Chapter 3
April 2nd, Friday
A motel room, 8.00 am
Brian looked at his watch. He had just time for a quick shower, before leaving. He was going to the bathroom, when his mobile phone rang. Why did he always start to sweat when he heard the sound of his mobile? Why hadn’t he been able to choose a normal, uneventful life?
He looked at the caller ID, and his hands began to tremble. This was decidedly a bad beginning of his day.
He put the phone to his ear, and he tried to steady his voice, before answering:
“Hello!”
“It’s good to hear from you.” The sarcasm was unmistakable. “Why didn't you call back before? Didn't you see all my missed calls?”
It had been stupid on his part not to call that powerful man back, in the naive hope that he would forget about him.
“I have been busy.” He knew that this answer was far from satisfactory for the man on the other end of the line, a very powerful man.
“Have you been busy trying to find the money you owe me?” There was once again sarcasm in the voice, and a certain degree of menace, which was not lost on Brian.
“I haven't been able to gather all the money. You must give me a few more days. I have already told you that I am going to pay, but it is not so easy….”
“And what about your wealthy in-laws?”
“Leave my family out of it. Please, give me a week, just a week…” His voice was pleading and imploring now, but he couldn't help it.
“No more than a week. I want my money back, remember…”
The phone call was abruptly interrupted. Brian looked around the small anonymous room. He couldn't go on like this, that was certain, but …. What could he do? He had messed things up so much that he didn't know how to disentangle himself from the net he had built over the years, a net of lies and vices.
48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9I3Ysa4WR
***
48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjq7kbnZqPA
Anna’s Trattoria, 2 pm
Neil knew that Anna was used to staying at the Trattoria in the afternoon. He had just come back from the training center, and he parked his car in the parking lot in front of the small restaurant.
Since he had been able to tell her about his mother and her despicable behavior, he had become fond of Anna, who had left Italy with her husband when they were very young and had been able to become a reference point in the little town and in their beautiful family.
Silvia, Anna’s daughter, who managed the Trattoria with her mum, came to open, recognizing the tall frame of the handsome policeman through the frosted glass door. Smiling warmly, she invited him into the deserted dining room. An hour ago it was full of people, eating, chatting and laughing. Now Anna and Silvia had just finished cleaning up and were enjoying a cup of espresso.
Anna came to embrace Neil affectionately. A few days before, he had refused that embrace, an instinctive reaction he had not been able to overcome until he had succeeded in telling his story to Anna. It was too painful for him to remember that his mother had ignored his stretched hands before leaving him in the orphanage without a word, when he was just four years old. Now he indulged in the warmth of Anna’s hug. She didn't know why, but she knew that Neil had still something that was weighing on his heart, he still had something that made him suffer, apart from having been abandoned by his mother thirty years before. In her heart she knew that he needed affection and support.
“Neil, is everything alright? How was your trip to Vancouver? Is Father Thomas ok? Come and sit with us, we are going to make you a coffee…” Anna saw that Neil was smiling, but he also looked tired and sad … That sad look in his eyes she had noticed when she had been introduced to him, a few days after his arrival in town. It seemed ages ago, but in reality it was just a few weeks before.
He sat down next to Anna, while Silvia went to the kitchen to prepare a cup of espresso for him. He looked at Anna for a few moments. Oh, how he wished he had had a mother like her, so considerate and caring… He reflected for a moment. Could he talk about Carol to Anna? No, it was too painful, and he preferred to wait until he knew exactly what had happened to her.
“Father Thomas is well. He is looking forward to coming here to see me and Billy, but now he is busy at the orphanage. Four children have just arrived, and he is taking care of a few adoptions …” Neil smiled at Anna, and he said: “Last year he was in hospital for a few weeks, because he had heart problems. I think they said it is a congenital malformation of the aortic valve, or something like that. I was … ” Neil quickly corrected himself, “we were really worried …” He concluded, including Billy in his words.
Silvia had come back with a steaming cup of espresso on a tray. Neil put two spoonfuls of sugar and stirred his hot drink pensively.
Silvia asked:
“But now Father Thomas is better, isn't he?”
“Yes, he has to undergo periodic checks, but the doctors are optimistic. My long period in hospital after the shooting and the concern about my recovery didn't help.”
Anna commented: “He must have been worried. When he called me last week, it was evident that he loves you very much.”
Neil couldn't help smiling at the thought of the person who had always supported him: “Yes, he has been a father to me. I don't know what I would have done without his help.”
Silvia stood up and said: “Mum, I have to do some shopping before picking up the twins from school.” She bent to kiss her mother on the cheek, and she turned to Neil: “See you tomorrow at the volleyball game, Neil. The children are so excited!”
