Page 11 of The Grey Wolf
“… does it mean?” The Chief had the same question.
“Maybe it means exactly what it says,” said Lacoste. “Whoever broke in didn’t realize the place belongs to the head of homicide for the Sûreté. When he did, he got scared and sent it back.”
“And asked to meet?” said Beauvoir. He studied Gamache. “You’re not thinking of going?”
“I’m not thinking anything yet.” He was going through the other pockets. In the small inside one, he found another piece of paper. It was folded up and thicker than the first.
“What does it say?” asked Lacoste, as they crowded around.
Fennel, thyme, sage, mace, nutmeg… It went on.
“Yours?” asked Lacoste.
“Non.And not Reine-Marie’s.” He knew her handwriting.
“They’re herbs,” Isabelle said. “A recipe? Maybe a shopping list?”
“Or a planting list?” asked Beauvoir. “For an herb garden?”
It was possible Myrna or Clara or one of their other neighbors haddrawn up this list. But if they had, they hadn’t handed it to him, so how did it get into a pocket he never used? Hadn’t even known was there.
And while some of the herbs were common—sage and thyme, for instance—others were obscure. Not ones they were likely to use or plant. And some were spices.
Gamache turned it over. On the back was written one word.Water.
“A reminder to water the plants?” asked Isabelle.
“Maybe.” Gamache held the paper up to the light. Nothing.
“It’s torn.” Lacoste pointed to the bottom of the page. “Incomplete.”
It was true. The paper was slightly feathered at the bottom.
At the tear, two words could just be made out.
“Angelica,” Gamache read. “And this other seems to beStems. What’s that?”
“No idea,” said Lacoste.
He took a photo of both notes, then handed them to Lacoste. “I’m going home.”
“I’ll get everything to the lab.”
“Good. When they’ve been tested and photographed, bring the notes back to me.”
“I’ll get the Scene of Crime team to your place,” said Beauvoir.
They made for the door. “And get that surveillance video. I want to know who dropped this off.”
CHAPTER5
“So, it was a break-in, sir?” asked the young Montréal officer who’d been dispatched.
“Yes. It seems so.”
They were standing outside on the landing, looking at the closed door to the apartment.
“And the place was still locked when you arrived?” She looked at Beauvoir, who nodded. “And the only thing taken was a coat?”
