DANIEL FELT TOUESNARD’S suspicious gaze all the way back to the hotel. He sensed that MacKinnon might just believe his story, but not Touesnard. Who would send ten thousand dollars to an account with his name and not tell him? He hadn’t done any consulting work worth that much. And any job he did do was strictly above board and official. He had seen too much corruption and had vowed not to turn to that dark side. Looking at the detective, Daniel didn’t know if Touesnard thought he was a victim to be protected or a con man who had convincingly duped the authorities.
Daniel’s cellphone chirped with a call from Vanessa. Finally!
Daniel’s words, pent up for so long, burst through, as though he were continuing their last conversation without a pause. “Won’t be long now. This police stuff should settle down in a day or so. Then I’ll be right over to help with Emily.”
She let out a sigh that seemed to empty the pain she had accumulated in one go. “I’m sorry.” He tensed. Her voice sounded different. Not angry, more resigned to a destiny not of her choosing. “Sorry? For what? What’s happened? Is Emily all right?”
“Yes, she’s fine. She’s with me.”
“As I said, I think this police stuff will finish soon —”
“Don’t bother.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t bother coming back.”
Daniel stopped. “Of course I’m coming back. This is only temporary.”
“For you, maybe. But I’ve had a lot of time to think.”
Oh no.
“I don’t want to stay here anymore. I’m lonely. I hate this fucking winter. You’re never around. You said you’d retire from that fucking job that you could never talk about. But it’s clear that it’s back. It’s time for this to stop.”
“What are you saying?”
“It’s time to end this, Daniel. To end this perpetual state of waiting. We started out so well, but there’s only Emily left between us. And I have to live my life. I’ve waited for you for years. And I’ve got nothing to show for it.”
“I’ll talk to the police and come right now. I’ll ask for an escort back to Montreal.”
“We won’t be there.”
His heart almost stopped. “Where are you?”
She let out a big sigh. “Vancouver. We’re about to catch our flight to Auckland. It’s boarding now. I’m taking Emily to stay with my parents until I can figure out what to do next.”
His mouth felt dry. “When are you coming back?”
“We’re not.”
He felt the world melt. “You can’t do that. I need Emily, too. You can’t take her all for yourself.”
“I have her passport and travel document that you signed, by the way.” He heard a muffled announcement in the background. “They’re making the final boarding call. I have to go.”
You can’t take her away! “Can I talk with her?”
A pause. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“I want to talk with her.”
“Daniel, she’s scared and confused. And your voice will only stress her out.”
“Please.”
“This is so typical. You can’t just disappear doing God-knows-what and then parachute back and assume that our lives have been on pause since the last time you were here.”
“But you left me.” He felt his voice crack.
“You left me first.” The line went dead.
His scream startled Touesnard, who called the Vancouver RCMP, but by the time the court injunction came, the plane had already taken off. Without it, the RCMP had no legal reason to prevent Vanessa from taking Emily to Auckland.
Emily. On his cellphone, Daniel scrolled through the few photos of them together, always with goofy smiles. Maybe over the Pacific, she would ask where her father was, and why he didn’t come with them. He wanted to scream again.
He needed to talk to someone, needed to hear a sympathetic voice telling him it would all be okay and that he’d see his daughter again. His mind sifted through the people he could call. It was a short list. No one. Then her face came into view. Claire. He barely knew her but …
He went to his phone, checked the number that she had written on his card, and sent her a short text message to call him.
“We’ll get this sorted out, and then you can see your daughter,” Touesnard promised. “But it’s just too dangerous for you to leave right now.”
Emily is gone.