", I had no choice." "No choice." "He kept... he kept shooting at me!" "He was shooting at me." "He kept shooting." "I had no choice!" "I had no choice!" "I'm not guilty." "Please, a little respect." "Please." "Don't... don't go." "Calm down, goddammit!" "Shit, let me go!" "It's OK." "It's OK." "Let me go, for Chrissake!" "Come on, Martial!" "It's OK, it's over." "THE NEGRO" "Let me see." "No sign of pain." "Looks like she didn't suffer." "Sometimes..." "For some, death is a kind of deliverance." "That's it, a gun shot, 12 gauge... almost point blank She died on the spot," "And... the young black man?" "At first glance, from what the ambulance guy said..." "brain dead... most probably." "As for the lady... she'll be on the table around 11:00am, so my report should be on your desk around 3:00pm." "I can send it to Montreal, if you prefer." "No big deal." "We'll take it, to hell with the Montreal guys." "It's a change from horse theft and conjugal violence." "Are you sure, Gary?" "Yeah, sure." "Alright then." "We'll talk around 3:00, 3:30." "Perfect." "Bye." "What more do we have here?" "There are 3, 4 witnesses inside, there's this." "The neighbors say it belongs to the victim." "There's this." "Three cartridges." "One was found near the victim, another here, in the grass." "One is part of those over there, probably shot at Martial." "How is he?" "Not so good." "Quite a shock." "Anything on what started it?" "Yeah, it's all over there." "It started here alright." "Could be the young black guy, we found his bicycle." "It's OK, Polo." "There." "Feels good, huh?" "Yes... yes..." "What's going on?" "Nothing, I got caught in his headphones." "He often screams like that." "I was washing him, the headphones fell, he couldn't hear the music." "Seeing lots of strangers makes him yell... or losing his play farm figures." "What happened?" " He fell in the bailer." " Bailer?" " The thing that makes balls of hay." " I know." "He fell in one when he was small." "You've known him long?" "Always been neighbors." "We played together as kids." "Right, Polo?" "What's the music?" ""Give me roses"." "Fernand Gignac?" "Yeah." "What else?" "Nothing else, for 37 years." " How old is he?" " 45 years old." "'Give him some roses, mademoiselle" "'He has a "rendez-vous"" "'It's very important" "'Choose them for him" "'Among the more beautiful ones" "'Give him some roses" "'She loves them so.'" "We'll start taking statements." "I'm Gary Racine, Detective Sergeant Provincial Police." "Jacques Plante, also Detective Sergeant." "We'll take your statements." "They mentioned 4 witnesses..." "Including him?" "No, it's..." "Josée Morin." "She's still in there with the doctor." " Detective Sergeant Racine." " Yes, yes..." "We mustn't talk too loud." "It's not good for her, even if she's sedated." "You gave her some..." "Sedatives?" "Yes, yes." "I had no choice." "She's in a terrible state of shock." "But did she talk to you?" "Yes." "She had a very bad night." "She can't remember..." "The way she speaks isn't very coherent, but I still managed to get a few bits of information on what happened." "First of all... one, she's a woman who was at the hotel and who was having drinks with some... alcohol, and who suffered a terrible shock, which would have been preceded by a perturbation of an emotional nature... which was followed by a sort of blackout." "But she will recall some elements, always the same ones." "I have noted that." "Really?" "Which ones?" "That she found herself in this bedroom." "Then... that her right cheek was tumefied," "and contusion on the arm." "Look, this is an arm... the contusion, commonly called a bruise, is this big." "So, in my opinion, she suffered a violent blow." "Maybe she fell, I don't know." "Is it possible that she got into a fight?" "She didn't say?" "No she didn't talk about that." "Mind you, she told me that... at some point she got up, she went to the window... and that's when she saw... the lady in question, on the ground." "She would have also seen a young black man running, running..." "Did she say anything else?" "I'm trying to see..." "It's not my field..." "No, that's about it." "Then, another blackout." "Any idea as to when we could interrogate her?" "Not before 3 days." "3 days?" "3 full days, if not more." "Maybe you can get ahead with your investigation." "There might be other leads..." "Yes, thank you." "We'll follow other leads." " Thank you, doctor." " Alright." "Unfortunately, I must go to the clinic, but if you need me for anything..." " Don't hesitate." " Thank you." "Excuse me." "Well, we'll take care of you guys." "Alright... where do we do this?" "We could go in there, there are doors." "We'll get back to you shortly." " What do we have here?" " A broken statue." " Probably with that rock." " By the young guy." "The lady saw him and went out with the gun." "He took it and..." "Let's see what they say." "Why