Maigret, Lognon and the Gangsters by Georges Simenon

Author:Georges Simenon
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780141982892
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2017-01-05T00:00:00+00:00

6.

Where everyone starts playing rough, and bones get broken

The third district police station was only a few buildings away from the harshly lit bar Maigret had gone into. If Lognon hadn’t been so keen, it would have taken on the case, since Rue Fléchier, where the body had been dumped, was on the edge of its patch.

Maigret dialled the station’s number with a worried look on his face.

‘Hello? Who’s that? It’s Maigret speaking.’

‘Inspector Bonfils, sir.’

‘How many men have you got with you, Bonfils?’

‘Only two: big Nicolas and Danvers.’

‘Listen carefully. I’m in the Bar du Soleil. A guy’s tailing me.’

‘What does he look like?’

‘I’ve no idea. He’s making sure to stay in the shadows and keep enough of a distance so that I can only see his silhouette.’

‘Do you want us to take him in for questioning?’

Maigret almost snapped, like Pozzo and Luigi: ‘He’s not an amateur!’

‘Listen carefully,’ he said. ‘If the guy has come up to the window and seen me go into the phone booth, he’ll have realized what I’m doing and, in that case, he’s probably making himself scarce as we speak. If he hasn’t seen me, he will have still considered the possibility of my telephoning and … What’s that?’

‘I was saying that people don’t think of everything.’

‘Most people don’t, I know. At any event, he is on his guard.’

Although he couldn’t see Bonfils’ face, Maigret was sure it bore a mildly ironic expression. What a fuss about simply accosting some unsuspecting guy in the street! It was completely standard. They did it ten times a day.

‘Are you staying in the bar, chief?’

‘No. There are still people out and about. I’d rather we did it in a deserted street. Rue Grange-Batelière will do. It’s not long and it will be easy to seal it off at both ends. Send two or three uniformed men to Rue Drouot right away and tell them not to show themselves and to have their guns at the ready.’

‘Is it as serious as that?’

‘Probably. Nicolas and Danvers are to take up position on the steps of Passage Jouffroy. I suppose the gates to the alley are locked now?’

‘Yes.’

‘Go over their instructions with them at least twice. In about ten minutes, I’ll leave the bar and make my way slowly towards Rue Grange-Batelière. As I pass the entrance to the alley, your men should stay put. Then, when the man who’s following me gets to them, they jump him. But be careful! He’ll be armed.’

Knowing he was making the inspector smile, Maigret added:

‘Unless I’m very much mistaken, he’s a killer. Meanwhile I want you to take a few men and seal off Rue du Faubourg-Montmartre.’

It was unusual to use such numbers to arrest one man, but even so, at the last minute Maigret had another thought.

‘To be doubly sure, put a car in Rue Drouot.’

‘Talking of cars, chief …’

‘What is it?’

‘It’s probably irrelevant, but I’ll tell you anyway, just in case. Has the man been following you for long?’

‘Since Rue Richer.’

‘Do you know how he got there?’

‘No.

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