The Grand Banks Café Read Free Page A

a slight awkwardness in his smile.
    It was Jorissen, the primary-school
     teacher from Quimper. Maigret had not seen him for fifteen years, and Jorissen was
     not sure whether he should treat him with their old easy familiarity.
    â€˜Look, I’m sorry … I … that
     is we, Mademoiselle
Léonnec and I, have
     only just got here … I did the rounds of the hotels … They said you … they said
     you’d be back … She’s Pierre Le Clinche’s fiancée … She insisted
     …’
    She was tall, rather pale, rather shy.
     But when Maigret shook her hand, he sensed that behind the façade of small-town,
     unsophisticated coyness there was a strong will.
    She didn’t speak. She felt out of
     her depth. As did Jorissen, who was still just a primary-school teacher who was now
     meeting up again with his old friend, who now held one of the highest ranks in the
     Police Judiciare.
    â€˜They pointed out Madame Maigret
     in the lounge just now, but I didn’t like to …’
    Maigret took a closer look at the girl,
     who was neither pretty nor plain, but there was something touching about her natural
     simplicity.
    â€˜You do know that he’s
     innocent, don’t you?’ she said finally, looking at no one in
     particular.
    The porter was waiting to get back to
     his bed. He had already unbuttoned his jacket.
    â€˜We’ll see about that
     tomorrow … Have you got a room somewhere?’
    â€˜I’ve got the room next to
     you … to yours,’ stammered the teacher from Quimper, still unsure of himself.
     ‘And Mademoiselle Léonnec is on the floor above … I’ve got to get back
     tomorrow, there are exams on … Do you think …?’
    â€˜Tomorrow! We’ll see
     then,’ Maigret said again.
    And as he was getting ready for bed, his
     wife, already half asleep, murmured:
    â€˜Don’t forget to turn the
     light out.’

2.
     The Tan-Coloured Shoes
    Side by side, not looking at each other,
     they walked together first along the beach, which was deserted at that time of day,
     and then along the quays by the harbour.
    Gradually, the silences grew fewer until
     Marie Léonnec was speaking in a more or less natural tone of voice.
    â€˜You’ll see! You’ll
     like him straight away! He couldn’t be anything but likeable! And then
     you’ll understand that …’
    Maigret kept shooting curious, admiring
     glances at her. Jorissen had gone back to Quimper, very early that morning, leaving
     the girl by herself in Fécamp.
    â€˜I can’t make her come with
     me,’ he had said. ‘She’s far too independent for that.’
    The previous evening, she was as
     unforthcoming as a young woman raised in the peace and quiet of a small town can be.
     Now, it wasn’t an hour since she and Maigret had walked out of the Hôtel de la
     Plage together.
    The inspector was behaving in his most
     crusty manner.
    But to no effect. She refused to let
     herself be intimidated. She was not taken in by him, and she smiled confidently.
    â€˜His only fault,’ she went
     on, ‘is that he is so very sensitive. But it’s hardly surprising. His
     father was just a poor fisherman, and for years his mother mended nets to raise him.
     Now he keeps her. He’s educated. He’s got a bright future before
     him.’
    â€˜Are your parents well off?’ Maigret asked
     bluntly.
    â€˜They are the biggest makers of
     ropes and metal cables in Quimper. That’s why Pierre wouldn’t even speak
     to my father about us. For a whole year, we saw each other in secret.’
    â€˜You were both over
     eighteen?’
    â€˜Just. I was the one who told my
     parents. Pierre swore that he wouldn’t marry me until he was earning at least
     two thousand francs a month. So you see …’
    â€˜Has he written to you since he
     was arrested?’
    â€˜Just one letter. It