Part 153, Chapter 2780
Chapter Two Thousand Seven Hundred Eighty
28th June 1979
Langeoog, East Frisian Islands
Marie Alexandra’s mother had once said that her swimming in the ocean without bothering with beach attire like she tended to do on Langeoog would give her grandmother a heart attack. It was sort of a moot point because when Marie had recently passed through Montreal her grandmother had done her level best to pretend that she didn’t exist. The investigation that she had conducted into their family tree had not gone over well with Margot finding several of the details that had been exposed to be absolutely mortifying. So the family had a Métis link from Margot’s mother and they were descended from one of the convict girls. That struck Marie as something that they hardly needed to be ashamed of. Their history was that of the French settlement of Canada and part of who they were. Margot saw things differently.
Swimming in the North Sea was a vastly different experience from swimming laps in an indoor pool at either the Ladies Athletic Club in Montreal or the Athletic Department at Trinty College. The water being cold even on a warm day like today, there were also waves and currents to contend with. That thought occurred to Marie as she waded out of the surf to where she had left her things above the tideline and put on an oversized hooded sweatshirt. It was the new one, bottle green with Trinity College across the front in white letters. Marie got it after Jackie had told her that the old red McGill sweatshirt looked terrible on her, it had been time to find a new one anyway. She shivered for a few minutes until the sun warmed her as she walked towards the house.
It was a weekday, so the wide beach was basically abandoned. It was the advantage of being here before the tourist season started. After spending a couple of extra weeks in Dublin where she had done the follow-up work on her trip to Nova Scotta, some quiet time out on the islands was welcome. Jack had been preparing to spend the Summer Holiday in Italy, with the plan for Jackie and Sean to go with him and Bridget. So he had thanked Marie for going the extra mile and to enjoy her holiday.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise that Marie wanted to be alone. Especially after Jack had told her that Sibéal had merely been the first interview, there were dozens more ahead. There was no timetable on any of this just yet though. On the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day next year a whole set of laws would come into effect that would have direct bearing on the case, so he wanted to see how that would all pan out first. He had then made a point of telling her that this was the pace these things went in real life and that this wasn’t a legal drama where everything was neatly wrapped up at the end of the hour when the third act reached its conclusion. It was something that Marie was perfectly aware of, but the reminder didn’t hurt.
Taking a shower to wash the salt off only took a few minutes. Marie had basically rolled out of bed and had gone swimming, so she needed to actually get dressed. Which involved putting her sweatshirt back on with a pair of blue jeans this time. While she did that she had time to think about how she was only going to have the place to herself for a little while longer. Henriette and Alice were coming to spend July here at the same time Sophie, Gabi, and Angelica were planning on being here. So the house would go from being empty to being packed all at once as they made their plans for Heni’s upcoming wedding. Henriette had commented that this was one of the few places she had seen Marie free to just be herself. That struck Marie as sort of an odd thing to say.
Finally, there was Suga. The Empress wanted to meet with her to discuss matters and she was not deterred by how that had gone disastrously wrong the prior December. Marie could promise all she wanted that her fainting the last time had been a freak occurrence, that didn’t make it any less embarrassing. According to the Doctors that had all been the result of Marie’s personal neglect and why it had been decided that living with Jackie was something she needed. It was thought that she was less inclined to demolish herself if she had an audience.
As if to drive that point home, Marie knew that there was no food in the kitchen. So unless she wanted to go hungry this afternoon, she would need to go to the market. That would mean dealing with other people and because she had been coming to Langeoog since she was a baby, they would all know her by name. The alternative would be to take the ferry to the mainland and the train to Wilhelmshaven. That would require her to spend the whole day. That seemed like a big lift to avoid talking to people.
It was moments like this that Marie missed her pets. Her childhood companions Fleur and Chesshire in particular. Fleur had been a Terrier mix who had died years earlier and her moggy Cheshire was nearly twenty years old. He had bonded with Sophie after Marie had left for University. Grabbing her keys, purse, and the large cloth bag she used to carry groceries. Steeling herself, Marie walked out the front door.
