Chapter 35



Cameron powered up his cell phone.  To conserve the battery he had left the cell phone off since leaving Montreal.  Cameron was glad to see that the little battery icon in the corner of the screen was still green.  On the seat next to him was a piece of paper with a phone number that Marie had given him, the number to the Cathari in Quebec.

Marie had thought that the gunshot wound was fatal and had requested the consolamentum to be become a Perfect before dying.  Anticipating imminent death, Marie had even begun the endura, a form of voluntary euthanasia through starvation.  Believing she was mortally wounded, Marie would refuse to eat or drink to speed death.  Cameron thought Marie had gone to an unnecessary extreme receiving the last sacrament.  The bullet had gone clean through, and though Marie had lost a great amount of blood, she had regained consciousness and her color had returned.  Cameron thought Marie was on the upswing and was preparing the thigh sized brown trout he bought from the market on the drive from Toronto when Nicole had come from the sofa to tell him that Marie had passed.  Cameron had been so sure that Marie was going to recover that he had put on classical music while he was cooking and opened a bottle red wine.  Cameron thought that all he needed to do to convince Marie to take some nourishment was to prepare an irresistible meal.  Marie had not lived to see the meal served.

Now driving north on highway 401 back toward Montreal, Marie’s task had become Cameron’s.  He would contact the Quebec safe house that was waiting for the young Perfect, the Cathari treasure.

Cameron handed Nicole the paper, “Read that number to me.”  He lifted his cell phone over the steering wheel so that he could enter the number and still see the road.  As Nicole read the phone number to Cameron, he punched the digits into the phone.  He placed the cell phone next to his ear and waited for someone to pick up.  The answer came quickly.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5