# M. Verduret — File No. 113 character guide

> M. Verduret in File No. 113 by Émile Gaboriau.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Verduret, the quick-sighted Verduret

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

A quick-sighted, cheerfully unscrupulous investigator who scales garden walls and picks locks with the calm of a man opening a snuffbox.

## Who they are

Verduret works the case from outside the official police, dragging a reluctant Prosper through rain and sleet to peer into Raoul de Lagors's lighted window. He is older than his companion but tireless, indifferent to mud and discovery, and convinced that the solution of the mystery sits just beyond a ladder that is six feet too short. His methods are unorthodox and his manner almost playful, yet his instincts are the sharpest in the book, and the early investigation bends wherever he pushes it.

## In the story

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/file_no_113_se/chapters/vii)

The red-whiskered man who reveals himself as Prosper's protector. He analyzes the mysterious letter and money, deducing the sender is a woman and the words were cut from a prayerbook.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/file_no_113_se/chapters/viii)

Arranges the meeting with Fauvel; observes and analyzes the banker; eavesdrops on Prosper and Madeleine; convinces Prosper that Madeleine still loves him.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/file_no_113_se/chapters/ix)

Presents evidence about Raoul's identity and the Clameran family; receives the prayerbook and hurries Prosper to Vésinet.

### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/file_no_113_se/chapters/x)

Leads the surveillance, calms Prosper, and deduces that appearances may be misleading.

### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/file_no_113_se/chapters/xi)

Disguised as a clown at the ball, he confronts Raoul and the Marquis, and observes the interactions between the women and the men.

### [XXII: The Catastrophe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/file_no_113_se/chapters/xxii-the-catastrophe)

Reveals his extensive investigation, including travels to Beaucaire, Clameran, and Oloron; expresses anger at Prosper's anonymous letter.

### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/file_no_113_se/chapters/xxiii)

His predictions about M. Fauvel's reaction are realized; Gypsy acts to give him time to prevent a murder.

### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/file_no_113_se/chapters/xxiv)

Intervenes to stop the shooting and reveals the truth about Raoul's identity.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/file_no_113_se/characters/verduret
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/file_no_113_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/file_no_113_se/characters