Chapter Forty-FiveAnd then, like a house of cards that had somehow managed to remain standing far longer than physics would suggest possible, then all at once exploded into the air: the world of Achille Labiche, precariously intact for seven years, came tumbling down.
Maron and Perrault arrived in minutes, siren blaring just as Labiche had feared. Dufort was making him a cup of tea in the kitchen, hoping to calm him down. The farmer was sitting on a stool muttering to himself, twisting his hands, and staring at the floor.
Molly had gotten the belt off Gilbert though it had been no easy job. The instant he was free, the boy insisted they look for Valerie, and Molly had shaken his hand and agreed. First they looked all around the bottom floor of the barn since that’s where they happened to
