led through a maze of corridors and stairs
which all reek of untreated fleeces, all the way to a small office under the eaves. On the door
is a sign which reads: âStationeryâ.
There he is, Monsieur 13, looking greyer than
ever in his long grey overall, which he wears for work. He gives a start when he sees Maigret
walk into his private sanctuary,
âCan I help you? â¦â
âPolice Judiciaire. Nothing to worry about.
Just a few simple questions to ask you â¦â
âI donât see â¦â
âBut you do see, Monsieur Charles, you see
very well. Show me the note the waiter gave you earlier this afternoon.â
âI swear â¦â
âDonât swear, or
Iâll be forced to arrest you immediately as an accomplice to murder.â
The man blows his nose noisily, and not as a way
of playing for time. He has a permanent cold in the head â hence the thick overcoat and
muffler.
âYou put me in an embarrassing position
â¦â
âBut much less embarrassing for you than
the one you will land yourself in if you refuse to answer my questions truthfully.â
Maigret is using his big voice, he is coming on
tough
, as Madame Maigret would say, who always finds it very amusing, because she
knows him better than anyone.
âLook, inspector, I never thought that what
I did â¦â
âFirst, let me see the note.â
The man does not produce it from his pocket but
has to climb a ladder to retrieve it from the top of a set of shelves where he had hidden it
behind a stack of headed stationery. He does not return with just the note but with a revolver,
which he holds carefully, like a man who is terrified of guns.
Please, donât say anything, ever, for
whatever reason. Throw you know what in the Seine.
Itâs a matter of life and
death.
Maigret smiles at these last words, which are
pure Félicie. Didnât she say exactly the same thing to Louvet, the garage mechanic
from Orgeval?
âWhen I noticed â¦â
âYou mean when you noticed that you had
this gun in the pocket of your overcoat?â
âYou know? â¦â
âYouâd just got
on the Métro train. You were crushed up against a young woman in full mourning, and just as
she was making for the door you felt something heavy being slipped into your pocket.â
âI didnât realize until
afterwards.â
âAnd you were scared.â
âIâve never handled a gun in my life.
I didnât even know if it was loaded. I still donât â¦â
To the horror of the stationery clerk, Maigret
releases the cartridge clip, from which there is one bullet missing.
âBut because you remembered the girl in the
mourning weeds â¦â
âAt first, I thought I should hand this
⦠this object in to the police â¦â
Monsieur 13 is getting rattled.
âYou are the susceptible type, Monsieur
Charles. Women unnerve you, donât they? Iâd bet that youâve never had much to
do with them.â
A bell rings. The clerk gazes in a panic at a
panel fixed to the front of his desk.
âThatâs my boss. He wants me â¦
Can I â¦â
âYes, go! I know everything I wanted to
know.â
âBut that young woman ⦠Tell me
⦠Did she really â¦â
A shadow appears in Maigretâs eyes and then
is gone.
âAll in good time, Monsieur Charles. Now
hurry up. Your boss is getting impatient.â
For the bell is ringing again, in the most
self-important way.
A little later, the inspector barks to a
taxi-driver: âGastinne-Renette, the gunsmith.â
So over a period of three
days, feeling that her every move was being watched, that the house and the garden were about to
be searched with a fine-tooth comb, Félicie has kept the revolver on her person! He
pictures her in the front seat of the van. The road is not yet quiet enough. Maybe the vehicle
is being followed. Louvet
which all reek of untreated fleeces, all the way to a small office under the eaves. On the door
is a sign which reads: âStationeryâ.
There he is, Monsieur 13, looking greyer than
ever in his long grey overall, which he wears for work. He gives a start when he sees Maigret
walk into his private sanctuary,
âCan I help you? â¦â
âPolice Judiciaire. Nothing to worry about.
Just a few simple questions to ask you â¦â
âI donât see â¦â
âBut you do see, Monsieur Charles, you see
very well. Show me the note the waiter gave you earlier this afternoon.â
âI swear â¦â
âDonât swear, or
Iâll be forced to arrest you immediately as an accomplice to murder.â
The man blows his nose noisily, and not as a way
of playing for time. He has a permanent cold in the head â hence the thick overcoat and
muffler.
âYou put me in an embarrassing position
â¦â
âBut much less embarrassing for you than
the one you will land yourself in if you refuse to answer my questions truthfully.â
Maigret is using his big voice, he is coming on
tough
, as Madame Maigret would say, who always finds it very amusing, because she
knows him better than anyone.
âLook, inspector, I never thought that what
I did â¦â
âFirst, let me see the note.â
The man does not produce it from his pocket but
has to climb a ladder to retrieve it from the top of a set of shelves where he had hidden it
behind a stack of headed stationery. He does not return with just the note but with a revolver,
which he holds carefully, like a man who is terrified of guns.
Please, donât say anything, ever, for
whatever reason. Throw you know what in the Seine.
Itâs a matter of life and
death.
Maigret smiles at these last words, which are
pure Félicie. Didnât she say exactly the same thing to Louvet, the garage mechanic
from Orgeval?
âWhen I noticed â¦â
âYou mean when you noticed that you had
this gun in the pocket of your overcoat?â
âYou know? â¦â
âYouâd just got
on the Métro train. You were crushed up against a young woman in full mourning, and just as
she was making for the door you felt something heavy being slipped into your pocket.â
âI didnât realize until
afterwards.â
âAnd you were scared.â
âIâve never handled a gun in my life.
I didnât even know if it was loaded. I still donât â¦â
To the horror of the stationery clerk, Maigret
releases the cartridge clip, from which there is one bullet missing.
âBut because you remembered the girl in the
mourning weeds â¦â
âAt first, I thought I should hand this
⦠this object in to the police â¦â
Monsieur 13 is getting rattled.
âYou are the susceptible type, Monsieur
Charles. Women unnerve you, donât they? Iâd bet that youâve never had much to
do with them.â
A bell rings. The clerk gazes in a panic at a
panel fixed to the front of his desk.
âThatâs my boss. He wants me â¦
Can I â¦â
âYes, go! I know everything I wanted to
know.â
âBut that young woman ⦠Tell me
⦠Did she really â¦â
A shadow appears in Maigretâs eyes and then
is gone.
âAll in good time, Monsieur Charles. Now
hurry up. Your boss is getting impatient.â
For the bell is ringing again, in the most
self-important way.
A little later, the inspector barks to a
taxi-driver: âGastinne-Renette, the gunsmith.â
So over a period of three
days, feeling that her every move was being watched, that the house and the garden were about to
be searched with a fine-tooth comb, Félicie has kept the revolver on her person! He
pictures her in the front seat of the van. The road is not yet quiet enough. Maybe the vehicle
is being followed. Louvet
Similar Books
