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“Would you necessarily know?” Fontaine asked.

It was a good question. “No.”

“And you have no idea why Monsieur Horowitz was planning to go to the board meeting on Monday?”

“Can I interrupt?” said Daniel. “Do we know if Stephen is on the board?”

“He is not,” said Fontaine.

“Then he might’ve had it in his agenda, but he’d never get in. It’s a private company. Only board members are allowed in board meetings. Confidential things are discussed. No outsider would be allowed anywhere near it.”

“Monsieur Horowitz would know that?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

“Was he an investor in the company?” Annie asked.

“No,” said Armand. “I asked Mrs. McGillicuddy. Stephen didn’t hold any shares in GHS. In fact, as Daniel says, they’re a private company, and not listed on the stock exchanges.”

“Then what’s his interest?” asked Daniel.

Gamache looked at Fontaine to answer. It seemed Claude Dussault had, quite rightly, briefed her on their discussion, and their suspicions. He was very interested to see how much Commander Fontaine would say.

But even as he looked to her, she was studying him.

The man confused her.

She didn’t like that.

She didn’t like Gamache’s ease and natural authority. She didn’t like his accent. She sure didn’t like that he seemed oblivious to the fact that he was not their equal, socially, culturally, intellectually, professionally. Couldn’t be. Not coming from Canada. Not coming from Québec.

She didn’t like his relationship, his close friendship, with the Prefect.

She didn’t like that when something bad had happened in the past twenty-four hours, Armand Gamache wasn’t far behind.

And she sure didn’t like that she actually liked the man. That her instinct was to trust him. The Prefect had warned her about that.

“We have no idea why he wanted to go to the board meeting,” admitted Fontaine. “But you know Monsieur Horowitz. Was it more likely he planned to go to congratulate them on their success? Or to expose some wrongdoing? What’s more in character?”

It was clear by their expressions that they knew the answer to that.

“That’s what we thought. But he can’t go now. One question we ask in a homicide is, who benefits? Isn’t that right?”

She’d turned to Gamache, who nodded.

“Who benefits if Monsieur Horowitz is killed?” she went on. “It seems clear that GHS Engineering does.”

“But what could he have on them?” Annie asked.

“We don’t know, and right now the specifics don’t matter. What matters is motive. And it seems GHS had a big one. Silence a whistle-blower.”

“You’re guessing,” said Beauvoir. “Look, you could be right, GHS might be behind it. But there’re all sorts of people who might want Stephen Horowitz dead. He’s made a lot of enemies.”

“That’s true,” admitted Fontaine. “But there’s only one company he was planning to visit just before the attempt on his life. You know, of course, that a dead man was found in Monsieur Horowitz’s home this morning. His name is Alexander Francis Plessner.”

She was speaking directly, and exclusively, to Annie and Daniel. Watching them closely.

“Does the name mean anything to you?”