Every December when their plane landed in Montreal, it was Nico and Anne-Merry's tradition to spend the night in Christmas festive Old Montreal. Not until mid-morning the following day, would they drive to Jay Peak where Anne-Merry grew up and learned to skate on the rink at Lodge la Belle Montagne. It was Anne-Merry who wisely suggested that the first night of their annual Christmas trip to her home would always be spent in Montreal, where they would dine at a restaurant of Nico's choice.

Tonight, it would be L’Express on Rue Saint-Denis, and the following day, by the time they arrived at Lodge La Belle Montagne, Nico would be happily remembering Chef Joël Chapoulie's pate; escargots with butter, parsley, garlic and shallots; grilled fresh salmon; ile flottante with caramel sauce, and the thrill of knowing that in the cellar underneath where they sat were thousands of bottles of French wine.

That Yuri was on the same plane and would proceed immediately to Jay Peak was known to Nico St Denis and his wife. It was not Nico himself who decoded the notebook that Jack discovered in a pink mobile home in the Gold Country. Nico was not an expert on coded prison slang. But he did know that a former cultural attache to the Leningrad embassy was precisely whom was desired at the Lodge this December.