Page 103 of The Grey Wolf
“I sent the photos of the Langlois map to the biologist I know at the Freshwater Institute in Winnipeg. I didn’t want to show it to anyone here in Québec.”
Gamache understood. They were in the unfortunate position of not completely trusting anyone except each other.
“And?” he asked as he lugged his satchel out of the hatch.
But Lacoste was distracted by the presence of a man in monk’s robes, awkwardly getting out of the back seat. She looked at the Chief, who explained.
“This is Frère Simon, from the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups. He’s under arrest.”
“On what charge?”
“Obstruction.”
“I didn’t obstruct anything. I answered all your questions. This’s a kidnapping.”
The Chief Inspector took Lacoste aside and whispered, “Protective custody. Make sure he’s comfortable. Has anything he wants except a cell phone.”
“And freedom,” said Beauvoir.
“Before you book him, have him change into civilian clothes. Give him a false name and put him in isolation. Out of anyone’s reach.”
The monk wasn’t wrong, thought Lacoste. This did sound more like a kidnapping than an arrest.
“You think he’s in danger? He knows something?”
“He knows a lot, and I’m not convinced he’s told us everything. If those involved know we have him, and suspect he knows where the laptop and notebooks are, there could be trouble. What were you saying about the map?”
They listened to Lacoste while still keeping an eye on the angry monk standing beside the plane.
“My biologist friend said some of those numbers on Langlois’s map are dates.”
“Yes, we figured that much out ourselves,” said Beauvoir. “The most recent was just days before he was killed. But what about the other numbers?”
“Some are applications for certain companies to exceed pollution limits. And not just applications, those are approvals.” She paused. “The government has given various primary industries permission to exceed their pollution limits by thirty times. Not percent, but times.”
Gamache absorbed this while Beauvoir muttered words the monk should not hear. “Can he give us the names of the companies?”
“He’s looking into it.”
“Good. And the other numbers?”
“He needs to double-check, because he can’t believe it.”
“What?” said Beauvoir.
“They look like approvals—”
“Yes, you said. To pollute.”
“No. These are different. They’re for American companies to buy controlling interest in Canadian plants. Again, primary industries.”
“But that’s illegal,” said Gamache.
“Exactly. The government guards Canadian ownership closely, especially in things like forestry and mining and fisheries.”
“But someone’s giving the shop away,” said Jean-Guy.
“Not someone. He has a name,” said Gamache. “Both of thoseapprovals would have to go through one minister. The one who controls both Environment and Industry, Trade, and Commerce.”
