In the summer of 1977 Toronto was a city on the move, a boomtown rising out of the ashes of the Big Smoke. Finishing touches were being placed on an improbably ambitious building in the south of the city that, when completed, would be the tallest freestanding structure in the entire world. The glittering Eaton Centre had just opened its doors. The Maple Leafs seemed on the precipice of greatness following a season in which their captain, Darryl Sittler, had scored ten points in a single game. The Blue Jays were winging their way into existence. And then, amid it all, arrived the news of the Emanuel Jacques murder.
Jacques was a twelve-year-old shoeshine boy who had recently immigrated to Canada from the Azores. Offering him $35 to help move some photography equipment, three men lured Jacques into a room above the Charlie’s Angels body-rub parlour on Yonge Street where they held him...
Steven Hayward teaches in the English Department of Colorado College. His most recent book is the bestselling novel and Globe 100 selection, Don’t Be Afraid. He is also the creator and host of the NPR radio program Off Topic.
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