Le chateau de vent

---Notice--- Madame Finistere is currently residing on a small island in the Gulf of Tonkin, Indochine. The internet connection here is a string of silk and they are using it for fishing too. The last part of the missing story will be published as soon as possible. It is true, they do eat cat in Vietnam 'Tit miao'.

Virginie brings me an elegant glass of sparkling wine. Champagne? I notice her slender hands with elegant silver rings. No stones. When she leans over to hand me the drink, her cardigan slips from her shoulder and reveals two sharp and dangerous collarbones. They leave me speechless. For a moment I forget to breathe, then force my eyes to sink lower into the safe warmth of her décolleté and further down the black satin dress. She knows I am looking, but she hesitates and for several seconds she remains absolutely still. Then she moves to a seat opposite mine and tries to catch my eyes while bringing a glass to her lips. "Santé". I look away. Strange, I never do that. The feeling of uneasiness returns. What am I doing here? "What do you want from me?" I ask her in a low voice. A sigh emerges from behind the chair. Then the mother continues. "I used to be good at finding solutions for people who wanted to disappear. I went wrong once in a while but I took...

"As a child she could quietly sit and watch out of the widow of a riding train, but when the train would slide into the darkness of a tunnel she would be gone when it came out again at the other side. Turn out the light for a second at a birthday party, just to enter with the cake and let her blow out the candles. Gone. No schooltrips, no walks in the woods or hide and seek." She pauses and then says dreamily. "Our family has always been able to arrange things. We had money and were successful in keeping it. We have also been able to remain beyond suspicion of police and detectives, although more than half of the family members of the last 2 centuries have at a point in their lives suddenly been involved in tragic accidents or simply moved away to desolate regions never to be seen again. It sure needs a clear intellect and lots of creativity to make up a respectful -and possibly happy- destiny for each of them. Luckily there were the wars. It's easy to lose tr...