Page 181 of The Grey Wolf
“No, but there’s a room off it where the elixir is mixed. Chartreuse itself is brewed off-site, but the formula is made here and sent to the distillery.”
“It’s after midnight. Would he really be making it up now?”
“He prefers to work at night,” said Sébastien. “More private.”
As they hurried down the hallway, Lacoste heard the thump-thump-thump of helicopter rotors. The Grenoble police had arrived.
The investigation would soon be taken out of her hands.
CHAPTER40
It all happened in seconds.
Bang! Bang, bang, bang!
Wood exploded into splinters, people flew everywhere. The air was filled with cordite.
Bang!Gamache hit the floor and saw Beauvoir turn onto his back, aim his gun, and…
The shooting stopped.
Gamache twisted and looked in the direction of the gunfire. The RCMP officer was standing with his weapon in both hands, pointing at the floor and the body of a woman. Scrambling to his feet, Gamache ran over to the prone Beauvoir.
“Jean-Guy, are you—”
“I’m all right,” he said, getting to his feet.
“Lights,” said Gamache.
By the time Beauvoir hit the switch, seconds later, Gamache was already kneeling beside the motionless man splayed on the altar.
“It’s all right,” he was saying. His hands were pressing down on the wound on the Abbot’s chest. Dom Philippe’s eyes were wide, and a trickle of blood was coming out the side of his mouth.
He was dying. And knew it. With each beat of his heart, more blood was pumped from his body. Armand couldn’t stop it, and even if he could, there was too much internal damage. So he stopped trying,and instead picked up Dom Philippe’s cold hands and held them to his own chest.
The Abbot’s blue eyes began to glaze over.
“Our Father, who art—” was as far as Armand got. Just before the Abbot’s eyes emptied completely, Armand leaned forward and whispered into his ear, “God, take this child. Take Yves.” Then he crossed himself.
“Patron?”
Gamache looked up.
“She’s gone. Caron’s gone.”
“Dead?”
“Disappeared. And so’s the satchel. But there’s blood. She’s wounded.”
“Find her. And find that satchel.”
Jean-Guy ran out the back door, while Armand walked quickly over to the RCMP officer. At Gauthier’s feet was the bloody body of the woman from Open Da Night. The one they’d been trying to find.
Instead, she’d found them.
Jean-Guy reappeared. “The car’s gone.”
“Her assistant?”
