27The ride back to the village was quiet. Maron was embarrassed by his conduct with Josette; even though he had said or done nothing untoward, he knew he had been embarrassingly distracted by her feminine charms.
Well, it wasn’t her charms exactly, to be honest. It was her animal, physical presence he had responded to, her shape and her smell. Unable to imagine any man not similarly affected, he had a quick flash of pity for Coulon, having her in his house day after day.
Josette claimed she wasn’t at the house the day of the murder, and all that remained was to check with Rémy, and double-check to see if any of the neighbors had seen her. Perhaps the delivery boy for the épicerie might have been on the streets and noticed something, or the postman.
Typical legwork, that’s all that was r
