12Dufort was up early on Tuesday morning. He went on a punishing run, taking a hilly route partly on narrow country roads and partly on trails through the forest, arriving back at his small house in town to shower before getting to the station by 7:30. A few days earlier, Gallimard had not been in his office or anywhere Dufort could find him, and the list of questions Dufort wanted to ask him was growing. He guessed Gallimard would not be at work that early, and so he strolled over to the Café de la Place for some breakfast first.
“Bonjour, Pascal.”
“Bonjour, Chief, comment allez-vous?”
“I’m well, and you? How is your mother?”
“She is better, thank you. We are grateful for having a good doctor and she is healing faster than expected.”
“Glad to hear it,” said Dufort, keeping his though
