Home > Work > A Rule Against Murder (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #4)
21 " He was drawn to the edge of things. To the places old mariners knew, and warned, “Beyond here be monsters.”… He stepped into the beyond, and found the monsters hidden deep inside all the reasonable, gentle, laughing people. He went where even they were afraid to go. "
― Louise Penny , A Rule Against Murder (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #4)
22 " You have a rule against murder?” he asked.“I do. When my husband and I bought the Bellechasse we made a deal with the forest. Any death that wasn’t natural wasn’t allowed. Mice are caught alive and released. Birds are fed in the winter and even the squirrels and chipmunks are welcome. There’s no hunting, not even fishing. The pact we made was that everything that stepped foot on this land would be safe.”“An extravagant promise,” said Gamache.“Perhaps.” She managed a small smile. “But we meant it. Nothing would deliberately die at our hands, or the hands of anyone living here. "
23 " Her tragedy was that she always found men to save her. She never had to save herself. She never knew she could. "
24 " Irene Finney filled the void with a child not loved then lost, but first lost, then loved. "
25 " We're all blessed and we're all blighted, Chief Inspector," said Finney. "Everyday each of us does our sums. The question is, what do we count? "
26 " It's a shame that creativity and sloth look exactly the same. "
27 " Not everything needed to be brought into the light, he knew. Not every truth needed to be told. "
28 " the feelings flattened and folded and turned into something else, like emotional origami. "
29 " You can tell a lot about a man by his friends, or lack of them. Do they bring out the best in each other, or are they always gossiping, tearing others down? Keeping wounds alive? "
30 " Be careful. You're making hurting a habit. Spreading it around won't lessen your pain, you know. Just the opposite. "
31 " What could be worse? Dying, and not being missed. "
32 " To live in chaos was to live in a prison. Order freed the mind for other things. "
33 " …walked deep into the shadow, deep into the longhouse where all his experiences and memories lived… "
34 " She knew how the Chief Inspector preferred decorum at the site of a murder, especially in the presence of the corpse. It was rare. Most murder scenes were filled with smart-ass and often gruesome comments, made by men and women frightened by what they saw, and believing sarcasm and rude remarks kept the monsters at bay. They didn’t. "
35 " She’d never actually smiled at a family reunion before. It felt odd. "
36 " But privately Reine-Marie wondered. Wondered whether what people did in a crisis was, in fact, their real selves. Stripped of artifice and social training. It was easy enough to be decent when all was going your way. It was another matter to be decent when all hell was breaking loose. "
37 " Hurt feelings,” said Lacoste. “I’d rather have a bruise any day. "
38 " You can tell a lot about a man by his friends, or lack of them. "
39 " But he knew he needn’t worry. This man was afraid of nothing. “I count my blessings.” He turned and saw Irene on the terrasse, as though he’d sensed her there. “We’re all blessed and we’re all blighted, Chief Inspector,” said Finney. “Every day each of us does our sums. The question is, what do we count?” The old man brought his hand to his head and removed his hat, offering it to Gamache. "
40 " Irene Finney, like many very elderly people, knew that the world was indeed flat. It had a beginning and an end. And she had come to the edge. "