The Methods of Maigret ( PDFDrive )

working the slot machine while his companion on the bench was engrossed in a
film magazine. Had they had their ‘little bit of fun’?
“Isn’t your friend with you?” asked Paul in surprise.
For Mr. Pyke as well, it must have been like a holiday. He was with another
Englishman. He could speak his language, use expressions which only meant
something to two men from the same school.
It was easy to envisage the arrival of the Cormorant. Each time the same
phenomenon took place. Outside there was a sort of downward current. People
could be seen passing by, all making for the harbor. Then, once the boat was
moored, the ebb would begin. The same people would pass by in the opposite
direction, with, in addition, the new arrivals carrying suitcases or bags.
He followed the downward current, not far from the mayor who was pushing
his eternal wheelbarrow. On the boat deck he at once saw Ginette and the
Inspector, who looked like a couple of lovers. There were also fishermen coming
back from the funeral and two old ladies, tourists for the Grand Hotel.
In the group of people watching the disembarkation, he recognized Charlot
who had followed him and who, like him, seemed to be going through a ritual
without really believing in it.
“Nothing new, Chief?” asked Lechat, no sooner had he set foot on land. “If
you knew how hot it was over there!”
“Did it go off all right?”
Ginette stayed with them, quite naturally. She appeared tired. Her look
betrayed a certain anxiety.
The three of them set off toward the Arche, and Maigret had the feeling that
he had been taking this walk daily for a very long time.
“Are you thirsty, Ginette?”
“I could do with an aperitif.”
They drank together on the terrace, and Ginette was uncomfortable every time
she felt Maigret’s gaze fall upon her. He looked at her dreamily, heavily—like a
person whose thoughts are far away.
“I’ll go up and wash,” she announced when her glass was empty.
“May I come with you?”
Lechat who sensed something new in the air, tried to guess. He didn’t dare
question his chief. He remained alone at the table while the latter, behind
Ginette, climbed the stairs.
“You know,” she said, when they were finally in her room, “I really want to