Free The Late Monsieur Gallet by Georges Simenon Page A

him.’
    â€˜Have you known him for long?’
    She did not seem to notice that the conversation had turned into an interrogation. Her voice remained level.
    â€˜Three years. I’m thirty, while Henry is only twenty-five. And I’m a widow.’
    â€˜Are you a native of Paris?’
    â€˜No, I’m from Lille. My father is chief accountant in a textile factory, and when I was twenty I married a textiles engineer who was killed in an accident by a machine a month after our wedding. I ought to have been paid a pension at
once by the firm that employed him, but they claimed that the accident was because of my husband’s own carelessness. So as I had to earn my own living, and I didn’t want to take a job in a place where everyone knew me, I went to Paris and started work as a cashier in a shop in
Rue Réaumur. I brought an action against the textiles factory. The case went on and on through the courts, and it was settled in my favour only two years ago. Once I knew that I would not be in want I was able to leave my job.’
    â€˜So you were working as a cashier when you met Henry Gallet?’
    â€˜Yes, he’s a direct marketing agent, and he often came to see my employers on behalf of the Sovrinos Bank.’
    â€˜Didn’t the two of you ever think of marrying?’
    â€˜We did discuss it at first, but if I had married again before my case was decided in court I wouldn’t have been in such a good position over the pension.’
    â€˜So you became Henry Gallet’s mistress?’
    â€˜Yes, I’m not afraid of the word. He and I are united just as much as if we’d gone through a wedding ceremony at the town hall. We’ve been seeing each other daily for the last three years, and he eats all his meals at my
place …’
    â€˜But he doesn’t actually live with you in Rue de Turenne?’
    â€˜That’s because of his family. They have very strict principles, like my own parents. Henry decided he’d rather avoid friction with his by leaving them in ignorance of our relationship. But all the same it’s always been
agreed that when there are no more obstacles and we have enough to go and live in the south of France we’ll get married.’
    She showed no embarrassment even when faced with the most indiscreet questions. Now and then, when the inspector’s eyes went to her legs, she simply pulled her skirt down.
    â€˜I have to go into all the details. So Henry was eating his meals with you … did he contribute to the expenses?’
    â€˜Oh, that’s very simple! I kept accounts, as you do in any well-organized household, and at the end of the month he gave me half of what had been spent on our food and drink.’
    â€˜You mentioned going to live in the south of the country. Was Henry managing to put some money aside?’
    â€˜Yes, just like me! You must have noticed that his constitution isn’t very strong. The doctors say he needs good fresh air. But you can’t live out of doors when you have to earn a living and you don’t have a manual job. I
love the country too. So we live modestly. As I told you, Henry is a direct marketing agent for Sovrinos – a small bank concentrating mainly on speculation. So he was at the source of it here, and we used everything we could save one way or another to invest on the stock exchange.’
    â€˜You have separate accounts?’
    â€˜Of course! We never know what the future has in store for us, do we?’
    â€˜And what capital have you built up in this way?’
    â€˜It’s hard to say exactly, because the money is in securities, and they change value from one day to the next. Around 40,000 to 50,000 francs.’
    â€˜And Gallet?’
    â€˜Oh, more than that! He didn’t always like to let me embark on risky speculations like the mines of Plata last August. At the moment he must have about 100,000 francs.’
    â€˜Have you