A fixer. Why did the people in this village seem to know more about her than she wanted to acknowledge herself?
‘Jacques, he holds himself at such a distance from everything. In the time that he has been here the pieces of him have only been given to me little by little.’ She sighed, her eyes on the tall, broad man taking charge of this situation. ‘But inside of him is this balloon of pure goodness. Once it was big andbuoyant and now circumstances have let it shrink and it is like all the air has gone. But it does not go away, it is still there, the goodness, it just needs to be reinflated again.’
She was still shaking. Thinking about Erin out in the cold, thinking about her frozen emotions, thinking about how she had led herself down this work-focussed, solitary path, only indulging in company when there was a problem to be solved…
‘Drink the chocolate, Orla,’ Delphine said again. ‘There is nothing that cannot be made better with something sweet.’
Orla put her lips to the cup and took a sip. Erin would be fine.Please let Erin be fine.
49
Jacques felt responsible. He had been too busy taking his eye off the ball, letting himself develop feelings for Orla that someone under his roof – temporarily under his care – had gone missing.From his safe house. The absolute irony of that. And, to top it all off, he had stupidly drunk too much to drive. He should be leading the search, taking one of Gerard’s snowmobiles and getting Erin found. As resourceful as he suspected she was, as much as he knew exactly what Tommy would do in a similar situation, the French mountains could be brutal, the temperature drop was severe and it was pitch black now. He zipped up his jacket and petted Hunter on the head. He really hoped he wouldn’t have to use Hunter’s skills in finding people under snow…
‘I’m coming with you,’ Orla said, appearing at his side.
‘No, Orla.’
‘You can’t say no to me, this ismysister we’re talking about.’
‘And when I bring her back here she will be cold and tired and she will need you to do all the things with hair-brushing and soft talking that I am not equipped for.’ He looked at her with all the seriousness he felt.
‘Delphine said something like the same thing.’
‘And Delphine is almost always right.’ He swallowed. ‘So, let me do what I am equipped for.’
Hunter let out a bark as if he was warning Orla too.
‘Sometimes,’ Orla said, picking up a hat from a pile on the table and pulling it down over her head. ‘We have to do things outside our comfort zone. And often we find that there are elements of it that we thought were more difficult than they actually were. Embracing the cracks, right?’
He didn’t know if she was talking about her or him. But he sensed she was not going to listen to his advice. Perhaps it was better to accept that, stay focussed and give her instructions like he had given to his team of volunteers.
‘OK,’ he said. ‘But out there you do as I say. It is dangerous and?—’
‘Can we go?’ Orla asked, checking her phone screen for the billionth time and refreshing Find My Phone. ‘Because it feels like we’ve been sat for way too long and, fuelled with determination, Erin can be a fast walker.’
‘Orla, I am serious.’
‘So am I,’ she replied, heading for the door.
Hunter let out a bark. It was one of his ‘unsure’ repertoire. Something was amiss enough for him to make a sound, but not so urgent anyone needed to panic.
‘OK, Hunter,’ Jacques said, petting his head and paying attention to the ground around his dog.
‘What is it?’ Orla asked. Her teeth were chattering around her words.
He examined the snow-covered ground. There was something there that shouldn’t be there. Biscuit crumbs. No, not biscuits.Cookies.Delphine’scookies.
‘Jacques,’ Orla said. ‘What is it?’
‘Crumbs from Delphine’s cookies.’
‘Erin loves them. Delphine gave her some more yesterday.’
‘She has been this way.’
Hunter barked again, a few paces further on.
Jacques stepped forward. ‘There are more here.’
