The Madness of Crowds

Accompanied by Colette, Jean-Guy and Gamache tell Abigail that Debbie is dead. Abigail and Colette retrace the events of the night: Before midnight, after the confrontation with Vincent Gilbert, Colette and Debbie wanted to leave and got their coats, but Abigail lingered to speak with Annie and Jean-Guy. Colette and Debbie went outside to wait. Eventually, Colette decided to go back inside and left Debbie waiting outside alone just before midnight.

At midnight, Abigail looked for Debbie but couldn’t find her anywhere. Both Abigail and Colette describe looking for Debbie, but neither confirms having seen the other in the places they claimed to be. Abigail also notes that she didn’t see Vincent Gilbert during the countdown—the window of time in which Debbie was killed.

Colette and Abigail are sent back to Colette’s home with a police escort; Gamache interviews most of the other partygoers and sends them home when they confirm that they saw nothing suspicious. They interview the teenagers, who explain that they hid alcohol in the woods and were drinking throughout the evening. One boy explains that he went to a spot near where the body was found to urinate twice: once about 10 minutes before midnight, and then again at about quarter past midnight. Since he found the body the second time, there is a narrow window of time in which Debbie was killed.

When they interview Haniya, she denies any involvement in the murder, explaining that “I would have little trouble killing Professor Robinson, but I wouldn’t make such a shit show of it” (349). She also points out that another perceived attempted attack on Abigail (assuming everyone believes that Debbie was killed by mistake) might make Abigail more sympathetic and powerful.

Gamache and Jean-Guy question Vincent Gilbert, who is vague about his whereabouts throughout the evening. After questioning Gilbert about how he first became familiar with Abigail’s research, Vincent admits that Colette sent it to him months earlier. Vincent also admits that he and Colette know each other because they both serve on the board of La Porte, an organization that supports individuals living with Down syndrome. Vincent is committed to advocating for individuals with disabilities but denies having anything to do with Debbie’s death. Gamache is left uncertain as to whether Vincent, Colette, or both are involved in the murder. Gamache also considers whether Abigail might have murdered her beloved friend: The use of a nearby log as a murder weapon implies that the attack was spontaneous and not premeditated.

Agent Lacoste arrives in Three Pines the following day to assist with the murder investigation. She and Jean-Guy are confident that Debbie’s murder is unrelated to the attack during the lecture, especially since Tardif’s brother (suspected as the most likely accomplice) was arrested prior to the party. Meanwhile, Gamache questions his godfather, Stephen Horowitz, who has been staying with the Gamache family and attended the party. Stephen is a wealthy, elderly man who deeply loves Gamache’s granddaughter and has deep respect for the sanctity of human life because of his experiences as a Holocaust survivor. Stephen admits that he would have been happy to see Abigail dead but denies having any involvement.

Agent Lacoste questions Alphonse Tardif (the brother of Edouard), who readily admits that he hid the gun and firecrackers in the auditorium prior to Abigail’s lecture; Alphonse insists that he and his brother only wanted to scare her, and Edouard purposefully missed when he fired the shots. It is later revealed that their elderly mother has a severe disability; according to Abigail’s proposal, their mother would likely be killed. This explains their motive for the attack.

Lacoste later relays her surprise to Gamache that Alphonse was so quick to confess. Then, Lacoste, Gamache, and Jean-Guy discuss various theories: The killer could have intentionally targeted Debbie or could have been trying to kill Colette. Meanwhile, Reine-Marie, a retired archivist, has been hired by a local woman named Susan Horton to go through boxes of papers and documents left behind by her late mother, Enid. Reine-Marie notes that monkeys have been doodled over all the documents; when she questions Susan, Susan has no knowledge of why her mother was obsessed with drawing monkeys. Before Reine-Marie leaves the house where Enid lived and died, she notices a small scratch on the wall in Enid’s bedroom.

Gamache continues to question Colette and Abigail; Abigail claims she planned the trip and attended the party to thank Ruth Zardo, a local poet whose poetry she utilized in her merchandise. However, Gamache has confirmed with Ruth that she refused the request to allow her poetry to be used. He points out that Debbie may have lied to Abigail about this and other aspects of her business. He also questions Abigail about the nickname that Debbie used for her: Abby Maria. Abigail admits that she had a younger sister, Maria, who had a severe disability and died as a child. The nickname comes from her mother’s habit of referring to the two girls collectively. Gamache asks why both Colette and Abigail concealed the existence of this sister, but they claim it’s simply a painful memory they have put behind them.

At the Horton house, James Horton (Enid’s son) is startled by Reine-Marie inspecting Enid’s bedroom and tells her to leave. Reine-Marie, however, has noticed that Enid scratched a monkey into the wall near her bed as she was dying and wonders why this was so important to her. She has one more box of Enid’s documents at her home. Meanwhile, Jean-Guy watches a new video from the lecture: He realizes that Vincent Gilbert was in attendance.

Lacoste rushes to confront Tardif, asking if Vincent Gilbert was his accomplice. Tardif claims he has never seen Gilbert before. Having received this update from Jean-Guy, Gamache asks Abigail about her confrontation with Gilbert at the party and whether she was already aware of his presence at the lecture. He notices that Colette seems very startled by this information. Colette later admits that she and Gilbert know each other through their work with the organization La Porte, which supports individuals with cognitive disabilities.

Jean-Guy, Gamache, and Lacoste discuss whether Vincent Gilbert could have been working alongside Tardif. Jean-Guy also updates the team that Debbie’s father (who lives in British Columbia) was devastated to learn about his daughter’s death. Gamache asks Jean-Guy to ask Debbie’s father about Maria (Abigail’s deceased sister). Jean-Guy, accompanied by Reine-Marie and Myrna (a resident of the village) decide to go to Montreal to research Vincent Gilbert’s career.

Gamache meets with Vincent Gilbert and asks why Gilbert concealed the fact that he was present at the lecture. Gilbert admits that he knew it would appear suspicious that he was at the scenes of the attack and the murder. He claims he wanted to experience the impact of Abigail Robinson’s argument in person. Gamache shows Gilbert a video recording that reveals that Gilbert was standing extremely close to Tardif when Tardif shot at Abigail: Gilbert saw the gun and could have intervened but allowed Tardif to shoot at Abigail.

Gilbert tries to justify his decision to Gamache, but they are interrupted when Lacoste rushes over. Lacoste has realized Simon Tardif (the son of Edouard Tardif) is employed as a server at the inn where the New Year’s Eve party was held. This means Simon is a significant suspect in the murder. Gamache questions Simon, who admits that he was the one who hid the gun and firecrackers in the lecture hall. However, Simon insists that he never wanted Abigail to get hurt, and he didn’t know she was at the party. When they question Alphonse Tardif, he admits that he was not involved in the attack at the lecture and lied to protect his nephew. Meanwhile, Jean-Guy, Myrna, and Reine-Marie have uncovered evidence that when Vincent Gilbert was a medical student decades earlier, he had a part-time job working for a medical researcher named Ewen Cameron.