The Invisible Strings

2. Seizures

Claire presses the number of her ex-husband, Pierre Caron, waiting impatiently until he picks up.

The dial tone seems to stretch on an eternity until, finally, there's a noise.

“Hello, Pierre,” Claire begins with a pitiful tone. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m in a bit of a situation. Someone needs to talk to you urgently.” She hands the phone to Detective Côté.

“Hello, Claire?” Pierre's voice comes through the line along with the sound of him sipping his morning coffee in the background.

Detective Côté takes the phone from Claire's hand. “This is Detective Kimberly Côté speaking. On behalf of the Quebec City Police Department, I'm calling you the legal guardian of Mrs. Claire LeBlanc. Can you confirm that, Sir?”

“Yes, I'm her ex-husband. What's going on? Is Claire alright?” Pierre's voice is tinged with worry. He drops his coffee cup, concern etched on his face when the woman in front of him hears Claire's name mentioned.

The woman In front of him stiffens, hearing Claire’s name mentioned, her eyes widening with a mix of jealousy and curiosity.

“Sir, she’s safe here with the medics. We require your presence to accompany her during the investigation as her legal guardian,” Detective Côté explains, her tone demanding his immediate presence.

Pierre is stunned. “What? An investigation?” The unexpected news surprised him. Claire has always been a handful, but police involvement was unforeseen.

“Yes, Sir. Your ex-wife, Mrs. Leblanc was found unconscious at the crime scene involving Mr. Savoie, her ex-boyfriend. We need you to come and accompany her. Can you come to 1922 Berger Street now?”

“Okay, I'll be there in half an hour.” Pierre hangs up, his breakfast forgotten, appetite gone.

Apologizing to the woman in front of him, he says, “Sorry, it's an emergency.”

“What emergency?” She raises her eyebrows, curious.

“My ex-wife,” Pierre replies, grabbing his car keys.

She sighs, “She never lets you have peace, does she?”

Pierre leans down to kiss his girlfriend on the forehead before grabbing his long black wool coat.

As he puts on his boots, he hears his girlfriend nagging about their situation.

“Will you be back soon? It’s Christmas, and I don’t want you spending too much time with her. It feels like she’s stealing you from me,” the 26-year-old girl complains, playing with her blonde hair in jealousy.

The 60-year-old man can't resist the charm of his young lover. “I’ll try to be back as soon as I can. This is important,” he says softly. He opens his arms wide, he hugs her, and she leans into the embrace.

“About her dog?” She sulks.

Pierre lifts her chin, looking at her with a deep gaze, “I'm not sure yet, dear. It involves the police. I'll let you know as soon as I get there.”

With that, he rushes to his car and heads to the destination, leaving his worried girlfriend behind.

Meanwhile, Detective Côté is questioning the neighbor, gathering every detail she can.

Across the room, Detective Gagnon is almost finished building his mental note on the possible scenario of the horrific murder scene.

With his gloves on, he carefully examines every detail of Jacques’s dead body, meticulously documenting the scene with photographs as he squats next to the bed.