Chereads / The Coraline murders / Chapter 4 - Chapter 4: The Wednesday Market

Chapter 4 - Chapter 4: The Wednesday Market

At 7:30, Coraline was ready. She wore navy blue sweet, jeans and black sneakers.

She had risen with the sun, even though she was still tired from the previous day.

His gaze landed on the beach, the wind had washed everything. There was not a single mark left of the previous day's discovery. The weather was in the sun, a light warm wind bathed the atmosphere, the sky was blue, it promised to be a beautiful day.

The car approached and raised a cloud of dust. Coraline climbed into the passenger seat without giving Yannick time to turn off the engine.

Arrived on the market place, Yannick parked them in front of a small establishment where they settled down to have breakfast. They ordered all kinds of pancakes: white or brown sugar, with jam from different fruits, ...

Suddenly, Yannick stood up, shaking his arms to the sky, shouting: "Oceane".

A young woman with long, blond hair approached with a big smile full of white teeth. "Yan, how are you?" she hugged him warmly and patted him on the back.

Yannick grabbed some red hair on the young woman's shoulder... "You managed to catch another heart in your nets." They both burst out laughing.

Coraline felt a whiff of jealousy devour her insides.

"It seems like this time I'm not the only one who lured someone into my net," she says, stepping back. She smiled mischievously and complicitly when she saw Coraline. Coraline felt a whiff of jealousy devour her insides.

"It seems like this time I'm not the only one who lured someone into my net," she says, stepping back. She smiled mischievously and complicitly when she saw Coraline.

Yannick finally made the presentations. "Coraline, I present to you my cousin, Océane Le Ber. Océane, Coraline is a very dear friend and she comes to discover our beautiful Brittany for a few days. »

Oceane shook his hand: "Nice to meet you. I can't stay with you any longer. I have to land the fish before the auction. I hope we'll see each other again soon."

As they finished drinking their coffee, a woman's cry pierced the tranquility of the small market.

Everyone rushed to see what was going on. The market was located along the quays. .

Between the dock and a fishing boat landing its catch, a body floated and banged against the mooring posts.

The police arrived and pulled the body out of the water.

Among the members of the municipal police, a known person stood out from the others, Inspector Bernst gave orders to remove the body.

When the corpse was taken out of the water, quite quickly by the way, the people present had a gesture of recoil and astonishment.

The face of the body was covered with a black mask. His clothes were covered with seaweed. His flesh was swollen and stretched, it gave the impression that the skin was going to break under the tension.

Commissioner Bernst had noticed the couple among the crowd. She sent a policeman to look for them. "We find you again discovering the bodies. Either you are the murderers or you are really out of luck. " she said, laughing, seeing them coming.

"Join us later at the police station to sign your statement from yesterday."

They arrived a few minutes later and were received very quickly by the commissioner herself.

The investigator made them sign their statement.

"Please excuse me, Mr Le Ber. Could I ask you for an opinion on this sentence? As an expert in Breton history, you must probably know how to tell me what these words mean and their meanings. ».

She handed out a bag of proof in which a small piece of paper was scribbled and bore the words: "Kavet em eus anezhi".

Yannick took the bag and observed the words traced on the yellowed paper and weakened by a stay in the water. "It's a phrase that means: I found it. That's all I can tell you about that. »

As they left the police station, they heard the people of the village talking and talking about the black mask.

Coraline and Yannick, both, tried to do some shopping at the market, but the atmosphere was no longer in a good mood. Coraline invited Yannick to taste her cooking. "I often cooked for my father before I started to be successful. You'll tell me what you think. Yannick forced her to agree to buy a Kouign aman.

The purchases finished, they deposited the groceries in the small house and went to visit the forest of Brocéliande. They had the option to follow a guide or take a free walk. They chose to walk around at their ease and be able to feel the magic of the place. Arthurian legends had rocked Coraline's childhood and made her dream.

All the magic of his novels stemmed from these childish sensations felt through ancient texts such as Tristan and Iseult, the novel of the rose and so many other texts encountered at the turn of a library. Hers was several meters long and covered an entire section of wall of his office.

In the evening, on his way back to Coraline's house, Yannick wanted to help her prepare food. The only role she let him take on was to set the table and pour them a glass of wine.

As a small starter, she offered him shortbread with parmesan and Espelette pepper with smoked bacon chips. As a main course, she had made chicken breast with a lime sauce accompanied by wild rice.

Yannick, very proud to be able to finish this exotic meal with a Breton touch, took his cake out of a cardboard box. He put it in the oven for a few minutes, until the smell went up to their noses.

Coraline had plugged in the radio throughout the meal as background music. After the meal and a long discussion about the history and making of Kouign aman, a song diverted the attention of Yannick who got up and approached to invite Coraline to dance. Dancing slowly, he leaned into the girl's ear: "That was the last song they played on the radio the night you took me to the station. I would have given anything to take you with me and never leave you. »

Coraline's face turned crimson. Their lips mingled without further parting. The heat invades them to extinguish only in the early morning.