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“Lagacé is clever. She chose an accomplice who’d help her cover up the crime, becoming an accessory.”
“Why would Jeanette Bouchard do that?”
“Because her mother is dying, and she needed money to pay for private care. Once there was enough evidence planted against Jeanette Bouchard, Lagacé planned to kill her too. Make it look like an accident or suicide. She even planted the murder weapon, the shovel in the mother’s shed.”
“And did she kill her accomplice?”
“No. Daisy Wolcott’s house did it for her.” Armand explained.
“This Wolcott sounds like something out of a Grimms’ fairy tale. First a killer plant and now a killer house. That was lucky for Lagacé.”
“Yes and no. It meant Dr. Lagacé didn’t have a chance to plant further evidence on Jeanette’s body. I think she wanted to put Jeanette’s fingerprints and DNA on the ledger but never got the chance. She did get her fingerprints on the shovel, but failed to wipe off all of her own.”
“Still, Bouchard wasn’t blameless. She knew about the murder and said nothing.”
“True.” Gamache watched him make a note. “Complicating matters for us was that when Jeanette disappeared, her friend, a former agent in homicide, tried to figure out what had happened to her. In doing so, he began to suspect she was involved in something illegal. So he tried to cover it up. It messed up our investigation.”
“Who’s this cop? Do I know him?”
“Gaston Comeau.”
“The one who…”
“Oui.”
“And you came across him again? Am I going to have to arrest you for his murder?”
Gamache smiled. “Non. Though Inspector Beauvoir came close.”
“Non-culpable homicide.” Maître Lebel made another note. “I’ll need to interview Comeau.”
“Of course. He might prove an unreliable witness, even a hostile one. He’s still trying to protect her memory.”
“Are you sure he wasn’t involved himself?”
“Believe me, that was my first thought, but no. I’m sure he’s guilty of obstruction, but nothing else.”
“Will you charge him?”
“I’m hoping for your agreement to a plea deal in exchange for his testimony.”
The prosecutor nodded, then sat back in his swivel chair and contemplated Gamache. “That still leaves us with a few questions.”
“Oui.”
“Where are Miss Wolcott’s documents? Do we think Lagacé has destroyed them?”
“Non.” Though the word came out hesitantly. “I’m not sure, but I think if she preserved the ledger, she would not have destroyed the research.”
“Then where is it?”
Gamache sighed. “I don’t know. She denies finding them. We’ve looked everywhere we can think of.”
“And you’re sure they’re not still in the grave?”
“The Scene of Crime team has dug down deep and wide. Nothing.”
“How about that other grave you mentioned, the small one? The one with the bouquet on it.”
