The Dead of Winter by Peter Kirby Read Free Book Online

hope.”
    â€œAs aware as they could be.”
    â€œSo they could have decided to end it all? Suicide?”
    Dr. Grenier thought for a moment and looked up at Vanier.
    â€œNo. Not suicide. It’s true that some street people kill themselves, but it’s the younger ones, the drug addicts, people who have fallen too fast. If you can survive two years on the streets, you can survive 30. The streets weed out the suicidal very quickly, and these five were veterans. None of them was suicidal. Madame Latendresse, for example, is, I’m sorry, was – Madame Latendresse was so disconnected from reality that she couldn’t contemplate non-existence. She would have carried on in her own world until that world stopped. The others? The others were like the Legionnaires of Cameron.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œNot what, Inspector. Who. The Legionnaires of Cameron. Sixty soldiers of the French Foreign Legion who held off two thousand Mexican infantrymen and cavalrymen for twelve hours. At the end, only six legionnaires remained, and when they ran out of ammunition, instead of surrendering, they fixed bayonets and charged the Mexican army. Surrender was simply not an option. It is the same with these people. Suicide was not an option in their universe. If it had been, they would have done it long ago. These people have been losing all their life but they just didn’t know how to give up. They had fallen as far as they did precisely because they couldn’t give up and end it all.”
    â€œSo why would they all die on the same evening?”
    Grenier’s hands gave a slight tremble. He was making an effort to control himself. “I believe the Coroner will find it was natural causes. Quite a coincidence, I agree. And the scientist in me hesitates to believe in coincidences of that magnitude. But the believer in me knows that it is often difficult to understand God’s work.”
    â€œIs there anyone else I can speak with to find out more about these people? Who else would have known them?”
    Dr. Grenier had a distant look on his face, as though he was operating on two levels, talking to Vanier and thinking; and thinking was taking up more of his mind.
    â€œWell, they were all known in the community, the shelters and the drop-in centres. You might try their social workers; there would be files on them. But social workers have case loads so unmanageable that they can never get to know their clients.”
    â€œAnyone else?”
    Grenier hesitated again. “If you’re looking for someone who might know these people as individuals rather than faces or numbers, you might try Father Drouin. My friend, Henri Drouin. He works out of the Cathedral. He’s a good man, a holy man. If he knows these people, he will be able to tell you much more than I.”
    â€œHow do you know him?”
    â€œOur paths crossed in our missions, and we became friends. He does wonderful work with this community. Sometimes I think that my drugs are a pale substitute for the spiritual comfort he gives to his flock. Because of him, I started attending mass in the Cathedral.”
    â€œCould he be involved with these deaths?”
    Grenier seemed shocked at the suggestion. “Father Henri? If you knew him, you would know how ridiculous a proposition that is. Take it from me, if that’s the direction of your investigation, you are on the wrong track. Father Henri is incapable of hurting anyone. All of these unfortunate people were going to die soon, and they all died on Christmas Eve. That’s it. There’s nothing more. It’s a tragedy, but I don’t think there was any human intervention. They were simply called home.”
    â€œOne last thing, Doctor. Do you own or have access to a Santa Claus costume?”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œA Santa Claus costume. Do you have one? Or if you had to, could you get one?”
    â€œWell, I suppose if I needed one, I could always rent one,