Neil grinned and answered: “It’s the first game in a competition. I can understand why they are excited, but I think they will play a good game, because they enjoy playing together.” He looked at Anna and added, putting a hand on her arm: “Your son did a wonderful job.” Anna tried to hide the tears that were coming to her eyes. Her son Luca, a priest in the community, had been the first coach of the volleyball team, before dying in a car crash almost two months before.
Silvia hugged her mum, and she left in a hurry, afraid of not being able to conceal her emotions.
Anna was silent for a few minutes, while Neil was drinking his coffee. Then she looked into the blue eyes of the policeman and said: “Neil, I can see that you are worried about something.”
Neil lowered his gaze. It was impossible to hide his feelings from this intelligent, sensitive woman.
He tried to sound calm, when he talked:
“I am worried about Amy. Yesterday evening I went to see her, as soon as I arrived from the airport.” He was really worried about the little girl, so it was not a lie. He didn’t feel like talking about Carol, it was too painful…
Neil went on:
“I was talking to her, and, without any apparent reason, her expression changed all of a sudden. She looked scared, as if she had seen someone or something that frightened her. She was panting, and, for a moment, it was as if I wasn't there with her. It was as if she was in a different place … ”
Anna was shaking her head, and she was listening attentively to what Neil was telling her.
“I asked her what was wrong, what she was seeing, but she shook her head. I took her in my arms, and she calmed down after a few minutes.”
Anna waited for a few moments, before commenting:
“Giulia was worried last night. She told Silvia that Amy had a similar moment to the one you are describing in class yesterday. She started trembling, but she didn't want anyone to comfort her. She was panting and breathing heavily. She curled up on her chair, and after a few moments, she recovered, and she started to write and listen to the lesson, almost as if nothing had happened. Giulia sat down next to her and asked her if everything was alright. She just nodded and didn't say anything.”
Neil was looking at her with a perplexed expression on his face. Now he was sure that Amy was beginning to remember something, and that her past life was nothing less than a nightmare in her mind. Maybe she was unconsciously trying to suppress her memories, because they were too traumatic…
Anna asked:
“Does she talk to you, Neil? Sister Theresa has told me that you are the only one who can touch her, that she waits for you with great anxiety, as if she were afraid you wouldn't go to see her. But the sisters have never heard her talk to you…”
Neil hadn't had the courage to talk to Anna about Amy’s fear for his life, and he decided to wait until he knew something more, or until Amy remembered something more specific about those threats.
Now he said musingly:
“She just says a few words … What is more disconcerting for me is the fact that she was beaten and abused, before being found at the station in Fredericton. Children like her generally prefer to trust a female figure, rather than a man like me. When I rescued her from the hands of that woman a week ago, I had a gun in my hand, a bulletproof vest, and I was certainly far from what I would consider a reassuring person …” He locked eyes with Anna, and he smiled tenderly, as he recalled Amy in that moment, “but she stretched her arms to me, and she wasn't afraid at all when I embraced her… I mean, I am glad she doesn't reject me, but … Anna, why me? Maybe she saw or met me in the past, and she doesn't remember… or I remind her of someone who cared for her … I don't know…”
Anna thought for a few moments, then she put a comforting hand on the arm of the troubled policeman, and she said: “John told me what happened last week, after you arrested Blain. But you are a calm and soothing person, children instinctively bond with you, it is evident with your volleyball team. Children immediately trust you … Maybe she feels you want to help her …”
Neil interrupted her: “But she certainly knows that Sister Theresa and Sister Nancy love her and want to help her, but she doesn't want to be touched by them. Giulia and her classmates certainly want to comfort her, but she keeps her distance… No, Anna, there is something in her past that connects her to me …” He didn't dare tell Anna about the possibility that Amy was Carol's daughter, also because Amy hadn't recognized Carol when he had shown her a photo. There had certainly to be another connection.
Anna said:
“Giulia and Mario told me that her teachers try to talk to her, especially the Maths and the English teachers, but she just shakes her head. They told me that the English teacher is encouraging her to write what she remembers, but maybe her memories are too messy to put into words …”
After a few moments of silence, she added: “Maybe you could talk to the teachers and ask them to call you if she is agitated or scared, since you seem to be the only one who can calm her down…”
Neil shook his head and replied:
“For the time being, I wouldn't like to attract too much attention to the fact that she trusts me, just in case someone is checking on her…”
“So you are really worried she may be in danger, as soon as she starts to remember, aren't you, Neil?”
Neil nodded slowly: “Yes, I can't help thinking that she is still in danger. When I went to Fredericton for my investigation into the murder of Mrs Lewis, I went to the orphanage where Amy was taken before being moved here. The sister there told me that at Christmas time, there was a volunteer who kept on trying to talk to her. When the sister told him to leave her alone, because she saw that Amy was scared, he disappeared. She doesn't remember a name, but she promised to look through the photos and to try to find a picture of that man.”
