“That’s the question,” agreed Gamache. “Who had James Hill found in Three Pines? Which of the young people from the pickup? One man and one woman were left. Which of them was it?”

“Mr. Ellis was asking about young men,” said Angela. “Was that why? But that doesn’t make sense. He wouldn’t be young anymore.”

“Ellis lied,” said Gamache. “There has been a lot of lying in this case.”

His gaze came to rest on Tom Scott.

“He lied about his name,” the chief continued. “He lied about why he was here. Could he also have been lying about looking for a man? Maybe it was a woman. Maybe he wanted to put his victim at ease. Throw her off.”

Gamache turned to Sue Gravel.

“Maybe he was looking for a woman. Or” — now he shifted his gaze to Paul Goulet — “maybe he was telling the truth. Maybe one of the people in the truck twenty years ago had had a child of his own. And maybe James Hill wanted to hurt him the way he’d been hurt. By killing, not the man himself, but his child.”

Paul Goulet stood up. Across the room, Inspector Beauvoir tensed. Ready to tackle Goulet if he threatened the chief. But Goulet simply stared, his eyes narrow and cold.

“So what are you saying, Chief Inspector?” Dominique asked. “That he could have been looking for a man or a woman or a young person or an older person? Doesn’t exactly narrow it down.”

“No,” admitted Gamache. “But this does.”

From the file he took a slim piece of paper and read.

If you are reading this, my body has been found. I am sorry. I hope the discovery did not upset anyone. I tried to go as far away as possible so that no children would find me.

My work is finally done. I am tired, but I am at peace. Finally.

I know you cannot forgive me, but perhaps you can understand.

“I wondered why it wasn’t addressed to anyone. Some suicide letters aren’t signed. But most are at least addressed to someone. This man had no one to write to. No family. But he did want people to know that it was over. And that’s the key.”

Gamache put the note on the coffee table, next to the cookies.

“My work is finally done,” he quoted. “What did he mean by that?”

“That he’d killed the last person from that truck, obviously,” said Paul.

“Exactly.” Gamache turned to him.

There was silence in the room. Every eye was on the chief inspector.

“I am arresting you for the murder of James Hill,” he said. He stepped forward, as did Inspector Beauvoir. Just in time to catch Angela and Mike as they tried to flee.

Chapter Thirteen

Armand Gamache swirled the scotch in his glass. Around the table sat Dominique, Myrna, and Gabri.

“How did you know?” Dominique asked.