Maigret's Dead Man

Is anyone inside?

Don't know, sir.

Come on.

Kitchen.

Come out.

Come out!

Thank you.

Monsieur.

Come on, quick. Come on!

Hey.

Good afternoon.

What can I get you?

A token for the phone.

And to drink?

Er, whatever you want.

Um, a Suze citron.

Police Judiciaire. What department,

please?

Putting you through.

Maigret.

Look, you don't know my name

but you've met my wife, Nina.

She says she's met you. Who is this?

My name won't mean anything to you,

but they're going to kill me.

I've tried to come and see you

but they would've shot me. Who?

I don't know how many,

at least two.

And since the 2:
20 they've been

trying to get me on my own so they

can kill me. Help me.

Where are you?

I tried to get a policeman at the

Place du Chatelet to arrest them,

but he couldn't see anyone.

They'd disappeared.

"I'm Nina's husband.

She says you've met her."

Nina who? I'm at the Cave du

Beaujolais. Oh, no.

Hello?

Hello?

"Yes, sir?" Get me

the Cave du Beaujolais. "Sir."

Janvier? Chief.

Get down to the Cave du Beaujolais,

find the man who just rang here.

Should I bring him in? No, just talk

to him. Find out who he is.

"I'm afraid that number is engaged,

Inspector. I can't get through."

Righto. Phone, Chief. Says you know

him. Nina's husband.

He's here.

Where are you now? "They've swapped

over now, it's the big one.

I'm going to try and lead him to

the Canon de la Bastille.

Can you meet me there?

Do you know it?" Yes.

Who are these men?

I doubt that's him either.

Hoax?

There you are.

Ah. Do you want a drink? Mwah. Mwah.

Did you get a description?

"Fawn raincoat, mid-thirties,

small. He said he was the sort of

man you see a lot of."

Can you get word out to the city

police that if a man wearing a fawn

raincoat has had an accident,

or been in a fight or anything like

that, they're to call me."

I've had a call from the Jours

Heureux in the Rue du Faubourg.

They said a frightened, anxious man

approached the bar with a message

to ring you. It reads,

"I'll try and get to you,

they're blocking all the routes."

Come on.

And an envelope, please.

"..another farmhouse has been

attacked near the town of

Goderville.

As with the burglaries on the 12th

of August and the 21st of September,

the perpetrators ransacked the

property and murdered the owner.

On this occasion, a farmhand was

also killed.

Police are following up reports of

unusual..."

"..if anyone has any information..."

"Police Judiciaire.

What department, please?"

"Hello."

Joe, it's Albert.

"Albert, what can I do for you?" Can

you come and meet me? "Sure. When?"

I've got an idea.

"Oh, yeah?"

Nina.

He said I'd met her.

Professionally?

There was a madam called Nina,

worked in the 18th.

But that was years ago.

She was 60 then.

The police in the Picardie farm

murders think someone got off

the Paris train at Goderville at

3:
30 in the morning.

Having travelled from Paris?

That's what it says here.

Who'd take a route like that?

That train stops at every station

along the line.

Someone who really wanted to

get to Goderville.

Who's on tonight?

I am.

As far as you can tell, he was dead.

I can try.

That's fine with me.

Not a hoax.

Chief,

this gentleman saw the body

get thrown from the car.

Was he alive?

No.

He's been stabbed in the heart, sir.

What kind of car?

It was a cream and blue Citroen

with a Paris registration.

The last two numbers were

a seven and a five.

Thank you.

Can I ask you to confirm your name

and address, please? Of course.

Can you get some details from

this gentleman here? Sir.

Thank you for your help.

Who's done this?

It feels like an underworld job,

Chief.

A settling of scores.

Who is he? He had nothing in his

pockets, Chief, no wallet or

anything.

Looking at how they've wrecked

his face,

I'm not sure even his own mother

would recognise him. That's how

they do it.

Watch the chief. He's going to get

in the van with this one.

No, he won't.

He will.

This one's got under his skin.

I'll stay with him.

Thank you.

Do you have to smoke

while we're doing this? Hmm.

Antiseptic in the air.

Where did you qualify?

Is his suit handmade?

It's off-the-peg, average stuff.

He's poor all right,

or at least his childhood was.

How can you tell?

By looking at his teeth.

Where did you qualify?

What else, Paul?

His hands don't suggest

any particular occupation.

They're well-kept. He's got tender

feet though, with dropped arches,

They're well-kept. He's got tender

which indicates a life standing up.

Any scars on the body?

Any old wounds?

I don't think he's underworld,

Maigret.

Time of death?

Between eight and ten last night.

Well, good night, gentlemen.

What did they damage his face with?

Something heavy. Not fists.

After he died?

Yeah, that's right.

It was the knife that killed him

but...

..it's like he's been held down

and operated on.

The bruises on the arms,

this knife wound to the heart.

It's vicious, Maigret.

I'd like to get a mortician

to reconstruct his face,

see if we can get

a recognisable photograph.

All right. I'm going to open him up

and see what he last ate.

Those of a weak disposition

should look away.

We need to find the

cream-and-blue Citroen.

Janvier, take a man

and do nothing else. Hmm, Chief.

And I want witnesses from the bars

from which the dead man called.

Are people going to recognise him

from this? They might.

Those bars were

the Cave du Beaujolais,

the Canon de la Bastille,

and the Jours Heureux.

And we believe he tried to call

the switchboard from the post office

in the Rue de Faubourg.

People are creatures of habit, so the

same time of day is when we'll get

witnesses.

People are creatures of habit, so the

His last suspected location

was the post office,

three hours before he died.

I want to know where he went after

that, why the phone calls stopped

and where he ate.

Well, he was killed shortly after

his last meal, which was...

cream cod, an apple,

and white wine to drink.

So we should check the menus of all

the cafes and bistros, all of them.

Thank you.

Fingerprints?

He's not known to us.

Your registration number is

1808 AD38?

Have we had any cream-and-blue

Citroens

reported missing in the last few

days? And can you tell...

He asked for an envelope and a stamp.

He posted it before he left.

Has the box been emptied since?

Every three hours. He posted it

after he make a phonecall.

- Has the box been emptied since?

- Every three hours. He posted it

What have you got?

I have a cream-and-blue Citroen

stolen eight days ago, but its

registration doesn't tally, so...

It's not our car.

What do you do when you get home,

Janvier?

I give my wife a kiss. Hmm.

When I get home

I get changed out of my suit jacket.

You think he went home

after calling you?

That would explain why the jacket

and the trousers don't match.

Moers, do you have a knife?

Yes, of course.

There we are.

Put the tip through here.

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