The First Snow of Winter

by Fred Allen

  The Inspector reported that there had been a minor collision between the two cars on the ramp to the bridge with only minor damage to the rear of the station wagon. However, the Cadillac had been heavily damaged on the left front when it had swerved and made contact with one of the bridge pillars. A cursory examination revealed that each vehicle had between one quarter and one half a tank of gas remaining. The bodies in the Cadillac were both snow covered as was the body of the young woman in the rear compartment of the station wagon. Thus, it would appear that these bodies probably had been placed in the vehicles after they died.

  Another feature in the Inspector’s report was that the Laurier Sports Camp had been broken into and some food had been used. A pair of snow shoes had been found beside the Cadillac and these bore stickers that identified them as property of the Sports Camp. This would also be true of the skis the boy was using and the toboggan he had been towing.

  Bertin also reported that the Coroner from Riviere-du-Loup had arrived mid-morning on Saturday, completed his on-site inspection and had returned to Riviere-du-Loup taking the bodies with him. Bertin had briefed the Coroner very carefully. Absolutely no information was to be released through his office. All information, as it became available, was to be phoned in to the Cabinet Liaison Officer-that was me of course-and they should use the standard excuse about contacting next-of-kin. The Coroner promised that both he and the Medical examiner would give these autopsies top priority and submit their complete reports by courier as soon as possible but would probably have a preliminary report on the causes of death sent to Quebec City by late Monday or early Tuesday.

  While I was being briefed, further information was coming in that would complete the full identification of all the casualties and aid us in the notification of next-of-kin. Although the Cadillac bore Ontario License plates, Mr. And Mrs. Rosenburg were indeed from Fredericton and the young woman in the back of the station wagon had been identified as Sandy Marshall, 18 years of age, and daughter of Major and Mrs. Marshall.

  Further information that was bound to attract additional media interest came with the identification of the next-of-kin of Mr. and Mrs. Rosenburg. Their next of kin were their twin sons. Dr. Paul Rosenburg of Ottawa had been recently appointed Director of the National Research Council. The other twin son, Martin, was the Dean of Medicine and Director of Research at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I recognized these names immediately because there had been a recent news release to the effect that the twin brothers were being considered for the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their combined research into the application of lasers to surgery. The death of Major Marshal would certainly attract media attention, but the death of the parents of two of Canada’s top scientists would add significantly to media interest.

  I turned to the file containing the Communications Log. From experience I knew that quite often much could be learned from the identification of people who had demonstrated interest in the incident by calling in for information. Listed there was a telephone call from the Right Honorable Lawrence Martin, Attorney General of New Brunswick, who had been a close friend of Peter Marshall. But this was in error as it was I who had called Mr. Martin. In an attempt to get a clearer picture of Peter Marshall, who I had met only once very briefly many years before and I was anxious to talk to a close friend of the Marshalls. In reading over the clippings from the Fredericton papers, I noted that Mr. Martin had presented an eloquent and very moving eulogy at the funeral of Peter Marshall which had amounted to something close to a state funeral. The eulogy had been copied in its entirety by nearly every daily newspaper in the country.

  I recalled that I had met the Attorney-General a few times at Federal/Provincial conferences in Ottawa. I phoned him in Fredericton and he remembered having met me. To my relief, it was unnecessary to explain the function of my office. Every province had an appointment similar to mine but under a variety of names. He knew just about exactly what I wanted and gave me a thorough run-down on Peter Marshall and, furthermore, he had absolutely no objection to me taping our conversation.

  I told him that I had read the eulogy that he had delivered at Peter Marshall’s funeral and found it deeply moving even though I had only met Peter Marshall very briefly many years ago at the local reception held by Marie-Louise’s parents after she had eloped with Peter while on the Victory Bond Tour.

  “Well,” he replied. “It was very easy to do because it came straight from the heart. He was a very close friend and a very special person. This was not only because he was a hero, which he certainly was, even in death. Robert told me how his father had shown him the way to the hunting lodge and, after making sure Robbie and the baby were safe, went back for the others. Robert also told me of how he and his father put together a plan that would make sure that he and Wee Willie would be saved regardless of what happened.”

  “Mr. Benoit” he continued.

  “Please call me Michael” I interceded.

  “All right, Michael it will be. I think I understand what you need for your “Incident File” as you call it. We have much the same thing here but by a different name, and your counterpart here in New Brunswick has a similar title but lacks the experience and mastery in dealing with the many potentially dangerous situations which you seem to have so little difficulty in handling.. “

  “That’s very kind of you to say but you should bear in mind that I have been at this job for a very long time and my father had the same job before me for at least as long. If there is a secret to our success, it’s been that we have never become involved in partisan politics. That part of our reputation has been established in dealing with hundreds of incidents and we have managed to avoid the stigma of partisan politics.”

