Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard Read Online Free PDF

listened patiently, looking about him, and trying to picture the scene in all its former glory.
    â€œThe front of the building is due for demolition as well. All the tenants have been given notice. Some have already left. The others have hung on, and, as things have turned out, they made the right decision, seeing that they’re still here. The only trouble is that, since the building was sold, the new owners have refused to maintain it. There are goodness knows how many lawsuits pending. The bailiff turns up once a month or so. I’ve packed up all my things twice already.”
    â€œDo you know Madame Thouret?”
    â€œI’ve never set eyes on her. They lived in the suburbs, in Juvisy.”
    â€œShe’s still there.”
    â€œHave you met her? What’s she like?”
    Maigret’s only reply was a grimace, leaving her in no doubt as to his feelings.
    â€œI’m not surprised. I had a feeling that he wasn’t particularly happy in his home life. His real life was here. I’ve always said that when the blow fell he was the hardest hit of all. Especially when you think that he was at the age when it’s difficult to change the habits of a lifetime.”
    â€œHow old was he?”
    â€œForty-five or forty-six, I’d say.”
    â€œDo you know what he did after he left here?”
    â€œHe never spoke of it. He must have been through some hard times. For a long time after he left, I never saw him. Then one day, when I was out shopping and in a tearing hurry as usual, I caught sight of him sitting on a bench. It was a shock. You just wouldn’t expect to see a man like him idle in the middle of the day. I was on the point of going up to him, when it struck me that it could only cause him embarrassment, so I turned off into a side street.”
    â€œHow long was this after the business closed down?”
    It was even colder here, under the glass roof, than in the courtyard.
    â€œWould you like to come into the lodge, and warm up?” she suggested. “It’s hard to say how long after. It wasn’t in the spring. There were no leaves on the trees. It was probably just about the end of the winter.”
    â€œWhen was the next time you saw him?”
    â€œOh! long afterwards, in midsummer. The thing that struck me most was that he was wearing goose-dung shoes. Why are you looking at me like that?”
    â€œNo reason. Please go on.”
    â€œIt was so out of character. He invariably wore black shoes when he worked here. He came into the lodge, and put a small parcel down on the table. It was wrapped in white paper and tied with gold ribbon. It was a box of chocolates. He sat down in this chair here. I made him a cup of coffee, and slipped out to get a half-bottle of Calvados from the shop on the corner, leaving him to keep an eye on things in the lodge.”
    â€œWhat did he have to say for himself?”
    â€œNothing special. But you could see that it made him happy, just to be breathing the air of this place again.”
    â€œDidn’t he refer to the change in his life?”
    â€œI asked him how things were going, and he said he had nothing to complain of. At any rate, he obviously wasn’t working office hours, seeing that he was able to call on me between ten and eleven in the morning. Another time, he came in the afternoon, and he was wearing a light tie. I teased him about it, and remarked that it made him look years younger. He was never one to take offense. Then I asked about his daughter. I’ve never met her, but he always carried photographs of her, right from the time when she was a few months old. He was a proud father all right, and was always ready to show the photographs to anyone.”
    No recent photographs of Monique had been found on him, only the one taken when she was a baby.
    â€œIs that all you can tell me?”
    â€œHow should I know anything more? I’m shut up in this place from morning to night.