*
Dom Philippe repeated the rosary.
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.…”
His head was bowed but his eyes were open, just a slit. He watched the police officers in the garden. Bending over Mathieu. Taking his picture. Prodding him. How Mathieu, always so fastidious, so precise, would have hated this.
To die in the dirt.
“Holy Mary, mother of God…”
How could Mathieu be dead? Dom Philippe mouthed the rosary, trying to concentrate on the simple prayer. He said the words, and heard his brother monks beside him. Heard their familiar voices. Felt their shoulders against his.
Felt the sunshine on his head, and smelled the musky autumn garden.
But now nothing seemed familiar anymore. The words, the prayer, even the sunshine felt foreign.
Mathieu was dead.
How could I not have known?
“… pray for us sinners…”
How could I not have known?
The words became his new rosary.
How could I not have known that it would all end in murder?
*
Gamache had come full circle and stopped in front of the praying monks.
He had the impression as he approached that the abbot had been watching.
One thing was obvious. In the few minutes Gamache had been in the garden, the abbot’s energy had diminished even further.
If the Hail Marys were meant to comfort, it wasn’t working. Or perhaps, without the prayers Dom Philippe would be in worse shape. He seemed like a man on the verge of collapse.
“Pardon,” said Gamache.
The two monks stopped their prayers, but Dom Philippe continued, to the end.
“… now and at the hour of our death.”
And together they intoned, “Amen.”
Dom Philippe opened his eyes.
“Yes, my son?”
It was the traditional greeting of a priest to a parishioner. Or an abbot to his monks. Gamache, though, was neither. And he wondered why Dom Philippe would use that term with him.
Was it habit? An offer of affection? Or was it something else? A claim to authority. A father’s over a child.
“I have some questions.”
“Of course,” said the abbot while the other two remained silent.
“I understand one of you found Frère Mathieu.”
The monk to the right of the abbot shot Dom Philippe a look, and the abbot gave a very small nod.
“I did.” The monk was shorter than Dom Philippe and slightly younger. His eyes were wary.
“And you are?”
“Simon.”
“Perhaps, mon frère, you can describe what happened this morning.”
Frère Simon turned to the abbot, who nodded again.
“I came in here after Lauds to tidy up the garden. Then I saw him.”
“What did you see?”
“Frère Mathieu.”
“Oui, but did you know it was him?”
“No.”
“Who did you think it might be?”
Frère Simon lapsed into silence.
“It’s all right, Simon. We need to speak the truth,” said the abbot.
“Oui, Père Abbé.” The monk didn’t look happy or convinced. But he did obey. “I thought it was the abbot.”
“Why?”
“Because no one else comes in here. Only him and me now.”