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"I don’t know What makes you think it wasn’t Olivier?"

Beauvoir hesitated Should he cross the Rubicon? But he knew he already had

"Thisinto it, but I’ve told him to keep quiet And you too"

"Don’t worry, but why’re you telling me this?"

Why indeed? Because she was the best of a bad lot

"I need your help You obviously know everyone way better than I do The Chief’s worried Gabri keeps asking him why Olivier would move the body It makes sense if he found the Hermit already dead but if you’ve just killed so to advertise The Chief thinks weWhat do you think?"

She was obviously taken aback by the question She thought about it before slowly answering "I think Gabri will never believe Olivier did it, even if he’d witnessed it hiood question Where do we begin?"

We, thought Beauvoir, there is no "we" There’s "me" and "you" In that order But he needed her so he sed the retort, pasted a smile on his face and answered

"Well, Olivier now says the Hermit wasn’t Czech"

Clara rolled her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair which now stood out on both sides like Bozo Beauvoir grimaced, but Clara neither noticed nor cared Her s "Honestly, thatto?"

"Not so far He thought the Herlish but colish and the ones he asked Olivier to find for hilish But he spoke perfect French"

"How can I help?"

He thought for a ht the case file I’d like you to read it"

She nodded

"And since you know everyone here I’d like you to sometimes ask questions"

Clara hesitated She didn’t like the idea of being a spy but if he was right then an innocentthem Almost certainly in the room with them at that moment

Myrna and Peter arrived and Beauvoir joined thenac blue cheese sauce They chatted about various events in the village, the ski conditions at Mont Saint-Réht before