Leon Florentine, an old school acquaintance of Maigret, shows up at the detective's home asking for help in the shooting death of his mistress. Maigret has only obvious distaste for the unkempt, disheveled Leon, who has survived since boyhood by sponging, lying, and conning his way through life. Although the dead woman allowed him to live with her rent free, her busy social life included four other lovers, all of whom were unaware of the other's existence. When they were scheduled to arrive, Leon would discreetly leave the apartment, but if they arrived unexpectedly, he would perversely hide in the wardrobe. The plot becomes even more complicated when Maigret finds out that Leon was in the wardrobe when the murder was allegedly committed.
—Gabe Taverney (duke1029@aol.com)