Page 177 of The Grey Wolf
Is that what had happened to Robert? Was it an accident after all? Had he arranged to meet someone up here and then been lured over the edge by his own phobia? Had his fears finally killed him?
But even so, how had Brother Robert managed to climb those steep stairs in the first place? How desperate was he that he’d agreed to a meeting in the most terrifying place in his world?
Who could possibly lure him up there?
CHAPTER39
Armand Gamache lowered the gun, all the better to see Jeanne Caron’s face, her eyes, as he questioned her.
“As you said, there are six treatment plants, but you suspect the target is one in particular. Which one?”
“That’s what I was trying to find among Lauzon’s papers. When he left for DC this morning, I broke into his desk. He has a hidden drawer in an antique rolltop in his office. I found some papers. They’re in there.” She pointed to the satchel on the altar.
“If you knew about the threat to the water, why not alert the RCMP?” demanded Gamache. “Why not tell someone who could stop it?”
“I tried. I called you on Sunday morning.”
“I’m the last person you’d turn to for help. The truth. Now!”
“That is the truth. Listen, listen.” She seemed desperate now. “Years ago, when I tried to bribe you, then threatened you, then went after your son, you still charged Lauzon’s daughter with manslaughter. You couldn’t be corrupted, you couldn’t be intimidated. You held your ground and took the hit. I came to you because you’re the only one I knew for sure would never be involved.”
Gamache glanced quickly at the Abbot, whose eyes were wide with anxiety.
“Look,” she said. “I know my boss. Lauzon has no brakes, no moral guardrails. He’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants.”
“And that is?” asked Gamache.
“Power, of course. And with it wealth, and all that goes with both.”
“How does poisoning the drinking water get him all that?”
She shook her head. “You know the answer, but if you want to play games, so be it. Here’s what’s going to happen. People turn on their taps and begin to die. All over the city. Within minutes there’s complete panic. The main job of a leader is to keep the people safe. If they fail at that spectacularly, they’re out. Within a week the PM is ousted. Lauzon is a Liberal, so when against all he’s publicly stood for he brings in draconian measures, they’re seen as necessary.Voilà.A coup.”
“Why not just kill the Prime Minister?” Beauvoir asked. “Isn’t that an easier way to become PM?”
“True, but then he wouldn’t have absolute power. This way he would. He’d effectively be a dictator and a savior at the same time. I began to suspect something was going on about a year ago. I saw references to private meetings. At first, I thought Lauzon was having an affair. Then I realized he was meeting with people who were dangerous to him politically. People he should never be seen with.”
“I need names.”
“You need only one name.” Even before she spoke, Gamache knew what she’d say. “Joseph Moretti.”
It was what David Lavigne had essentially told him, without naming names. The Deputy PM had been seen visiting Ste. Émiline. The Moretti family had a second home there.
Joseph Moretti was the head of the Sixth Family. Considered as powerful as the five mafia families in the United States. From his homes in Montréal and Ste. Émiline, he controlled the drug trade, tobacco, booze, prostitution, gambling, and any number of so-called legitimate businesses across Canada.
Gamache had suspected the mob was involved, but only as hired killers, doing the hits in Chicoutimi and the Magdalen Islands. Hiring, then killing Paolo Parisi.
He never suspected it went up as high as the capomandamento.The head of the family. Joseph Moretti.
“You have proof?”
“Some. I know they met, but I don’t know what they talked about.I think what we need is in there.” She again pointed to the satchel sitting on the raised wooden floor of the chapel.
“You’ve been by Marcus Lauzon’s side since his first campaign. You’ve run his reelections, you’ve been his Chief of Staff. You’ve engineered his rise. He trusts you, relies on you. You’re his right hand.” Gamache glared at her. “You’re saying he didn’t bring you in on this?”
He had her. Her mask slipped and her old malevolence slithered out. Her contempt for him become visible for just an instant before being sucked back in.
Her face relaxed into a smile. “Got me,monsieur. I helped with some. At first. Bribes to prosecutors, to parole boards. To help move him up the ladder. I thought this was Lauzon collecting IOUs, to get to the final rung. But then I realized there were other events, meetings, agreements he hadn’t told me about. I decided to try to figure out what he was up to. I kept seeing references to fresh water. Water security. Americans. But no specifics.” She paused. “This goes back years.”
