Mother of God, it was coming so beautifully. The novenas in church were helping, she was certain. She must give him equal value for his money, and she was certain that would be no problem. If there was any problem at all, it was she, herself; it wasn't right that she should enjoy it as she did… Sometimes, she was not so certain but what the stigma of Rahab coursed through her veins… and maybe these walls of lust she was imprisoning herself within would be as vulnerable as those of Jericho when the trumpets sounded… She shuddered at her own aphoristic thoughts.

"You said Hotel Victoria, Ma'm'selle?" the cabbie questioned, raising his head and cocking an ear.

"Oui."

"Merci. My mind was elsewhere, I guess," he bantered in a form of apology.

Madeleine looked through the window at the busy streets. They were nearing Dominion Square. As always, the city intrigued her… had since the first day she set foot in it. How long ago…? Nearly five years… almost six since she'd left the small fishing village of her birth on the Peninsule De Gaspe with the American named Keel who was to take her to Boston. She had been sixteen, nearly seventeen, and he'd fathered her Igat in her ignorance, left her stranded in Riviere du Loup… Oh God, she didn't want to think anymore about that! She just had to get hold of herself. Inspector Forrest was not to be disappointed by some morbid mood she allowed to seize hold of her. Heaven knows, there were too many lonely, dismal hours of reminiscence already in her days and nights without stealing from more pleasurable moments.

What she really needed was a drink, a little something to stimulate… to rekindle her sensual appetite of such a short time before, and the gallant Inspector would take care of that, she felt sure. She must cultivate him to the fullest extent; he represented the ultimate in clientele and a bit of uncontrollable, egotistical bragging on his part to his associates could do much toward increasing her income and at a rapid, pleasing rate.