Chapter 4.5 – …And Not Found

Giselle wasted no time in looking for Claude. This was her last chance. She was in his home country of France, in his home town of Champs Les Sims, which was bound to be where he lived. And if Claude wasn’t found there, she was certain he had just vanished off the face of the earth and all of this was for nothing….Giselle hoped the latter wasn’t true.

She went from shop to shop for three straight days asking if anyone had seen a Claude.

“Honey, this is France; Claude is possibly the most common names around. I’m afraid you’re going to have to be more specific.” A local woman tried to talk to Giselle.

“Specific as in….” Giselle raised her eyebrows.

“As in last name, physical description, etcetera.” The woman continued.

“Well, I know that he has black hair and blue eyes. He’s 6’2″-ish. Erm, low, velvety voice?” She did her best to pluck out all the information that she could from her memories of a masked Claude.

“Try the west side of town, I think I might have seen a man like that wandering there earlier today.” The woman nodded friendly. And with a nod of her own head towards the helpful woman, Giselle was on her way.

And right where the woman pointed her, Giselle managed to track down Claude’s house, thanks to the local librarian. The house was large and in the center of town with ivy covering the sides. It looked very rustic and expensive, made with sandy brick, though it was somewhat worn and had a musky scent covering the outside.

Giselle excitedly rang the doorbell, expecting Claude to come out, recognize her and sweep her off her feet and they’d fall in love and have their happily ever after.

But instead, an adult man that closely resembled what Giselle remembered of Claude welcomed her into the shopside villa. Confused but chilly and wanting to get out of the cold, she followed him inside.

“Can I help you?” The man asked, a thick french accent covering up the husky pitch of his voice.

“Erm, yes, actually. Does a Claude live here? Tall, dark, handsome…?” Giselle joked, batting her eyelashes playfully.

“Claude Fouchier?” The man questioned, the welcoming smile that had been plastered on his face dropped.

Holy crap! It’s the boy I met when I came here with mom and Jules! Small world…. “Yes, yes!” Giselle replied excitedly.

“Ma’am, would you like to sit down?” The man asked sadly.

“No, I’m fine standing. Why?”

“My name is Bernard Fouchier. I’m Claude’s older brother. I’m sorry, but Claude is…dead.”

Author’s Note:

1. I just love to tease y’all! No, I had to make this short because the next chapter is a biggie D;