Prologue
Tuesday, March 30th, 6 pm
Moncton
She was coming home from college. She had just talked to her dad on the phone, and, once again, she hadn’t found the courage to tell him what had been troubling her for some time.
How long would she be able to go on with that enormous weight on her heart? Her friends perceived that something was wrong, and they insisted on her talking to someone, to the police, to a trusted person, maybe to her grandmother’s friend, Anna, who was always so kind, maybe to that new handsome policeman who had arrived a few weeks before in Rosary, maybe to one of his colleagues….
Tears started rolling down her face. She had friends, her college study was interesting, and she was preparing to become a skilled and certified chef… That had always been her dream, and she was sure that her mum was smiling from above, proud of her young daughter… How she missed her mum, it had been two years since that terrible accident … She envied her friends who had a normal life and a normal family, especially one of her dearest friends, Lisa Steele. Lisa’s father was a policeman…Maybe…
The bus arrived, and she found a seat next to the window. She put her phone into her bag, and she looked distractedly out at the people walking hurriedly down the street, unaware of the distress she had been experiencing for some time now…
***
St John
The girl was sitting on the porch of her enormous villa on the outskirts of the town of St John. She was looking at the swimming pool in front of her but her mind was completely absorbed in her thoughts. She had seen her dad leave in the morning. He was a businessman, and he was often traveling for his job, but … oh, how she would have liked to spend more time with him. She had always liked that tall professional man with dark eyes and dark wavy hair. She looked up to him because she considered him the best father in the world. He was seldom smiling but he always brought her gifts when he came back home from his business travels: he had good taste in choosing a beautiful scarf, or a necklace, or a pair of earrings for his wife and daughter… But all the gifts he could give her could not compensate for the long time she spent waiting for his return, for the many times he was not present at her birthday party, or at her mother's birthday, or at their anniversary celebration…
She made up her mind. She decided to talk to him the next time he would be at home for a few days. She wanted to suggest a holiday together, just her parents and her, maybe a trip to Europe… Her father knew that she liked traveling. She had chosen to study French and German at college, hoping to become a translator or an interpreter.
Her mother came out on the porch and put a protective arm around her daughter's shoulders. She told her softly; “I know you already miss your dad. But he promised to come back in just a few days this time and to stay at home longer…”
She looked up at her beautiful, elegant mother and tried to smile, but she couldn't help feeling that something was wrong…
