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September 2021—Saratoga Springs, New York
When Karen called, Gil was taking measurements to cut a piece of floor tile for the bathroom.
“Lili’s got a hot lead for us. I’d like you to join a video conference with us. I’ll send you a link.”
When they were all connected, Lili said, “Hi, Gil. It’s been a while. When will we be seeing you again?”
Gil felt a bit flustered in Lili’s presence. “Um, I don’t know. Karen’s been too busy to invite me back to your area, I guess. Maybe I’ll have to visit the Basketball Hall of Fame or something.”
“Oh, do you follow basketball?”
“No, not at all.”
Lili grinned. Karen did too. “I’ve been busy getting nowhere on my arsons, so maybe I’ll invite you back pretty soon.”
“Our forensic genealogist at UMass found a DNA match for a grandmother of the deceased child,” said Lili. “Her name is Helene Faucher, and she lives in Saint-Jerome, Canada.”
Gil lit up. “Holy moly! Have you talked to her?”
“We’re making preparations to talk to her,” said Karen. “Chief Reyes has to run it up the management chain first. Even the US State Department has to be notified. Once that’s done, I’ll contact the police up there and arrange a conference call. I would have liked to travel up there and talk to Helene in person, but COVID restrictions are making that too complicated.”
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Karen had Chief Reyes in the conference room, and Gil had joined the call from his home computer. Detective Alan Mason and Helene Faucher were in the police station in Sainte-Jerome and everyone introduced themselves. Detective Mason said, “Mademoiselle Faucher has been informed that the purpose of this meeting is to discuss the remains of a child discovered in 1991 in Massachusetts. DNA analysis shows him to be Miss Faucher’s grandchild. I’ve explained Miss Faucher’s rights, and she has declined to have a solicitor present.”
“Very well,” said Karen. “I’ll get started. The child in question was a boy who died in about 1971. He was about two or three years old and had significant birth defects.”
Helene sniffed back some tears. She had dark eyes and nicely cut salt-and-pepper hair. “That was Marie’s baby, Julian. Do you know what happened to Marie and Angela?” Helene spoke with a French accent.
Karen began frantically taking notes. “Fantastic. Those are the names we’ve been looking for. Please, what are their last names?”
Helene had a hopeful look. “Foy. Marie and Angela Foy, my daughters.”
“There was a man with them. Do you know his name?”
A darkness came over Helene’s face. She looked at Detective Mason, then looked at the camera. “That’s their father, Remi Foy. He took my daughters from me.” A few more tears fell.
Karen waited for Helene to regain her composure. “Could you tell me what happened?”
“We were living in Keeseville, New York. Remi was my husband at the time. He beat me up, fractured my skull, then took my daughters and left.” She started to cry harder. “I haven’t heard from them since then. I’m sorry.” They all stayed silent and let Helene cry for a few more moments. “Remi raped Marie. He only wanted young girls. He would have raped Angela next.” She cried harder, then took a sip of tea from a ceramic mug. “I was afraid he would come back and kill me, so I moved back to Canada and changed my name. I divorced him for physical cruelty.”
“What was your name, and what was the baby’s name?” Karen asked.
“My name was Jacqui, Jacqui Foy.” She spelled her first name. “Originally, I was Jacqui Laurent. The baby’s name was Theo. There aren’t any records of those two babies because they were born at home and were never, um, registered. How did Julian die? I didn’t think he would live very long.”
“He died of an injury,” Karen said. “We don’t know if it was accidental or not. We’re trying to find out what happened. Do you think Remi might have killed him?”
“Remi loved his babies. I don’t know why he would kill Julian.”
“Do you have any idea where Remi would have gone?”
Helene seemed calmer. “They said Julian was found in Massachusetts. Remi didn’t know anybody down there, but maybe he had an army friend.” She thought a moment and continued. “No, Remi didn’t have friends. I don’t know where he would have gone.”
“We believe that they went to a commune in this area. Was Remi into the hippie lifestyle?”
Helene laughed. “Remi was a drunk and a pedophile, but he wasn’t a hippie. He was in the army for three years, in Vietnam. But he was bad before he ever went in the army.”
Gil scooted closer to the camera. “Excuse me, but what did Remi do for a living?”
“Before he got fired, he worked in a sawmill. He ran a buzz saw.” Helene seemed emboldened and no longer burdened by upswelling memories. “When you find my daughters, can I talk with them? Visit them?”
Karen gave a hesitant smile. “I’ll try to make that happen, Miss Faucher. Thank you for your help.”