Bury Your Dead

Gamache surveys the basement, reflecting that MacWhirter and her friends are justified in their anxiety: Some supporters of Québec independence are beyond rationality and eager to blame the Anglophone population for any noteworthy setbacks.

The young coroner describes the scene and, cryptically, asks if he should stay “in case”—to which the narrator adds, “Everyone in that room knew ‘in case’ of what (77). This is a cryptic allusion to the text’s central historical mystery, the search for the body of Samuel de Champlain. Nothing is found, and Gamache advises Langlois, the city policeman, to alert both Anglophone and Francophone officials and media to prevent hysteria and conspiracy theories. Champlain remains a powerful historical symbol in the province he founded.

Gamache and Langlois review the case before beginning their interviews. They consider the contents of the dead man’s pockets, concentrating particularly on the map that shows where Renaud focused his search for Champlain. They wonder why the historical society is not on the map and why Renaud carried a large bag for a small set of papers.

The interviews begin, with the members ranging from resentful to baffled as to the library’s possible link to Champlain. Elizabeth MacWhirter explains that the basement floor was being remodeled, so Renaud would have been buried under concrete if his killer, or he himself, had not somehow damaged the phone lines, alerting a repairperson to the body. She admits that Renaud had asked to speak to the society board before his death and that she had decided not to admit him. Gamache is struck by her tacit authority and considers, “They might be in a lifeboat, but Gamache now had a clear idea who was captain” (96).

The chapter opens with Beauvoir irritably deciding to spend the day in Three Pines due to bad weather, rather than visit Olivier in prison. He decides to tacitly reinterview the local suspects, beginning with the Gilbert family’s inn and spa just outside the village. As Olivier had confessed, he originally placed the body there (after finding it in the cabin), to cast suspicion on his rival, Marc Gilbert; Marc moved the body to the bistro for the same reason. Marc’s mother, Carole, is hospitable until Beauvoir explains he is curious to revisit the Hermit’s cabin, now occupied by her husband, Vincent.

Beauvoir meets Carole’s repair person, Roar Parra, a Czech Canadian who was also a suspect in the Hermit’s death. Olivier had informed the others that the Hermit was Czech, and Gamache and Beauvoir believed that he may have stolen his priceless antiques from his former community.

As he drives a snowmobile deep into the forest, Beauvoir experiences sudden pain, the legacy of his injuries during the factory raid. He nearly faints and is rescued by Vincent Gilbert. When he awakens, Beauvoir takes in the changes: The cabin is now an ordinary home.

Beauvoir contemplates the unresolved tensions in the case, particularly the things Olivier refused to take responsibility for. The cabin contained subtle carvings and visual references to the words “Charlotte” and “Woo,” which seemed to frighten the Hermit. Olivier himself had added to his paranoia, telling him stories of the outside world’s dangers to ensure that no one else learned of his existence. But he denied carving the word in a wooden sculpture and spelling it out in a spider’s web, insisting someone else had.

Gilbert calmly explains that Beauvoir is experiencing aftereffects from the gunshot injury to his abdomen. Gilbert warns him not to overuse the OxyContin he has been prescribed.

The narrative returns to Gamache in Québec City. He walks the winter streets with Henri as a relief from his insomnia, thinking of Renaud’s quest and his own sense of reluctant obligation to protect the vulnerable members of the Literary and Historical Society. Then his thoughts give way to his memories of Paul Morin and their endless conversations. Penny will explain later that Gamache spent the better part of a day in a phone conversation with Morin, hoping to trace his whereabouts after the young agent was kidnapped by unknown terrorists. The Battle of Québec was famously fought on a field known as the Plains of Abraham, where Gamache walks. He wonders if the French general, Montcalm, also spent his life full of regrets.

Gamache himself returns, in his mind, to the phone call that changed his life, the proof that “the battle had begun. Je me souviens, thought Gamache. The motto of Québec. The motto of the Québécois. I remember” (119). He recalls it again as he hears Morin’s voice, telling him about his own previous trip to Québec City as a boy.

The narrative turns back to Beauvoir, who, like his mentor, finds himself contemplating the day that tragically changed their lives. The first call comes from a regional Sûreté detachment northwest of Montreal. The phone rings again, and Paul Morin urgently requested to speak to Gamache. Beauvoir, on the other line, learns that Morin has been taken captive.

The point of view remains in the past but shifts to Gamache, who greets Morin. He then speaks to the kidnapper, a panicked farmer who refuses to turn himself in. Gamache surmises that this is because he was defending his illegal marijuana farm, still relatively confident matters will resolve peacefully.

The point of view shifts back to Gamache, throwing the ball for his dog. In the silence, “he could hear the young voice. Talking, always talking” (126). Gamache wishes his thoughts could be as quiet as the city, but Morin’s words are constant.

The next morning, Gamache has breakfast with his mentor, Émile, and reviews the newspapers, which are full of speculation about Renaud’s death. Gamache fills his mentor in on his accidental role in the case. Émile invites him to meet with his colleagues at the Société Champlain, a historical society focused on the history of the province and its founder.

Gamache attends the Sunday service at the Presbyterian church near the Literary and Historical Society. He speaks briefly with Elizabeth MacWhirter, who reports that the newspaper coverage has grown negative, suggesting the English have been hiding Champlain’s body. He is quietly impressed that Tom Hancock, a society board member and the minister, speaks mostly about joy and a life well lived. Gamache suddenly hears Paul Morin telling him a funny story.

After the service, Gamache meets Hancock, who explains he has been practicing for the annual ice-canoe race. Hancock explains he is new to the city, and fond of his congregation, especially the Literary and Historical Society members. He says, “It takes a lot of effort to halt time, but for the most part, they’ve done it” (137). Hancock reflects that a stranger could not have possibly found the basement, which Gamache immediately realizes implicates the board members. Hancock is struck by Gamache’s obvious fatigue and distress, but Gamache does not confide in him, reminding himself the minister is a suspect.

The narrative shifts briefly to the perspective of the archeology team, which finds only vegetables, stored in the traditional manner of a root cellar, near where Renaud died.