Maigret Bides His Time by Georges Simenon

Author:Georges Simenon [Simenon, Georges]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: Georges Simenon
ISBN: 9780156551519
Google: V02MKI-5MNoC
Amazon: 0156551519
Publisher: Thorndike Pr
Published: 1965-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

"Being caught."

"How?"

"When they sell."

"Good! You're getting there. All stones of a certain value have a sort of civil status, and the people in the business know them. The minute a burglary is committed, a description of the jewels is circulated, not only in France but also abroad.

"A receiver, if the burglars know one, will give only ten to fifteen percent of the value of the goods.

Nearly always, a couple of years later, when he puts the stones in circulation, the police will identify them and trace them back. Are you with me?"

"I presume that's what happens. You know more about it than I do."

"Well, for years jewels have been disappearing periodically as a result of holdups or window breakings, without ever being found again. What does that mean?"

"How should I know?"

"Come on, Pernelle. One doesn't do your job for thirty or forty years without knowing the tricks of the trade, even if one doesn't take a hand in it."

"I haven't been in Montmartre for so long."

"The first problem is not only to unset the stones, but also to transform them, which entails the complicity of a diamond cutter. Do you know one?"

"No."

"Not many people do, for the simple reason that there aren't many of them around, not just in France but in the world. There aren't more than about fifty in Paris, nearly all living in the Marais, near Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, and they form a very closed little set. Besides, the brokers, the diamond dealers, and the big jewelers who give them work have got their eye on them."

"I hadn't thought of that."

"You don't say!"

There was a knock on the door. It was the bartender, who handed Maigret a slip of paper.

"That's just been dropped off for you."

"Who by?"

"The waiter from the cafè on the corner."

Lapointe had written in pencil on a page from a notebook:

"He went into the phone booth. Through the window I saw him dial Etoile 42.39. Not sure of the last number. He's sitting in a corner reading a newspaper. I'm staying here."

"Do you mind if I use one of your telephones? By the way, why have you got two lines?"

"I've only got one. The second telephone connects with the restaurant."

"Hello! Directory Assistance? Superintendent Maigret from the Police Judiciaire. I'd like to know, urgently, the name of the subscriber to Etoile 42.39. I'm not sure about the last number.

Could you call me back here?"

"Now," he said to Pernelle, "I wouldn't mind a glass of beer."

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