The Islanders (13 page)
Authors: Pascal Garnier
‘Well, a smell like that! … I was taking my bin out. I didn’t think twice, I just called the fire brigade.’
‘Excuse me a minute, Madeleine … How many croissants was it?’
Madeleine moved aside to let the woman serve her customer.
‘Twelve francs fifty, thank you … And then what?’
‘And then they came straight away. Say what you like, but the fire brigade … Anyway, they come up, knock on the door, no reply. It smelt of gas so, you know … They knock the door down and … I didn’t see the rest, of course, they wouldn’t let me in, but I heard them. Well, turns out they’d sealed the whole place up, all the doors and windows. Mademoiselle Mangin, well, she was tied to the bed, so I heard, TIED UP! Can you imagine?’
‘A
baguette à l’ancienne
? … That’ll be eight francs sixty, thank you. Tied up! I don’t believe it!’
‘I’m telling you, it’s true! Wait, that’s not all! I saw them bringing out the stretchers and who should I see lying on one of them but the neighbour! Rather, the neighbour’s son. You remember poor Madame Verdier, who died just before Christmas?’
‘Yes, the one you used to take care of.’
‘That’s right. I go, “He’s still here!” because Mademoiselle Mangin had told me he’d left. “Do you know him?” says a big fellow who tells me he’s with the police. I reply, “Do I ever” and “He lives across the hall”. So they break his door down and what do you think they find inside? I’ll give you three guesses.’
‘We’ve run out of rye bread, Madame. Would you like wholemeal instead? … Well, what was it?’
‘The body of a man, and not just anyone. A police officer!’
‘No!’
‘Yes!’
‘Nine francs eighty, thanks. What a story!’
‘It’s knocked me sideways. You don’t know who you’re living next door to these days.’
‘No, quite … You poor thing … Will it be the usual
bâtard
then?’
Pascal Garnier
Pascal Garnier was born in Paris in 1949. The prize-winning author of more than sixty books, he remains a leading figure in contemporary French literature, in the tradition of Georges Simenon. He died in 2010.
Emily Boyce
Emily Boyce is in-house translator at Gallic Books. She lives in London. She has previously translated
Moon in a Dead Eye
.
The Panda Theory
How’s the Pain?
The A26
Moon in a Dead Eye
The Front Seat Passenger
First published in France as
Les Insulaires
by Éditions Zulma
Copyright © Éditions Zulma, 2010
First published in Great Britain in 2014
by Gallic Books, 59 Ebury Street,
London, SW1W 0NZ
This ebook edition first published in 2014
All rights reserved
© Gallic Books, 2014
The right of Pascal Garnier to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
ISBN 9781910477120 epub
