Maigret's Dead Man Page #2

The two holes don't align. He wasn't

killed wearing his raincoat.

No, he was killed indoors

without the coat,

and they faked it to look outdoors.

All right, your dead man is

speaking to me at last, Maigret.

In the arch of his shoe

there's an odd sort of mud.

It's earth saturated with alcohol,

probably wine.

The type of soil

you find in a cellar

where a cask has been broached.

"Police in Picardie are still

working around the clock..."

I've said everything I saw,

gentlemen.

There's nothing else I can add.

"..on the slow train to Le Havre

on the night of 8th October,

the night of the third vicious

attack on a wealthy farmer.

The attack follows similar

burglaries and killings

on the nights of 21st September and

12th August.

The murders in each case

have been calculated.

Calls have been made to

the Police Judiciaire in Paris..."

What drink did the dead man order?

A Suze citron.

May I have a Suze citron?

And a token for the phone.

Where did he stand?

Just there.

Do you want a Suze citron?

No. Beer.

He said, "Since the 2:20 they've been

trying to get me alone and kill me."

What's the 2:
20? A train?

Or a horse race. I don't know.

Oof.

Get his photo around

the train stations and race tracks,

and check on the times of trains

and races.

"And they're off."

"..slipping into stride at the tail of the field...

" Well?

Yeah, it's difficult to tell,

but if this is who I think it is,

you see him a lot.

Do you know his name?

No - but he's here every meeting.

Thank you.

Sir.

What's he doing?

Walking through the same areas

as Dead Man.

"..racing on the outside..."

Here you are.

This letter he posted,

was that to you?

No, nothing's arrived.

Then why hasn't his wife reported

him missing? Is she involved?

I don't think so.

He didn't speak of her with any fear.

Drop it.

I don't think this is underworld,

sir. That's exactly what it is,

and we'll never find a thing.

Let them kill each other.

I don't have resources for this.

We've just had a request from

Picardie for assistance with

the farmhouse murders.

Make your entire department

available to Inspector Colombani

and offer him your full,

personal assistance. Is that clear?

I'd like to keep this investigation

going as well.

He has got a link to Paris with this

train journey, and he'll need all

our manpower and experience -

And he'll get it, but -

Good. File that.

Judge Comeliau, good to meet you.

Inspector Colombani.

A good journey?

Yes, it was very quick.

Right, now let's get this down,

please?

If we can be careful.

Ah, good morning. Moers.

Colombani.

Morning. What have you got for me?

This chaise longue is from

the living room

of the farmhouse in Goderville

which was attacked two nights ago.

Is it possible you can tell me

something about the last people who

sat on it? We can give it a try.

I believe a number of people sat

and watched a woman being tortured

and killed.

Can I interrupt?

Excuse me. Hmm.

Put it on the top.

Excuse me, sir.

It's a pleasure to meet you,

Chief Inspector. Colombani.

My whole department is at

your disposal. Thank you.

Except for Inspectors LaPointe

and Janvier

who are helping me with another

investigation for a few days.

Ah. Well, I was hoping that you

would be assisting me mainly.

As soon as I can, I will.

I'm sure you understand.

He wants them over there.

Yes.

I also want all the jewellers and

the silver merchants in Paris

checked out for items stolen from

the Picardie farmhouses.

Here's a list of

all the things taken.

Check the fences, see if anything

connects to the murder victims,

and we need detectives on every

train travelling to Le Havre.

Your job is to find the man who got

off the train at Goderville

at 3:
30 in the morning.

All right, so I've got

four witnesses at the track.

He saw the dead man laying bets on

the 2:
20 the day before yesterday.

Very good. I have a sighting of a

cream-and-blue Citroen

broken down here at

the Quai Henri IV at 8:10.

Now it was pointing in the direction

of the Pont d'Austerlitz.

The telegraph boy who saw it

was a bit of an enthusiast.

He reckons it was a Citroen Light

15 Traction Avant,

Parisian registration.

The chief says it's the best lead

we've got so far.

Also, the chief wants to know who he

was trying to call from the post...

..office...

..as there was, er,

no record of him

calling at that time.

What are you doing?

And where is Maigret? He's gone home

with a heavy cold, sir. Hmm.

Right, I'll be at my desk

for the rest of the day.

Hello, Maigrets.

"Judge Comeliau for Maigret."

Yes, of course.

Comeliau. Be nice.

Hello.

Your men tell me

you're suffering from a heavy cold.

It's not heavy exactly, but I think

I should stay at home today.

I need you here. Colombani needs to

trace the man who bought

the train ticket to Goderville

and to find out whether similar

tickets were bought before

the other farms were attacked.

He has all my men are at his

disposal. I asked you not to work on

that unidentified body. I'm not,

but I'm thinking about it...as

I cope with my cold.

Be here tomorrow.

And what are you thinking about

your dead man?

I'm thinking about why he drank a

low-alcohol drink like Suze citron.

And why did he? People who drink it

tend not to go into a bar to drink,

but go in a professional capacity,

like a salesman,

who spends his day

being stood rounds.

So you think he was a commercial

traveller of some kind?

No, because of his shirt.

What was wrong with his shirt?

It was white.

It wasn't striped or coloured.

And the cuffs were not as worn

as the rest of the shirt.

What does that tell us?

Perhaps he was someone who spends

his days with his shirt sleeves

rolled up.

Like a barman or a cafe owner.

Maybe he had one of those little

bistros run by a married couple

that only serve one dish of the day.

Yes. Are you warm enough?

Another blanket? No, thank you. I'll

put some more coal on the stove.

And I think I know

when he changed his plan.

What plan? They pursued him

from the racecourse,

and that's when he tried to phone me.

But after three attempts

he rang somebody else...

..from the post office.

And then he went home,

ate his supper,

and waited for the second plan

to unfold.

What was it?

I don't know.

If he went home and had supper...

Yes? ..then maybe he was expecting

someone who was going to help him,

but that person didn't make it

until after his killers turned up.

Because their car broke down.

That's why the friend didn't make it.

If his friend was in the car,

why would he dump his body?

I thought you were too ill to work.

Get me Janvier.

"Yes, Chief."

Get me Janvier.

Janvier?

It's the chief.

Chief? "Find out how long the

cream-and-blue Citroen's

been broken down at

the Quai Henri IV.

And release details of the car

to the Press.

We want anyone who saw it

to come forward. Right away, Chief.

I think by now all of France know

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes