A World of Curiosities

The flashback narrative continues, and the investigation seems to be wrapping up. The coroner confirms that while Clotilde had many drugs in her system at the time of her death, the cause of death was a blow to her head (as Jean-Guy observed, likely from a brick). No one can find the murder weapon, and Gamache is puzzled as to why the weapon has been disposed of while the body was left in a portion of the lake where it was almost certainly going to be found. Gamache began to doubt his theory that Dagenais killed Clotilde, since Dagenais is a skilled police investigator who could easily have ensured that the body is never found at all.

After Gamache returns to Montreal, he learned more about the case: Clotilde’s car had been found in the possession of one of the men listed in the notebook. Blood in the car confirms that after Clotilde was killed, the car was almost certainly used to transport her to the lake and dump the body. Gamache reaches out to Agent Moel to tell her that he will be meeting with the children to share an update on the case. Moel suggests that Jean-Guy accompany Gamache, since he seems to have bonded with Sam, and his presence might make the meeting less traumatic. Gamache agrees to delay the meeting one day to wait for Jean-Guy, and that night, the two children run away. As a result, Gamache sees his delay as a “disastrous decision. One that would have consequences for years to come” (115).

After a few days, Sam is found in an alley, badly beaten. He will not say who attacked him. After Fiona is also found, Gamache and Jean-Guy meet with the children, and Gamache tells them what he now knows: They killed their mother. The man who had Clotilde’s car has explained that the children forced him to take the blood-stained car, threatening to reveal his participation in the abuse if he refused. Fiona tries to deny the claim, but Sam breaks down and confesses that Fiona had decided to kill their mother and had forced him to help. He also says that Fiona was the one who had beaten him in the alley. Jean-Guy immediately believes Sam, but Gamache has suspicions that Sam is being manipulative, and that there is more to the story.

In Three Pines, in the present day, Gamache meets with Robert Mongeau; he wants to offer support and a listening ear in case Mongeau wants to talk about the grief associated with his wife being close to death. Instead, Mongeau begins asking Gamache questions about Sam and Fiona. Gamache explains that Fiona was found guilty of murdering her mother; while she was in prison, Gamache visited her regularly, and once she was eligible for parole, she regularly came to Three Pines and stayed with Gamache and his wife.

Gamache believed, and still believes, that Fiona was an abused child who could not be held responsible for what she did. However, the prosecution argued that Fiona had agency and was dangerous; Sam’s statement about her attacking him after they ran away was particularly damning. Gamache has always had doubts about this story: He believes that Sam had a much larger role in Clotilde’s killing and that Sam may even have faked his own injuries and falsely accused Fiona of hurting him. In addition to his suspicions, Gamache has always felt somewhat frightened of Sam’s ability to manipulate others. The only other person who has ever had made Gamache as uncomfortable as Sam is a serial killer named John Fleming; fortunately, Fleming is serving life in a maximum-security prison.

Myrna has gathered with two of her close friends, Clara and Ruth; the women have all lived in Three Pines for years. The women are very curious and ask Harriet why she gave Myrna a brick as a gift. Harriet explains that she tracked down an old brick that came from the same factory that manufactured the bricks out of which Myrna’s bookstore and home were built. Since Harriet knows how much her aunt loves her home, she thought it was a sentimental gift. As other members of the community join them, Harriet casually mentions that she thought the gift would be especially meaningful since Myrna is planning to move away in the near future.

The other residents of Three Pines are astonished by this news and upset to think of Myrna moving away. Myrna explains that she finds her home too small for herself and her partner, Billy. Fiona suggests that if Myrna needs more space, she can expand into the attic space located above the loft. The other villagers are surprised because none of them thinks there is additional space. While inspecting the site and looking at architectural plans, both Fiona and Harriet become increasingly convinced that there is a sealed room in the attic space located above Myrna’s loft. The other villagers are less convinced and also wonder why a room would be sealed off and effectively hidden.

Meanwhile, Myrna’s partner, Billy, shows a letter to Ruth; the contents of the letter are not fully described, but it dates back to 1862 and seems to refer to there being a hidden room in one of the buildings in Three Pines. Sam now begins to pressure Fiona to let him into the Gamache house, even though Gamache has forbidden Sam from entering. Sam hates Gamache, reminding her, “He arrested us. We were just kids, and he arrested us. He fucked up our lives” (137).

Fiona has agreed to let Sam into the Gamache house, and the two of them poke around while Gamache and Reine-Marie are away. Fiona is uneasy, but Sam takes his time looking around. He wants to go down to the basement, but runs out of time. When Gamache and Reine-Marie come home, Sam is barely able to sneak out of the house. Later, Gamache notices tiny clues that objects in the house have been handled and moved; he becomes very suspicious that someone has been in the house. Gamache goes down to the basement and to a sealed and locked room where he stores information related to the various cases he has investigated over the years. After looking around, Gamache is reassured that no one has been in this space. On the basement floor, Gamache finds a simple iron ring; he knows this is one of the rings given to engineers after they complete their training.

Gamache tells Reine-Marie about finding the ring and confides his suspicions that Sam was in the house. Reine-Marie doesn’t think this is likely; like Jean-Guy, Reine-Marie likes Sam and has always wondered why Gamache is so suspicious of him. Reine-Marie herself has always been more mistrustful of Fiona and remains uncomfortable with having the young woman in her home. Gamache contacts Nathalie Provost to ask if there is any way to trace whom the iron ring belongs to. Provost is unsure, since the rings are returned and reused when an engineer retires or dies, but promises to investigate.

Meanwhile, after looking at the building carefully and from different angles, the villagers of Three Pines are astonished to find that it does seem that there may be hidden space sealed off above of Myrna’s loft. Billy asks that all of the members of the community gather; he shows them a letter that he received a few months earlier. The letter dates from 1862 and was written by a man named Pierre Stone, one of Billy’s ancestors. Pierre worked as a stonemason and then eventually as a bricklayer; in the letter, Pierre writes to a woman, telling her about a strange job he was hired for in Three Pines—namely, building a brick wall sealing off an attic room in a newly completed building. He was instructed to complete the job quickly and not to look inside of the room. Pierre described how he received only written instructions and never met with whoever hired him for the task; he was charged to “just seal it off and leave” (150).

Billy explains that the letter came to the house where members of his family lived for generations (that address was listed as the return address, since it was Pierre’s residence). However, the property had been sold to new owners, and they forwarded the letter to Billy. He was initially uninterested, until the talk of a hidden room surfaced. The letter makes everyone more curious, and they decide to knock down the wall and see what it is concealing.

Billy knocks down the brick wall, and there is indeed a room hidden behind it. Gamache goes first, inspecting the space as though it were a crime scene. He is astonished to find that the room contains a giant painting; behind it, there are a few miscellaneous items. Clara is the first to recognize that the painting is a copy of a famous work: The Paston Treasure. The original was commissioned by a wealthy English family and finished around 1670; it is now on display in a museum in Norwich, England. The painting is nicknamed “A World of Curiosities” since it features a jumbled scene of artifacts and objects considered exotic at the time.

The presence of the painting makes the hidden room even more mysterious. Gamache wonders if Pierre Stone might have written any more letters that could give them insights; although Pierre was told not to look into the room before sealing it up, there’s no way to know whether he did or not. Gamache also points out that when someone found the letter, it was odd that they sent it on to the return address: Given that it was more than 150 years old, it was unlikely whoever was living there would have any connection it. Harriet also points out that painting is not actually a direct copy of The Paston Treasure: It incorporates modern items such as a digital watch and a model airplane. Gamache finds himself increasingly unsettled by the strange convergence of events, noticing that “something stirred in him. Something deep and dark and disconcerting” (160).

While most of the group is looking at the strange painting, Reine-Marie inspects a book tucked behind it and realizes that it is a grimoire, a book of spells and incantations, including the instructions for summoning a demon. Reine-Marie can quickly identify that the grimoire likely dates back to the 1600s; in her work as an archivist, she has encountered claims of there being a grimoire in Quebec sometime in the 17th century.

Gamache speaks privately with Billy, sharing some of the ideas that are beginning to surface. As Gamache points out, at least some, if not all, of the items were placed in the room after it was sealed in 1862; Billy confirms that the brick wall hasn’t been tampered with, so there must be another way to access the room. Gamache is also increasingly curious about the letter, wondering if it was sent to Billy with the intention of tempting him to look for the room and uncover its contents. Billy also notes that Pierre, as a craftsman, would not have been well educated and questions whether Pierre actually wrote the letter. Gamache and Billy decide to drive to Billy’s former family home, from which the letter was originally sent, to see if they can find out anything more.

Meanwhile, Reine-Marie, Ruth, and some of the other villagers discuss the grimoire. Reine-Marie has heard of a grimoire that belonged to a woman named Anne Lamarque; however, it was widely believed that the book was destroyed by the Catholic Church, which actively persecuted women associated with witchcraft when Quebec was a colony known as New France. Reine-Marie inspects the book and confirms that it belonged to Anne Lamarque and dates back to 1672. She shares more about Anne’s history with the group: Anne was literate and ran a successful business, which was unusual for a woman. This led to her being accused of witchcraft.

Harriet and Fiona slip away to have lunch with Sam, and they tell him about the discovery of the hidden room and the painting. Sam tells Harriet why he dislikes Gamache, including the fact that Gamache has always been suspicious of Sam for no reason. The group is interrupted by Robert Mongeau, who has overheard them; he tells them that Gamache is a good man and that they should regard him with more respect. Mongeau tells Sam, “[H]olding on to resentments only binds you to the person you hate. You need to let go” (168).

Billy and Gamache arrive at the old stone house, which a couple named the Godins had purchased from his parents. It was Patricia Godin who had forwarded the letter to Billy. When the pair arrive, they are greeted by Monsieur Godin, who is an elderly man and who seems to think that the pair have come for some reason related to his wife. Gamache explains that they came because of the letter, with which Godin seems unfamiliar. Godin tells Billy and Gamache that his wife, Patricia, was found dead on April 21; her death was ruled a suicide, but he does not believe that she killed herself. Gamache notes that “if Madame Godin did not take her own life, someone else did” (176).

Monsieur Godin has tried to reach out to the police to ask them to investigate, and when he sees Gamache, he becomes hopeful. Gamache and Billy are astonished by this news; since Billy received the letter five weeks ago, Patricia must have forwarded it to him right before she died.

Godin explains that he does not believe his wife died by suicide because she wasn’t showing any signs of depression before her death; her body was also found hanging from a tree on the property, and Godin doesn’t think Patricia would have ended her life in this fashion. Gamache immediately phones Jean-Guy, sharing his suspicions that the death of Patricia Godin may have been a homicide. He asks Jean-Guy to look for any information about the case. Godin confirms that Patricia never mentioned the letter to him and that Patricia didn’t write the letter herself. Gamache also realizes that neither Patricia nor Monsieur Godin had Billy’s address. Whoever forwarded the letter to Billy, it wasn’t Patricia. But why would they have given the false impression that she had been the one to send it?

Back in Three Pines, Jean-Guy and Gamache set up an investigation headquarters in the former train station. Gamache questions Myrna about when the painting could possibly have been moved into the room, and Myrna suggests that it could have happened while she was away on a vacation more than a year earlier (Gamache had also been out of town during this time). Jean-Guy has summoned Agent Amelia Choquet, a young and eccentric agent to work with them.

Gamache meets with Clara, who is a well-known and respected painter, to ask for information about the artwork found in the sealed room. Clara explains that they can use the canvas, the paint, and other materials to date the painting. Gamache shares his theory that the painting was moved into the room while Myrna was out of town, but he doesn’t have suggestions as to why; he also can’t figure out whether the painting was placed there so that it would be found or so that it would be hidden. Increasingly, it seems to Gamache that “whoever was behind this had planned well, thoroughly, and for a long time” (189).

Back at the loft, Gamache arranges for the painting to be taken out of its frame and taken to the investigation headquarters. After closely inspecting the room, Billy has concluded that someone was able to break in through the floor, creating an opening just large enough to squeeze in and deposit the items, and then covered the entrance carefully enough that Myrna never noticed. Olivier, who owns the local bed and breakfast, notices that a bronze elephant found in the sealed room looks identical to one that used to be at his inn; he explains that after a female guest stayed in the room where the elephant was located, the statue vanished. Gamache tells Olivier to check on the name of the guest.