28th June 1979
Langeoog, East Frisian Islands
Marie Alexandra’s mother had once said that her swimming in the ocean without bothering with beach attire like she tended to do on Langeoog would give her grandmother a heart attack. It was sort of a moot point because when Marie had recently passed through Montreal her grandmother had done her level best to pretend that she didn’t exist. The investigation that she had conducted into their family tree had not gone over well with Margot finding several of the details that had been exposed to be absolutely mortifying. So the family had a Métis link from Margot’s mother and they were descended from one of the convict girls. That struck Marie as something that they hardly needed to be ashamed of. Their history was that of the French settlement of Canada and part of who they were. Margot saw things differently.
Swimming in the North Sea was a vastly different experience from swimming laps in an indoor pool at either the Ladies Athletic Club in Montreal or the Athletic Department at Trinty College. The water being cold even on a warm day like today, there were also waves and currents to contend with. That thought occurred to Marie as she waded out of the surf to where she had left her things above the tideline and put on an oversized hooded sweatshirt. It was the new one, bottle green with Trinity College across the front in white letters. Marie got it after Jackie had told her that the old red McGill sweatshirt looked terrible on her, it had been time to find a new one anyway. She shivered for a few minutes until the sun warmed her as she walked towards the house.
It was a weekday, so the wide beach was basically abandoned. It was the advantage of being here before the tourist season started. After spending a couple of extra weeks in Dublin where she had done the follow-up work on her trip to Nova Scotta, some quiet time out on the islands was welcome. Jack had been preparing to spend the Summer Holiday in Italy, with the plan for Jackie and Sean to go with him and Bridget. So he had thanked Marie for going the extra mile and to enjoy her holiday.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise that Marie wanted to be alone. Especially after Jack had told her that Sibéal had merely been the first interview, there were dozens more ahead. There was no timetable on any of this just yet though. On the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day next year a whole set of laws would come into effect that would have direct bearing on the case, so he wanted to see how that would all pan out first. He had then made a point of telling her that this was the pace these things went in real life and that this wasn’t a legal drama where everything was neatly wrapped up at the end of the hour when the third act reached its conclusion. It was something that Marie was perfectly aware of, but the reminder didn’t hurt.
Taking a shower to wash the salt off only took a few minutes. Marie had basically rolled out of bed and had gone swimming, so she needed to actually get dressed. Which involved putting her sweatshirt back on with a pair of blue jeans this time. While she did that she had time to think about how she was only going to have the place to herself for a little while longer. Henriette and Alice were coming to spend July here at the same time Sophie, Gabi, and Angelica were planning on being here. So the house would go from being empty to being packed all at once as they made their plans for Heni’s upcoming wedding. Henriette had commented that this was one of the few places she had seen Marie free to just be herself. That struck Marie as sort of an odd thing to say.
Finally, there was Suga. The Empress wanted to meet with her to discuss matters and she was not deterred by how that had gone disastrously wrong the prior December. Marie could promise all she wanted that her fainting the last time had been a freak occurrence, that didn’t make it any less embarrassing. According to the Doctors that had all been the result of Marie’s personal neglect and why it had been decided that living with Jackie was something she needed. It was thought that she was less inclined to demolish herself if she had an audience.
As if to drive that point home, Marie knew that there was no food in the kitchen. So unless she wanted to go hungry this afternoon, she would need to go to the market. That would mean dealing with other people and because she had been coming to Langeoog since she was a baby, they would all know her by name. The alternative would be to take the ferry to the mainland and the train to Wilhelmshaven. That would require her to spend the whole day. That seemed like a big lift to avoid talking to people.
It was moments like this that Marie missed her pets. Her childhood companions Fleur and Chesshire in particular. Fleur had been a Terrier mix who had died years earlier and her moggy Cheshire was nearly twenty years old. He had bonded with Sophie after Marie had left for University. Grabbing her keys, purse, and the large cloth bag she used to carry groceries. Steeling herself, Marie walked out the front door.
