The Methods of Maigret ( PDFDrive )

Maigret shrugged, without replying.
“You’ll see how the psychiatrists will discuss their respective degrees of
responsibility.”
Mr. Pyke, screwing up his eyes on account of the sun, gazed at length at his
colleague as though he were trying to plumb his thoughts, then said simply:
“Ah!”
The Chief Inspector didn’t ask whether he had just arrived at a conclusion. He
spoke of something else, asking:
“Do you like the Mediterranean, Monsieur Pyke?”
And as Mr. Pyke, hesitating, was preparing his answer, he went on:
“I wonder whether the air isn’t too strong for me. We should probably be able
to get off this evening.”
The white church tower had become set against the sky, at once hard and
transparent. The mayor, intrigued, was looking out through the window at the
inside of his hall. What was Charlot doing? He could be seen rising from his
table and setting off hurriedly for the harbor.
Maigret watched him for a moment, frowning, then grunted:
“As long as…”
He rushed off in the same direction, followed by Mr. Pyke, who didn’t
understand.
When they arrived within sight of the jetty Charlot was already on the deck of
the yacht, ironically christened: Flower of Love.
He paused for a moment, leaning on the rail, examining the interior,
disappeared, then returned onto the deck carrying something in his arms.
When the two men arrived in their turn, Anna was stretched out on the deck,
and Charlot, without any shame, took off her sunsuit, laying bare in the sun a full
and heavy bosom.
“Didn’t it occur to you?” he questioned bitterly.
“Veronal?”
“There’s an empty tube on the cabin floor.”
There were five, then ten, then a whole crowd around the body of
Mademoiselle Bebelmans. The island doctor arrived with hesitant steps and said
in a broken voice:
“I’ve brought an emetic in case there’s a chance.”
Mrs. Wilcox was on the deck of her yacht, accompanied by one of her sailors,