â not the doctor, the boatman. He was over the
moon, he could hardly wait: his wife, who was thirty, was at last
expecting.â
At intervals the walls shook as a tram
went past, and the bell of a shop nearby was just audible as the door kept
constantly opening and closing.
âA baby! Theyâd been hoping
for one for eight years. To have one, Louis would have spent every penny heâd
saved. So he goes and talks to the doctor, a short dark man with glasses. I used to
know him. Louis explains that heâs afraid the birth will happen out in the
sticks, in some village or other, and that heâd rather stay at Châlons for as
long as it took.â
Gassin sat up, blowing hard, the result
of remaining bent over.
âA week goes by. The doctor calls
every evening. Eventually, one day at about five in the afternoon, the contractions
start coming. Louis canât sit still. He goes out on deck, on to the quay. He
hangs on the doctorâs doorbell. He wills him to come. The doctor assures him
that all is well, very well, that everything is going without a hitch and that all
he needs do is to send for him at the last moment.â
Gassin was speaking as if he were
reciting a litany.
âYou
donât know that part of the town? I can see the house as clearly as if I was
there, a large, brand-new detached house, with big windows which were all lit up
that evening, for the doctor was giving a party. He was prinked and perfumed, and
his moustaches freshly curled. Twice he comes in a great hurry, his breath smelling
the first time of burgundy and then of spirits.
ââGood! Excellent!â he
kept saying. âIâll be back shortly â¦â
âLouis ran across the quay. There
were sounds of a gramophone playing. On the curtains there were shadows of people
dancing.
âHis wife was screaming, and
Louis, like one demented, was weeping dry tears. What was happening terrified him.
An old woman whose boat was moored a little way away was convinced that the child
was presenting badly.
âAt midnight, Louis goes and rings
the doctorâs doorbell. He is told the doctor will come soon.
âAt half past midnight, he rings
again. The corridor is full of music.
âAnd Louisâ wife is
screaming so loudly that passers-by stop for a moment on the quay and then go
hurrying on their way.
âFinally the guests leave. The
little doctor appears, not entirely drunk, but not exactly clear-headed. He removes
his jacket and rolls up his sleeves.
ââMight need forceps
â¦â
âThereâs not much room to
move. They keep getting in each otherâs way. And then the doctor starts
talking about crushing the childâs head.
ââBut you canât do
that!â cries Louis.
ââDo
you want me to save the mother?â
âThe doctor is almost asleep.
Heâs almost out on his feet. Heâs floundering. An hour later, he
straightens up. Louis sees that his wife has stopped screaming, is no longer moving
â¦â
Gassin stared Maigret straight in the
eye and finished:
âLouis killed him.â
âKilled the doctor?â
âCoolly, no fuss, put a bullet in
his head, then he fired another into his gut, then he opened his own mouth as if he
intended eating the barrel, and there was a third shot. They sold the barge at
auction three months later.â
Why was Gassin smiling? Maigret
preferred him dead drunk and venomous, as he had been on previous days.
âWhat are you going to do with me
now,â he asked, without curiosity.
âWill you promise not to do
anything stupid?â
âWhat do you mean by
stupid?â
âDucrau has always been your
friend, hasnât he?â
âWe come from the same village.
Weâve shipped together.â
âHeâs ⦠very fond of
moon, he could hardly wait: his wife, who was thirty, was at last
expecting.â
At intervals the walls shook as a tram
went past, and the bell of a shop nearby was just audible as the door kept
constantly opening and closing.
âA baby! Theyâd been hoping
for one for eight years. To have one, Louis would have spent every penny heâd
saved. So he goes and talks to the doctor, a short dark man with glasses. I used to
know him. Louis explains that heâs afraid the birth will happen out in the
sticks, in some village or other, and that heâd rather stay at Châlons for as
long as it took.â
Gassin sat up, blowing hard, the result
of remaining bent over.
âA week goes by. The doctor calls
every evening. Eventually, one day at about five in the afternoon, the contractions
start coming. Louis canât sit still. He goes out on deck, on to the quay. He
hangs on the doctorâs doorbell. He wills him to come. The doctor assures him
that all is well, very well, that everything is going without a hitch and that all
he needs do is to send for him at the last moment.â
Gassin was speaking as if he were
reciting a litany.
âYou
donât know that part of the town? I can see the house as clearly as if I was
there, a large, brand-new detached house, with big windows which were all lit up
that evening, for the doctor was giving a party. He was prinked and perfumed, and
his moustaches freshly curled. Twice he comes in a great hurry, his breath smelling
the first time of burgundy and then of spirits.
ââGood! Excellent!â he
kept saying. âIâll be back shortly â¦â
âLouis ran across the quay. There
were sounds of a gramophone playing. On the curtains there were shadows of people
dancing.
âHis wife was screaming, and
Louis, like one demented, was weeping dry tears. What was happening terrified him.
An old woman whose boat was moored a little way away was convinced that the child
was presenting badly.
âAt midnight, Louis goes and rings
the doctorâs doorbell. He is told the doctor will come soon.
âAt half past midnight, he rings
again. The corridor is full of music.
âAnd Louisâ wife is
screaming so loudly that passers-by stop for a moment on the quay and then go
hurrying on their way.
âFinally the guests leave. The
little doctor appears, not entirely drunk, but not exactly clear-headed. He removes
his jacket and rolls up his sleeves.
ââMight need forceps
â¦â
âThereâs not much room to
move. They keep getting in each otherâs way. And then the doctor starts
talking about crushing the childâs head.
ââBut you canât do
that!â cries Louis.
ââDo
you want me to save the mother?â
âThe doctor is almost asleep.
Heâs almost out on his feet. Heâs floundering. An hour later, he
straightens up. Louis sees that his wife has stopped screaming, is no longer moving
â¦â
Gassin stared Maigret straight in the
eye and finished:
âLouis killed him.â
âKilled the doctor?â
âCoolly, no fuss, put a bullet in
his head, then he fired another into his gut, then he opened his own mouth as if he
intended eating the barrel, and there was a third shot. They sold the barge at
auction three months later.â
Why was Gassin smiling? Maigret
preferred him dead drunk and venomous, as he had been on previous days.
âWhat are you going to do with me
now,â he asked, without curiosity.
âWill you promise not to do
anything stupid?â
âWhat do you mean by
stupid?â
âDucrau has always been your
friend, hasnât he?â
âWe come from the same village.
Weâve shipped together.â
âHeâs ⦠very fond of
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