His words said one thing, but his eyes were begging them to disagree. To not send him there at all, and certainly to not send him alone.

“Excuse us,” Lacoste said to Agent Cohen with exaggerated courtesy, and took the other two deeper into the Incident Room. “We have to come to a decision.”

She looked at Beauvoir, at Gamache. She glanced over at Agent Cohen, then up to the clock.

“All right. We’ll send him to the SHU. As you said, it’ll take two hours for him to get there, and we have just over three until the broadcast. We don’t have to decide about Fleming until later, but Agent Cohen will at least be in place.”

Gamache and Beauvoir nodded and Isabelle Lacoste walked back to Adam Cohen.

“This is not sanctioned,” she said. “If you go, you need to be aware of what will almost certainly happen. Even if we’re successful, and you get Fleming out and return him, we will all be fired and probably brought up on charges. Do you understand?”

“My uncle has a poutine stand,” he said. “I think I can get us all jobs there.”

He spoke with such sincerity, Beauvoir didn’t know if Cohen was serious. And he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Or to tell him the real truth. That young Adam Cohen might very well lose more than his job.

Chief Inspector Lacoste wrote up a letter of authorization, printed it out on Sûreté letterhead, and handed it to Agent Cohen. Then they walked him to the car.

“If you haven’t heard from me by six you need to go into the SHU, do you understand?” said Chief Inspector Lacoste. “The moment the Gerald Bull story airs on CBC.”

“Yes, sir. Mom. Ma’am.”

“Oh God,” Beauvoir whispered.

“You’ll be fine, son,” said Armand. “Just don’t give Fleming any information. Not your name, not where you’re taking him. Nothing. He’ll try to engage you, just ignore him.” He put out his hand. “Shalom aleichem.”

Adam Cohen looked surprised and pleased. He took Gamache’s hand. “And peace be upon you too, sir. How did you know?”

“I was raised by my Jewish grandmother,” said Gamache.

“B’ezrat hashem,” said Cohen, releasing Gamache’s hand and getting into the car.

They watched him drive off.

“What did he say to you?” Beauvoir asked.

“He said, God willing,” said Gamache.

“I don’t think God has much to do with anything that’s happening,” said Lacoste. Then she turned to the two men. “If the location of the plans really is hidden somewhere in that play, we need to go through it, closely and quickly.”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” said Gamache. “Both Jean-Guy and I have already read it and found nothing.”

“You need new eyes,” said Lacoste. “Do you want me to read it?”