How the Light Gets In (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #9) - Louise Penny Page 0,124
scent, and now were trying to decide what they’d found. If anything.
“Whoever’s on the other end isn’t some hack,” said Jérôme. “This isn’t some impatient kid, this’s a seasoned investigator.”
“What do we do now?” asked Thérèse Brunel.
“Well, we can’t just sit here,” said Jérôme. He turned to Nichol. “Do you really think your encryption is hiding us?”
She opened her mouth but he cut her off. He’d had too much experience with arrogant young residents during grand rounds at the hospital not to recognize someone who would rather eat a juicy lie than an unpalatable truth.
“For real,” he cautioned, and held her pasty gaze.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But we might as well believe it.”
Jérôme laughed and got up. He turned to his wife. “Then the answer to your question is that the encryption held and we’re just fine.”
“She didn’t say that,” said Thérèse, following him to the coffeepot on the woodstove.
“No,” he admitted, pouring himself a cup. “But she’s right. We might as well believe it. It changes nothing. And for what it’s worth, I think they haven’t a clue what we’re about, even if they know we’re here. We’re safe.”
* * *
Gamache stood behind Nichol’s chair. “You must be tired. Why don’t you take a break too? Splash some water on your face.”
When she didn’t respond, he looked at her more closely.
Her eyes were wide.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Oh, merde,” she said under her breath. “Oh, merde.”
“What?” Gamache looked at the monitor. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS filled the screen.
“They found us.”
THIRTY-FIVE
“I found something,” Chief Inspector Lambert said into the phone. “Better come down.”
Chief Superintendent Francoeur and Inspector Tessier arrived within minutes. Agents were crowded around Lambert’s monitor, watching, though they scattered when they saw who’d entered the room.
“Leave,” said Tessier, and they did. He closed the door and stood in front of it.
Charpentier was at another terminal in the office, his back to his boss, typing at lightning speed.
Francoeur leaned over Chief Inspector Lambert.
“Show me.”
* * *
“Jérôme!” Thérèse Brunel called, and joined Chief Inspector Gamache and Nichol.
“Show me,” said Gamache.
“When I brought up the old Aqueduct file, I must’ve set off an alarm,” said Nichol, her face white.
Jérôme arrived and scanned the monitor, then he reached in front of her.
“Hurry up,” he said, swiftly typing in a few short commands. “Get out of that file.” The error message disappeared.
“You didn’t just set off an alarm, you stepped on a landmine. Jesus.”
“Maybe they didn’t see the message,” said Nichol slowly, watching the screen.
They waited, and waited, staring at the static screen. Despite himself, Gamache realized he was looking for some being to actually appear. A shadow, a form.
“We have to go back into the Aqueduct file,” he said.
“You’re insane,” said Jérôme. “That’s where the alarm was tripped. It’s the one place we need to avoid.”
Gamache pulled a chair over and sat close to the elderly doctor. He looked him in the eyes.
“I know. That’s why we need to go back. Whatever they’re trying to hide is in that file.”
Jérôme opened his mouth, then closed it again. Trying to marshal a rational argument against the inconceivable. To knowingly walk back into a trap.
“I’m sorry, Jérôme, but it’s what we’ve been looking for. Their vulnerability. And we found it in Aqueduct. It’s in there somewhere.”
“But it’s a thirty-year-old document,” said Thérèse. “A company that doesn’t even exist anymore. What could possibly be in there?”
All four of them stared at the screen. The cursor pulsed there, like a heartbeat. Like something alive. And waiting.
Then Jérôme Brunel leaned forward and started typing.
* * *
“Aqueduct?” said Francoeur, stepping back as though slapped. “Erase the files.”
Chief Inspector Lambert looked at him, but one glance at the Chief Superintendent’s face was enough. She started erasing.
“Who is it?” Francoeur asked. “Do you know?”
“Look, I can either erase the files or chase the intruder, but I can’t do both,” said Lambert, her fingers flying over the keys.
“I’ll take the intruder,” said Charpentier, from across the office.
“Do it,” said Francoeur. “We need to know.”
“It’s Gamache,” said Tessier. “Has to be.”
“Chief Inspector Gamache can’t do this,” said Lambert as she worked. “Like all senior officers, he knows computers, but he’s not an expert. This isn’t him.”
“Besides,” said Tessier, watching the activity. “He’s in some village in the Townships. No Internet.”
“Whoever this is has high-speed and huge bandwidth.”
“Christ.” Francoeur turned to Tessier. “Gamache was a decoy.”
“So who is it?” asked Tessier.
* * *
“Shit,” said Nichol. “The files are being erased.”
She looked at Jérôme, who looked at Thérèse, who looked at Gamache.