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"Artists?" asked Fortin "What could you possibly ht Gamache couldn’t help but smile back It was hard not to like hiallery trade Fortin offered cheese and charm When he chose

"I suppose," Fortin continued, "it depends what you cory cobra an artist comes off pretty well"

"Doesn’t sound like you much like artists"

"Actually, I do I like theos, their fears, their insecurities There’re very few artists who are co other people Most prefer to work away quietly in their studios Whoever said, ‘Hell is other people’ must have been an artist"

"It was Sartre," said Gamache "A writer"

"I suspect if you speak with a publisher their experiences riters would be the sae to capture on a small flat canvas not just the reality of life, but thee human And yet most of them hate and fear other people I understand that"

"Do you? How?"

There was a slight strained silence then Denis Fortin, for all his bonho questions He preferred to lead the conversation rather than be led He was used, Ga listened to, acquiesced to, fawned over He was used to having his decisions and statements simply accepted Denis Fortin was a powerful man in a world of vulnerable people

"I have a theory, Chief Inspector," said Fortin, crossing his legs and s theWe row into them, but for the ood at I love art Can’t paint worth a daht I wanted to be an artist, but that miserable failure led nize talent in others It’s a perfect reat art And great artists I get to be part of this culture of creativity without all the angst of actually creating it"

"I expect your world isn’t without its angst"

"True If I choose to represent an artist and the show’s a bust, it can reflect badly on me But then I justand willing to take risks Avant-garde That plays well"