OU_214051 UNIVERSA - Osmania University

THE SAILORS' RENDEZVOUS 253
" Wait. . .. What'll you have? ... A small apdritif. It's nearly
time for one. You see, as I told you yesterday, I don't press people
to drink. On the contrary! And above all, when they've finished I
don't charge them for more than what they owe me. Go and see
whether I'm wanted in the kitchen, Julie! ..."
He gave the inspector a knowing wink.
" Your health! . . . I saw you a long way off. So, as I'd something
to tell you . .."
He went to make sure that the girl wasn't listening behind the
door. Then, with an increasingly enigmatic but delighted look, he
drew something out of his pocket, a piece of cardboard the shape of
a photograph.
" Voila! What do you say to that? "
It was a photograph all right, the photograph of a woman. But
the head was scribbled all over with red ink. A furious attempt had
been made to eradicate the face completely. The pen had scratched
holes in the paper. There were lines in every direction so that not
a square millimetre was left visible.
Below the head, however, the bust was left untouched. The
bosom was opulent, the dress made of some shiny satin, very tight
and low-cut.
"Where did you find this?"
More winks. . . .
"I don't mind telling you, as we're alone. Le Clinche's locker
shuts rather badly. So he had the habit of slipping his fiancee's
letters under his table-cloth."
" And you used to read them? "
" Oh, they were quite uninteresting. It was only by chance. . . .
When they made a search they didn't think of looking under the
cover. . . . The idea occurred to me in the evening, and this is what
I found. Of course you can't see the head. But it's not the fiancee.
She's not that build. I've seen her portrait too. So there is another
woman in the background. ..."
Maigret looked intently at the portrait. The line of the shoulders
was alluring. The woman must be rather older than Marie Leonnec.
There was something extremely sensual about the bust.
A bit vulgar, too! The dress looked like a* cheap copy of some
fancy model.
" Is there any red ink in the place? "
" No! Nothing but green ink."
" Le Clinche never used red ink? "