An Official Killing by Nell Goddin

Author:Nell Goddin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nell Goddin

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While Maron was allowing Josette to stomp on the last shreds of his professional objectivity, Monsour was ensconced in the dingy farmhouse, drinking a terrible cup of coffee with Madame Barbeau. He may not have been the most competent junior officer the Castillac force had ever seen—the much-missed Thérèse Perrault probably took those honors—but he believed he had one skill that came in handy more than occasionally: Monsour understood older women, and knew how to handle them.

“So you didn’t grow up in the country at all? It must have been so difficult for you to adapt to life on a farm, after growing up in Castillac.”

“Oh, it was, it was,” said Madame Barbeau, nodding and fixing her large gray eyes on him. “You know how young love is,” she said, giving a wink that sent chills through him. “I thought Adolph was the moon and stars! Turned out he was nothing but a mean, penny-pinching…well, that’s over and done with, long ago. I suppose you want to know anything I can tell you about Monsieur Coulon. But I’m afraid I don’t have much to tell. My Josette was very happy at the mayor’s. He treated her well, paid on time, wasn’t a difficult employer. She’s quite upset by the news, as you can imagine. Do you have any leads, any idea about who could have done this horrible thing?”

“We’re completely in the dark,” Monsour said, with a confidential tone. “Did Josette ever mention anything like…someone coming over and arguing with the mayor? Did she tell you about overhearing any angry phone calls, anything like that? Or did the mayor talk about anyone in a negative way, someone feuding with him or something along those lines?” He broke away from Madame Barbeau and walked slowly through the large room as he spoke, looking around for anything that seemed even a little bit suspicious.

“She never did. You think it was some bad blood that got him killed? I don’t know how you gendarmes ever get anywhere with a case like this. Seems like the possibilities are literally endless. There are psychopaths that wander the country, killing people at random, you hear about that from time to time. Or someone might have been blackmailing the mayor, and they got into a tussle. And who knows what kind of business dealings he was involved in! Not to say the mayor was crooked—like I say, he was always good to our Josette, so I won’t say anything against him. And of course, there’s an ex-wife. She probably had a hundred reasons to kill him. Is it allowed—can you tell me how the mayor was killed?”

“Throat cut.”

“Ouch,” said Madame Barbeau, but Monsour turned back to her and thought he saw a slow smile creep over her face.

“Was Josette very upset when she got home from work that day? I understand that it was someone working at the mairie who found him. Why wasn’t Josette there when it happened, if you know? Of course, if she knew the mayor had been attacked, she should have called us immediately.

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