  “Well, Michael, perhaps we should bring you down here for a while to show our people just how it’s done. Your counterpart here seldom lasts more than a single legislative session and there’s always a mad scramble to find what seems to be a suitable successor and then the same thing happens to the successor. But, about Peter Marshall, Michael, this is a terrible loss not only to our province but also to the entire country. I had known him for years. I was in my senior year in high school when he was a freshman. He made both the varsity rugby and hockey teams in his freshman year and that didn’t happen very often. He was a real tiger and showed absolutely no fear in playing against boys who outweighed him by as much as sixty pounds. I knew his parents too, and they were wonderful people. His father stood for, and was elected to city council when he objected to some of the attitudes that members of city council adopted that catered to the predominantly WASP members of the inner circle of the city power structure. That’s not really intended as a criticism of my fellow citizens or my home town. I really love my fellow New Brunswickers and would never want to live anywhere else but in Fredericton.

  “What was the situation with other members of his family?” I asked.

  “Well, as you know, his parents were killed in a tragic automobile accident just after the war. He had lost his only brother Paul in the war. He was very close to his parents and he missed them terribly. His wife, MarieLouise, was a truly striking woman. Her beauty was almost breathtaking and it was quite obvious that he loved her very much. But I had the feeling for a number of years that all was not well in the marriage. He confided in me that he was just a little suspicious about an old boy friend she had in Quebec City. They had some sessions with a highly regarded marriage counselor a couple of years ago and things seemed to improve with the birth of Wee Willie. My wife and I got to know them quite well and my wife’s opinion of Marie-Louise was that she was just a little selfish and slightly immature.”

  “Did you see much of the children?” I asked.

  “Sandy seemed to be typical eighteen year old. She was very pretty, very smart in school, and there was a very strong resemblance to her mother. I have a son one-year-older than her and I strongly suspect that he was nuts a
bout her. He told me once that he was worried about the amount of time she spent at the house of her mother’s friend, Anita Lafontaine. Sandy and Robert divided the baby sitting duties for Mrs. Lafontaine who was a young attractive widow and ran with a fast crowd that often included Marie-Louise. He took the news of Sandy’s death very hard and I don’t know what we can do about it. If he doesn’t get over it, I’m afraid he will miss his sophomore year in University after an excellent first year.”

  “And how about Robert? “ I asked.

  “Robert was-and for that matter-still is a great kid. Robbie, as we always knew him, but he told me that he prefers to be called Robert now, was at our house several times a week. He and my son Trevor had always been good friends and he regarded Trevor just like an older brother. He and our younger son were in the same grade in school and were pretty good friends. He loved animals and we have a pair of Labrador retrievers. Robert and my younger son Brent loved to take the two dogs for long walks. Robert’s father had promised him a dog of his own but Marie-Louise vetoed the plan on the grounds of allergies. This was a bit strange because I knew that her father had been well known for the series of Newfoundlander dogs that he had raised over the years as family pets. Michael, I only wish you could have been here last week for the funeral. Robert conducted himself so well. I knew his heart was broken; he and his father had been so close. I will never forget him walking behind the gun carriage between his grandfather and myself. He took so much pride in carrying the cushion bearing his father’s decorations and service medals out of the church and placing it on the gun carriage. There were very few dry eyes among the spectators. And, also, the manner in which he conducted himself with the media, it was all very impressive.”

  “And that leaves Wee Willie. I suspect Wee Willie represented the prescription to save a marriage. He’s just a lovely little fellow. He was here for the funeral because his Grandmother Ross had suffered a serious bout of depression on the death of her daughter and had been admitted to a private hospital in Quebec City. With his Grandfather Ross in Fredericton for the funeral, there was no one in Quebec City to look after him. Of course the baby was too young to understand what was going on during his father’s lying in state and the funeral but Robert assured me that he would make sure that Wee Willie knew all about his father and what a great man he had been. And Michael, I believe Robert. I’m sure that Wee Willy will be as proud of his father as Robert is. I’ll leave it to his Grandfather Ross to ensure that Wee Willie knows that Robert is also a hero.”

  “Another thing that may be of interest to you, Michael, is the Trust Fund which has been established for the two boys and to honor the memory of their father. I have been asked to serve as a trustee and there will be one appointee from the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion and one other friend who is president of a local firm of chartered accountants. Their Grandfather Ross is to be appointed guardian of the two boys and they will live with him in Quebec City. One of the chartered banks is accepting contributions to the trust fund at branches across the country. This fund is growing rapidly and will include the proceeds from the sale of the family home here in Fredericton. The trust fund plus other family assets and survivor pensions from the Federal Government will ensure that the two boys are well taken care of.”

  “Well, Michael, I hope this is what you were looking for. The only other thing I can add that might be of use to you is merely a personal impression of Peter’s state of mind during the past year or two. As I told you, I have known Peter since we were kids together and he just wasn’t the same recently. He was worried about MarieLouise and her activities and how those activities would effect the family. Loyalty was the quality that Peter valued above all others and this was the one quality he wanted to imbue in his children, and he thought this objective might be put in jeopardy by Marie-Louise’s actions. Michael, if there is any other way I can help please don’t hesitate to call me.”

