That had been decades ago, when they were first courting. “Can you blame him? You were at the wrong house. Besides, he didn’t like me, and I was fairly sure he just wanted me to go away and leave you alone.” “And all the houses look alike in Ste.-Angélique, and, honestly, all your hundred and fifty-seven brothers look alike. “Are you sure you’re at the right place? Remember when you came to get me at my brother’s home and you went to the wrong brother? Insisting I was there.” “So where are you? What is the place, Armand?” “How was the drive? The snow seems to be getting worse in Three Pines.” It was an agreement between Armand and his wife, Reine-Marie, that in winter, in snow, they called each other when they’d arrived at a destination. But then, he thought with a grin, his grandchildren could have told him that.īringing out his cell phone, he listened as the number he called rang once, twice, and then was answered. They were certainly telling him this was strange. He relied on, and trusted, both his rational mind and his instincts. How else could he have survived in the top echelons of the Sûreté du Québec? Though it was far from certain that he had survived. But he was alert.Īrmand Gamache was not by nature timid, but he was a cautious man. It was more puzzling than worrisome.īut still, it was just odd enough to raise a small alarm. It was an invitation of sorts, to this desolate place. Putting on his reading glasses, he rubbed his face. Turning away, he stared at the letter he’d received the day before, lying open on the passenger seat. They were coming down with more force now, slightly obscuring what he saw outside.

Snow flurries were hitting the windshield and dissolving.

There he parked the car and sat in the warm vehicle looking out at the cold day. Pulling in, he drove between the tall pine trees until he reached the clearing. Armand Gamache slowed his car to a crawl, then stopped on the snow-covered secondary road.

Penny kingdom of the blind