He hadn’t seen her arrive. She had stopped on the pavement a few steps away from him and was peering into the courtyard of the Police Judiciaire, where the small staff cars were parked.

She ventured as far as the entrance, looked the officer up and down, then turned round and walked away towards the Pont-Neuf’

When an old lady tells Maigret someone has been moving things in her apartment, she is dismissed as a fantasist – until a schocking event proves otherwise.