In Winter's Grip

by Brenda Chapman

  “Will he let you go so easily?”

  “He has a wife.” I shrugged. “When I move to Thunder Bay, near the border, I’ll be able to spend time with Jonas, and that’s why I accepted the position. I want to be close to what is left of my family.”

  “Not to be closer to Billy?”

  I studied Fiona across the table. She’d asked the words lightly, but we both knew my answer would determine the direction my life would take.

  “I’m moving forward, Fiona. I am not moving to Northern Ontario to be closer to Billy.” And if I said the words often enough, someday I would believe them.

  The waiter chose that moment to appear for our orders. Fiona smiled at me above the top of her menu before looking up at the young man standing between us.

  “All set to order, ladies?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I said, and this time, I knew what I wanted.

  Fiona ordered her meal after me and then went to find the washroom. I studied the people walking past the window on Richmond Road. The buds on the trees had begun opening, and the sky was creamy blue. It was going to be a good summer. I picked up the brown envelope I’d dropped next to me just as Fiona returned.

  “What’s that?” she asked as she slid into her seat and replaced the napkin in her lap.

  “Another fresh start.” I smiled. “It’s for my sister-in-law Claire. This is a report I was able to get on my father’s medical history.”

  “Oh? And why is that important?”

  I smiled again. “My father lied about many things in his life, Fiona, and I knew he would lie about anything that kept people in his power. I had to find out about Gunnar.”

  “Your nephew?”

  I nodded. “My father had a vasectomy after Jonas was born.”

  “So your father could not have been Gunnar’s father.”

  “Exactly,” I said. “The control he holds over Jonas and Claire is about to end.”

  Fiona leaned across the table. “You’re going to make it, you know, Maja,” she said, her eyes bright with tears.

  “I know,” I smiled. “There are no happily ever afters in life, but there are happy beginnings if you can just trust yourself enough to let go and give life another shot.”

  “Hear, hear!” said Fiona.

  We raised our glasses and drank again, long and deep, to all the possibilities that were spread out before us like so much sunshine on a field of Minnesota snow.

  photo by Christine Tripp

  Brenda Chapman grew up in Terrace Bay, Ontario, near the border with Minnesota. She began her fiction career with children’s novels. Running Scared (Napoleon Publishing, 2004) was her first YA novel featuring Jennifer Bannon. She went on to pen three more in the series. Hiding in Hawk’s Creek was shortlisted for the 2007 Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children. Where Trouble Leads and Trail of Secrets concluded the series.

  In Winter’s Grip is her first mystery for adults.

  More information on her work can be found at www.brendachapman.ca

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank Sylvia McConnell and Allister Thompson of RendezVous Crime for their dedication and support. Thank you also to Emma Dolan and Frank Bowick for the stunning cover images and design for In Winter’s Grip. Thanks to Rachel Sentes, whose expertise has been invaluable.

  I am grateful to Katherine Hobbs, Darlene Cole, Mike Levin, Lisa Weagle and Alex Brett, who critique early drafts of my manuscripts and keep the stories from straying. Thank you also to Louise Penny, Gail Bowen and Mary Jane Maffini for critiquing early drafts of this manuscript. The mystery writing community is strong and growing—I would like to acknowledge the continuing support of Capital Crime Writers and Crime Writers of Canada.

  The unwavering support from my family and friends, fellow authors, book store owners, librarians and fans is a constant source of strength—thank you to each of you for taking this writing journey with me and for sharing my belief in the power of stories and the magic of language.