Now Anna was starting to see what worried Neil so much. The world Amy came from was certainly far from safe and suitable for children, and Amy was undoubtedly an intelligent child. The teachers said she had an amazing memory for numbers and names. What if she remembered names and faces?
“But I think some people have already noticed her behavior towards you last Sunday, when she came to you after the Mass outside the church. We were used to seeing her always with her gaze downcast and next to the sisters … it is inevitable not to notice … And, Neil,” she locked eyes with the policeman. A worried expression had replaced her smile, “if they see she trusts you, you may be in danger, too.”
Neil was on the verge of telling Anna about Amy’s fears for his safety, but he thought better, and he said: “I think that the English teacher's suggestion that Amy should try to write what she remembers is not bad … I will talk to the child about it … Maybe it could help her focus on her memories…”
“Yes, the English teacher looks very concerned, even if Sister Theresa went to talk to her last week. The children had been given a picture to describe, and …” Neil was listening attentively to what Anna was telling him, “she gave her the picture of Fredericton station, of the benches along the platform, I think in the exact place where she was found…”
Neil was stroking his chin, and he commented: “I don’t think it’s a good idea, not knowing what the child’s reaction would be, but maybe she didn't know she was found on a bench.”
Anna shook her head and replied: “The news that a little child had been found in Fredericton station was in every newspaper and on TV, and I remember that journalists said she was found on a bench … ”
“What did the teacher tell Sister Theresa? I imagine the nun went to ask why she chose that photo, didn't she?”
“Yes, she went to talk to the teacher, also because Amy refused to describe the photo, and left the page blank. She is usually very diligent in her schoolwork, and she always does what she is asked.”
Neil now was longing to meet that teacher personally.
He asked eagerly: “What did the teacher, Miss ..”
“Miss May, Rosetta May. She said that she had given that photo on purpose, in order to help awaken Amy’s memories …”
“I think it was risky, though… And the sisters should have been asked before doing something like that … But maybe she meant well.”
“Yes, I think her intentions were good, but Amy has been in Rosary for a short time. I believe Miss May should have waited…”
“Yes, you are right. The sisters told me that she is very good at school, isn't she?”
“Yes, she is extraordinary in Mathematics. She can do exercises that her schoolmates can’t, and she reads a lot, not only fiction for children, but also science books and schoolbooks. I don't know if she has always been sent to school, considering the life she has lived, but she seems eager to learn and very smart…”
“Yes, I think the teachers and the school can help her a lot, but they should be careful …”
“That’s why I told you to talk to them …”
“Yes, I will talk to the sisters and ask for their opinion. Amy is in their custody, and I want them to decide what is best …”
Anna thought that Neil was really considerate and respectful. Before starting to visit Amy every day, he had asked for the Sisters' opinion, and he always called before going, in order to know if it was ok with them, or if maybe it was a bad moment …
After chatting for a few more minutes, Neil left Anna to go to the police station. Anna watched him drive away, before locking the door of the Trattoria and going upstairs to her apartment. Neil was really worried about Amy, but Anna knew there was something more that concerned him. He evidently didn't feel like talking about it, but she knew that, sooner or later, that tall sweet man would come to her, and she was ready to give him comfort …
***
Neil felt the warmth of a family whenever he spent time with Anna, and now, while he was driving to the police station, he thought that maybe it would give him relief to talk to her about Carol … Anna was a wise, sensitive woman, and he was sure she would understand his concern, but …. No, for the time being, it was too painful to talk about that girl, the love of his life, the person he had always thought he would spend his life with …. Maybe later, maybe when he learnt what had happened to her …
48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡveGHKpW3KR
***
48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt3K87g8sXW
St John, Vincent Clancy’s villa, 8 pm
Vincent was sitting on the sectional in the spacious living room of his villa, just outside St. John. On the side table he had a glass of red wine, and he was reading a financial magazine.
His daughter Olivia came into the room and sat next to him. She had her mobile phone in her hands, and she was texting someone. Vincent looked at his daughter with infinite love and apprehension.
His wife had died when Olivia was just ten years old, and he had done everything he could to make her feel loved. He was the manager of a large company, but he had never forgotten to celebrate her birthday, he had always spent the weekend or a short vacation with her, whenever he was free. He had tried to be present in her life. Even if Olivia had always had everything she needed and she wanted, she hadn't become an arrogant, presumptuous woman. She had a sweet, loving disposition, and she was always helpful if someone needed assistance or advice. When she had finished college, she had started to help him manage the company, and she had proved a successful smart businesswoman.
