L'épouvante

The story follows Onésime Coche, a tired reporter whose routine evening stroll becomes a pivotal encounter that draws him into a criminal entanglement. Chapters trace his shift from newsroom life to involvement in a dangerous plot, describing clandestine meetings, a mysterious package, and a sequence of nights and mornings marked by surveillance, physical discomfort, and mounting unease. The narrative privileges atmosphere and procedural detail while charting escalating anxiety, moral uncertainty, and the growing terror that unfolds from events set in motion during that single, fateful night.