“I’ll text you when I get there,” she said.
“Okay.” I couldn’t get another word out. Sophie had been such an important part of my life, and she was leaving just as I was starting university.
“And if I don’t . . .”
“You will,” I said quickly, feeling my heart pick up pace. I was panicking, but I had to be strong for her.
She smiled. “Yeah. I will.”
I watched as she joined the others. They moved toward the trees without looking back. At the time, the question didn’t seem important. It was just nerves. Just fear. Later, it was the only thing I could think about.
CHAPTER 1
Claire
The road into Val-Du-Lys narrowed just after the turnoff, the highway giving way to trees and quiet stretches of pavement that made it feel like the world was slowly narrowing to my past. To a time when I took the same drive with Sophie and her mom, Celine. An evening when everything was supposed to go as planned. I’d grown up a few hours from here, but everyone knew of the infamous crime family in Val-Du-Lys. The Bellerose’s were a force. There wasn’t much crime that didn’t revolve around them.
I rolled down the window and let the air into my beat-up old car. The smell of pine and something sweeter filled the car. It was late spring and the sun was shining. The GPS said I’d arrive in twelve minutes. I’d been watching the time tick down for the last half hour. I told myself it was nerves about the job. About the orchard. About showing up somewhere new with dirt under my nails and a notebook in my bag like I belonged. Val-Du-Lys had come up more than once in my research over the past year. Mostly in offhand mentions. In the kinds of cases that never made it into journals because there wasn’t enough to conclude. Iwas working on my master’s degree in criminology, and this was my opportunity to research and write my thesis.
Val-Du-Lys was a small town, they were a tight community and they’d experience a lot of crime.
I’d written about places like this in abstract terms, about how proximity complicated justice, how families learned to live alongside unanswered questions. I hadn’t planned on living in this town or using this research for my master’s thesis, but it made sense. The orchard job had been easy enough to secure. It was seasonal work that provided living quarters and the money I’d make would cover rent and tuition for school without putting me further into debt. It gave me a reason to be here and possibly find a way to put the past behind me.
I tapped the steering wheel and glanced at the passenger seat, where my phone sat against a stack of printed articles. I picked it up and called Mom before I could talk myself out of it.
She answered on the second ring. “You almost there?”
“Ten minutes,” I said. “Maybe less.”
“Are you holding up, okay? I’m worried about you being there. I don’t want this pushing you back into...”
“Mom, I’m strong. I can handle this. I promise,” I assured. After Sophie disappeared, I fell apart and became depressed, but grief has a way of gutting you then putting you back together. Maybe I was stronger now for having gone through that pain. What I did know was that my best friend deserved justice. She deserved to have peace.
She hesitated. “You’re sure about this place? I read in the paper that the head of the crime ring didn’t die in that shooting. I don’t want you putting yourself in danger.”
“Mom, I’m working in an orchard that belongs to the police director. I’m sure he has security covered.”
She let out an exasperated sigh. I thought back to when I saw the job posting online months ago. Orchard manager seeking seasonal help. Lodging provided. Quiet town.
“The job will allow me to research my thesis properly. And the money helps.”
“I know.” She exhaled. “Call me tonight once you get settled in.”
“I will.”
When I hung up, the silence in the car pressed closer. I dialed Jamie next.
He picked up immediately. “You made it?”
“Almost,” I said. “I’m just outside town.”
“Wow,” he said. “It’s been a while since anyone I know voluntarily went there.”
“Yeah, well I have a thesis to write and I need answers,” I said.
“Just be careful. A lot of bad things happens in that town. They’re always on the news,” he stated.
“I will be,” I assured. “How unsafe can it be to work on an orchard?”