Page 80 of The Grey Wolf
The phone line turned out to be dead, and there was no way to do anything other than glance at the papers on Dom Philippe’s desk, since the only light in the room was from the candle Frère Simon held.
“The clothing you’re wearing when you arrive,” he said to the monk as they left the office. “What happens to it?”
“We put it in boxes in the basement, in case we leave.”
“Leave? Don’t you wear your robes if you leave?”
“Not if we quit the order. It’s never happened, but we keep the clothing in case. When a monk dies, we donate his belongings.”
“Can you show me the Abbot’s?”
Minutes later they were staring into a box labeledFrère Philippe. It contained mothballs. But nothing else.
“Huh.” Though Simon sounded puzzled, he looked worried. “He must’ve taken them with him. Now why would he do that?”
Gamache knew the answer, but said nothing.
Before he went in to dinner, Armand checked his messages.
“What is it?” asked Frère Simon. “Everything all right?”
The monk, ever watchful, had noticed the change in Gamache’s body, and heard the slight moan, almost a sob.
“Very,” said Armand.
His second message to Reine-Marie, saying all was well, had found some fragile connection and gone out. And she had replied.
When he arrived at the dining hall, he leaned over Jean-Guy and said, “They know we’re safe.”
Jean-Guy closed his eyes, lowered his head, and gave a sigh so long and strong the candles flickered. All the monks turned to see what had caused it. And to a man, they smiled on seeing Jean-Guy’s happy face.
When the meal was over, Gamache, along with Beauvoir and Brother Simon, returned to the Abbot’s rooms, while the pilot was shown to a bedroom, which they called a cell. He was given a candle and asked to stay put.
He did not need to be told twice.
“What happened?” Gamache asked.
“Happened?”
“Please,mon frère, don’t be obtuse. You know what I’m asking.”
The Chief Inspector’s patience, normally one of his strengths, was at an end.
They’d been given candles in holders, which they placed on tables around the Abbot’s small but comfortable office.
Brother Simon took a deep breath. “A lot has changed since you were last here.”
Jean-Guy raised his brows. It seemed to him very little, if anything, had changed. Beyond the disappearance of the Abbot. But he also suspected that, in a closed, hermetic community, getting different soap would be seismic.
“After you left, the Abbot needed a new Prior. His second-in-command, if you will. To everyone’s surprise he chose Frère Sébastien.”
“Sébastien,” said Gamache, sitting forward and placing his elbows on his knees. His face was mostly in shadow now. “The monk who was sent by the Vatican to investigate the Gilbertines? He’s not even a member of your order.”
“Non.He’s a Dominican.” His smile was indulgent but not exactly warm. “Frère Sébastien agreed to become a Gilbertine. Though once a Hound of the Lord…”
Again, the monk raised his hand.
“What does that mean?” asked Beauvoir.
