Jane Neal decides to submit her painting Fair Day to a local art exhibition, revealing her artwork publicly for the first time.

Jane Neal is found dead from an arrow wound in the woods near Three Pines on Thanksgiving Sunday morning.

Chief Inspector Gamache arrives at the crime scene and examines Jane's unusual wound, meeting the man who discovered her body.

Gamache visits Jane's niece Yolande Fontaine, who threatens legal action to prevent police from accessing Jane's home.

At a community meeting, Gamache learns that Matthew Croft was once caught hunting illegally near the spot where Jane was found.

Investigators search the Croft family home and discover a hidden quiver of arrows, a recurve bow, and a metal arrowhead near the furnace.

Lab results confirm traces of Jane's blood on the bow and clothing collected from the Croft family property.

Matthew Croft confesses to accidentally killing Jane with an arrow while hunting, even as Gamache remains unconvinced of his guilt.

Gamache refuses to arrest Matthew Croft despite a direct order from his superior officer and is suspended from duty.

During a women's ritual in the woods, Clara spots a Croft arrow hidden in a tree, officially clearing the family.

Gamache is reinstated to the case and a warrant is obtained to enter and search Jane's home.

A notary reveals that Jane's most recent will leaves her home and estate to Clara rather than to Yolande.

Peter, Clara, and Ben remove Yolande's garish wallpaper from Jane's home to uncover Jane's artwork covering every wall.

At the art exhibition, Clara realizes that Ben Hadley's face has been painted over and removed from Fair Day.

Clara confronts Ben, who admits to killing Jane and then knocks her out and traps her in his mother's basement.

Jane Neal's death by arrow in the woods near Three Pines sets off a homicide investigation led by Chief Inspector Gamache. Suspicion falls on the Croft family after physical evidence links their equipment to the crime, but Gamache's refusal to arrest an innocent man costs him his badge. A key discovery during a women's ritual in the woods clears the Crofts and reopens the case as a deliberate murder. Searching Jane's home, the team finds a newer will and uncovers her secret artwork hidden beneath Yolande's wallpaper. The art exhibition provides the final clue when Clara notices Ben Hadley's face has been removed from Jane's painting, leading her to confront the real killer.

The core murder investigation from discovery to resolution.

Three masked boys throw duck manure at Olivier and Gabri's bistro, and Jane calls out three of their names as they flee.

The art jury meets and accepts Jane's painting Fair Day, with Clara and Peter recognizing a difficult-to-define brilliance in it.

At a dinner party, Jane quotes Auden about the ordinary nature of evil, unknowingly seated at the table with her future murderer.

Peter and Clara arrive at church for Thanksgiving and slowly realize, through Peter's hesitation, that Jane has died.

Ruth tells Gamache about Jane's youthful romance with a lumberjack that her parents ended, leaving Jane alone and heartbroken.

Olivier tells Gamache that Jane never allowed anyone, even her closest friends, past the kitchen inside her home.

Agent Lacoste discovers hunting-tip arrowheads hidden in a drawer at the back of the archery clubhouse.

Gamache visits the notary who drew up Jane's will and learns the entire estate was left to Yolande.

Clara and Gamache climb into a hunter's blind in the woods and conclude that Jane was deliberately killed by someone local.

Nichol confidently reports to Gamache that the will on file is Jane's most recent, having failed to investigate further.

Philippe Croft denies killing Jane and claims his father returned home with bloody gloves on the morning Jane died.

Jane's funeral is held by Yolande in a French-language church, at odds with Jane's language, faith, and wishes.

Myrna tells Gamache that Timmer once revealed it was Ruth who informed Jane's parents about the planned elopement.

Beauvoir searches Yolande and André's home and finds Jane's personal yearly sketches of the county fair hidden in their bedroom.

At a dinner party in Jane's home, Gamache explains that Ben killed both his mother and Jane to protect his inheritance.

These events trace the personal and community context surrounding Jane's death, beginning with an act of targeted hate at the bistro just days before the murder. Jane's secret life as an artist, her hidden home, and her complicated relationships with the people of Three Pines emerge slowly through Gamache's conversations and inquiries. The investigation takes several wrong turns, including a misleading first will and Nichol's failure to search for a more recent one. A crucial revelation comes when Myrna shares what the dying Timmer confided about Ruth's long-ago betrayal of Jane's trust. The story concludes with the full truth laid bare at a dinner party in Jane's own home, revealing how far-reaching the consequences of Ben's secret life truly were.

The community context and supporting threads behind the main mystery.

Philippe Croft apologizes to Olivier and Gabri for throwing manure and agrees to work unpaid hours at the bistro.

Gamache counsels Nichol about learning from colleagues rather than competing with them, sharing three of his four statements that lead to wisdom.

Clara approaches Yolande at the bistro to offer condolences and, hearing André laugh, confirms her suspicion about Bernard being one of the attackers.

Nichol interrupts a crucial silence at the Croft family home, breaking the moment just as Mrs. Croft appears ready to reveal something.

Mrs. Croft collapses with emotion when Gamache's team asks her to shoot the family's recurve bow during their visit.

The coroner reports that the arrow passed directly through Jane's heart, indicating only a highly skilled bow hunter could have made the shot.

Gamache tells Nichol over dinner that the fourth statement leading to wisdom — the one he withheld — is "I was wrong."

When confronted with the arrow found in the tree, Matthew Croft revises his confession and reveals that Philippe accidentally shot Jane.

Gamache presses Ruth and she confirms that she was the one who told Jane's parents about the planned elopement decades ago.

Yolande receives the Queen of Hearts Jane left her as a sole inheritance, decides it is a worthless substitute, and throws it into the fire.

Lacoste's medical report raises the possibility that Timmer Hadley died from a morphine overdose rather than from natural causes.

Bernard Malenfant accosts Lacoste on the street and demands she return the item found in his room, insisting it belongs to someone else.

At the exhibition, Nichol points out an unknown blond face painted into Fair Day, setting Clara's final chain of reasoning in motion.

Gamache wakes in the night with the realization that Ben's face is missing from Fair Day and rushes out to find Clara.

Ruth returns alone to the prayer stick in the woods, releases her guilt over Jane's broken engagement, and opens Jane's farewell letter to her.

This pool follows the quiet turning points and unexpected revelations that gradually steer the investigation toward the truth. From Philippe Croft's uneasy apology to the slow unraveling of Ben Hadley's hidden motives, these events show how small choices carry lasting consequences. Key shifts include Nichol's costly mistake at the Croft home, the coroner's decisive finding about the archer's skill, and a medical report suggesting Timmer's death may not have been natural. The exhibition scene serves as a pivot for multiple characters, with a sharp observation triggering the final chain of deductions and Gamache racing through a storm to reach Clara. Ruth's final moment at the prayer stick offers a quiet resolution as she releases decades of guilt through the last gift Jane left her.

The pivotal decisions, hidden discoveries, and emotional shifts that shaped the outcome.