25

She stayed at the window for a long while without moving. Minutes passed slowly after Chief Sirsky’s car disappeared around the corner. Lara Krall felt emptied out and destroyed. Her whole life had been nothing but torture.

Losing Jean-Baptiste ate at her every day; the years hadn’t taken the edge off. She was still in love with his gentle grin and his optimism, creativity, and charm. Her dreams had become a nightmare when he vanished. There were so many questions. Why? How? Whose fault was it? She had never made peace with his disappearance. And now she knew that Jean-Baptiste was dead the whole time.

What if he’d done it? If he was the guilty one, she would die too.