Page 98 of The Grey Wolf
“Like what?”
The two investigators just stared at the monk, who stared back.
“I can get a search warrant,” said Gamache. His voice was low, grave. Filled with regret and warning.
Frère Simon blanched. “You’d do that? You’d violate the monastery?”
“I won’t be the one violating it,” said the Chief Inspector. “You will, by refusing to cooperate. You might not be lying, but you are holding out on us. You can stop a search by telling us everything. Showing us everything.”
Gamache was more and more convinced that if Langlois had given the Abbot the map to hide, then he also had given him the laptop and notebooks. How the biologist came to know the monk and the monastery remained a question to be answered. And they would. But first things first. They had to find what was hidden there.
Simon’s eyes were wide with panic.
There was no doubt that this monk genuinely loved this place. And it was his job now to protect it. But instead, Frère Simon had brought this horror upon his brothers. His family.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His voice was high with alarm, a siren voice. “The Abbot didn’t give me anything else. You have the map. Can’t you just go? Take it. Leave us alone. Please.”
Gamache studied the man, then stood up. “Right. You’re coming with us. Go to your cell and pack. Take enough clothing for a few days. The rest can be sent for.”
“What? Why?”
“I’m arresting you for obstruction.”
“But that’s absurd. I’ve done everything you’ve asked.”
“You’re hiding something, something vital.” Gamache paused, giving the monk a chance to come clean. “Go. Pack.”
Simon stared in disbelief but finally left.
When they were sure they were alone, Gamache turned to Beauvoir. “Tell me.”
“I spoke to Frère Roland. He confirmed that two letters came with Vatican crests and postmarks. One for Sébastien, then, weeks later, one for the Abbot. We already knew about them. What we didn’t know, and neither did Simon, is that something else arrived for the Abbot. Without a Vatican crest or postmark.”
“It must’ve been the letter from Sébastien, telling Dom Philippe where to meet.”
“Maybe, but it was big. A box. Dom Philippe left a few days later.”
A box.
He looked around the tiny study. He really, really wanted to pace. To think. But the place was too small, and he sure didn’t want to take another walk in the woods.
He could have gone into the Abbot’s walled garden, but decided to stay where he was and let his mind run wild while he stood still. His hands grasping each other behind his back, the Chief Inspector stared out the window. The morning sun warmed his face as he closed his eyes and chased his thoughts.
Finally, he ran one to ground.
“Suppose what was in that box wasn’t from the Vatican at all, but from Charles Langlois.”
Beauvoir’s eyes widened. “His notebooks and laptop?”
“Maybe.”
“That means they are here.”
“Maybe.”
But there was something else. Some small thought that had brushed by Armand when they were discussing that first letter.
“The American monk said he’d discovered something so disturbing that it sent him from his community in the States to Rome.”
