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Armand Gamache knew exactly what it meant

It took a certain kind of person to kill a child Chief Inspector Gahting to find the nance, his own rage, at bay Fighting to keep the thought of his own children out of an already complex and volatile mix

That was the problem They were the most difficultto kill a child, they illing to do anything, but also because the emotions of the faators were heightened Volcanic It could obscure the truth, warp perceptions

And that gave the e

It was also the kind ofout theat the villagers going about their lives, was thinking only one thing

Was it one of them?

People from miles around volunteered to help scour the woods for the little boy’s stick Ar, not the truth anyway Instead he’d told people it would reat deal to Al and Evie to have Laurent’s prized possession

It would take two days of searching the forest before they found it And what they found wasn’t the stick Not at first The first thing they found was the monster

CHAPTER 8

Jean-Guy Beauvoir had come down to Three Pines to help on the second day of the search

It was id work in the dark, dank forest But none of the villagers had dropped out They took it in rotations, two hours at a time, and just about everyone had volunteered for a stint

"The coroner agreed it was possible Laurent’s injuries were caused by being hit, rather than hitting the ground," said Jean-Guy "He was a little kid, even for a nine-year-old It wouldn’t take , to take the life of a child"

"Yes it is"

"I also looked again at the photos froht"

"Merci," said Ga it behind hied for my help, it was the least I could do"

Armand smiled "I’m lost without you"

Jean-Guy looked around They could hear the shuffling of the other searchers, but couldn’t see theht be lost with me"