We took our seats. Gladys Tate was already seated, steely-faced. Octavious sat staring blankly ahead. Jeanne whispered something to Toby, and Paul's sisters gazed at me angrily. A few moments later, Judge Barrow returned and the courtroom grew still.
"Monsieur Polk," he said. "Are you ready to continue?"
"Yes, Your Honor." Our attorney rose with the documents he had prepared for us to sign concerning the inheritance.
"Your Honor. My clients recognize that their motives for trying to regain custody of Pearl Tate might be misinterpreted. In order to alleviate such misinterpretations, we are prepared to offer the surrender of any and all rights to any spousal inheritance concerning the estate of Paul Marcus Tate." He stepped forward and brought the documents to the judge, who gazed down at them and then nodded at Monsieur Williams to come forward, too. He looked at the papers.
"We'd have to study these, of course, Your Honor, but," he said with the confidence of someone who had anticipated our move, "even if these do prove satisfactory, this doesn't eliminate the possibility of these two impostors getting their clutches on the Tate fortune. The child whom they are trying to get custody of would inherit, and they would naturally be the trustees of that enormous inheritance."
The judge turned to Monsieur Tate.
"Your Honor, it is the contention of my clients that Pearl Tate's natural father is Beau Andreas. She would have no claims to Monsieur Tate's estate."
The judge nodded. It was like watching a game of chess being played with real people on the board instead of figurines of knights and queens, pawns and kings. We were the pawns, and to the victor went my darling Pearl.
"Do you have any further exhibits to enter, Monsieur Polk, or any further witnesses?"
"No, Your Honor."
"Monsieur Williams?"
"We do, Your Honor."
The judge sat back. Monsieur Polk returned to his seat beside us, and Monsieur Williams went to his desk to confer with his associate for a moment before turning and calling out his witness's name.
"We would like to call Monsieur Bruce Bristow to the stand."
"Bruce!" I exclaimed. Beau shook his head in astonishment.
"Is this not your stepmother's husband?" Monsieur Polk asked.
"Yes, but . . . we have nothing to do with him anymore," Beau explained.
The doors opened in the rear and Bruce came sauntering down the aisle, a Cheshire cat's grin on his lips when he gazed our way.
"She must have made him an offer, bought his testimony," I told Monsieur Polk.
"What sort of testimony can this man give?" he wondered aloud.
"He'll say anything, even under oath," Beau said, eyeing Bruce angrily.
Bruce was sworn in and sat in the witness chair. Monsieur Williams approached him.
"Please state your name, sir."
"I'm Bruce Bristow."
"And were you married to the now-deceased stepmother of Ruby and Gisselle Dumas?"
"I was."
"How long have you known the twins?"
"Quite a long time," he said, gazing at me and smiling. "Years. I was employed by Monsieur and Madame Dumas for about eight years before Monsieur Dumas's death."
"After which you married Daphne Dumas and became, for all practical purposes, the stepfather to the twins Gisselle and Ruby?"
"Yes, that's true."
"So you knew them well?"
"Very well. Intimately," he added.
"As the only living parent of the twins, can you assure the court you can distinguish between them?"
"Of course. Gisselle," he said, looking at me again, "has a completely different personality, a more, shall we say, sophisticated awareness. Ruby was more of an innocent, shy, soft-spoken."
"Are you now, and have you recently been, involved in some legal problems with the current owners of the Dumas Enterprises, Beau and Gisselle Andreas?" Monsieur Williams asked.
"Yes, sir. They threw me out of the business," he said, glaring at us. "After years of dedicated service, they decided to enforce a foolish prenuptial agreement between me and my deceased wife. They manipulated me out of my rightful position and drove me into the streets, turning me into a pauper."
"He's lying," Beau whispered to Monsieur Polk. "You should have told me all about him," he replied. "I asked you if there was anything else."
"Who knew Gladys Tate would find him?"
"More likely, he found her, Beau," I said. "For revenge. They fit together like a hand in a glove."
"This woman who you see sitting before you, sir," Monsieur Williams said, turning to me. "Was she a party to all this, directly?"
"Yes, she was. I went back to plead with her recently and she literally had me thrown out of what had been my own house," he said.
"So," Monsieur Williams concluded with a smile of satisfaction, "this was no shy, innocent woman."
"Hardly," Bruce said, widening his own smile and looking at the judge, who turned his scrutinizing eyes on me.
"Still, sir, it is possible, I imagine, for an identical twin to fool someone into believing she is her sister," Monsieur Williams said. "She could have performed a well-prepared script and said all the right things to convince you she was her sister."
"I suppose," Bruce said. Why was Monsieur Williams giving us that benefit of doubt? I wondered, but it was like hearing—the first shoe drop. I cringed inside and clutched my hands so hard, my fingers went numb.
"Then how can you be so sure you were in an argument with Gisselle and not Ruby recently?"
"I'm ashamed to say," Bruce replied, looking down.
"I'm afraid I have to ask you nevertheless, sir. A child's future is in the balance, not to mention a major fortune."
Bruce nodded, took a deep breath, and looked up as if he were concentrating on an angel in the ceiling. "I once let myself be seduced by my stepdaughter Gisselle."
The audience gave one simultaneous gasp.
"As I said, she was very sophisticated and worldly," he added.
"Did anyone else know about this, monsieur?"
"No," Bruce said. "I wasn't very proud of it." "But this woman indicated to you that she knew?"
Monsieur Williams asked, pointing to me.
"Yes. She brought it up during our argument and threatened to use it against me should I put up any resistance to her and her husband's effort to drive me out of my rightful position. Under the circumstances I thought it was better to effect a quick retreat and start my life anew.
"However," he said, looking at Madame Tate, "when I heard what they were up to now, I had to step forward and do my duty regardless of the consequences to my reputation."
"So you are telling the court under oath that this woman who has presented herself as Ruby Tate knew intimate details between you and Gisselle, details only Gisselle would have known?"
"That is correct," Bruce said, and sat back contented.
"The only reason he is doing this," Beau whispered to Monsieur Polk, "is because we forced him to leave the business. He and Daphne did some very shaky financial dealings."
"Are you prepared to open up all that?" Monsieur Polk asked.
Beau looked at me. "Yes. We'll do anything." Beau began to write some questions for Monsieur Polk quickly.
"I have no further questions for the witness, Your Honor," Monsieur Williams said, and returned to his table, where Gladys Tate sat looking stronger. She gazed my way and smiled coldly, sending chills down my spine.
"Monsieur Polk. Do you wish to question this witness?"
"I do, Your Honor. If I may have one moment," he added while Beau completed his notes. Monsieur Polk perused them and then stood up.
"Monsieur Bristow, why didn't you contest the actions taken against you to remove you from Dumas Enterprises?"
"I've already said . . . there was an unfortunate pre-nuptial agreement and I was blackmailed by my step-daughter Gisselle."
"Are you sure your reluctance to take counteraction had nothing to do with the financial activities you and Daphne Dumas conducted?"
"You are willing to have those dealings scrutinized by this court?"
Bruce squirmed a bit. "I didn't do anything wrong."
"Aren't you here to get revenge for being pushed out of the business?"