“It is,” she agreed. Then her face became troubled. “Do you know what happened to poor Mr. Ellis?”

“Not yet, but we will. You liked Mr. Ellis,” Gamache said, and she nodded. “More than other guests?”

“That is not a polite question,” she said with a small smile.

“It was not meant to be polite.” His eyes, still kind, hardened.

Angela’s smile faded, and she seemed to make up her mind.

“You’re right. He was nicer than some.”

“Some in that room?” The chief glanced toward the living room and watched as Angela’s eyes darted to Tom Scott.

“He tried to pick me up last night. Wanted to drive me home after work. I said no, but he was quite pushy. Finally, Mr. Ellis came over and told Mr. Scott to leave me alone.”

“And how did Mr. Scott react?”

“He got angry, but when Mr. Ellis didn’t back down, he said it was just a joke.” Angela looked over at Tom Scott. “He’s not very nice.”

A bully, thought Gamache. He looked closely at Tom Scott, his dirty boots making marks on the nice table. Scott didn’t care. Or perhaps he enjoyed making a mess, ruining things. He liked to hurt.

But did he like to kill?

Then Gamache remembered something. “Where was Mrs. Scott while all this was happening?”

“Mrs. Scott? I don’t think he’s married. Or if he is, she isn’t here.”

So, thought the chief, Scott lied about that. Why? It was a stupid lie, easily found out.

Stupid people worried Gamache. They were unpredictable.

“What did Mr. Ellis do yesterday?” he asked Angela.

“He spent the day in the village.”

“In Three Pines?” Inspector Beauvoir asked. “Did he know anyone there?”

Angela paused to think. “I don’t know. He asked a lot of questions about the village.”

“What sort of questions?” Gamache wanted to know.

“Oh, whether Three Pines was a nice place to live. I had to tell him that my husband and I don’t actually live there, but in St-Rémy, about twenty minutes away.”

“He seems to have been very interested in you.”

“Me?” She blushed. “No. He was just lonely, I think. Making conversation.”

“Was he worried? Upset?” Beauvoir asked.

“No. He seemed calm. Most people arrive here stressed. They come to relax. He seemed pretty relaxed already.” After a moment, she added, “Actually, that isn’t the right word. He wasn’t relaxed, he was tired, as if he had no energy left.”

Gamache watched the scene-of-crime team go up to Ellis’s room. Why did Ellis choose to come here, anyway? he asked himself.

While the team searched Ellis’s room and car, Chief Inspector Gamache walked down the dirt road into the tiny village.

Three Pines sat quietly in a valley, as though hiding from the world. And the world certainly seemed fooled.