A Better Man (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #15)(98)

“And I let Agent Cloutier pursue the Instagram account. Even encouraged her,” said Lacoste, shaking her head.

“None of us looks good in this,” Zalmanowitz admitted. “I’m the lawyer, the prosecutor. I should’ve seen that there might be a problem. But I didn’t.”

Now he rubbed his face with his hands. Trying to erase his expression of defeat.

“That is true. This’s mostly your fault,” said Beauvoir, and when the prosecutor looked at him, Beauvoir smiled. And Zalmanowitz gave one gruff laugh.

Truce.

“As I said, I’ll file an appeal,” said the prosecutor. “But that’ll take months to be heard. The poisonous tree is the most damaging ruling. It’s just unfortunate that so much stems from something so early on. It affects almost every bit of evidence.”

“‘Unfortunate’ isn’t the word,” said Lacoste.

Zalmanowitz nodded. “Her decision on the poisonous tree sits right on the boundary, which is why no other judge will overturn her ruling. And you’d better note it, because it’ll become case law from now on. And affect all other searches. But”—now he leaned forward, arms on his desk—“the more gnarly decision, by her own private admission, concerns the social-media issue.”

“The Instagram account,” said Lacoste, pulling her chair closer to the desk.

“Exactly. Judge Pelletier’s right, of course, that courts are struggling to figure out the laws around social media. The government’s working on legislation, but it’s controversial and sensitive, and you know how politicians love those two things.”

He waited for their laugh of appreciation. Instead all he got were three glum stares.

“If this judgment stands,” he went on, “it’ll redefine boundaries.”

“But it’s not right,” said Beauvoir. “It ties our hands when it comes to social-media accounts. It pretty much locks us out and lets people do anything they want.”

“As they can in the privacy of their own homes,” said Zalmanowitz. “That’s the analogy she’s using. As Pierre Elliott Trudeau said when he was Prime Minister, the government has no place in the bedrooms of the nation.”

“But there are limits,” said Gamache. “Assault, child pornography, murder. Just because people do it in the privacy of their homes doesn’t mean they’re beyond the reach of law. But I also know we aren’t solving anything by going over and over this. A decision was reached. You’ll appeal. In the meantime, Carl Tracey is free. Do we have other evidence, untainted, that can be used?”

“Vivienne called her father that day, to say she was finally leaving Tracey,” said Beauvoir. “That sure suggests she was afraid.”

“There’s the evidence of Agent Cameron, who responded to Vivienne’s 911 calls,” said Lacoste. “It was clear there was abuse.”

“But not clear enough for him to actually bring Tracey in. He didn’t feel it met the ‘reasonable suspicion’ test. Besides, abuse isn’t murder. What else do we have?”

“There’s that young man, what’s his name,” said Beauvoir. “The one she called over and over the day she was killed.”

“Gerald Bertrand,” said Lacoste. “He claims it was a wrong number.”

“And you believe him?” asked Zalmanowitz.

“Yes, I think I do. We checked him out, and there’s absolutely nothing connecting him to Vivienne or Tracey. I think she wrote the number down wrong.”

“What number was she calling again?” asked Gamache.

Lacoste gave it to him.

“I don’t understand why, if she was so afraid, she didn’t ask her father to come get her,” said Zalmanowitz.

“He offered,” said Gamache. “But she said it was too dangerous, that she had to choose her time carefully.”

“So she feared for her life?” said Zalmanowitz. “She told her father that?”

Gamache considered, remembering that first conversation with Godin, in his home in Ste.-Agathe. “Not specifically. I think she was afraid and let him know that, but not for her life. I think if she’d told him that, Monsieur Godin would have definitely gone to get her. He didn’t want to make it worse or trigger any violence. So he stayed home.”

“That poor man,” said Zalmanowitz. “How do you live with yourself?”

There was no answering that.

“So,” said Zalmanowitz after a pause. “Vivienne was obviously afraid of her husband.”

“Oui. Afraid of what he’d do if he knew she was leaving—”

“But wait a minute.” Zalmanowitz raised his hand to stop Gamache. “According to the girlfriend, Pauline Vachon, Tracey wanted to get rid of her. Wouldn’t her leaving solve the problem, and then they wouldn’t have to kill her? Why not just let her go? He didn’t really have to kill her.”

“He might not have realized she planned to leave,” said Beauvoir. “He says she told him, but does that really seem likely?”

It did not.

“So you think he killed her without knowing she was leaving anyway?” asked Zalmanowitz.

“Even if he knew, Tracey still had a motive,” said Gamache. “He admitted to me he had no intention of giving half the home to her. Or to support the child.”