The Cruelest Month

Gamache and Beauvoir interview Odile and ask her about her argument with Madeleine that Clara had overheard the night of the séance. She asked Madeleine to leave Gilles alone—she was afraid she would steal him.

When they find Gilles, he tells them about how as lumberjack he one day heard screaming and realized it was the trees. After he left his job, his wife left, and he found Odile. He admits that he was in love with Madeleine but never intended to act on his feelings. He also shares the reason behind his hatred of Monsieur Béliveau—the other man had refused to let Gilles prune a sick tree on his property that had died slowly over years. When Gamache asks, Gilles tells them that the gingko tree, from which ephedra originates, grows in the area. When they return to the incident room, Gamache sees that another article has been published about him, claiming that he is an incompetent alcoholic.

At Clara and Peter’s dinner party that night, Gamache tells Jeanne that the high school she claims to have attended burned down 20 years ago. She says it is a coincidence, but he is suspicious. During dinner they make small talk about the season and the weather, and they discuss Jeanne’s Wiccan beliefs.