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Ga on the easel

It was unfinished It showed a church, in bright red, allowed And beside it swirled roads like rivers and people like reeds No other artist he kneas painting in this style It was as though Lillian Dyson had invented a whole new art movement, like the Cubists or the Impressionists, like the post-modernists and Abstract Expressionists

And now there was this

Ar Montréal as though it was a work of nature, not y and beauty of nature And the savagery too

It see into it The earliest works, froo, showed some promise but were tentative And then, sometih and the flowing, audacious style took hold

"Chief, look at this"

Inspector Beauvoir was standing next to the nightstand There was a large blue book on it The Chief Inspector brought a pen from his pocket and opened the book to the bookhted in yellow and underlined Almost violently

"The alcoholic is like a tornado," read Chief Inspector Gah the lives of others Hearts are broken Sweet relationships are dead"

He let the book fall closed On its royal blue cover in bold white print was Alcoholics Anonyed to AA," said Beauvoir

"I guess so," said Gamache "I think we need to ask these people soone over by the forensics team the Chief Inspector handed Beauvoir one of the booklets fro-eared, dirty, well used Inspector Beauvoir flipped through it then read the front

Alcoholics Anonyht was circled Beauvoir could guess what they’d be doing at eight that night

The four wo they’d be safer in twos

"You obviously haven’t watched many horror films," said Dominique "Women are always in pairs One to die horribly and the other to shriek"

"Dibs on the shrieking," said Ruth

"I’m afraid, dear one, that you’re the horror," said Clara

"Well, that’s a relief Are you co?" Ruth asked Do at Myrna and Clara

Myrna watched theo then turned to Clara