That night the Georgichov's welcomed Jimmy as if he were family. Though tired, he understood the importance of sharing Lana's life in Vancouver and even her final days in New Orleans.
"Who could do that to my Svetlana? Why?" Irina pleaded for an answer looking to Jimmy.
"No one knows who did this?" Dima could not understand the reasoning and raised his voice. "But it happened right there! And still, no one knows?"
"Someone knows!" Dimitri slammed his fist on the kitchen table.
The younger son noticed his mother begin to weep, got up, and punched his older brother before comforting Irina. "Svetlana wouldn't want us yelling and pounding our fists. She was a kind soul. Forgiving."
"She may be forgiving but I do not feel that way!"
"Anni, we have Lana right here. We should say our goodbyes and let her rest. In peace." Sacha tried to calm his family.
"Sacha," Jimmy spoke softly. "Sacha, sit." He waited for the youngest son to take his seat. "I only knew Lana for such a short time but the love she showed me, I never felt before. I don't know if I will ever feel love like that again."
Jimmy looked at Irina. "Parents should never face this loss. Yet, here we are with tears, sadness, and pain."
"So, what are you saying?" Dima looked at the Canadian. "You do not appear to be, how do I say? Content."
"Sir, this person took your daughter's life. Look what he did to your family. I can only imagine how many lives he's taken or how many families he has destroyed."
"You talk in circles." Dima frowned. "Exactly what are you saying."
The family looked at Jimmy not knowing what he meant.
"I will not be able to rest until I find the person responsible for ending your child's life. Your sisters' life."
"What the hell are you going to do?" Annika jumped up from her chair.
"Language, Anni!" Irina looked to her daughter who stopped talking.
"Well, I am going to do what I did when investigating a story for the newspaper."
"Great! A reporter!" Annika began to rant. "It would be great if you were a police detective or the great Sherlock Holmes but you are a reporter!"
"A reporter's only job is to get to the truth. That's it. What does a police detective do? They search for facts that lead to the person responsible. Not so different."
"Really? This is what you think?"
"No! It's what I know, Anni. It's the only thing I am really good at." Jimmy gave a chagrined look. "I was so good at it that many wanted me dead. So I stopped and took up writing memoirs for rich people."
"You can't do this alone!" Dimitri scoffed.
"I am not alone."
"What do you mean you're not alone. There is just you sitting here!"
"Dimitri, I have a friend. Well, she is the smartest woman I know. She was the one that found your Lana and all those other women being held in cages."
"She sounds like the kind of woman I'd like to meet." Dimitri smiled.
"She, my friend, will never be tamed."
"Hmmm, maybe one day we see. Huh?" Dimitri laughed then immediately felt bad for doing so. "I am sorry mother, forgive me."
"Dimitri, laughter is so much better than tears. I am tired of crying. Never be afraid to laugh." Irina moved to her son and kissed the top of his head then looked to Jimmy. "You knew, Svetlana well?"
YOU ARE READING
Dark Path - Crescent City
Mystery / ThrillerJimmy Carrick is enjoying the Mardi Gras parade with his girlfriend Lana, the love of his life, when she disappears into the crowd. Lured into an abandoned building by a man claiming to know where she went, he is thrust into a life and death struggl...