Then she had met Brian, who was a traveling salesman. He had instinctively liked this man, professional, but, at the same time, easygoing and kind. Olivia had fallen in love immediately, and in six months they were married. Less than a year later, Rachel was born. All in all, they were a happy family, but … Brian's business trips had become more frequent and longer, he was seldom at home, and Vincent started to see discomfort on Olivia’s face. He knew that she had doubts, and he saw that Rachel missed her dad, even now that she was twenty years old.
A few months before, someone in his factory had told him that he had seen Brian Murray in Amherst, when his wife and his daughter knew that he was in Vancouver on business. He had confronted his son-in-law, as soon as he had come back, but he had explained that he had been called to Amherst to deal with an urgent matter, and he hadn't had time to go back to his family, before going back to Vancouver. He hadn’t seemed worried by his father-in-law's questions, and Vincent had believed him. But …
Now he saw that Olivia was worried and restless, she had kept on looking at her mobile since dinner time, and it was evident that she was waiting for someone to call or text her…
He looked at her for a few moments, and he asked softly: “Darling, what’s the matter?”
She looked up at him, conscious that she could not hide her troubled look from her father. After a few moments, she replied:
“Brian had said he would be at home tomorrow, but he texted me today to say that he will be here next Monday. I sent a message to Rachel … She intended to come home tomorrow, but now she said that she is going to stay at her friend Sarah’s until Sunday evening. Can you pick her up at Sarah’s, dad?”
“Of course, darling. Are you busy on Sunday evening?”
“Yes, I am having dinner at Julianne’s … You know she is having a difficult time, now that her husband has left her. I had promised to spend some time with her … I should have gone to her with Brian, but …”
Vincent knew that his daughter was always ready to help and comfort, and she was always a trustworthy colleague and friend, loved by all the people who knew her.
He knew that in a few days, he would have to tell her what he had discovered, and it would not be easy. He had hoped that his suspicions would prove wrong, but the PI had found out something bad, even if he still didn't know what it was. He turned to his daughter, who was still scrolling through her messages on the phone, and he said tentatively:
“Olivia, you know that you will have to talk to your husband sooner or later.”
She locked eyes with him, and, for a moment, he didn't see the usual belligerent look in her eyes, when he tried to talk to her about Brian. She always defended her husband strenuously. Now she was silently listening to him, so he went on:
“You have to talk to Brian about his job. I told him once that he could work in our firm. He said that it would be awkward for him to work side by side with his wife and his father-in-law. ” Olivia simply nodded. She still remembered that conversation. At the time, she had supported her husband's decision. She wasn't too keen on the idea of working together. But she didn't expect that he would be far from home most of the time, that she wouldn't know when he came back, that he would send her a message almost every time to postpone his return …
Her father added: “It is not only for your marriage, but I see that Rachel is suffering … She loves her father very much, and she misses him. She is an adult now, she is twenty years old, but she still needs her father. Don’t you think, Olivia?”
Olivia thought it over for some moments, her troubled look testified to her inner struggle. She knew she had to talk to her husband, but, for some reasons, she was afraid of what she would discover, she was afraid of losing the man she was madly in love with.
She sighed deeply before answering:
“Yes, as soon as he is at home, I will talk to him. Rachel had the idea of suggesting a short vacation together. It would be a good thing, don't you think, dad?”
Mr. Clancy frowned at the thought. He didn't know what the PI had discovered, and he didn't want to talk about the investigation, until he had Mr. Gatti's papers in his hands, but … He tried not to show his apprehension, when he said encouragingly:
“Yes, it would be a wonderful idea, but … wouldn't it be better to wait until Rachel has finished her college year?”
“Yes, dad. I was not thinking of leaving immediately, but we could start planning where to go, how many days … I think that planning our vacation together could help me, Rachel and Brian to feel like a family once again…” She looked at her father with tears in her eyes, and she asked in a painful anguished tone:
“What changed our life so much, dad? Only Brian's job? Have I done something wrong? Maybe I should have stayed at home and followed him on his business trips? He asked me once, after Rachel was born. You remember, don't you?”
Olivia's troubled look was really heartbreaking, and Vincent prayed that the things Mr Gatti had discovered would prove less serious than he expected … He embraced his daughter tenderly. After a while, he freed himself from her embrace, he gently raised her face to look at him and said:
“Olivia, whatever happens, you must never think you have done something wrong, because you have been the most loving, understanding wife a man could want at his side. In my opinion, you have been far too patient, because he has neglected his family on more than one occasion, and you have always forgiven him… But now you have to talk to him seriously ….”
She tried to smile, when she answered:
“I am sure it is just his job that keeps him busy. When he calls he is always so sorry, and when he is here, he is loving and kind, as he has always been…”
At that moment, Olivia's phone rang, and she went out onto the patio to answer. Vincent looked at his daughter, and he tried to concentrate on his magazine, even if it was really difficult …
48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYAytkl7rkp
and then Add to home screen.