14Madame Barbeau had called the mayor Thursday morning to let him know that Josette was not feeling well and would not be coming to work that day. She tried to pressure Josette into making the call herself, but her daughter rolled over, pretended to be asleep, and did not respond to Madame Barbeau’s entreaties.
Which were half-hearted, in any case, since the older woman was glad of an excuse to talk to the mayor himself. If she were not so arthritic she would have paid him a visit long before—how she would love to get inside that house and see it for herself! Josette was utterly deficient when it came to relating any sort of detail. Well, utterly deficient in most things, her mother thought, except looks. And those will go soon enough.
Madame Barbeau stroked her chin, thinking carefully
