All the Devils Are Here (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #16) - Louise Penny Page 0,52
number two took down the particulars of everyone in the room.
Reine-Marie Gamache was a senior librarian and archivist. Retired.
Annie was an avocate. A trial lawyer who’d trained in Québec but qualified for the French bar and was on maternity leave.
Roslyn worked in marketing for a design label, and Daniel was a banker.
He looks, thought Fontaine, a lot like his father. If you removed the beard, the resemblance would be remarkable. And she wondered if that was why the son had grown the beard. So that he needn’t see his father in the mirror, examining him at the beginning and end of every day.
When they were asked for their addresses, Daniel shifted in his seat, and he and Roslyn exchanged glances.
“There’s something we need to tell you,” he said, then turned to the rest of them. “This won’t be our home much longer. We’re moving.”
“Moving?” asked Reine-Marie. “Home?”
There was no mistaking the hope in her voice and the gleam in her eyes.
“This is home, Mama,” he said. “No, we’re putting in an offer on a place in the Sixth Arrondissement.”
“Three bedrooms,” said Roslyn. “The girls will each have their own. And it’s close to their school in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.”
“But they go to school around the corner here,” said Annie.
“Not next semester,” said Roslyn. “They’ve been accepted into the Lycée Stanislas.”
Everyone’s eyes opened wider, including the investigators’.
The little boys and girls, in their dark blue and crisp white uniforms, were as much a part of Paris lore as Madeline and her adventures. The boys and girls could be seen solemnly holding hands as they crossed the boulevards of the Sixth Arrondissement, and played in the jardin du Luxembourg.
It was, without a doubt, the very best private school in Paris. Probably France. And one of the most expensive.
“How … ?” Reine-Marie began, then stopped herself.
“Did we get them in?” asked Daniel, beaming.
“Yes.”
Though it was clear she’d actually meant to ask another question.
How were they going to pay for it? And a new apartment?
But some things were best not asked. Not in front of a homicide investigator.
“Congratulations,” said Armand. “It’s a great school. The girls will love it.”
But Annie was glaring at her brother. Not sharing her parents’ enthusiasm, however forced it might have been.
“Terrific, my ass,” said Annie, unable to hold it in. “We decided to live two streets over to be close to you, and now you leave?”
“We’re not going far,” said Daniel.
“Do you rent here?” asked Fontaine.
“Yes. Shouldn’t be a problem subletting,” said Daniel. He turned to his sister. “Maybe you could take it?”
“Maybe you could—” began Annie.
“Maybe we can talk about this later,” their mother interrupted.
But if she was hoping to change the subject, it was too late.
“You’re going from renting to buying?” said Commander Fontaine. “A larger apartment in a better neighborhood.”
“Yes,” said Daniel.
“And sending both of your daughters to the Lycée?”
If Daniel didn’t hear the subtle implication, his father did. He remained quiet, though watchful.
Daniel took Roslyn’s hand and smiled, his face open and without guile. “Oui. Sorry, Mom, I know you hoped we’d eventually move back to Montréal, but Paris is our home now.”
Armand put his own hand lightly over Reine-Marie’s.
It was true. They’d always hoped, expected even, that Daniel, Roslyn, and the children would one day return to Québec. But now it seemed that wouldn’t happen. Paris had taken their son and their grandchildren. And now Annie and her growing family had been beguiled.
It wasn’t the city’s fault. It couldn’t help being luminous.
But just at this moment, Reine-Marie hated the city. And Armand wasn’t so enamored either.
“Well, that sucks,” said Annie as Jean-Guy took her hand and squeezed.
Commander Fontaine watched. But try as she might, she couldn’t see this as a family riddled with hatred and resentments. If anything, their reaction to Daniel’s announcement was driven by affection.
They wanted to be closer, not farther apart.
After listening to their recollections of the events of the night before, Commander Fontaine once again turned to Daniel.
In the few minutes she’d been there, she’d come to realize that while he looked like his father, he was not actually like him.
They both, père et fils, seemed kind. Not at all threatening. But where in Gamache the elder it took the form of confidence and authority, in the younger it came across as charm. Which, while pleasant, could be superficial. Often was. A sort of genial wrapping paper hiding, what? Neediness? Insecurity?
“Monsieur Horowitz had been in Paris for ten days before being hit. Did you get together with him in that time?”