The Grand Banks Café (17 page)

‘How long did you stay in the
cabin?'

‘Maybe a couple of hours, I
don't remember. When I left with the blood still pounding in my ears, the
captain was there, just outside the door. He didn't say a word. He watched me
walk past. I almost went down on my knees so I could say it wasn't my fault
and that I was sorry. But he remained stony-faced. I walked on. I returned to my
post.

‘I was scared. After that, I
always went around with my loaded revolver in my pocket because I was convinced he
was going to kill me.

‘He never spoke to me again,
except for ship's business. And even then, most of the time he sent me his
orders in writing.

‘I wish I could explain it better,
but I can't. Each day it got worse. I had a feeling that everybody knew about
the terrible thing that happened.

‘The chief mechanic went sniffing
around the cabin too. The captain stayed inside it for hours and hours.

‘The men started giving us
inquisitive, anxious looks. They guessed that something was going on. How many times
did I hear talk of the evil eye?

‘But there was only one thing I
wanted …'

‘Of course there was,'
grunted Maigret.

There was a silence. Le Clinche stared
at the inspector with eyes full of resentment.

‘We ran into bad weather, ten days on the trot. I
was seasick. But I kept thinking about her. She was … fragrant! She … I can't
explain. It was like a pain. That's it! A desire capable of inflicting pain,
of making me weep tears of rage! Especially when I saw the captain go into his
cabin. Because now, I could imagine … You see, she'd called me her
big
boy
! In a special voice, sort of breathy. I kept saying those two words
over and over to torture myself. I stopped writing to Marie. I built impossible
dreams: I'd run away with that woman the moment we got back to
Fécamp.'

‘What about the
captain?'

‘He got even more stony-faced and
brusque. Maybe there was a touch of madness about him after all, I don't know.
He gave orders that we were to fish at some location or other, and all the old hands
claimed no one had ever seen a fish in those waters. He refused to have his orders
questioned. He was afraid of me. Did he know I had a gun? He had one too. Whenever
we met, he kept his hand near his pocket. I kept trying to see Adèle again. But he
was always around, with bags under his eyes and his lips drawn back. And the stink
of cod. The men who were salting the fish down in the hold … There was one accident
after another.

‘And the chief mechanic was also
on the prowl. It got so that none of us spoke freely any more. We were like three
lunatics. There were nights when I believe I could have killed somebody to get to
her. Can you understand that? Nights when I tore my handkerchief to shreds with my
teeth while I repeated over and over, in the same voice that she had used:

‘“
My big boy! That's my big
fool!
”

‘How long it seemed! Each night
was followed by a new day! And then more days! And with nothing but grey water
around us, freezing fogs, fish-scales and cod guts everywhere!

‘A taste of pickling brine in the
back of the throat that made your stomach heave …

‘Just that once! I believe that if
I could have gone to her one more time I'd have been cured! But it was
impossible.
He
was there. He was always there, more hollow-eyed all the
time.

‘The constant pitching and
tossing, with nothing as far as the eye could see. And then we saw cliffs!

‘Can you grasp the fact that it
had been like that for three months? Well, instead of being cured, I was even
sicker. It's only now that I'm beginning to realize that it was a
sickness.

‘I hated the captain who was
always in my way. I detested that man who was already old and kept a woman like
Adèle under lock and key.

‘I was afraid of returning to
port. I was afraid of losing her for ever.

‘By the finish, I was as scared of
him as of the devil himself! Yes, as if he were some kind of evil genie who was
keeping the woman all to himself!

‘As we got in, there were a few
navigation errors. Then the men jumped ashore, relieved to be back, and headed
straight for the bars. But I knew the captain was only waiting for the cover of
night to get Adèle off the boat.

‘I went back to my room over Léon's bar.
There were old letters, photos of my fiancée and the like, and I don't know
why but I got into a vile temper and I burned the whole lot.

‘Then I went back out. I wanted
her! I'll say it again: I wanted her! Hadn't she told me that when we
got back Fallut would marry her?

‘I bumped into a man …'

He let himself slump back on to his
pillow, and on his tortured features appeared an expression of agonized torment.

‘Because you know …' he
gasped.

‘Yes. Jean-Marie's father.
The trawler was berthed. Only the captain and Adèle were still on board. He was
about to bring her out. And then …'

‘Please, no more!'

‘And then you told the man who had
come to look at the boat on which his boy had died that his son had been murdered.
True? And you followed him. You were hiding behind a truck when he went up to the
captain …'

‘Stop!'

‘The murder happened there, while
you watched.'

‘Please stop!'

‘No! You were there when it
happened. Then you went on board and let the woman out.'

‘I didn't want her any
more!'

From outside came a long blast of a
hooter. Le Clinche's lips trembled as he stammered:

‘The
Océan …
'

‘That's right. She sails at
high tide.'

Neither of them spoke. They could hear all the sounds
made in the hospital, down to the muffled swish of a patient's trolley being
wheeled to the operating theatre.

‘I didn't want her any
more!' the wireless operator repeated wildly.

‘But it was too late!'

There was another silence. Then Le
Clinche's voice came again:

‘And yet … now … I want so much to
…'

He did not dare pronounce the word that
stuck to his tongue.

‘Live?'

