Twenty-four men had stepped beyond the door. It had closed. And not another living soul had been admitted.
Until today.
Chief Inspector Gamache, Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Captain Charbonneau were about to be let in. Their ticket was a dead man.
THREE
“Want me to wait?” the boatman asked. He rubbed his stubbly face and looked amused.
They hadn’t told him why they were there. For all he knew they were journalists or tourists. More misguided pilgrims.
“Oui, merci,” said Gamache, handing the man his payment, including a generous tip.
The boatman pocketed it and watched as they unloaded their things then climbed onto the dock.
“How long can you wait?” asked the Chief.
“About three minutes,” laughed the boatman. “That’s about two minutes more’n you’ll need.”
“Can you give us,” Gamache checked his watch. It was just after one in the afternoon. “Until five o’clock?”
“You want me to wait here until five? Look, I know you’ve come a long way, but you must know it won’t take four hours to walk to that door, knock, then turn round and come back.”
“They’ll let us in,” said Beauvoir.
“Are you monks?”
“No.”
“Are you the pope?”
“No,” said Beauvoir.
“Then I’ll give you three minutes. Use ’em well.”
Off the dock and up the dirt path, Beauvoir swore under his breath. When they reached the big wooden door the Chief turned to him.
“Get it out of your system, Jean-Guy. Once through there the swearing stops.”
“Oui, patron.”
Gamache nodded and Jean-Guy raised his hand and hit the door. It made almost no sound, but hurt like hell.
“Maudit tabernac,” he hissed.
“I think that’s the doorbell,” said Captain Charbonneau, pointing to a long iron rod in a pocket chiseled out of the stone.
Beauvoir took it and hit the door a mighty whack. That made a sound. He hit it again and noticed the pockmarks, where others had hit. And hit. And hit.
Jean-Guy looked behind him. The boatman raised his wrist and tapped his watch. Beauvoir turned back to the door and got a start.
The wood had sprung eyes. The door was looking at them. Then he realized a slit had been opened, and two bloodshot eyes looked out.
If Beauvoir was surprised to see the eyes, the eyes seemed surprised to see him.
“Oui?” The word was muffled by the wood.
“Bonjour, mon frère,” said Gamache. “My name is Armand Gamache, I’m the Chief Inspector of homicide with the Sûreté. This is Inspector Beauvoir and Captain Charbonneau. I believe we’re expected.”
The wooden window was rammed shut and they heard the unmistakable click as it was locked. There was a pause and Beauvoir began to wonder if they really would get in. And, if not, what would they do? Ram the door down? Clearly the boatman would be no help. Beauvoir could hear a soft chuckle coming from the dock, mingling with the lapping of the waves.
He looked into the forest. It was thick and dark. An attempt had been made to keep it at bay. Beauvoir could see evidence of trees chopped down. Stumps dotted the ground around the walls, as though there’d been a battle and now an uneasy truce. The stumps looked, in the shadow of the monastery, like tombstones.
Beauvoir took a deep breath and told himself to get a grip. It wasn’t like him to be so fanciful. He dealt in facts. Collected them. It was the Chief Inspector who collected feelings. In each murder case, Gamache followed those feelings, the old and decaying and rotting ones. And at the end of the trail of slime, Gamache found the killer.
While the Chief followed feelings, Beauvoir followed facts. Cold and hard. But between the two men, together, they got there.
They were a good team. A great team.
Suppose he isn’t happy? The question snuck up on Beauvoir, out of the woods. Suppose he doesn’t want Annie to be with me?
But that was, again, just fancy. Not fact. Not fact. Not fact.
He stared at the door and saw again the pockmarks, where it had been beaten. By someone, or something, desperate to get in.
Beside him, Chief Inspector Gamache was standing solid. Calm. Staring at the door as though it was the most fascinating thing he’d seen.
And Captain Charbonneau? Out of the periphery of Beauvoir’s vision he could see the outpost commander also staring at the door. He looked uneasy. Anxious to either enter or leave. To come or go. To do something, anything, other than wait on the stoop like some very polite conquerors.