The first meeting between Commissar Maigret and the deceased—who he was to spend long weeks with—took place on June 27, 1930 under circumstances that were at once ordinary, oppressive, and unforgettable.
Unforgettable mainly because it was June 27 that was expected the arrival in Paris of the King of Spain, and for this reason the criminal police were receiving one instruction after another about how to proceed in such cases.
And the deceased was none other than Emile Gallé, a traveling salesman from Saint-Faroko; Gallé was on a business trip in Sancerre and was staying at the “Laura” hotel under the name Clément…