Maigret's Dead Man Page #4

four witnesses at the track.

He saw the dead man laying bets on

the 2:
20 the day before yesterday.

Very good. I have a sighting of a

cream-and-blue Citroen

broken down here at

the Quai Henri IV at 8:10.

Now it was pointing in the direction

of the Pont d'Austerlitz.

The telegraph boy who saw it

was a bit of an enthusiast.

He reckons it was a Citroen Light

15 Traction Avant,

Parisian registration.

The chief says it's the best lead

we've got so far.

Also, the chief wants to know who he

was trying to call from the post...

..office...

..as there was, er,

no record of him

calling at that time.

What are you doing?

And where is Maigret? He's gone home

with a heavy cold, sir. Hmm.

Right, I'll be at my desk

for the rest of the day.

Hello, Maigrets.

"Judge Comeliau for Maigret."

Yes, of course.

Comeliau. Be nice.

Hello.

Your men tell me

you're suffering from a heavy cold.

It's not heavy exactly, but I think

I should stay at home today.

I need you here. Colombani needs to

trace the man who bought

the train ticket to Goderville

and to find out whether similar

tickets were bought before

the other farms were attacked.

He has all my men are at his

disposal. I asked you not to work on

that unidentified body. I'm not,

but I'm thinking about it...as

I cope with my cold.

Be here tomorrow.

And what are you thinking about

your dead man?

I'm thinking about why he drank a

low-alcohol drink like Suze citron.

And why did he? People who drink it

tend not to go into a bar to drink,

but go in a professional capacity,

like a salesman,

who spends his day

being stood rounds.

So you think he was a commercial

traveller of some kind?

No, because of his shirt.

What was wrong with his shirt?

It was white.

It wasn't striped or coloured.

And the cuffs were not as worn

as the rest of the shirt.

What does that tell us?

Perhaps he was someone who spends

his days with his shirt sleeves

rolled up.

Like a barman or a cafe owner.

Maybe he had one of those little

bistros run by a married couple

that only serve one dish of the day.

Yes. Are you warm enough?

Another blanket? No, thank you. I'll

put some more coal on the stove.

And I think I know

when he changed his plan.

What plan? They pursued him

from the racecourse,

and that's when he tried to phone me.

But after three attempts

he rang somebody else...

..from the post office.

And then he went home,

ate his supper,

and waited for the second plan

to unfold.

What was it?

I don't know.

If he went home and had supper...

Yes? ..then maybe he was expecting

someone who was going to help him,

but that person didn't make it

until after his killers turned up.

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