Monday, March 15th
Rosary, Our Lady Catholic church, 9:00 a.m.
Anna arrived with Silvia at the Catholic Church dedicated to the Virgin Mary for the morning mass. Father George had insisted on commemorating Father Luca, a month after his death, at the evening mass when more people could be present, but Anna had been adamant: she didn’t want a lot of people, just her family and close friends. She just didn’t feel up to listening to the inevitable sympathetic comments and words of comfort that, she was sure, couldn’t help her.
While she was preparing for the mass in her flat, she reflected that a month had passed, but her pain and her sense of loss became greater and greater every day, instead of diminishing. She tried to smile in front of her family, but every time her eyes fell on the picture of her smiling son, tears came to her eyes. ‘Will I ever overcome this? Will time heal my tormented soul?’ she kept wondering.
Every time she entered the beautiful church in Rosary, recently built but in a classical style with large colorful glass windows, she remembered the church in Chioggia, a small medieval church with fragments of frescos on the walls and a big cross behind the altar. That was the church where she had been baptized, she had made her First Communion and had got married. Then she had found a new community that had welcomed her, a new church in a different part of the world for the baptism of her children, the wedding of Silvia and Mark and Luca’s first mass. It was also the place where they had put to eternal rest her husband and, a month before, her dear son.
When she entered, she made the sign of the cross, and she went to sit in the first pew next to Silvia, who was doing her best to hold back the tears. Almost immediately, Mark arrived. After driving the children to school, he had taken an hour off work to be present at the commemorative mass, and he went to sit next to his wife. She bent her head on his shoulder, and he put an arm around her waist. Sister Theresa and Sister Nancy were already sitting in the pew across the aisle. They came immediately to greet the sad family. In the meantime, Bruno and his wife Sheila entered the church, followed by John and Jennifer. They went to sit in the pew behind Anna. John put a comforting hand on Anna’s shoulder. She turned and smiled at him.
Father George came out of the Sacristy, and he started the mass. He looked at the troubled faces of Anna and Silvia, and he wondered: ‘How can I comfort them if it is so difficult for me to accept this death? Please, God, let me see Your light, Your design, let me be able to assist this grieving family, because I can’t find the words.’
Stacey had called Anna that morning because she remembered it was exactly a month after Luca’s death. She had asked if there was a commemoration at the church but she had added that she felt very weak and tired. Anna had reassured her that it was not necessary for her to come to the mass.
Mark was reading the psalm, when they heard the door open at the back of the church. Mark looked up from the pulpit, and the rest of the congregation turned their heads to see who was coming to the morning mass. John and Mark exchanged a surprised glance, when they saw Neil enter. He went to sit in the last pew. He had a gun and a badge on his belt, and a serious expression on his face. Anna felt tears coming to her eyes, and she noticed that Father George was looking at the policeman with a surprised expression.
When the mass ended, Father George came down from the pulpit, and they all went out of the church and gathered on the small porch to chat, as they always did on Sunday after the mass. John saw Neil was leaving without saying a word. He called him,
“Neil!”
Neil turned and approached Anna. She noticed he was embarrassed, even shy, and she said simply: “Thank you for coming, Ins...” She stopped and said: “Neil, you were very kind!”
Neil smiled and said: “John told me he would be late today because of your son’s commemoration, and I decided to come, but I see it is a kind of private celebration, and I don’t want to intrude, Mrs. …” He corrected himself: “Anna!”
Anna turned to her daughter and her son-in-law and said: “This is my daughter Silvia and her husband Mark! Mark, this is Mario’s volleyball coach and our new inspector, Neil McKinley!”
Mark shook hands with the tall man, who was beginning to feel more at ease. Silvia said: “Thanks, Neil, for volunteering as volleyball coach for our children. Mario was enthusiastic last Saturday.”
“Oh, I thank all of you and Father George for your trust. I have always had fun with children. And Father Luca did a wonderful job. They are a good team, and they like playing together.”
Father George asked Anna: “Has Mario told you about the wonderful idea Neil had of hanging Luca’s picture on the wall of the gym?”
Neil looked at Anna and said: “Only if it is alright with you, Anna. I just noticed the picture in your restaurant, and I thought it would be important for the children to remember who started their volleyball team.”
Anna resisted the impulse to embrace that tough policeman, so considerate and caring, and she said in a voice choked by emotion: “You had a very kind thought, Neil. I have already prepared a photo, and I wanted to give it to Mario next Saturday ...” She paused and then she added, smiling: “If I don’t see you at my trattoria before Saturday, of course!”
Neil smiled and said: “I think I will have lunch there one of these days, don’t you think, John?” John nodded. He kissed his wife and left with the Inspector.
Mark left to go back to work, and Father George took his car and went to the trattoria to have a cup of espresso with Anna, Silvia, Bruno, and Sheila.
