Maigret at the Coroner's by Georges Simenon

Author:Georges Simenon [Simenon, Georges]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Georges Simenon
ISBN: 9780241103654
Publisher: Harvest
Published: 1979-12-31T11:00:00+00:00

6

The Buddies Line Up

Things were growing cozy. In the morning, and especially after the midday meal, which some ate in the courthouse patio and others in the square outside, people recognized each other with pleasure. They exchanged greetings or made small gestures. By now, everyone knew what seats the usual spectators would occupy, and even the five Air Force men no longer looked at members of the public as if they were intruders.

The coziness was all the more palpable downstairs, where the members of the jury sat on benches usually reserved for the public. There they were, side by side with the curious onlookers. If need be, extra chairs were brought in. Inevitably, the coroner would scowl at the great, noisy fan. The water fountain, with its ever-ready ice water and its cylinder of paper cups, was near Maigret, so that anyone at a given moment might find himself at his side.

Ever since he had patted the young black woman’s baby, she had kept his seat for him, and she turned radiant, pearly smiles his way.

As for Ezekiel, he waited for each session to begin before he pounced on whatever new offender dared appear with a cigar or a cigarette. He was a make-believe tough customer with the soul of a playful urchin.

He would rise up all of a sudden, his mustache trembling, his avenging arm outstretched, and cry without regard for whatever the prosecutors might be saying:

“Hey! You, there!”

The whole room would burst out laughing. People would turn around to see who had been caught.

“Put out your cigarette!”

Satisfied, Ezekiel would give a wink visible to the greater part of the room. He had had an even greater triumph the day he had called the prosecuting attorney himself to order. Coming into the room after an adjournment, he had forgotten to snuff out his smoke.

“Hey! Mr. Attorney!”

Maigret could not believe the case would wind up this particular day; he could not believe that, in a few hours, the five men and one woman who made up the jury would be in a position to decide whether or not Bessie’s death had been an accident.

If their decision was yes, then the case would be closed, once and for all. If, on the contrary, they decided that the girl’s death was due to criminal maneuvers by one or more other persons, then Mike O’Rourke and his men would have all the time they needed to work, pending the final hearing on the case.

It was strange. At breakfast, Maigret had made a little discovery that had amused him, that had given him pleasure especially because it was a sort of tiny triumph over Henry Cole. Cole had not behaved exactly as he had earlier. He had been a little cocky, as if he had been showing off to a pretty woman whom they might have had with them, and Maigret guessed that it was all because of Cole’s having taken Ernesto, the drug dealer.

At bottom, Cole felt the involuntary respect, almost admiration, for

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