  I listened to the recording of my conversation with Lawrence Martin, and his description of Peter and his family had brought me a little closer to forming a picture of Peter Marshall.

  The only other entries in the Communications Log that caught my attention, were several calls from Dr. David Vincent a prominent local doctor. These had all been handled by members of my staff who indicated that he wanted to know the names of the casualties. He had been informed of the details when I decided that such information could be released. The reason for his interest would become apparent during my interview with Walter Ross.

  In my review of the Incident File I then turned to the file containing copies of all the media reports and leafed through some of the newspaper clippings. I read again the deeply moving eulogy delivered by Lawrence Martin at the funeral and read an article by a syndicated columnist that was devoted to Robert. It lauded his heroism in saving his little brother and his maturity in dealing with his grief. In the interview, he had told the writer that his father had always been an inspiration to him and always would be, and that the memory of his father would provide inspiration for his little brother.

  Robert was the subject of articles by other writers and nearly every one made the comparison between Robert and his father and how he reflected maturity beyond his years, something so often missing in his generation.

  The clippings also included numerous messages of condolences including one from Her Majesty the Queen, one from the Governor-General, one from the Prime Minister and one from the Minister of National Defence.

  Our file of newspaper clippings and other media reports is usually very complete. In addition to the efforts of my staff, we have retained the services of two major clipping services, which guaranteed delivery of all clippings related to a particular incident within two business days. In view of this coverage, I found it very strange that our file contained only two very brief clippings of news items referring to the demise of Jacob Rosenburg and his wife. The daily papers in Fredericton and Saint John contained near identical reports which merely announced that “Also victims of the same fierce storm that had claimed the lives of war hero Peter Marshall, and members of his family, were Jacob Rosenburg, age 78, Fredericton businessman and his wife Sara age 75. The Rosenburgs are survived by two sons, Dr. Paul Rosenburg of Ottawa and Dr. Martin Rosenburg of Cambridge, Mass. They were predeceased by their daughter Esther.”

  The Coroner and Medical Examiner from Riviere du Loupe had kept their promises and their preliminary report on probable causes of death arrived on Tuesday, November 19th. These, along with the final report, would be included in the final folio of the Incident File. Sara Rosenburg had died from a massive heart attack and Jacob had died of hypothermia. He had frozen to death. Peter and Sandy had also died of hypothermia but Marie-Louise’s cause of death had been carbon monoxide poisoning.

  The file containing transcripts of recordings of interviews also contained hand written summaries of interviews when permission to record had either been declined or, as was the case of Walter Ross, never requested. As the father of one of the deceased-an only child at that-a request to record was really unthinkable.

  Walter Ross had called my office on Wednesday, Nov 27th. I had met Walter Ross on a number of occasions. In fact, we were members of the same Golf and Country Club where he had been very active in both curling and golf for many years despite losing part of one leg in the war. We were both ardent curlers so our paths had crossed many times in regional bonspeils, club competitions and casual pick-up games. When I returned his call, I offered my most sincere condolences and inquired of his wife. He thanked me and told me that his wife had fallen into a deep depression and the prognosis was a lengthy period of hospitalization and treatment. He told me that he had brought the two boys back from Fredericton the previous day and that they would be living with him.

  Walter Ross indicated that he understood the function of my office and realized that I would be seeking to speak to Robert who was the only surviving eye witnes
s to what had happened on County Road #15. He asked for a few days grace in order to give Robert the opportunity to grieve, but offered to come to my office and to provide any background information that would help us understand what had happened. He came to see me on Thursday evening, the 28th of November.

  Walter Ross or “The Colonel” as he was known at the Club, was a very distinguished looking gentleman. He had retired as Deputy Director of the Defence Research Establishment in nearby Valcartier a few years earlier and still served as a consultant to that establishment and, occasionally, to the National Research Council in Ottawa. He had a distinguished war record and had been decorated for his contribution to the development of combat engineer equipment. I welcomed him to my office and again offered my condolences for his loss and wishes for a speedy recovery for his wife. I had decided against either recording or even note taking with the intention of summarizing the interview in note form if any information was offered that would contribute to our understanding of the incident.

  “This was a terrible tragedy” was Walter Ross’s opening. “Five wonderful people wiped out just like that by what really amounted to a freak storm. Peter Marshall was one of the finest young men I have ever known. It wasn’t only that he was a war hero-he was certainly all of that-but he had all the qualities that a man could look for in a son-in-law or, for that matter, a son. He was sensitive, sincere and very loyal to both family and colleagues. I think you will observe these same qualities in Robert when you come to speak to him and Robert has made it very clear that the baby will be the same. But it wasn’t only the losses of Peter, Marie-Louise and Sandy that were so tragic but we also lost two other very important people whose contribution to our country and, indeed, the world, we are only now commencing to appreciate. I have worked with one of their sons, Paul, in Ottawa and this man is a genius. I met his brother, Martin, from Harvard University only briefly when he was a guest speaker at one of our symposiums. You have probably heard that the two brothers are on the short list for the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work on the application of lasers to surgery.”