Maigret Returns by Georges Simenon

Author:Georges Simenon [Simenon, Georges]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Georges Simenon
Publisher: Harcourt, Brace & Company
Published: 1933-12-31T11:00:00+00:00

6

The Light Blue Car

THE Rue Fontaine was a blaze of lights, doorkeepers stood in front of the various night-clubs, and chauffeurs beside the cars which lined the pavements. It was not until they had turned off to the right, past the Rue Blanche into the Boulevard Rochechouart, that the situation began to take shape.

In front walked Joseph Audiat, with a feverish and unsteady gait. He did not once look round.

Twenty yards behind, the solid figure of Maigret, his hands in his pockets, strode along calmly and relentlessly.

Their footsteps re-echoed through the still night – Audiat’s the more rapid, Maigret’s the more powerful and portentous.

Behind them purred the light blue car with Eugène at the wheel and the man from Marseilles beside him. It crept along at a walking-pace, hugging the pavement and trying to keep its distance. Sometimes Eugène had to change gears to maintain the same speed, and occasionally he would suddenly advance a few yards and then wait until the men had got a certain distance away.

There was no need for Maigret to look round. He understood what was happening. He knew that the big blue car was there, and he knew whose faces were behind the windscreen.

It was all very neat. He was following Audiat, because he had the impression that Audiat would be more easily intimidated than the rest, and they knew it too and were following him in their turn.

At first Maigret smiled faintly as he walked. Then his smile changed to a frown. Audiat was not making for the Rue Lepic, where he lived, nor for the center of the city. He kept along the boulevard, where the metro ran overhead, and at the Barbes crossroads he went towards La Chapelle.

It was highly improbable that he would have anything to do in that quarter at that time of night. Maigret was forced to the conclusion that he had arranged with the men in the car to lead him on towards more deserted districts.

There was no longer anyone about, except for an occasional woman lurking in the shadows and a man flitting from one to another of them making his choice.

But Maigret felt no undue excitement. He remained calm, and puffed steadily at his pipe, listening to his own footsteps, which were as steady as a metronome.

They crossed the railway line near the Gare du Nord, and Maigret got a glimpse of deserted platforms and an illuminated clock-face. It was half-past two. The car was still purring away behind them. Suddenly, for no reason, the horn gave a short blast. Audiat at once began to walk faster, so fast that it looked as if he were trying not to break into a run.

Also, for no apparent reason, he suddenly crossed the road. Maigret crossed too. For a moment he had a side-glimpse of the car, and at that moment he had a vague suspicion of what was in the wind.

The metro running overhead made the boulevard darker than any other street. A police patrol went

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