diamond earrings she wore. The simple jeweled necklace was intended to not compete with the beauty of the dress. After a moment he spoke. "Once again, you've outdone yourself! That dress is gorgeous on you!"

She blushed at his compliment and then chuckled when she finally looked over his outfit. "Thanks, but just look at you! I never knew a chef's uniform could look so good." She noticed his name embroidered on his jacket. "And it's even custom made for you! That's a nice surprise!"

After lightly kissing her on the cheek, Perry took her by the hand to walk her to the kitchen. "This outfit is not the surprise I had in mind for you. It's my graduation gift from Vincent who tutored me through an accelerated cooking course at his school. While you were busy studying art, I was studying food preparation..."

"Are you kidding? Cooking classes? You're already a wonderful cook..."

"I wanted to make something special for your birthday. And now that you'll marry me, I have another special meal planned for our honeymoon." Perry got her seated at a small table in the kitchen. "I hope this table is satisfactory for Mademoiselle while I prepare the apéritif."

"Merci beaucoup, Monsieur. It's very cozy in the kitchen. May I ask what you're preparing?"

Perry placed the Fromage fort in the oven to broil, then placed two drinking glasses on the kitchen counter to prepare their beverages. "I'm not going to tell you what's being prepared yet. I want your taste buds to first decide if the food is good, and then to tell me what you think of it." He put lemon slices in the glasses and then added ice on top of the lemon. "And in a moment, we'll start with a beverage fit for a Queen." He brought up a bottle of Dubonnet and another bottle of gin to mix together in the glasses. After a quick stir of the mixture, he presented the drink to her.

Della took the drink in her hand and lifted it to meet the glass that Perry held in his hand. "A toast! To my handsome fiancé and his graduation from a world-famous Paris cooking school!"

Perry gently held her wrist before he touched his glass to hers. "To my beautiful birthday girl. Happy birthday, Della."

They sipped the beverage and Perry waited for her critique. "Well? What do you think of this potion?"

"It's delicious! I've never had this before. Am I allowed to ask what it is now?" Della took another sip of her drink.

"It's a simple drink recipe that Vincent shared with me. When I mentioned earlier that it's a beverage fit for a Queen, it really is a beverage Queen Elizabeth enjoys - Dubonnet and gin." Perry walked away from the kitchen table to check on his bread in the oven.

"I think your surprise birthday dinner is starting out very nice. Whatever is in the oven smells delectable! I can't wait for the main course... Is there something I can do to help you? I feel like a spectator sitting here doing nothing."

Perry placed his glass on the counter and opened the refrigerator to bring out the package from the butcher shop. "You just need to sit and enjoy your day. But if you want to feel useful, I'll let you toss the salad later while I finish the main course." He continued to assemble more ingredients on the counter top in front of him. "Drink up, baby. That's supposed to whet your appetite."

Over the next two hours, the meal progressed from the apéritif to the main course. After making the tossed salad, Della watched over Perry's shoulder as he prepared the red wine and shallot sauce for his Entrecôte a la Bordelaise. When they moved to the dining room table to eat, the glow from the candles on the table was the only light in the room as the sky outside darkened. The specially prepared ribeye steaks with the garlic mashed potatoes left them both so full that Perry decided to wait for preparation of the crème Brûlée for dessert. Sitting on the couch in the living room, they sipped their cognac and reminisced about their brief stay in Bordeaux.

"I hope that we come back here some day. France is so beautiful. There's still so much for us to see." Della snuggled in closer to Perry on the couch.

He put his arm around her and kissed her cheek. "Let's make it a point to return some year on our anniversary."

Laying her head back on his shoulder, Della sighed. "That sounds like a good idea..."

Perry placed his glass of cognac on the table and brought his hands up to her necklace. "Before we plan a wedding anniversary, let's finish your birthday." He unclasped the necklace to remove it.

Della flinched and brought her hands up to her necklace. "What are you doing?"

"I'm making room for the rest of your birthday present..." He placed her necklace in one hand while he brought up a long slender gift box to her in his other hand. "I should have given you this gift sooner..."

Her eyes widened as she accepted the gift box in her hands and just stared at the box. "Oh for goodness sake, Perry. You're spoiling me even more..."

"Well, are you going to open it?"

She slowly unwrapped the box and opened the velvet-covered box under the wrap to find an elegant diamond necklace. Her hands were shaking as she removed it from the box.

"It's just beautiful, Perry. You really shouldn't have..."

He gently took the necklace from her hands and she leaned away from him so he could assist her to put it on.

"I couldn't just give you the earrings without a matching necklace. And besides, the diamond is your April birthstone..."

With the necklace fastened around her neck, she turned back to him with her arms around his neck to kiss him. "Thank you, Perry. You've made this my best birthday ever!"

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Inspector LeMaire interviewed Jimmy and Marie about the theft of their belongings. While Jimmy continued to act intoxicated and withdrawn, Marie gave LeMaire most of the pertinent information for the police report. LeMaire perked up a bit when he learned that Jimmy was a wealthy American tourist and that he and Marie were engaged to be married. After learning that Jimmy's missing watch was an expensive Rolex, he wanted to finish getting the information for the report so that he could go out and recover the stolen property.

LeMaire sent Jimmy and Marie on their way when he finished taking the report and immediately left the police station out the back door to go and find the usual culprits – Zacharie and his gang. He cursed to himself for having to go out and find Zacharie on his own now that Beauchamp and Bautiste were no longer working their regular patrol beat. Within two hours he had recovered the stolen property and this time he actually had assistance from two other policemen to keep Zacharie and his gang in jail for the time being.

Lavigne's surveillance teams watched LeMaire return to the police station with a large bag of what they assumed was the stolen property. As part of Lavigne's plan to learn the location of the stolen goods, Beauchamp and Bautiste were sent into the police station under the false pretense of needing to retrieve things from their equipment lockers just to see what LeMaire was doing.

Beauchamp walked by LeMaire's office and saw the recovered goods on his desk. They briefly talked about LeMaire's latest arrest while Beauchamp watched LeMaire place a few of the items back in the bag and then lock the bag up in his office safe. After seeing that, Beauchamp left the police station to report his observations to Lavigne waiting in a van outside.

"He spoke about putting Zacharie and his gang in jail – at least for overnight. He bragged that the stolen property that he had on his desk was part of the loot taken from a drunk, rich, American tourist. Some of the stuff he put in his safe. He said that the watch and a few other things were going to be taken by him to an appraiser later tonight."

Lavigne nodded his approval and with Paul by his side, they thought about what their next move should be. "We're getting closer. We will have to keep an eye on him and follow him to this alleged 'appraiser'. I'll bet he's really bringing it to the place where he keeps the rest of this stolen stuff."

The teams remained in their stakeout positions waiting for LeMaire to leave the station. It was all going as planned until a horrific traffic accident between a tourbus and a taxicab occurred less than a block from the police station. The tourbus overturned onto its side, and the surveillance officers watched in horror while passengers in the vehicles tried to crawl out of the wreckage.

Captain Lavigne made a split-second decision – he released the team to assist the injured at the accident scene instead of continuing their surveillance of LeMaire. Just moments after the surveillance officers left their positions to assist at the accident scene, LeMaire nonchalantly walked out of the police station unnoticed, carrying a small bag of stolen property.

TBC

Thank you for staying with the story. I welcome all reviews and comments.