I’ve just found a novel, a story I started writing some years ago which I had completely forgotten about. I had so forgotten about it that although I remembered the characters vividly, I have no idea what happened to them, and I have no idea of how it ended. Actually, I think it was an unfinished novel, so I obviously need to write the ending.
The main character is Frederico Milan who is a teacher/lecturer at a local further education college. He is an amazing and charismatic teacher, who, because he is such an excellent teacher, always gets given the worst classes.
When the novel begins, Frederico is still teaching, but several years earlier, his wife who he loved and adored, disappeared. Despite the police’s best efforts she has never been found, not her body and not any trace of where she might be if she had decided to leave him and disappear. His sad and lonely life has continues, until one day his father-in-law, Paul, who is convinced Frederico has murdered his daughter, visits him. Paul’s wife, Frederico’s mother-in-law, has cancer, and her future is uncertain. Paul demands Frederico reveals what he has done with his daughter’s body – even though Frederico is as desperate to find out where his wife is. Frederico has two friends, a colleague, Erin, and a priest, Father Stephen Apinski, who help and support him. They realise that they have to find out what actually happened to Frederico’s wife. as Paul has asked the police to re-investigate the disappearance, and threatened Frederico with physical violence.
The location changes from the small city of Strand, to my imaginary island of Farholm, where many of my stories take place. It maybe that Frederico’s wife went to Farholm to the hippy commune there, or maybe she went there for some other reason, or maybe she never left the mainland at all and other dodgy characters she knew were responsible for her disappearance. I have no idea!! All I know is that Federico’s father-in-law, has recruited a thug who will do him some serious damage if he doesn’t find out what happened to his disappeared Frederico’s wife!
