Maigret Hesitates

Maigret one day receives an anonymous letter written on extravagantly splendid stationery. Without giving further details, it states that a murder will be committed shortly and pleads for Maigret's help. Maigret, though used to letters from cranks that lead nowhere, is shaken. He has no trouble tracing the stationery to the house where it came from -- the sumptuous Paris establishment of an eminently successful expert in Maritime Law, who is surrounded by family, various office help, and household staff.