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April 1971—Plattsburgh, New York
It was evening when Al and Danielle Laurent arrived at the hospital in Plattsburgh. After showing their licenses to the deputy in the corridor, a nurse took them to Jacqui’s room. “She just opened her eyes a couple of hours ago,” the nurse said, “but she hasn’t said anything yet. I’ll go get the doctor.”
Doctor Pelletier came in and introduced himself. “Jacqui has a skull fracture and some bleeding in her brain. It’s a very good sign that she opened her eyes, but she’s not yet fully conscious. She did move her eyes a bit when I asked her to follow a flashlight, and she can move her finger when asked. These are good signs, but she’s not out of the woods yet.” Al and Danielle looked confused, so the doctor clarified. “We’ll watch her overnight to see if she’s getting better or not. It may help if you talk to her.”
Detective Wisniewski stopped by and introduced himself. “It’s good to see that Jacqui’s eyes are open. I hope she recovers soon.” He gave Danielle his card. “When she can talk, I’d like to find out more about what happened and where her husband may have gone. So far, we don’t have any leads. Nobody has reported seeing Remi and the kids, and we don’t have any information saying where they might have gone. We did find out that Remi was just fired from his job. It doesn’t appear that his family would have helped him. They think he’s trouble and don’t talk to him. Like you, they didn’t know there was a baby.”
A nurse came in and asked if they would step out of the room for a few minutes. In the hallway, the detective said, “We’ve booked you a hotel room, and we’re paying for it. Also, here is some money for food.”
“This is very kind of you,” said Al. Thank you.”
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The next morning, Detective Wisniewski received a call from Al Laurent. Jacqui was talking, he said. The detective rushed to the hospital, but by then, Jacqui was sleeping. Al and Danielle were in the hallway drinking coffee from paper cups. Al shook his head and said, “Jacqui wakes up and then falls asleep. The doctor says it’s due to the brain injury.”
Danielle was quietly sobbing. “Jacqui said there are two babies, an infant and a two-year-old. She said they are Marie’s children, and Remi is the father. She wants us to save her children.”
Wisniewski was stunned.
“Jacqui said that the two-year-old has significant defects. He can’t walk or speak, but he is healthy. His name is Julian.”
Art wrote that down in his little notebook. “What about the infant?”
“She fell asleep before we could talk about the infant,” Al said.
“Is there anything you need? Is your hotel okay?”
“We are fine. We just want you to catch Remi and make sure those kids are safe.” The nurse came out. “Jacqui is awake again. You can go in.”
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“Mrs. Foy, I’m Detective Art Wisniewski with the Essex County Sheriff’s Department. I’m working on finding your family and making sure the children are safe. Do you know where they might have gone?”
“No,” she whispered. “They could be anywhere. Please save my girls!” Her voice was breathy but firm in conviction.
“Do you have any reason to think your husband would hurt the children?”
“He raped Marie and forces her to live as his wife. Angela will be next.”
Art paused to consider the potential danger to Angela. “What about the babies?”
“Oh no, he loves those bastards.” Danielle looked away, clearly disturbed by what Jacqui said.
“Could you tell me the name and age of the infant?”
“That’s Theo. He’s about a month old.” Jacqui dozed off again.