Come and meet Thibault Clergue…

…a secondary character in the #JacquesForêt mystery stories…

Secondary characters are necessary for the flow of the story.  They also provide opportunities for the focus of a novel to move from the primary plotline to a less important one.  But that doesn't automatically mean such individuals within the book are less well formed or developed.  For me, these secondary characters are just as important as Jacques or Didier.  And once developed, they are then available to walk on and off the page in any number of scenes or stories.

Take Thibault Clergue for instance.  We first meet him in Messandrierre when he is assigned to work alongside Jacques at the gendarmerie in the village.  He's described as 'a large, bluff man with a sometimes annoyingly positive slant on the world'.  At that point in the first story he is still a serving officer in the rural police.  In Merle and Montbel Thibault is the go-to policeman for the village as he has taken Jacques' role.  In Marseille Thibault is mentioned in passing.  But in one particular scene he has to deliver some distressing news to Jacques.  In the next book, Thibault has finally retired from policework and we get the opportunity to see what he is up to…

Retired gendarme, Thibault Clergue, was in his eldest daughter’s empty bedroom with the sports pages from that day’s newspaper occupying all of his attention. The ladders were placed in precisely the right spot as were the tray and paintbrush on the top. Sat on the third step of the ladder, his ample back resting against the higher steps, Thibault could not have been more comfortable. The worn and paint-splashed overalls he was wearing had not gained any further dashes of colour, but neither had the walls or ceiling. The can of paint was open on the floor beside him. Despite the claim on the tin, Thibault felt there was always an unmistakable taint in the air when wet paint was in use – or not, as in his case. At the sound of his wife’s footsteps on the stairs, he knew he would have just enough time to pick up his tools and begin mounting the ladders before she appeared in the doorway.
Thibault Clergue was a seasoned master when it came to creating the illusion of industry.
A large bluff man in his fifties, he had retired from his position in the force at the earliest opportunity, once his wife’s lifetime ambition of seeing their two daughters married and settled had been achieved. What he hadn’t quite appreciated was that, in want of a new purpose, he had become the focus of his wife’s attentions. An ever-increasing list of tasks for him to complete had become the norm. At first, it was a trial, but his experience at work had taught him many tricks, and now he was employing them at home solely for his own benefit.
His phone ringing made him jump. The paper was discarded immediately, and the brush grabbed in one practised sweep of movement as his feet propelled him towards the window sill to collect the device.

#Mercœur will be published on March 23rd and is available for pre-order Here