Page 123 of The Grey Wolf
“A Gilbertine? Is there such a thing? And you do know that the monastery is Carthusian.”
“Yes. The other’s”—Armand grimaced, anticipating Claude’s reaction—“a Dominican.”
“Jesus, Armand. Are there any actual Carthusians in Grande Chartreuse? I’ll go if you want, but there’s no way they’ll let me in. I doubt they even let those two in.Ces religieuxthere aren’t just cloistered, they’re hermetic. Only Carthusians are allowed through the gates, and for good reason. The order has been persecuted and expelled over and over in their thousand years, including as recently as 1903.”
“Still, I’m sending one of my most senior investigators there. If she—”
“She?” There was a laugh. “God, Armand, you really do live in a fantasy world. If they won’t let a ‘he’ in, there’s no way a ‘she’ will get through that gate.”
“We’ll see. Inspector Lacoste is quite resourceful.”
“Can she drive a bulldozer? That might work.”
Armand laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past her. If she can’t get in, we’ll need a warrant. That’s where you come in.”
“Tell me you’re not actually going to serve a warrant on Grande Chartreuse.”
“Not me. You.”
“I have no more authority than you do. I’m retired. Remember?”
“But you know people who can get one.”
There was a heaved sigh. “I do. This must be important.”
“Beyond that,mon ami.”
“Bon.Give me the names of the monks you need to find.” Armand could hear Claude making notes as he told him. “So we have Frère Sébastien, a Gilbertine. Who’s the other? The Dominican.”
“I don’t know.”
“You really don’t make this easy, do you.”
“I’m hoping Inspector Lacoste will find out who this mystery monk is, and with luck find him still in Rome. I’ll connect you two. Claude, I think they stumbled onto something terrible. I need to find them before someone else does.”
“I’ll do what I can. Though I’ll probably be excommunicated.”
“Tell them to do it to me instead.”
“I don’t think it works that way.”
“Honestly, I don’t think it works at all.”
“That’s the spirit. One thing to keep in mind, Grande Chartreuse is a five-hour drive for me, so I’ll need warning.”
“I’ll let Isabelle Lacoste know.Merci, Claude.”
After hanging up, Armand shot off another message to Isabelle. She’d arrived in Rome and had checked into her hotel close to theVatican. He updated her on Claude Dussault and sent his contact information. Then he sat in his car and took out the two pieces of paper.
Dom Philippe had left one part for him, along with the bottle, to make sure he knew about the Grande Chartreuse connection. That now seemed obvious.
But still obscure and troubling was how Jeanne Caron got her portion. And why she put it in the coat she’d had stolen from his home.
Before going into the bistro, Armand made reservations on a flight the next day to Blanc-Sablon, where he hoped to find the Abbot and some answers.
Ever the optimist, he reserved two seats for the trip back.
“So the Abbot left the bottle because he wanted you to know that he’d been to Grande Chartreuse,” said Reine-Marie as they walked arm in arm around the village green.
