Gamache, Nichol, and the Brunels begin installing the equipment that Nichol brought at the old schoolhouse. Nichol proves herself “more helpful than anyone, especially Gamache, could have hoped” (199). Thérèse snaps at Gamache for bringing Nichol, calling her a sociopath, while Gamache argues that Nichol is too erratic for Francoeur to trust her. Still, Gamache apologizes for not consulting the Brunels before bringing Nichol to Three Pines. Thérèse asks why Gamache found links to Arnot but not Francoeur in the initial investigation. Gamache worries that “he’d not only missed all the rot, but he’d missed the source of it” (204). He decides to visit Arnot at the high security prison. Giles brings the agents to the hunting blind.

Over dinner at the Longpré house, Thérèse asks Gamache if he thinks everything will work out. He quotes Julian of Norwich, assuring that “All shall be well” (208). They discuss the Ouellet case. While the official documents show that the Ouellet parents were paid a huge sum for their home when the Quints were born, footage of the girls as children showed them still living in the home. Gamache believes that the documents were fabricated to make the Ouellet parents look like selfish, negligent parents, when they really wanted to care for their daughters, even if they were poor.