***
When they were all sitting in front of a good cup of Italian espresso, Father George noticed that Anna had been silent since they had left the church. He said kindly: “Anna, how are you holding up?” Silvia shook her head and looked apprehensively at her mother. She turned to George and said: “Oh, George, it is so difficult. I have my children and Mark, but I am worried about my mum! She lives alone. She tells me she is sleeping better now, but I see her always so tired in the morning!”
Anna tried to smile and replied: “Silvia, you mustn’t worry so much. I am alright. I just think I need time to really accept what happened to Luca. If I will ever be able to accept it!” She added with a sigh. Then she turned to George and said in a light tone, trying to divert the attention of her friends and her daughter from herself: “George, do you know anything about the new inspector, Neil? I mean, he is very kind, and he was awarded a medal for his courage, but he has such a sad look in his eyes.”
She turned to her daughter and added: “You know, Silvia, I was thinking of what Giulia said the other day, that we all must pray for him. It must be difficult not to have a family! We all know that he is an orphan, but… is it what makes him so sad?”
Father George shook his head and Anna said quickly: “Oh, I don’t want to sound a busybody or to snoop into his life, but the newspapers had pictured him as a tough man, a fearless sniper ... I think that is only a part of the picture!”
George replied: “Yes, I have the impression of a person who has suffered or is suffering from something! When he offered to become the volleyball coach, he told me he had volunteered at the orphanage in Vancouver where he grew up, and I called Father Thomas, the director of the orphanage there. He hinted at the fact that Neil may need my help or my comfort, but he didn’t tell me anything more. It is evident the priest loves Neil.” George turned to Anna and said: “I don’t want to force him to tell me about his life if he doesn’t want to, but, if he needs our help or support, we are here for him, aren’t we, Anna?”
Anna nodded musingly. What made that good man suffer so much? She found herself instinctively praying that she would be able to help him.
***
Rosary, Anna’s Trattoria , 4:30 p.m.
The children arrived at the cooking lesson with their usual enthusiasm and joy. They couldn’t realize how much comfort they were able to give Anna, how they, more than anything or anyone else, could take her mind off her sad thoughts.
They sat down in the large kitchen, and Anna described the recipe they would prepare. It was not typical of one region or town in Italy, but it could be found in many parts of Anna’s beloved home country.
They would prepare the Lent Bagels. Anna showed them the cooking stations on the table where there was a glass bowl for each aspiring chef. Every bowl was covered with a towel and inside there was a light, yellow soft mass of dough: since it had to leaven for two hours, Jennifer and Silvia had prepared the dough after lunch, and now it was ready for the children to work on. Next to the large glass bowl, there were two smaller ones containing egg yolk and colorful decorations. In front of each child, a rolling pin and a pastry brush. A large baking tray completed each child’s cooking kit.
With the help of Anna, Jennifer and Silvia, the children got busy and, one by one, the baking trays were ready to put into the ovens.
Anna went to talk to parents and relatives. A chatting and laughing small crowd were gathered, sitting at the various tables. Silvia brought bottles of water and placed one on every table where plates and glasses had already been prepared.
Anna noticed Stacey had not come but, after a few minutes, Dana arrived and she went to sit in a corner without talking to anyone.
At that moment, the children came out of the kitchen, each carrying a tray that they delicately put in front of their relatives. Robin ran to his mother with his tray and he embraced her. She smiled and looked for a moment at the bagels, but Anna heard her say: “No, Robin, I am sorry, I have been on a diet for a month now. We are going to take them home for grandma to taste, ok?”
Anna could see the disappointment on Robin’s face, but he tried to smile while he nibbled one bagel. His mum kept on looking at her mobile phone, scrolling messages and texting, and she didn’t even look around her.
Anna would have liked to scream at her and to show her the discomfort on her son’s face, but she just went to the table and said kindly: “Hello, Mrs. Lewis, I am happy to see you here!”
Dana raised her eyes and said coldly: “I am not Mrs. Lewis, not any more, at least!” Anna realized that her attempts at kindness only made things worse for poor Robin. She turned to him and said affectionately: “How is your grandma today, Robin?”
“Tony told me she is better, thanks. In the afternoon she is usually fine, but in the morning, she feels so weak.”
Anna embraced him and said: “Tell her I said hello, ok?”
Robin just nodded and, when the packets with the remaining bagels were ready for every child, he left with his mum, who kept on looking at her phone.
John was sitting next to Mark with Alan, Mario and Giulia, and he watched Dana and Robin leave.
He turned to Anna, who had sat down next to them and said: “Doesn’t that woman realize that her child is suffering? That he needs her affection?”
Mark sighed and said, taking advantage of the fact that their children were chatting and were not listening to them: “If something should happen to Stacey Lewis, that child would be completely alone. I would like to talk to his parents.”
Anna thought for a few moments and then commented: “I think I will try to talk to Nolan Lewis one of these days. I have to go to the notary for some documents. I will ask him something about his son, if he remembers he has a son!” she bitterly concluded.
***
Fredericton, Alison Stevens’ home, 6:30 p.m.
