between them, but nothing very noticeable,' Beau said.
'Scars?' Monsieur Polk asked, raising his eyebrows hopefully.
I shook my head.
'I have none and my sister had none, even though she was in a bad car accident and was crippled for a time,' I said.
'Bad car accident?' I nodded. 'Here in New Orleans?'
'Yes.'
'Then she was in the hospital for a time. Good. There'll be a medical history with records about her blood. Maybe you two had a different blood type. If so, that would settle it immediately. A friend of mine,' he continued, taking out his lighter, 'tells me that in years to come, from blood tests, using DNA, they'll be able to identify who is the parent of a child. But we're a number of years away from that.'
'And by then it would be too late!' I complained. He nodded and lit his cigar, leaning back to blow the puffs of smoke toward the ceiling.
'Maybe some X-rays were taken. Did she break any bones in the accident?'
'No,' I said. 'She was bruised and the shock of it did something to her spine, affecting the nerves, but that healed and she was able to walk again.'
'Um,' Monsieur Polk said. 'I don't know if there would be anything discernible by X-ray. We'd have to have X- rays done of you and then find a medical expert to testify that there should be some residual evidence of the trauma.'
I brightened. 'I'll go right to the hospital for X-rays.'
'Right,' Beau said.
Monsieur Polk shook his head. 'They might very well locate an expert who would claim X-rays wouldn't pick up any residual damage if the problem was cured,' he said. 'Let me research the medical records at the hospital and get one of my doctor friends to give me an opinion about it first.'
'Ruby had a child; Gisselle did not,' Beau said. 'Surely an examination . . .'
'Can you establish Gisselle did not beyond a doubt?' Monsieur Polk asked.
'Pardon?'
'Gisselle is dead and buried. How can we examine her? You'd have to have the body exhumed, and what if Gisselle had been pregnant sometime and had had an abortion?'
'He's right, Beau. I would never swear about that,' I said.
'This is very bizarre. Very bizarre,' Monsieur Polk muttered. 'You worked at convincing people you were your twin sister and did it so well, everyone who knew her believed it, right?'
'As far as we know.'
'And the family, Paul Tate's family, believed it and believed they buried Ruby Tate?'
'Yes,' I said.
'There was actually a death certificate issued in your name?'
'Yes,' I said, swallowing hard. The vivid memories of attending my own funeral came rushing back over me.
Monsieur Polk shook his head and thought a moment. 'What about the doctor who first treated Gisselle for encephalitis?' he asked with some visible excitement. 'He knew he was treating Gisselle and not Ruby, right?'
'I'm afraid we can't call on him,' Beau said, deflating our balloon of hope. 'I made an arrangement with him, and anyway, it would ruin him, wouldn't it? His being a part of this?'
'I'm afraid that's very true,' Monsieur Polk said. 'He put his name to fraud. Any of the servants we can call upon?'
'Well . . . the way we worked it, the doctor and myself . . .'
'They didn't know what was happening exactly, is that it?'
'Yes. They wouldn't make the best witnesses anyway. The German couple don't speak English too well and my cook saw nothing. The maid is a timid woman who wouldn't be able to swear to anything.'
'That's not an avenue to pursue, then.' Monsieur Polk nodded. 'Let me think. Bizarre, very bizarre. Dental records,' he cried. 'How are your teeth?'
'Perfect. I've never had a cavity or a tooth pulled.'
'And Gisselle?'
'As far as I know,' Beau said, 'she was the same. She had remarkable health for someone with her lifestyle.'
'Good genes,' Monsieur Polk said. 'But both of you had the benefit of the same genetic advantages.'
Was there no way to determine our identities to the satisfaction of a judge? I wondered frantically.
'What about our signatures?' I asked.
'Yes,' Beau said. 'Ruby always had a nicer handwriting.'
'Handwriting is an exhibit to use,' Monsieur Polk said with a bit of official-sounding nasality, 'but it's not conclusive. We'll have to rely on the opinions of experts, and they might bring in their own expert who would
