What happened to Ruth Zardo?

By Ande Jacobson

The Nature of the Beast, the eleventh mystery novel in Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (of the Sûreté du Québec) series, is more than a murder mystery. It’s also a work of historical fiction. While the current day murders are works of fiction, the core discovery driving them is a bit of real history that could have changed the world in a frightening way. Penny uses what could have been the most devastating technological development ever created by man to weave a fascinating tale of intrigue and personal growth.

The first mystery in the story concerns the death of a nine year old boy who, driven by his active imagination, cried wolf a bit too often to be taken seriously when he finds the unthinkable. His existence is fiction, but once his body is found in the story, the investigation quickly turns up the result of a real project that he claimed to have found in the forest. Big Babylon was his discovery, a gun that could fire a missile into low Earth orbit, and it was pointed at the U.S. Of course this fictional murder victim didn’t know about what his discovery was, only that it was monstrous because of an etching depicting a winged monster that terrified him. Project Babylon actually existed, and there were two weapons, a small one called Baby Babylon as a proof of concept that didn’t work, and big one that would work if fully equipped. In the real world, before that could happen the scientist credited with its development, Gerald Bull, was murdered in Brussels, a fact that Penny uses in the story. She then pulls in several fictional characters to fill out the intrigue even though the true story had plenty of intrigue all on its own.

Armand is pulled into the investigation along with Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Isabelle Lacoste. Although Isabelle is now heading Armand’s old Sûreté team, she still values his insights and opinions. Penny also introduces some mysterious characters including a professor and weapons expert who shows a disturbing familiarity with the weapon at hand. In addition, two agents claiming they’re from the government are also involved. In town, readers are introduced to several new characters including the boy’s parents, two aging hippies. The boy’s father has a mysterious past that even his wife doesn’t know that unfolds through the story. A drama group is also deeply involved and plays a significant part in the investigation pointing Armand, Jean-Guy, and Isabelle in an unexpected direction. Armand stays close to the investigation not just because he was asked, but also because he truly cared about the boy who was killed. In addition, an old foe that Armand had a hand in convicting plays a pivotal part in the story. This particular individual represents evil incarnate, and having to deal with stirs up some very uncomfortable history for Armand and the team.

Most interesting though is how this whole episode affects two Three Pines regulars, the crusty old poet, Ruth Zardo, and the grocer, Clément Béliveau. Prior to this book, readers didn’t know much about Ruth’s past, that Clément was the grocer’s first name, or that the two of them had a traumatic past that is revealed through this story. Ruth’s actions have clearly been driven by damage and a desire to never be hurt again, yet she can’t hide it all. The story reveals much more about how Ruth became the person they all know in the present. A telling sequence plays out when, after the events are solved and sorted, Ruth says simply that she used to be nice and kind at one time. Armand, having seen beneath her gruff exterior through her actions over the years points out that she still was at her core. In that, he was clearly thinking about how she treats her duck, Rosa, and how she helped Jean-Guy and continues to share a fondness for him along with many of her other neighbors. In this book though, seeing the tenderness between her and Clément, not romantic but deeply caring, readers see tremendous growth and better understand what motivates her.

Penny provides multiple murders in this story, two current, and one from the distant past. She’s used aspects of history throughout the series, but this story using the decidedly dangerous history of the Babylon Project gives it more weight. Part of the mystery surrounding the real life murder of Dr. Bull makes this story poignant. The current day murders and characters are all fictionalized, but one situation that unfolds through the investigation, though fictional, represents a remnant of forgotten ills. During the Vietnam era, several draft dodgers fled to Canada and lived out their lives in obscurity. In addition to draft dodgers, more nefarious wartime runaways also ended up there, and Penny includes a possible scenario that weaves into the larger story in an unsettling way.

Beyond all of that, Armand is getting restless. One outstanding question that is poked at but not resolved is what Armand’s future holds professionally. He certainly is enjoying his retirement in Three Pines, and spending time with his wife, Reine-Marie, and their many friends in the village is restful, but it’s not quite enough. Sure, the occasional mystery crops up, some deeper than others, but even at that, not having any official capacity makes Armand just a little uneasy. He even gets a taste of how the Sûreté is changing when a rookie officer abuses him early in the investigation, though that offends Jean-Guy and Isabelle even more than him given their history with their former chief inspector.

Through the story, it’s clear that he’s had numerous offers for possible positions, yet he hasn’t decided to accept any of them just yet. Penny’s exploration of Armand’s inner thoughts about his future entices readers to imagine new directions for him. It’s clear that there is much more to come for Armand in future books. He’s young. Not yet 60, he’s not quite ready to stay retired, yet he does enjoy the serenity of the village when murders aren’t happening. And when they are, he enjoys solving (or at least helping to solve) the puzzle.