Alison was at home with a steaming cup of coffee in front of her after a long working day. She was sitting at her small desk in a corner of the living room. She opened her laptop to check her emails. Then she decided to have a look on the internet and to find information about the Lewis family. Father Luca hadn’t told her the name of the lady. He had said that he would put them in contact, but now Mrs. Lewis had introduced herself on the phone. Alison wanted to know something more about her father and his family. She typed Lewis and Rosary, and she found a list of public appearances of Nolan and Margaret Lewis and the obituary for the notary Charles Lewis almost three years before. There was a beautiful picture of her father, with grey hair and dark blue eyes, a handsome man with a charming smile that made him look younger.
Under the heading ‘images’ of the Google search engine, she discovered a few photos. She started scrolling through them. She found only a few photos of the old woman. Evidently, Stacey had stayed far from the public scene. There were some pictures with her husband at concerts, conferences or charity events, no pictures after her husband’s death.
While she was looking at some newspaper articles that spoke about the old couple, she found a few magazine reports about Nolan Lewis’s divorce. They were articles dating back over three years, but the ex-wife did not appear. Alison looked for a photo of the whole family and she found one that had been taken a few months before in front of their swimming pool. The caption read: ‘The Lewis extended family’. There was an old woman, evidently Stacey Lewis, a man and four other women with a young boy. There were no names under the picture, but Alison recognized one of the women as Margaret Lewis. She imagined that the other three were the former and present wife of Nolan and supposedly the maid, and that the young boy was Nolan’s son. But… Alison enlarged the photo, and her heart skipped a beat when she recognized … Oh my God! She immediately looked for other similar pictures, maybe with the names. One thing was certain, one of those women was … Now she could see why she hadn’t been able to help the technician with the sketch… The woman’s evil look had distorted her features … Certainly her look had changed, the color of her hair and the hairstyle, with a different makeup … She looked very different, because she was smiling in the photo ... But Alison was absolutely sure that she was the same person. Alison thought she was going to faint. No, it couldn’t be. She had to cancel her appointment with Stacey Lewis, that was certain. And now?
She didn’t stop to think. She threw on her coat, she printed the photo she had found, folded it, and stashed it in her jacket pocket. She closed her front door and ran to her car. Without noticing that someone was following her, she hopped on and left.
Upon arriving at the Police Station, she entered through the glass door. An agent was standing behind the counter, and he asked politely,
“Hi, Madam, can I help you?”
Alison took a deep breath and asked: “Can I talk to Lieutenant Dan Gordon?”
“I am sorry, the Lieutenant is not in Fredericton now, he is busy with a case in another town. I think he will be back tomorrow. If I can help you…”
Alison answered quickly: “Can I leave a message for him?”
The officer gave her a pad and a pen, and she wrote a few lines.
He looked at the note and said: “Don’t worry, I will tell him as soon as he comes back!”
Alison went back to her car and drove home. She tried to call her friend and colleague Shirley, but her call went to voicemail. She decided not to leave a message because she would see Shirley in the morning.
When she entered her living room, she noticed she had left her laptop on. She turned it off and went to have a shower. She tried to watch TV and avoid thinking about that photo and that person. But she was too excited and couldn’t get that image out of her mind.
***
Fredericton, 6:30 p.m.
In his car, he sat outside that woman’s home. Throughout the day, he had followed her every move: she worked in her shop, closed it for the lunch break, and accompanied her colleague to a nearby cafeteria. Since they were sitting next to the window, he was able to see them. They were laughing and chatting.
Then, when she had closed the shop, he had followed her home and now he was preparing to leave because he knew that she seldom went out after work but ... He saw her rushing to her car. What had happened? Why did she look so excited? She just had her purse and the car keys, no papers, no suspect folders. He decided to follow her, just to make sure she didn’t meet anyone.
She drove confidently, as if she knew exactly where she was going and … She stopped in front of the Police Station, the same Police Station where she had been interviewed after her mother’s murder. ‘Oh my God,’ the man thought, ‘what’s the matter with her?’
He got out of the car cautiously, but she was not looking around. She was walking fast towards the entrance of the Police Station. He had to know what she wanted to do. He had to know if she had discovered... No, it couldn’t be possible.
Once he had waited for a few moments, he entered. He stopped a few feet from the reception counter, and he heard the conversation. There was definitely something wrong! He heard her ask for the Lieutenant who had investigated her mother’s murder. Then he saw her write on a piece of paper a message for the police officer, but the agent who was talking to her put the note immediately under the counter. There was no way of seeing what it was about. He decided to go away without attracting too much attention. He waited in his car, and he followed her to her home. He saw her enter and turn on the lights in her apartment.
For a moment he debated whether to knock on her door and make sure she didn’t talk to anyone, but then a few people gathered in front of the woman’s block of flats. They were chatting, and they were evidently waiting for someone. He noticed they were looking at him, maybe wondering what he was doing. The last thing he wanted was to attract attention. He drove away, but he planned his next move.
ns216.73.217.39da2
and then Add to home screen.