The Madness of Crowds
- Автор: Пенни Луиза
- Серия: Chief Inspector Gamache #17
- Год: 2021
- Язык: английский
- Год: St. Martin's Publishing Group
- ISBN: 9781250145284
- Жанр: Другие детективы
Электронная книга - «The Madness of Crowds». Краткое содержание книги:
You're a coward.
Time and again, as the New Year approaches, that charge is leveled against Armand Gamache.
It starts innocently enough.
While the residents of the Québec village of Three Pines take advantage of the deep snow to ski and toboggan, to drink hot chocolate in the bistro and share meals together, the Chief Inspector finds his holiday with his family interrupted by a simple request.
He's asked to provide security for what promises to be a non-event. A visiting professor of statistics will be giving a lecture at the nearby university.
While he is perplexed as to why the head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec would be assigned this task, it sounds easy enough. That is, until Gamache starts looking into Professor Abigail Robinson and discovers an agenda so repulsive he begs the university to cancel the lecture.
They refuse, citing academic freedom, and accuse Gamache of censorship and intellectual cowardice. Before long, Professor Robinson's views start seeping into conversations. Spreading and infecting. So that truth and fact, reality and delusion, are so confused it's near impossible to tell them apart.
Discussions become debates, debates become arguments, which turn into fights. As sides are declared, a madness takes hold.
Abigail Robinson promises that if they follow her, ça va bien aller. All will be well. But not, Gamache and his team know, for everyone.
When a murder is committed, it falls to Armand Gamache, his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and their team to investigate the crime as well as this extraordinary popular delusion.
And the madness of crowds.
CHAPTER 18
“You can stop pretending you’re not listening, Armand,” said Gilbert.
Colette and Debbie were heading down the corridor toward their coats. Preparing to leave.
But Professor Robinson was taking a different tack. She was heading straight for Annie and Jean-Guy.
Surely the professor could see she was sailing into a storm. But maybe, after that confrontation with Gilbert, that’s what she wanted, thought Armand. Needing to blow off steam and spoiling for a fight, she’d chosen the people most likely to give her one.
“You two were really going at it,” he said to Vincent. “What did she mean just now when she said she knows. What does she know?”
“Nothing. She’s a sociopath.”
Armand continued to watch Abigail Robinson. They all did, it seemed. Everyone in the room was riveted on her. While the Hero of the Sudan had all but disappeared.
It was twenty minutes to midnight.
“And what about Helen Keller?” said Annie, a few minutes later. “You can’t tell me she was a burden to society.”
“That’s a good point. A valid point,” said Abigail. She saw Debbie and Colette in their coats, standing by the front door, giving her the high sign. It was time to leave.
Abigail put up her hand in the “five minutes” signal, then turned back to the group.
“Yeah,” said Debbie. “There’s no way she’s leaving in five minutes. Now what? I’m getting hot.”
“Let’s get some fresh air,” said Colette.
“I’ll text to let her know we’re outside.” Debbie put Abigail’s coat down on the chair by reception, sent the text, then left with Chancellor Roberge.
Abigail refocused her attention, but her heart wasn’t really in these arguments anymore. She had other things on her mind.
Abby Maria. It was the last straw. Gilbert had repeated the name as though vomiting the words up.
Abby Maria. Full of grace.
She just wanted this to be over.
Pray for us sinners.
Abigail realized they were waiting for her to say something. To defend herself. She sighed.
“What I’m saying is that resources are limited. That’s just a fact. We need to save those who can be saved, and give the rest a dignified, merciful, and, yes, swift end.”
She noticed the child in the young woman’s arms.
“Oooh, a baby.” Abigail leaned forward. “May I?”
Across the room, Ruth and Stephen had joined the Asshole Saint and Armand.
The gathering had returned to a party atmosphere. The play, and the happy children leaping off the “stage” to wild applause, had helped. And now there was the thrum of pleasant conversation, outbursts of laughter, and anticipation as the clock counted down the final minutes of a year both trying and triumphant.
