That afternoon at the Gamache home, Beauvoir announces that the dead man is Anthony Baumgartner. He questions Benedict, who has returned from the hospital. He confirms seeing Anthony’s car but not Anthony himself when he arrived at the unlocked farmhouse. Gamache’s eyes remain severely irritated, and Reine-Marie prevents him from rubbing them. When Myrna and Clara arrive, Billy quickly offers Myrna his seat, an action that Reine-Marie and Gamache both notice. Gamache coaxes a traumatized Benedict into recounting the collapse. Benedict claims he was alone and emphasizes his terror.

Gamache confronts Benedict about breaking his promise not to drive without snow tires. Benedict apologizes, explaining he had had a few beers and missed his girlfriend and truck. Inwardly, Gamache wonders what else Benedict would do if he were to break a serious promise. To Armand, Beauvoir privately reveals that the coroner, Dr. Harris, believes Anthony was killed by a blow to the head before the house collapsed. Beauvoir will lead the investigation.

Gamache’s undercover officers call to report that Amelia’s friend Marc found her passed out in an alley. He reveals to a shocked Beauvoir that he is having Amelia followed by undercover officers, using her to find the missing opioid shipment. Beauvoir realizes the depth of Gamache’s desperation and the toll it is taking on him.

That night, Gamache sits in an armchair to watch over Benedict and Billy. Clara stays awake watching over Myrna. When Benedict cries out, Gamache goes to his room, holds his hand, and sings “Edelweiss” until he sleeps. In the next room, Billy hears the cry and then the singing, which soothes him as well.

In Montréal, Amelia searches the streets for the dealer with the new opioids, whom she now believes is named David. Amelia returns to her rooming house to discover she has been locked out, her room rented to someone else, and all her possessions, including her cherished books, burned. Devastated, she returns to the streets, seeking a drug powerful enough to take her away.

Reine-Marie finds Gamache by the fire and sits with him until he falls asleep.

The next morning at the bistro, Gamache, Myrna, and Benedict meet with Lucien. They inform him of the house collapse and Anthony’s death, though Gamache withholds that it is a homicide investigation. Lucien states that Anthony gave no indication he was going to the farmhouse after the will reading. Gamache’s vision remains blurry, making reading difficult.

Lucien reveals that he found an 1885 Viennese court document contesting the will of Baron Shlomo Kinderoth, which controversially left the estate and title equally to twin sons, sparking a long-running family feud. Myrna reflects on the psychology of long-held grievances and entitlement, recognizing it as the foundation of the Baroness’s fantasy. Gamache connects this to a Ruth Zardo poem about the “[g]uilt of an old inheritance” (68). He learns the Baroness died of heart failure in a seniors’ home, and no autopsy was performed. Gamache takes the document from Lucien and buys a book from Myrna’s store.

At the morgue, Beauvoir and Gamache view Anthony’s body. Dr. Harris confirms that he was killed by a forceful blow to the skull with a heavy piece of wood and had been dead at least half an hour before the final collapse. The theory is that Anthony was killed in a second-floor bedroom. Gamache posits that the murder was meant to appear accidental, leading them to deduce that the killer deliberately caused the house to collapse. Beauvoir notes Benedict is one person who might have that ability. Gamache calls Lacoste and asks her to discreetly investigate Benedict by visiting his apartment building.

Beauvoir drops Armand at a café on rue Ste-Catherine before attending another interrogation at Sûreté headquarters. Francis Cournoyer from the Ministère de la Justice pressures Beauvoir to sign a statement that blames Gamache for the opioid crisis, protecting the Sûreté from collateral damage. Beauvoir angrily refuses, defending Gamache and the Sûreté’s actions.

Gamache receives a text and goes outside the cafe to covertly observe Amelia and the two undercover officers tailing her. He watches Amelia show her arm with David written on it to a dealer who rejects her. A young male sex worker shoves Gamache into a parked car. A transgender woman named Anita Facial helps him, and Gamache gives her his phone number and gloves.

Amelia continues her search, reciting poems from her destroyed books to cope. Armand returns to the café and opens the book he bought, Erasmus’s Adagia. He reads a proverb that states, “In the kingdom of the blind, […] the one-eyed man is king” (179). Amelia simultaneously recites the same line to herself.

