Chapter 1: The Interview

Tom Lynch sat quietly, waiting for the detective to begin. The man was studying a report, probably re-familiarizing himself with the known facts. A woman sat beside him, looking across the table at Tom Lynch, but saying nothing. At length, he closed the folder and spoke.

"I'm Pavel Janecek, Detective Sergeant, E Division. This is Detective Philliponi. We'd like to talk to you about the disappearance of your wife on the night of April 23^rd, this year."

"Why?" Tom asked. "I thought this was all covered when I reported her missing to the Coast Guard."

"Perhaps. However, there have been a couple of developments that they wouldn't have been aware of when you gave your account of the incident."

"Such as?"

"How would you describe your relationship with your wife, Mr. Lynch?"

"Fine. It was great. We've been married eighteen years and still going strong. At least ... we were until ... the accident."

"You weren't having any trouble ... you know ... married trouble?"

"No ... not at all!" he said emphatically. "What's this about, Detective?"

"Do you know a man named Brandon Collingsworth?"

"No. Should I?"

"He's one of the senior accountants at Samples and Reed where your wife worked. Are you sure you don't know him?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I didn't have much contact with Veronica's business associates. She didn't report to him, she reported to Marcel Lapierre. They didn't have social occasions that we would attend. Very much a business first and only company. Again, Detective, what's this all about?"

Janecek sighed and leaned back in his chair, still not taking his eyes off Thomas Lynch.

"We had an anonymous tip a few days ago that your wife and Mr. Collingsworth were having an affair. Apparently it had been going on for several months. You knew nothing about this?" he asked sceptically.

Lynch stumbled to say something. The look of shock on his face was telling.

"I don't believe it. An anonymous tip? What does that have to do with her disappearance?"

"Are you saying you had no idea your wife was having an affair with anyone?"

"Yes ... Hell yes!" Tom spat. "I don't believe it. What proof do you have?"

For the first time, Detective Philliponi spoke.

"We interviewed several people at your wife's office. More than one of them suspected there was something going on between Collingsworth and Mrs. Lynch. She wouldn't normally have any contact with him. He was in another department and quite a bit senior to her."

"You're relying on office gossip!" Tom said in an accusatory voice.

"Not entirely, Mr. Lynch," Janecek answered. "We also interviewed Mr. Collingsworth. It took a while, but faced with the rumours and the fact that he thought we had some evidence, he finally admitted that they were seeing each other."

"What evidence?" Tom asked, now pale and looking bewildered.

"The company has security cameras, and by checking them randomly over the past six months, we found several examples of the two of them being quite a bit more friendly than would be appropriate in the office. I think it's safe to say that they were involved at least to some extent and had been for several months."

Tom Lynch's eyes became glassy and he was shaking his head slowly back and forth.

"I can't believe it. I ... there was no hint ... no sign. Why?" he asked, more to himself than the detectives.

Janecek shrugged and Philliponi remained motionless and expressionless as they continued to observe the man.

At length, Tom raised his head and looked at them both.

"Why am I here? Why is the RCMP involved in this?"

"There's a possibility that this could be a suspicious death, Mr. Lynch," Philliponi said. "Perhaps you found out about your wife's cheating and decided to do away with her. Much cheaper than divorce."

"That's crazy. First of all, I didn't know anything about her cheating on me. Secondly, I'm not a murderer. I might have divorced her ... or maybe she was planning on divorcing me, but I wouldn't have killed her."

"That's what all the husbands say," Philliponi said, "but sometimes rage can overtake common sense and bad things happen. You read about it in the papers almost every week."

"So ... are you saying I'm now a suspect in the disappearance of my wife?" Lynch asked aggressively.

"No ... not at this time," Janecek said quietly. "We'd just like to go over the facts with you one more time. I realize you gave the Coast Guard a full report, but we'd like to get your statement on the record here for our own files."

Tom Lynch sat quietly, looking at the two detectives. His mind was working a mile a minute and he was visibly uncomfortable.

"All right. One more time. But if you want to talk to me after this, it will be with my lawyer present. Keep that in mind," he said.

Janecek nodded. Philliponi rose and went to a water cooler, bringing back two cups of cold water, placing one in front of each of the two men before returning to get one for herself.

Janecek opened the file in front of him and passed several pages to his partner. Tom could see that the top page showed Coast Guard letterhead. It was a copy of the statement he gave the morning after the accident. He showed no sign of concern.

"We were entered in the Southern Straits race as we had each year for the past six years," Tom began. "This year the weather was expected to be rough, but not anywhere near as rough as it turned out to be. My boat is well equipped with radar and GPS, plus both Veronica and I had plenty of experience in bad weather, so I wasn't too concerned.