Until this.
Who’d want to come to a place where there’d been a murder?
And what if people found out he actually knew the Hermit? What if they found out what he’d done? No. Best to say nothing and see what happened. It was bad enough as it was.
They paused on the walk just outside Peter and Clara’s house. Inside they saw Myrna putting her effusive flower arrangement on the kitchen table, already set for supper. Clara was exclaiming at its beauty and artistry. They couldn’t hear the words, but her delight was obvious. In the living room Peter tossed another log on the fire.
Ruth turned from the comforting domestic scene to the man beside her. The old poet leaned in to whisper in his ear, so that not even Gabri could hear. “Give it time. It’ll be all right, you know that, don’t you?”
She turned to glance again through the glow at Clara hugging Myrna and Peter walking into the kitchen and exclaiming over the flowers as well. Olivier bent and kissed the old, cold cheek and thanked her. But he knew she was wrong. She didn’t know what he knew.
Chaos had found Three Pines. It was bearing down upon them and all that was safe and warm and kind was about to be taken away.
* * *
Peter had poured them all drinks, except Ruth who’d helped herself and was now sipping from a vase filled with Scotch and sitting in the middle of the sofa facing the fire. Rosa was waddling around the room, barely noticed by anyone anymore. Even Lucy, Peter and Clara’s golden retriever, barely looked at Rosa. The first time the poet had shown up with Rosa they’d insisted she stay outside, but Rosa set up such a quacking they were forced to let her in, just to shut the duck up.
“Bonjour.”
A deep, familiar voice was heard from the mudroom.
“God, you didn’t invite Clouseau, did you?” asked Ruth, to the empty room. Empty except for Rosa, who raced to stand beside her.
“It’s lovely,” said Isabelle Lacoste as they walked from the mudroom into the airy kitchen. The long wooden table was set for dinner with baskets of sliced baguette, butter, jugs of water and bottles of wine. It smelled of garlic and rosemary and basil, all fresh from the garden.
And in the center of the table was a stunning arrangement of hollyhocks and climbing white roses, clematis and sweet pea and fragrant pink phlox.
More drinks were poured and the guests wandered into the living room and milled around nibbling soft runny Brie or orange and pistachio caribou pâté on baguette.
Across the room Ruth was interrogating the Chief Inspector.
“Don’t suppose you know who the dead man was.”
“Afraid not,” said Gamache evenly. “Not yet.”
“And do you know what killed him?”
“Non.”
“Any idea who did it?”
Gamache shook his head.
“Any idea why it happened in the bistro?”
“None,” admitted Gamache.
Ruth glared at him. “Just wanted to make sure you’re as incompetent as ever. Good to know some things can be relied upon.”
“I’m glad you approve,” said Gamache, bowing slightly before wandering off toward the fireplace. He picked up the poker, and examined it.
“It’s a fireplace poker,” said Clara, appearing at his elbow. “You use it to poke the fire.”
She was smiling and watching him. He realized he must have looked a little odd, holding the long piece of metal to his face as though he’d never seen one before. He put it down. No blood on it. He was relieved.
“I hear your solo show is coming up in a few months.” He turned to her, smiling. “It must be thrilling.”
“If putting a dentist’s drill up your nose is thrilling. Yes.”
“That bad?”
“Oh, well, you know. It’s only torture.”
“Have you finished all the paintings?”
“They’re all done, at least. They’re crap, of course, but at least they’re finished. Denis Fortin is coming down himself to discuss how they’ll be hung. I have a specific order in mind. And if he disagrees I have a plan. I’ll cry.”
Gamache laughed. “That’s how I got to be Chief Inspector.”
“I told you so,” Ruth hissed at Rosa.
“Your art is brilliant, Clara. You know that,” said Gamache, leading her away from the crowd.
“How’d you know? You’ve only seen one piece. Maybe the others suck. I wonder if I made a mistake going with the paint by numbers.”
Gamache made a face.
“Would you like to see them?” Clara asked.
“Love to.”
“Great. How about after dinner? That gives you about an hour to practice saying, ‘My God, Clara, they’re the best works of art ever produced by anyone, anywhere.’”
“Sucking up?” smiled Gamache. “That’s how I made Inspector.”
“You’re a Renaissance Man.”
“I see you’re good at it too.”
“Merci. Speaking of your job, do you have any idea who that dead man is?” She’d lowered her voice. “You told Ruth you didn’t, but is that true?”
“You think I’d lie?” he asked. But why not, he thought. Everyone else does. “You mean, how close are we to solving the crime?”
Clara nodded.
“Hard to say. We have some leads, some ideas. It makes it harder to know why the man was killed not knowing who he was.”
“Suppose you never find out?”
Gamache looked down at Clara. Was there something in her voice? An imperfectly hidden desire that they never find out who the dead man was?
“It makes our job harder,” he conceded, “but not impossible.”
His voice, while relaxed, became momentarily stern. He wanted her to know they’d solve this case, one way or another. “Were you at the bistro last night?”
“No. We’d gone to the fair with Myrna. Had a disgusting dinner of fries, burgers and cotton candy. Went on a few rides, watched the local talent show, then came back here. I think Myrna might’ve gone in, but we were tired.”
“We know the dead man wasn’t a villager. He seems to have been a stranger. Have you seen any strangers around?”
“People come through backpacking or bicycling,” said Clara, sipping her red wine and thinking. “But most of them are younger. I understand this was quite an old man.”
Gamache didn’t tell her what the coroner had said that afternoon.
“Roar Parra told Agent Lacoste he’d seen someone lurking in the woods this summer. Does that sound familiar?” He watched her closely.
“Lurking? Isn’t that a bit melodramatic? No, I haven’t seen anyone and neither has Peter. He’d have told me. And we spend a lot of time outside in the garden. If there was someone there we’d have seen him.”
She waved toward their backyard, in darkness now, but Gamache knew it was large and sloped gently toward the Rivière Bella Bella.
“Mr. Parra didn’t see him there,” said Gamache. “He saw him there.”
He pointed to the old Hadley house, on the hill above them. The two of them took their drinks and walked out the door to the front veranda. Gamache was wearing his gray flannels, shirt, tie and jacket. Clara had a sweater, and needed it. In early September the nights grew longer and cooler. All around the village lights shone in homes, and even in the house on the hill.