He seemed almost in awe at the pretty, gentle village.

“You’re with the police, you say?” he looked at Gamache. “Has something happened?”

“There’s been a death.” Gamache watched Paul for a reaction. He seemed polite, interested. But nothing more.

“I’m sorry. Someone from here?”

“No, a visitor. Like you. A man named James Hill.”

Still Paul Goulet looked blank. Chief Inspector Gamache knew how difficult that was. A person’s face almost always had some expression on it.

A blank face was a wall. Put there on purpose, to hide something.

“Where are you from?” Gamache asked.

“Ottawa. I go to school there.”

“What are you taking?”

“A general degree. Haven’t decided on a career yet.”

Paul Goulet smiled. It was an easy grin. Gamache hoped this young man was not involved in the death, but he was far from sure.

Strong young arms and legs had lifted Hill’s body into the tree, tied a rope around his neck, and thrown him off.

Paul’s tight suit made it clear that he had strong arms and legs.

“The dead man was going under another name,” Gamache said. “Arthur Ellis.”

“Why would he do that?”

“We don’t know. But someone murdered him.”

“You mean there’s a killer in this village?”

“There’s a killer in every village. In every home. In every heart,” said Gamache, watching Paul closely. “All anyone needs is the right reason.”

The young man stared back but didn’t say anything. Finally he got up.

“If I can help, I will,” he said. “But I can’t see how. Can I go for my bike ride?”

Gamache nodded. “But don’t go far.”

Paul climbed onto his bike and with a shove was off down the dirt road.

After that, Chief Inspector Gamache found the woman who was also staying at the Bed and Breakfast. Her name was Sue Gravel. She was thirty-eight and worked as a secretary in a law firm in Montreal. She’d arrived a few days earlier and was planning to leave the next day.

No, she knew no one in Three Pines. It struck her as a boring place. Nothing to do.

“Then why did you come here?” Gamache asked.

“To relax.”

Gamache smiled. Only an amazing person could really relax. Sue Gravel did not strike the chief inspector as an amazing person.

She complained all the way through the interview. The weather was cold and damp. No shopping. No high-speed internet. And her cell phone didn’t work.

How could you relax here? she demanded.

Gamache did not suggest that she go for a walk or buy a book and sit by the fire in the bistro. He did not suggest that she sit quietly and get to know herself so she could be all the company she needed.