Cries from the Cold by Bernadette Calonego

Author:Bernadette Calonego [Calonego, Bernadette]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-06-24T16:00:00+00:00

30

Ann still feels his warm body on hers as she gets into her cold car. These intimate rendezvous are secret, and now, with Kris Bakie’s death, they’ve become even more precarious. No one can know.

This game of hide-and-seek doesn’t bother her; on the contrary, she feels free. Hiding has become second nature to her. When safety or even life depends on it, then you quickly adapt. The thought had come to her in her more lighthearted moments that she’d have been well qualified as a secret agent or a spy. But those playful feelings always evaporate quickly.

She mustn’t think of his passionate embrace now, the scent of his manliness, the sounds from his mouth when he shares their desire. She must concentrate on the cars behind and in front of her as she turns onto the highway to Port Brendan. Their meetings always take place away from the village, in a remote cabin on a lonely forest road. Never at her place. And never at his. In summer they sometimes make love outdoors if a strong breeze keeps the mosquitoes at bay.

Incredible how lively Port Brendan’s streets have suddenly become. Unfamiliar faces, figures in Inuit parkas, colorful headgear everywhere, logos on ski jackets that say things such as Team Walbush or Labrador City. A food cart sells hot dogs and hamburgers from the grill. A fuzzy snow hare, the mascot of the games, wanders down the slope and is soon encircled by children.

Her eyes hunt for a place to park, but every spot is taken by vehicles and snowmobiles. Suddenly the nervous, enthusiastic excitement before a sporting event seizes her. She’d love to take off on a pair of snowshoes, heading for the finish line step by step. She’d love to be part of a team feverishly looking forward to the big day, or a team that hopes for victory for their country. But her role in the Winter Games is limited to technical work on the website. The organizing committee asked her to contribute photos. So she maneuvers her car toward the harbor, past pedestrians and vehicles. There’s a big parking lot in front of the fish factory.

Her festive mood plummets at once when she discovers the new RCMP woman talking to another Mountie. They’re standing beside the police car and talking, looking serious. Ann recognizes Fred van Heisen. Upon reflection, she manages to remember the policewoman’s name. Calista Gates. Even close-up she looks pretty beneath her fur hat. Pretty in a natural way, not like Shannon, that Hollywood doll who dresses up to the nines. Calista won’t be dangerous for me, she persuades herself. She’s not so sure about Shannon.

The two officers look concerned. So would she in their shoes. The RCMP must be worried not only about the games but about solving two murders as well. She notices something else. The way van Heisen looks at his partner. Is she telling him something outrageous or . . . or does she fascinate him that much? Van Heisen has a girlfriend in Saskatchewan, so she’s heard.

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