The teenagers in the group were getting a little rowdy, and Armand knew why. If they were anything like he was at that age, and Daniel and Annie for that matter, they’d stashed some beer or cider in the woods, and were enjoying their first drunk.
Tomorrow morning, he also knew from experience, would be a lot less enjoyable.
“Is Reine-Marie still finding monkeys?” asked Ruth.
“Oui,” said Armand. He’d been glancing over to see how his family was coping with Abigail Robinson.
Judging by Jean-Guy’s face, not well.
“Monkeys?” asked Vincent Gilbert. “Have I missed something?”
“It’s what Reine-Marie does now,” said Ruth.
“Looks for monkeys? And she finds them? Here?”
“No, you idiot,” said Ruth. “They’re not real monkeys.”
“She’s finding imaginary ones?” Dr. Gilbert turned to Armand. “That can’t be good.”
“A family has asked Reine-Marie to go through their mother’s things,” Armand explained. “The woman died a few months ago, and in cleaning out the house, they’ve come across boxes in the attic filled with letters, documents—”
“And monkeys,” said Stephen.
“How many so far?” Ruth asked.
“Eighty-six at last count,” said Armand.
“Monkeys?” repeated the Asshole Saint.
“Not real ones,” snapped Ruth. “And not imaginary.”
Now Vincent Gilbert was genuinely interested. “Then what are they?”
“Drawings mostly,” said Stephen. “Poor one must’ve lost her mind.”
“A lot of that going around,” said Gilbert, glancing over at Abigail Robinson.
Armand gave a small hum. In his experience there was almost always a reason for what people did. And often a rational one, if they could just find it.
“I wonder if there’ll be a hundred monkeys,” said Gilbert. “That would be interesting.”
“And eighty-six isn’t?” asked Ruth.
Jean-Guy moved to step between Abigail and Idola. But Annie put a hand on his arm and whispered, “Ça va bien aller.”
It’ll be okay.
He held her gaze, then stepped aside.
“Why do you say a hundred monkeys would be interesting?” Stephen asked.
Seeing Abigail Robinson reach out to move the blanket around Idola, Ruth started forward, clutching her cane and her duck. Rosa was looking very determined. A battle duck.
But Armand put out his hand. “Non. Let them.”
“Idola—” Ruth began.
“Is safe.” Though he didn’t take his eyes off them. He wasn’t sure what he was afraid of. He knew Abigail Robinson wasn’t going to harm his granddaughter. Not there. Not then.
They watched Robinson lean in. They watched her straighten up. They watched as she said something to Annie and Jean-Guy. And Annie responded.
Armand saw Reine-Marie smile. Only then did he return his attention to Gilbert.
“The hundredth monkey theory?” Vincent Gilbert was saying. “Never heard of it?”
“Should we have?” Stephen asked.
Gilbert laughed. “I guess not. Living on my own gives me time to read obscure articles. This one’s on human nature and crowd mentality.”
“Wait a minute,” said Stephen. “Is it the study from those anthropologists in Japan?”
“Yes. I’m not even sure it was a real study,” said Dr. Gilbert. “It seems like bullshit, and yet…”
“Maybe not.” Stephen turned to the others with enthusiasm. “It was passed around in the investment community years ago. It’s pretty odd, but some think it explains why certain stocks, certain industries or products, like bitcoins, suddenly get hot. Why some ideas take hold, no matter how crazy, while other, even better ideas, just die.”
“Like Betamax,” said Ruth. It was her answer to everything that should have succeeded but didn’t. That and the Avro Arrow.
“What is this study?” Armand asked. Anything to do with human nature interested him.
“Back in the nineteen fifties, I think it was,” said Gilbert, “sweet potatoes were dropped on a Japanese island for the monkeys that lived there. The monkeys liked the taste but hated the sand that covered the food. Anthropologists studying the monkeys noticed that one day a young female washed a sweet potato in the ocean. A few others eventually did it too, but most just watched and continued to eat the sandy potatoes. Have I got that right?”
“That’s what I remember,” said Stephen.
“Not much of a story,” said Ruth. “Have I ever told you about the Avro Arrow?”