Then he went on:

‘Don't you understand? I was
mad. I don't understand it myself. It all happened elsewhere, in another world
… Then we got back here, and I realized what had been happening. Listen. There was
that dark cabin and men prowling round, and nothing else existed. I felt as if that
was my whole life! I longed to hear those words again,
my big boy!
I
couldn't even begin to say how it all happened. I opened the door. She slipped
out. There was a man in tan-coloured shoes waiting for her, and they started hugging
each other on the side of the quay.

‘And I woke up – it's the
only word for it. And ever since all I've wanted is not to die. Marie Léonnec
came with you to see me. Adèle came too, with that other man.'

‘What do you want me to
say?'

‘It's too late now,
isn't it? I was let out of jail. I went on board and got my revolver. Marie
was waiting for me by the boat. She didn't know …

‘And that same afternoon, that woman was there,
talking. And the man in the tan-coloured shoes …

‘Who could possibly make sense of
it all? I pulled the trigger. It took me an age to bring myself to do it, on account
of Marie Léonnec, who was there!

‘And now …'

He sobbed. Then he literally
screamed:

‘All the same, I've got to
die! And I don't want to die! I'm afraid of dying! I … I …'

His body was racked by such spasms that
Maigret called a nurse, who quietly and unfussily subdued him with an economical
ease born of long professional experience.

The trawler gave a second harrowing
summons on its hooter, and the women hurried down to line the jetty.

Maigret reached the quay just as the new
captain was about to give the order to cast off the hawsers. He caught sight of the
chief mechanic, who was saying goodbye to his wife. He went up to him and took him
to one side.

‘Something I need to know. It was
you, wasn't it, who found the captain's will and dropped it into the
police station letterbox?'

The man looked worried and
hesitated.

‘You've nothing to worry
about. You suspected Le Clinche. You thought that it was a way of saving his neck.
Even though you both had had your eye on the same woman.'

The hooter, peremptory now, barked at
the latecomers, and hugging couples on the quayside peeled away from each other.

‘Don't bring all that up
again, do you mind? Is it true that he's going to die?'

‘Unless we can save him. Where was
the will?'

‘Among the captain's
papers.'

‘What exactly were you looking
for?'

‘I was hoping to find a
photo,' the man said, lowering his eyes. ‘Look, let me go, I've
got to …'

The hawser fell into the water. The
gangway was being raised. The chief mechanic jumped on to the deck, gave
his wife a last wave and cast a final
look at Maigret.

Then the trawler headed slowly towards
the harbour entrance. A sailor lifted the ship's boy, who was barely fifteen,
on to his shoulders. The boy had got hold of the man's pipe and was proudly
clenching it between his teeth.

On the land, women were weeping.

By walking quickly, they could follow
the vessel, which did not pick up speed until it was clear of the jetties. Some
voices were shouting out reminders:

‘If you come across the
Atlantique
, don't forget to tell Dugodet that his wife
…'

The sky was still low and threatening.
The wind pressed down on the water, ruckling its surface and raising small
white-crested waves, which made an angry washing sound.

A Parisian in whites was taking photos
of the departing trawler. He had two little girls in white dresses in tow. They were
laughing.

Maigret collided with a woman, almost
knocking her over. She clutched his arm and asked:

‘Well? Is he better?'

It was Adèle, who hadn't powdered
her nose since at least that morning, and the skin of her face was shiny.

‘Where's Buzier?'
asked the inspector.

‘He said he'd rather go back
to Le Havre. He doesn't want any trouble. Anyway, I said I was finishing with
him. But what about that boy, Le Clinche?'

‘Don't know.'

‘Go on, you can tell
me!'

Absolutely not. He turned and left her
standing there. He'd picked out a group on the jetty: Marie Léonnec, her
father and Madame Maigret. All three
were facing in the direction of the trawler which for a moment drew level with them.
Marie Léonnec was saying fervently:

‘That's
his
boat!'

Maigret slowly walked towards them, in a
surly mood. His wife was the first to spot him among the crowd which had gathered to
see the trawler set off for the Grand Banks.

‘Did he pull through?'

Monsieur Léonnec, looking anxious,
turned his misshapen nose in his direction.

‘Ah! I'm so glad to see you.
Where are you with your inquiries, inspector?'

‘Nowhere.'

‘Meaning?'

‘Nothing … I don't
know.'

Marie opened her eyes wide.

‘But Pierre?'

‘The operation was a success. It
seems he'll be all right.'

‘He's innocent, isn't
he? Oh please! Tell my father he didn't do it!'

She put her whole heart into the words.
Contemplating her, he saw how she would be in ten years' time, with the same
look as her father, a somewhat overbearing manner ideally suited to dealing with
customers in the shop.

‘He didn't kill the
captain.'

Turning to his wife:

‘I've just had a telegram
calling me back to Paris.'

‘So soon? I'd promised to go
swimming tomorrow with …'

She caught his eye and understood.

‘If you'll excuse us.'

‘We'll walk back to the
hotel with you.'

Maigret saw Jean-Marie's father,
dead drunk, still brandishing his fist at the trawler, and looked away.

‘Don't put yourselves out,
please.'

‘Tell me,' said Monsieur
Léonnec, ‘do you think I could arrange for him to be transferred to Quimper?
People are bound to talk.'

Marie looked pleadingly at him. She was
very pale. She said in a faltering voice:

‘After all, he is
innocent,'

‘I don't know. You are
better placed …'