creep out of her room and down the stairs to sit alone in her library. She would return to the bed just before sunrise and pretend later that she’d slept through the night. Barbara Jean hardly spoke at all. And, when she did, not a word of it was about Lester. Most of her time was spent pacing the house, stopping in her tracks every so often to shake her head like a sleeper trying to wake up from a nightmare. She was in no shape to be left alone or to make any decisions. And there was so much that had to be done. Clarice and Odette were surprised to learn that, although Lester had spent