Cournoyer corners Beauvoir in a washroom, again pushing him to sign. When Beauvoir asks what his endgame is, Cournoyer tells him to ask Gamache, implying that Gamache knows more than he is revealing. Beauvoir picks up the discarded file.

Lacoste meets Gamache and Beauvoir at the diner. She reports that Benedict’s girlfriend moved out a month ago. He is now the building’s caretaker, and neighbors describe him as nice, trustworthy, and a good handyman. Beauvoir arranges a three o’clock meeting with the Baumgartner family and asks Gamache to attend.

After Gamache leaves for the archives, Beauvoir tells her about Cournoyer’s comment to ask Gamache and his feeling that Gamache is keeping him in the dark. Lacoste defends Gamache, suggesting that he keeps secrets to protect Beauvoir. Beauvoir admits he is tired of political games. Lacoste orders tea, a comforting ritual from Three Pines.

Beauvoir recalls his first meeting with Gamache, who gave him a code of conduct and cited Matthew 10:36. Years later, Beauvoir looked up the verse and found it warned that “a man’s foes shall be they of his own household” (188). Beauvoir drives Lacoste home, and she warns him to be careful. Driving to meet Gamache, Beauvoir feels uneasy and fantasizes about escaping to Paris with his family.

At the Cowansville library, Myrna, Clara, Gabri, and Ruth conduct online research. Clara traces the Baumgartner family tree and finds a branch with Jewish ancestry whose records end on November 10, 1938. Ruth identifies the date as Kristallnacht, the Nazi pogrom against Jews. Clara notes that the direct Baumgartner line appears to have escaped Europe before the Holocaust. Gabri accesses Austrian archives but is stymied by documents in German.

Gamache, doing research on his own, runs into the same problem. He finds records of numerous lawsuits between the Kinderoth and Baumgartner families, spanning decades. Needing help, Gamache calls the police in Vienna. he struggles to recall the German his grandmother taught him, remembering her concentration camp tattoo and the madeleines with cod liver oil she made. He connects with Kontrollinspektor Gund, who researches Gamache online and realizes he is legitimate. Gund agrees to investigate the 1885 Shlomo Kinderoth will case. He later reviews the records and is struck by their significance.

Beauvoir and Gamache arrive at Anthony Baumgartner’s home at three o’clock. Caroline Baumgartner lets them in and unexpectedly hugs Gamache. Also present are Hugo Baumgartner and Anthony’s ex-wife, Adrienne Fournier. Beauvoir formally informs them that Anthony was murdered. As the family reacts in shock, Beauvoir signals the homicide team to enter and begin searching.

The family states that they can think of no one who would harm Anthony. Beauvoir confirms that Anthony worked as an investment adviser for Taylor and Ogilvy Investments. Gamache asks about investing with Anthony. Caroline admits she once did but stopped, and Adrienne confirms that she moved her and her children’s accounts after their divorce. At Hugo’s urging, Adrienne reveals that three years ago, Anthony had an affair with a male work associate named Bernard, which ended their marriage. She confesses that Anthony never publicly came out and that she still loved him and would have stayed with him.

Beauvoir leaves the family with Dufresne and Gamache to walk through the house as it is searched. He observes comfortable, personal details with no evidence of a current partner. In the study, he is struck by a Clara Morrow painting of Ruth as the aging Virgin Mary. He examines photos on the mantel, noting family resemblances, and finds financial statements on the desk. An agent points out paper taped behind the painting, but Beauvoir realizes it is the print number, not a password.

Meanwhile, Gamache learns from Hugo that he is a senior vice president at Horowitz Investments (Gamache’s godfather Stephen’s firm), a prestigious firm. Beauvoir summons Agent Lysette Cloutier, whose expertise lies in accounting, to assess Anthony’s study. She explains that confidential client printouts at home are highly unethical, suggesting that Anthony was hiding something from colleagues. She says she needs computer access to determine what is happening. Beauvoir tasks Cloutier with discreetly contacting Taylor and Ogilvy and investigating Anthony’s personal finances.