Page 92

“Professor Robinson, where were you during the countdown to midnight?”

“I was with all of you, around the television.”

Gamache nodded slowly. “And what was on the television?”

Now she smiled, a little. “You don’t believe me?”

He met her smile and waited.

“It was some French show with skits.”

That was close enough. “What happened at midnight?”

“What happened? What do you mean?”

“What did people do?”

“What they always do. Everyone yelled ‘Happy new year,’ and hugged.”

Beauvoir shifted in his seat but said nothing. He’d noted she’d used the English phrase, where actually everyone, even the Anglos, had yelled, “Bonne année.”

“What did you do?”

“I looked for Debbie.”

“Why?”

“To hug her. Wish her a happy new year.” She closed her eyes, a moment of privacy, to gather herself before continuing on. “But I couldn’t find her. I thought she was still outside, so I put on my coat and went out. The fireworks had started by then. I looked around, and when I couldn’t see her I waited by the bonfire with everyone else, thinking she’d show up. I saw you there,” she said to Gamache and Beauvoir, then turned to Colette. “But I didn’t see you.”

“And I didn’t see you.”

Throughout this interview Gamache had the impression that these two were nudging each other toward him. To get him to focus on the other. It reminded him of a Far Side cartoon that Jean-Guy had cut out and left on his desk. It showed two bears in the crosshairs of a hunting rifle. One bear was grinning and pointing to the other.

While there was no grinning here, there seemed a lot of pointing.

“Then what did you do?” Gamache asked.

“After the fireworks?” Abigail asked. “I came back inside. I was tired and wanted to go back to Colette’s place, so I looked around for Debbie and you.” She turned to the Chancellor. “But didn’t see you. I guess you were in here. And then the kids started yelling, and you ran outside.”

“We met up in the living room,” said Colette, “and looked around for Debbie. We didn’t think anything had really happened. Not to Debbie anyway. But when we couldn’t find her, and then we were all told not to leave, and time went on . . .”

“Is there anything else you can tell us about tonight?” Gamache asked. “Anything you saw or heard?”

Both shook their heads. Then Abigail paused. “There is one thing, but you’ll think I’m just being vindictive.”

“Don’t worry about what we think,” said Gamache. “Just tell us.”

“There was someone else I didn’t see by the television or inside after. Vincent Gilbert.”

Gamache cast his mind back and realized he hadn’t seen Gilbert there either. He turned to Chancellor Roberge, and she shook her head.

There was just one more thing to ask.

He leaned toward Abigail Robinson. “Why did you come here? To the party?”

“If you must know, I came to meet someone.”

So she did come to see, maybe even confront, Vincent Gilbert, thought Gamache.