I said, “I’m sorry just the same. I ended up finding my mother’s relatives. That’s why I didn’t come back to see you.”

The librarian’s face turned red all of a sudden, her mouth formed into a worried shape. “Oh.”

“What, did you find something?” She was embarrassed. I said, “You can tell me.”

“Well, actually I did. But, let me ask you, did your relatives recognize your mother? Did they know her?”

“Not personally, but they found her in the family history, the link was there.”

She nodded. “Yeah, that’s misleading. The tricky part is in the last name. Your mother’s name is Delphine Vaugeois, right?”

“Was Delphine Vaugeois, yes.”

“Sorry, was. In town, we have a Vaugeois family. Simone and Gilles. I assume that’s who you found. They’re prominent.”

I nodded. “That’s right.”

“Thing is, wait … Stop me if you don’t want to be disappointed.”

I said, “No, go on.”

She said, “Thing is the local family aren’t Vaugeois. Simone’s maiden name is Blanchett, Simone Blanchett. She married Gilles fifteen years ago, a second marriage for both of them. Before that, there’s no trace of a Vaugeois living in Alencourt. Nothing. So, it’s possible that Gilles is somehow related to your mother, tangentially, loosely, whatever. But it’s unlikely that your genetic relation to Gilles Vaugeois is closer than your relation to any random person, in this train carriage for example.”

I looked around at the people curled up into their seats. “So, Gilles and Simone are not my cousins, and there’s no trace of my mother’s family in Alencourt.”

The librarian smiled. “They aren’t more your cousins than I am. Although all human beings are related somewhere down the line, way back.”

I nodded, absorbing this information. She dug into her backpack and pulled out a Tupperware box. She opened the lid. Two sandwiches sat side by side, plump and attractive. “Do you want one?”

I bit into the sandwich, I was suddenly extremely hungry. The train hurtled down the track, gunning southwest, into the late afternoon sun. The librarian smiled and looked out the window. I followed her gaze and settled in for the ride.

An Extract from Breacher

Chapter One

I was crossing the street, noticing the cross-walk lines on the road, freshly painted, and the foot gear choices of the cruise ship tourists. It looked as if trail walking was high up on the list. New and newish hiking boots, adventure sandals, low-top trail shoes. Then I raised my eyes and caught the guy’s reflection in the window of a drug store.

He was walking behind me. Not too close, but close enough. It was a guy I’d seen before.