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Authors: Georges Simenon
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be home and when he wanted his meals. But when he was ill and she saw
him working, she could not help worrying. Basically, deep down, she probably thought he was not
taking it seriously.
On the other hand, when he was at the Police
Judiciaire, he probably behaved differently and acted and spoke like a real detective chief
inspector.
This discussion he had just
had with Coméliau â especially because of who he was â had been torture for
her, and it was obvious that even as she counted her stitches she was still thinking about
it.
âListen, Maigret â¦â
He looked up reluctantly, for he was deep in his
book.
âThereâs something I donât
understand. You said when you were talking about Gare de Lyon that he didnât dare go home
because the man would have followed him.â
âYes, I probably said that.â
âYesterday, you told me heâd changed
his jacket.â
âTrue. What about it?â
âAnd youâve just told Monsieur
Coméliau about the fish pie, implying that heâd eaten it in his own restaurant. So he
did go back. Therefore he wasnât afraid of being followed home.â
Had Maigret really had this thought already? Or
on the contrary, was he improvising when he replied?
âThereâs no contradiction.â
âOh.â
âThe station episode was Tuesday evening.
It was before he had contacted me. He was still hoping heâd be able to escape from the man
who was following him.â
âWhat about the next day? Do you think he
wasnât being followed any more?â
âMaybe yes. Itâs more than likely.
But I also said that he changed his mind, around five oâclock. Donât forget he
phoned somebody and asked for an envelope.â
âThatâs true.â
Although she was not
convinced, she thought it wise to answer with a sigh:
âYouâre probably right.â
Then there was silence. From time to time a page
turned, and the sock in Madame Maigretâs lap grew longer in tiny increments.
She opened her mouth, then closed it. Without
looking up, he said:
âOut with it!â
âItâs nothing. ⦠It surely
doesnât mean anything ⦠Only I was just thinking that he got it wrong since he was
killed in the end â¦â
âWhere did he go wrong?â
âAbout going home. Iâm sorry. Read
your book â¦â
But he didnât read, at least not very
attentively, because it was he who looked up first.
âYouâre forgetting the car that broke
down,â he said.
And he felt that a new avenue had suddenly opened
up for his thoughts, that a curtain had been whisked aside and that beyond it he would glimpse
the truth.
âWhat we need to know is how long exactly
it was before the yellow car was repaired.â
He had ceased speaking for her benefit. She knew
it and made sure she didnât interrupt him again.
âA car breakdown is an unpredictable event.
It is an accident, something which by definition upsets the most carefully made schemes. It
follows that events turned out to be different from what had been planned.â
He gave his wife a shrewd look: it was she who
had set him on the right path.
â
Suppose he died
because the car had broken down?â
Without further ado he slammed the book shut and
left it on his knees. Then he reached for the phone and dialled the number of the Police
Judiciaire.
âGive me Lucas. If heâs not in his
office, heâll be in mine ⦠Is that you, Lucas? ⦠What? ⦠Thereâs
been a development? ⦠Wait a moment â¦â
He wanted to say his piece first: he was afraid
he would be told what he had worked out for himself.
âI want you to send a man out to Quai
Henri-IV, Ãriau or Dubonnet, if theyâre available. I want him to question all the
concierges, all the tenants not only of number 63 and the immediately neighbouring houses but
also
him working, she could not help worrying. Basically, deep down, she probably thought he was not
taking it seriously.
On the other hand, when he was at the Police
Judiciaire, he probably behaved differently and acted and spoke like a real detective chief
inspector.
This discussion he had just
had with Coméliau â especially because of who he was â had been torture for
her, and it was obvious that even as she counted her stitches she was still thinking about
it.
âListen, Maigret â¦â
He looked up reluctantly, for he was deep in his
book.
âThereâs something I donât
understand. You said when you were talking about Gare de Lyon that he didnât dare go home
because the man would have followed him.â
âYes, I probably said that.â
âYesterday, you told me heâd changed
his jacket.â
âTrue. What about it?â
âAnd youâve just told Monsieur
Coméliau about the fish pie, implying that heâd eaten it in his own restaurant. So he
did go back. Therefore he wasnât afraid of being followed home.â
Had Maigret really had this thought already? Or
on the contrary, was he improvising when he replied?
âThereâs no contradiction.â
âOh.â
âThe station episode was Tuesday evening.
It was before he had contacted me. He was still hoping heâd be able to escape from the man
who was following him.â
âWhat about the next day? Do you think he
wasnât being followed any more?â
âMaybe yes. Itâs more than likely.
But I also said that he changed his mind, around five oâclock. Donât forget he
phoned somebody and asked for an envelope.â
âThatâs true.â
Although she was not
convinced, she thought it wise to answer with a sigh:
âYouâre probably right.â
Then there was silence. From time to time a page
turned, and the sock in Madame Maigretâs lap grew longer in tiny increments.
She opened her mouth, then closed it. Without
looking up, he said:
âOut with it!â
âItâs nothing. ⦠It surely
doesnât mean anything ⦠Only I was just thinking that he got it wrong since he was
killed in the end â¦â
âWhere did he go wrong?â
âAbout going home. Iâm sorry. Read
your book â¦â
But he didnât read, at least not very
attentively, because it was he who looked up first.
âYouâre forgetting the car that broke
down,â he said.
And he felt that a new avenue had suddenly opened
up for his thoughts, that a curtain had been whisked aside and that beyond it he would glimpse
the truth.
âWhat we need to know is how long exactly
it was before the yellow car was repaired.â
He had ceased speaking for her benefit. She knew
it and made sure she didnât interrupt him again.
âA car breakdown is an unpredictable event.
It is an accident, something which by definition upsets the most carefully made schemes. It
follows that events turned out to be different from what had been planned.â
He gave his wife a shrewd look: it was she who
had set him on the right path.
â
Suppose he died
because the car had broken down?â
Without further ado he slammed the book shut and
left it on his knees. Then he reached for the phone and dialled the number of the Police
Judiciaire.
âGive me Lucas. If heâs not in his
office, heâll be in mine ⦠Is that you, Lucas? ⦠What? ⦠Thereâs
been a development? ⦠Wait a moment â¦â
He wanted to say his piece first: he was afraid
he would be told what he had worked out for himself.
âI want you to send a man out to Quai
Henri-IV, Ãriau or Dubonnet, if theyâre available. I want him to question all the
concierges, all the tenants not only of number 63 and the immediately neighbouring houses but
also
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