Maigret Hesitates by Georges Simenon

Author:Georges Simenon [Simenon, Georges]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Georges Simenon
ISBN: 9780156551526
Publisher: Mariner
Published: 1967-12-31T11:00:00+00:00

Maigret reread the letter with a grave expression on his face and went to the door to call Janvier and Lapointe. Lucas was not there.

“Read this, boys.”

He watched them with some anxiety, as if to see if their reactions were the same as his. They had not been contaminated by the time spent in the apartment. They could only judge by the bits of evidence they had seen.

Leaning together over the sheet of paper, they showed an increasing interest and a growing alarm.

“It looks as if things are heating up,” murmured Janvier, laying the express letter on the desk.

“What are these people like?” asked Lapointe.

“Like everybody else and like no one at all…What I’m wondering is what we can do. I can’t leave a man in the apartment permanently, and anyway that wouldn’t do any good – the place is so vast that anything could happen in one part without someone in another part noticing. Have someone posted in the building? I’m going to do that tonight to ease my conscience, but, if the letters are not a joke, the blow won’t come from outside…

“Are you free, Lapointe?”

“I haven’t anything special on, Chief.”

“Right, then you’ll go. You’ll find the concierge in the lodge, a man called Lamure who used to work on the Rue des Saussaies. Spend the night in his room and go up to the first floor from time to time. Get Lamure to give you a list of all the people living in the building, including the staff, and check all points of entry.”

“I see.”

“What do you see?”

“That this way, if anything happens, we’ll at least have something to work on…”

It was true, but the superintendent hated to look at the situation in that light. If anything happened…All right! Since it wasn’t a question of theft, it could only be a death…Whose death? Killed by whom?

People had talked to him, had answered his questions, had seemed to be telling the truth. Was it for him, dammit, to decide who was lying and who was telling the truth, or even if one of the people involved was crazy?

He strode up and down his office with furious steps and talked as if to himself, while Lapointe and Janvier exchanged glances.

“It’s quite simple, Superintendent…Someone writes to you and says that someone is going to kill…The only thing is, he can’t tell you in advance who will kill whom, or when, or how…Why does he write to you? Why warn you? For no reason at all…To amuse himself…”

He seized a pipe and filled it, tapping it nervously with his index finger.

“Who does he take me for, anyway? If something happens, they’ll say it’s my fault…That woman in blue chiffon thinks it is already…It seems I’ve gone to work too quickly…What should I have done?

“Waited for an invitation? All right! And if nothing happens, I look like a fool, I’m the man who has wasted the taxpayers’ money for two days…”

Janvier remained serious, but Lapointe could not help smiling, and Maigret saw him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.