Page 27 of The Grey Wolf
“What?” demanded Gamache. “For Chrissake, out with it.”
“To be honest, I don’t know the full extent, but the person I work for does, though I’m beginning to wonder which side he’s on. And until just now, I didn’t know which side you were on.”
This shocked Gamache. “Why would you have any doubts about me?”
“I just need to be careful.”
“Who told you to break into my home? Who are you working for? A name, man.”
“Look, I asked to meet you in person to look you in the eye, to see if you really could be trusted. The fact you kept pushing, the fact you stayed even when you were faced with a pile of bullshit, even when you suspected this might be a setup, told me you will see this through.”
“See what through? Come on, enough of the games.”
The man stared at Gamache. “This’s no game. You have no idea how deep this goes.”
“Of course I don’t. You haven’t told me anything.”
“And yet you have suspicions.”
Gamache’s eyes widened and his voice rose in frustration. “I don’t know what you think I know, but I have nothing.”
“But you do.” The man looked around. “We should go. I’ve been here too long.” Seeing the look on Gamache’s face, he smiled. “No. Nothing’s going to happen here. This meeting was just to make sure I could trust you.”
“And the other note? The list? The one you tried to spill water all over. What does it mean? Why was it given to me?”
For the first time since admitting who he was, the man looked concerned. “I actually don’t know. I’ve never seen it. I don’t know why it was put in your coat.”
“You didn’t put it there?”
“No.”
“Then who did? Who had access to the coat once you stole it?”
“My boss. I gave it to him.”
“Did you know your boss planned to send the coat back to me?”
“I did. That’s why I put my message in the pocket.”
“Didn’t you wonder why he had it stolen, only to send it right back?”
“He said it was to get your attention.”
“And you believed him?”
“Well, it worked.” The man almost smiled. Gamache did not.
“Come on, man,” said Gamache. “Think. Simply sending my owncoat back, without anything else, would’ve been strange, but it would not get my attention. The notes did. Your note, but also his. You must’ve known there’d be more to it.”
Then Gamache had it. “You wanted to tell me something, but you also want me to tell you something. What?”
And he had. He’d shown this “Charles” the other note. Had that been the blunder?
“I knew there was more,” admitted “Charles.” “But I didn’t know why my boss was trying to get your attention. That list means nothing to me, but the paper does.”
“In what way? What does it tell you?”
“The same thing it tells you. I know I’ve lied my way through this meeting, and you have no reason at all to trust me. Maybe one day you will. But the only thing I really needed out of this was to know if I could trust you. And I do.”
