Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard by Georges Simenon

Author:Georges Simenon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2010-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

He wondered what the family was doing in Juvisy. No doubt the widow’s sisters, along with their husbands and daughters, had rallied round. They had probably all dined there, in the house of mourning. A substantial meal, without a doubt, as was only fitting after a funeral. They must have discussed Madame Thouret’s future, and Monique’s as well.

Maigret could just see them, the two men lounging in the best armchairs, with drinks and good cigars.

“Do have a drop of something, Emilie. It will do you good.”

Had they talked of the dead man? Probably someone had remarked that, in spite of the shocking weather, the funeral had been well attended.

Maigret was almost tempted to go and see for himself. He was particularly anxious to have a serious talk with Monique. But not at her home. At the same time, he was reluctant to summon her officially.

Almost without thinking, he asked the operator to put him through to her place of work.

“Are you Geber et Bachelier?”

“Georges Bachelier speaking.”

“I wonder if you are expecting Mademoiselle Thouret to be back at work tomorrow morning?”

“Certainly. She had today off to attend to family matters, but I can’t see any reason why she shouldn’t…Who is that speaking?”

Maigret hung up.

“Isn’t Santoni back yet?”

“He hasn’t been in since early this morning.”

“Leave him a note, will you, telling him that I want a watch kept, from first thing tomorrow morning, on the entrance to Geber et Bachelier. As soon as Mademoiselle Thouret arrives, I want her brought here. Tell him to treat her gently.”

“You want her brought here?”

“Yes, to my office.”

“Anything else?”

“No, nothing. I shall be working in here for a time. I don’t want to be disturbed.”

He had had enough for one day of Louis Thouret, his family, and his mistress. If it hadn’t been for his sense of duty, he would have walked straight out and gone to a cinema.

He stayed until seven, plowing through a mass of paperwork as if the fate of the world depended on it. Not only did he polish off everything in his pending tray, he also dealt with several files that had been kicking around for weeks or even months, and which were of no importance whatsoever.

When finally he left, his vision blurred from having spent so long poring over print and typescript, he was aware of a change. At first, he couldn’t think what it was. Then he held out his hand, and realized that it was no longer raining. He felt an odd sense of deprivation.

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.