All the Devils Are Here (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #16) - Louise Penny Page 0,92

I started looking deeper.”

“You’d find Daniel. Oh, God.” But then her face cleared. “Could this be a good thing? If they found the old file and threatened Stephen with it, expecting he’d back down, then they clearly don’t know Stephen. And if they used Daniel’s name to threaten us, they clearly don’t know us. They think they do, but they don’t. They might be powerful, but they’re also arrogant. Surely that’s an advantage.”

Now Armand also smiled. “You’re right. They don’t know us.”

The waiter brought their salads. After she left, Reine-Marie said, “You spoke to Daniel this morning about Monsieur Plessner. How did it go?”

“He admitted he knew Plessner.”

“And?”

“And that’s all. It didn’t go well.” He was quiet for a moment. “But I did find out what’s come between us all these years.”

Reine-Marie put down her fork and listened as he told her.

After he’d finished, she sat back and stared at him. “He heard? That Christmas Eve?”

“But he didn’t understand.”

“He was a child. He thought I was crying because I was upset. Any child would. But they were tears of relief that you didn’t take the job. Once you explained, did he feel better?”

“Non. I don’t think he believed me.”

“He’s invested too much in this,” she said. “If he admits he’s wrong, it means admitting he’s wasted all those years shutting you out. Give him time. At least he’s told you. At least we know.”

“Oui.”

But Armand also knew the trauma of losing parents.

And now he knew that every day, since the age of eight, his own boy had waited for the inevitable knock on the door.

What did that do to a sensitive child? To live with such anticipated grief?

Daniel’s only hope, the only way to survive, was to get it over with. To emotionally “kill” his father and get on with life. Get on with loving those who would not leave him.

It was a brave, a brilliant solution. With one flaw.

Once dead, how could he possibly bring his father back to life?

“I advised Daniel to go to Commander Fontaine and tell her everything he knows about Alexander Plessner. And whatever they were working on.”

“But Fontaine’s involved,” said Reine-Marie. “She must be. She had the archival documents. She must’ve been the one who put Daniel’s name on the search. She might’ve even been the one who killed Monsieur Plessner. You have to stop him. He can’t go to her.”

“I don’t think he will, but I hope he does. It’ll show Fontaine that we don’t suspect her. It’ll stay their hand against Daniel. They’ll know he has no idea what’s really going on. If he did, he wouldn’t confide in her. Still, I think they’d be safer moving to the George V, too.”

“Maybe we should go home, Armand. Back to Three Pines.”

The thought of the little village made her heart ache.

“We can’t,” he said softly. “You know the airline won’t let Annie on the plane. Not days before delivery. Besides, they’d find us wherever we go. No, whatever happens, it happens here.”

Here, here, he thought. Where the devils are.

She nodded and closed her eyes briefly. Taking a last look at the peaceful village before putting it out of her mind.

“Armand,” she said, playing with a piece of baguette. She scrunched the fresh bread in her fist, feeling the shards of crust biting into her palm. “There’s no way Daniel …”

“No. He’s not involved.”

“Bon,” she said. “What do you think they’ll do next?”

Armand had been considering that. What would he do? What would Claude Dussault do?

He thought about Stephen. About the files buried in the archives. He thought about the Lutetia.

“I think they’ll try to place someone close to us. Get someone into our inner circle.”

“But how could they do that?”

“We’re alone,” said Xavier Loiselle, as he, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and Séverine Arbour made their way around the circular platform.

“What do you mean, we’re alone?” demanded Arbour, looking at the crowd. Thinner than usual for a Sunday, but then the low cloud and occasional drizzle had turned many off.

“What he means is, no one followed us,” said Beauvoir.

“Why would they? What’s this about?”

“I think you know. And now I want you to tell me.”

She lifted her chin and stared him in the eyes. “Are you threatening me?”

“Not at all. In fact, I’ve decided to trust you. I think you’ve found something out, something about the Luxembourg project, and I want to know what it is.”

“What makes you think something’s going on, never mind that I know anything?”

“Your behavior Friday. You came into my office, uninvited,