Maigret on the Riviera by Georges Simenon

Author:Georges Simenon [Simenon, Georges]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Georges Simenon
ISBN: 9780156551588
Google: vUoOAAAACAAJ
Amazon: 0156551586
Goodreads: 140636
Publisher: Harvest
Published: 1931-12-31T11:00:00+00:00

* * *

6

A Round of Hotels

In Cannes, Maigret plodded around for hours doing the dreary work usually given to inspectors. But he needed to act, or at least to create the illusion of action.

From the police Vice Squad, he learned that Sylvie was in their records, and was well-known.

“I’ve never had any trouble with her,” said the sergeant who covered her district. “She behaves herself, and comes pretty regularly for inspection.”

“And the Liberty Bar?”

“So you’ve heard of it? A funny place. It kept us guessing a long time, and keeps a lot of people guessing still. Hardly a month goes by that we don’t get an anonymous letter about it… At first we thought Fat Jaja might be dealing in drugs. We kept her under observation. But I can assure you there’s nothing of that kind… Then people hinted that it was a haunt for perverts.”

“I know that’s not the case,” said Maigret.

“No. It’s really quite harmless. Old Mother Jaja has an irresistible attraction for a certain type: older men, who no longer care for anything but simply like to sit and tipple with her… Besides the bar, she has a small pension, because her husband died accidentally.”

“I know.”

In another department, Maigret asked about Joseph.

“We keep an eye on him, because he’s always at the races. But nothing has ever been brought up against him.”

No leads. Hands in his pockets, Maigret strode through the town with an increasingly disgruntled look.

He began to visit the big hotels, where he examined the registers. After stopping to have lunch in a restaurant near the station, he went on. By three o’clock he was reasonably sure that Harry Brown had not spent the previous Tuesday or Wednesday night in Cannes, or Thursday or Friday either.

It was ridiculous—doing things just to keep busy.

Young Brown could just as well have driven over from Marseille and gone back the same day.

Maigret returned to the Vice Squad and borrowed the photograph they had of Sylvie. He already had one of William Brown, which he’d taken from the villa.

And he plunged into a new milieu: little hotels, particularly those around the harbor, where you could take a room, not only for the night, but also by the hour.

The proprietors of these places knew immediately that he belonged to the police. It was their business to, since they were afraid of the police more than anything.

“Wait a moment. I’ll ask the chambermaid.”

There would be hurried footsteps on dark staircases. This was a world where you didn’t have to probe deep to find the seamy side of life.

“That big man? No, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him here.”

It was the photograph of William Brown that Maigret showed first, after which he would produce Sylvie’s.

Hers was recognized almost every time.

“Yes, she’s been here. But we haven’t seen her lately.”

“At night?”

“No, not particularly. When she comes with somebody, it’s always ‘for a moment.’ ”

Hotel Bellevue… Hotel du Port… Hotel Bristol… Hotel d’Auvergne…

And many more, most of them on little streets, most of

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.