Georges Simenon - Maigrets Special Murder (a. k. a. Maigrets Dead Man)

Maigrets Dead Man

also published as

Maigrets Special Murder

Maigret et son mort.
the 56th episode in the Maigret Saga
1948

Georges Simenon

Translated from the French by Jean Stewart

A 3S digital back-up edition 1.0

Contents

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Other Books by Georges Simenon

MAIGRET ABROAD MAIGRET TRAVELS SOUTH

THE PATIENCE OF MAIGRET MAIGRET KEEPS A RENDEZVOUS

MAIGRET TO THE RESCUE MAIGRET SITS IT OUT

MAIGRET AND MONSIEUR lABBE NO VACATION FOR MAIGRET

INSPECTOR MAIGRET AND THE STRANGLED STRIPPER

INSPECTOR MAIGRET AND THE KILLERS

MAIGRET IN NEW YORKS UNDERWORLD

INSPECTOR MAIGRET AND THE DEAD GIRL

INSPECTOR MAIGRET AND THE BURGLARS WIFE

THE METHODS OF MAIGRET NONE OF MAIGREts BUSINESS

THE SHORT CASES OF INSPECTOR MAIGRET

MADAME MAIGRETS OWN CASE VERSUS INSPECTOR MAIGRET

MAIGRET RENTS A ROOM

HAVOC BY ACCIDENT TROPIC MOON

AFFAIRS OF DESTINY ON THE DANGER LINE

ESCAPE IN VAIN THE SHADOWFALLS

THE MAN WHO WATCHED THE TRAINS GO BY

BLIND ALLEY BLACK RAIN

THE FIRST BORN THE SNOW WAS BLACK

HEART OF A MAN THE GIRL IN HIS PAST

ACT OF PASSION SATANS CHILDREN

TIDAL WAVE STRANGERS IN THE HOUSE

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY THE MAGICIAN AND THE WIDOW

DESTINATIONS: TWO NOVELS THE FUGITIVE

THE WITNESSES AND THE WATCHMAKER

PUBLISHED FOR THE CRIME CLUB BY DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC., GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK 1964

A CRIME CLUB SELECTION

Maigrets dead man had called him three times in one afternoon, saying his life was in danger and asking for police protection. At 2:00 the next morning his crumpled body was found, brutally stabbed, in the middle of the Place de la Concorde, but there were indications that he had been killed elsewhere and brought to a place where his body could not long go unnoticed.

In as fine a piece of deductive detection as he had ever done, Inspector Maigret identified the dead man, established his habits, and pieced together the details of his life; his findings led the police into the crowded, fetid, fascinating underworld of the Paris slums, where Maigret had a rendezvous with danger.

Scene: Paris

Published in France under the title of Maigret et Son Mort

All of the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 64-13104

Copyright 1948 by Georges Simenon

Translation Copyright 1964 by Hamish Hamilton Ltd

All Rights Reserved

Printed in the United States of America

First Edition in the United States of America

MAIGRETS DEAD MAN

ONE

Excuse me, madame

After long minutes of patient endeavor, Maigret at last managed to interrupt his visitor.

Youre telling me now that your daughter is slowly poisoning you

Its the truth.

A while ago you said with equal conviction that it was your son-in-law who contrived to come across the maid in the hall and pour poison into your coffee, or your herb tea

Its the truth.

And yethe consulted, or pretended to consult, the notes he had taken during the course of the interview, which had been going on for over an houryou told me to begin with that your daughter and her husband detest each other.

Thats the truth too, Chief Inspector.

And theyre plotting to kill you?

No! The point is theyre trying separately to kill me, do you see?

And your niece, Rita?

Separately too.

It was February. The weather was mild and sunny, with an occasional shower from the soft clouds drifting across the sky. Three times, however, since his visitor had come, Maigret had poked his stove, the last remaining stove at Police Headquarters, which he had had such a struggle to keep when the central heating was installed at the Quai des Orfvres.

The woman must have been bathed in sweat under her mink coat, under the black silk of her dress, under the load of jewels adorning her ears, neck, wrists, and bosom, like a gypsy. And she looked more like a gypsy than a lady of fashion, with her gaudy make-up, which had begun to cake and was now melting.

In short, there are three people trying to poison you.

Theyre not only trying to theyve started.

And you suggest that theyre doing it without one anothers knowledge

I dont merely suggest, Im sure of it.

She had the same Rumanian accent as a famous actress from the Boulevard theaters, the same sudden outbursts that never failed to startle him.

Im not crazy Read this You know Professor Touchard, I suppose. Hes the man they call in as an expert in important trials.

She had thought of everything, even of consulting the most famous psychiatrist in Paris and asking him for a note certifying that she was in her right mind.

There was nothing to be done but to wait patiently, occasionally scribbling a few words on a pad in order to satisfy her. She had had herself introduced by a minister who had telephoned in person to the chief of Police Headquarters. Her husband, who had died a few weeks earlier, had been a state councilor. She lived on Rue de Presbourg, in one of those huge stone houses overlooking the Place de lEtoile.

As for my son-in-law, this is what happens Ive studied the matter Ive been watching him for months

So he started while your husband was still alive?

She showed him a plan of the first floor of her house, which she had drawn with great care.

My room is marked A my daughters and her husbands B but Gaston has not been sleeping there for some time.

The telephone rang, at long last, giving Maigret a moments respite.

Hello whos speaking?

Usually the switchboard operator put people through to him only in urgent cases.

Excuse me, Chief Inspector somebody who wont give his name insists on talking to you. He says its a matter of life and death.

And he wants to speak to me personally?

Yes shall I put him on?

And Maigret heard an anxious voice saying:

Hello is that you?

Chief Inspector Maigret, yes

Forgive me my name wouldnt mean anything to you You dont know me, but youve met my wife Nine Are you there? I have to tell you everything very fast, because he may be here any minute

At first Maigret thought: Another lunatic. Its the day for them.

For he had noticed that one usually gets a run of lunatics, as if they were influenced by certain phases of the moon. He resolved to look at the calendar.

I wanted to come and see you at first I hung around the Quai des Orfvres, but I didnt dare go in, because he was following me He wouldnt have hesitated to shoot

Who are you talking about?

One moment Im not far away across from your office. I could see your window a minute ago Quai des Grands Augustins You know a little caf called Aux Caves du Beaujolais? Ive just come into the phone booth Hello are you listening?

It was ten minutes past eleven in the morning, and Maigret automatically noted the time on his pad, then the name of the caf.

Ive thought of every possible solution I spoke to a policeman on Place du Chtelet.

When?

Half an hour ago One of the men was following me It was the short dark one There are several of them. They work in relays Im not sure I can recognize all of them I know the short dark fellows one of them.

A silence.

Hello, Maigret said.

The silence lasted for a few moments, then the voice was heard again.