did he break the statue?" "It can't be easy... seeing a statue of..." "What?" "I don't know, just imagine..." "You're in Africa, and you see a statue of a... a white guy in a Canadians sweater, fishing with a hockey stick, an Expos cap, a red belt, and a six-pack, while you're at it." "Why do you laugh?" "That's exactly it." "Take a hot head, he sees this and goes for it." " You're right." " Obviously." "Obviously, the old lady was scared enough to get her gun." "What is it?" "I know you, you got an idea." "If it had been a white guy, maybe she would've run out screaming, with a broom..." "but here, she saw a black guy." " She took a gun." " She was scared of him." "She saw him, got a gun, went out." "Jacques... did you ever wonder where it comes from... being uneasy around black people?" "We're even scared of them." "Think about it." "We copy Americans, and they don't like them much." "I don't know, there must be a reason." "It comes from, listen to this, from prehistoric times." " It's true." "Come on!" "Back then, they had no electricity." "The only light was fire." "Everything was dangerous then." "Dinosaurs, mammoths, other tribes, but when the fire went out, it got dark and more dangerous." "Since then, we associate dark with danger." "Since then, we're afraid of the dark." "They're dark, so we're afraid of them." "We won't tell them that." "So we split it up." "Who...?" "I'll take their statements, OK?" "I'll look around the backyard." "There might be some clues." "Who's first, next?" "Go ahead." " No." "You go Ducky." " You go." "Who got here first?" "Him." "Me." "Polo's in his room with his toys." "Change the batteries in his Walkman." "You'll find some in the top of his dresser." "Name, age and profession." "Bertrand Joyal, 48, divorced." "I've worked on the van Klee farm for 10 years." "You knew Mrs Lajeunesse well?" "I sure knew her well." "Tell me about her." "Cédulie had an income." "Widowed for 10 years." "Her husband was Alban Lajeunesse." "After he died, she sold her land, and kept the house... like a lot of people around here... like me, too." "What happened?" "I was coming home from a date, happy, it had gone well between us." "It was exactly 1:15." "I slowed down in front of Cédulie's, all the lights were on outside." "I saw Polo, in his PJs, alone in the yard." "I got out and I saw Cédulie with the gun." "And then I saw the black guy, with eyes big as saucers." "He came on his bike, but why come here?" "And why the gun?" "I asked Cédulie: "What's going on?"" "What's going on is..." "what's going on... it's... that, there." "...she said, showing her broken little plaster negro." "Then I understood what was going on." "The statue was beyond repair, even for Crazy Glue." "I looked at the kid and asked:" "What got into you?" "Him, not a word." "He didn't seem to understand me." "So she told me:" "Maybe he thinks it's ugly." "That happens sometimes, huh?" "We don't all have the same taste." "No, but you still got to be pretty shameless." "And he was shameless." "He didn't look at all ashamed." "I took the gun from her, but she defended him and said:" "It's not so bad." "The Gagnon Nursery is full of Kings just like it." "Kings just like it?" "She loved dogs..." "especially collies." "They were all named King." "When the last one died in the spring, she didn't replace him." "She said, she could go anytime, and the family would have enough to care for Polo never mind a dog." "So she bought a little plaster negro." "Her "Little King"." "Poor old lady." "She was totally lost." "She kept asking:" "What do we do, Bertrand?" "We can't call the cops just for that." "I looked at him:" "Maybe not call the cops... but still, you can't smash everything you find ugly." "While we were wondering," "Polo decided to taste the nigger." "He does that with strangers." "He goes up to them, he smells them, and sometimes even licks them." "And how did the kid react?" "Of course we all feel weird the first time." "He was no different." "He started smiling." "It was the only time we saw him smile." "She went to get him and said:" "Forgive him, he means no wrong." "It always upset her when it happened." "She would always say the same thing:" "Polo, come on, we don't do that." "You can look at them, you can smell them." "But that, no." "It isn't clean!" "You can catch germs in no time, licking just anyone like that." "What happened after that?" "After Touchy, Ducky and the Morin girl arrived." "They came from the hotel." "We turned to look, we saw this kid crossing the street, he almost got hit and jumped into the field." "Ducky got out of his car, all excited." "He came up to us and asked:" "Touchy, what was that?" " A black guy, I think." "...Touchy said, coming out of his truck." "Ducky was looking all around." "Touchy saw that I had gun, so flicking his hair, he said:" "I'm gonna go catch him!" "And he ran in the corn behind the kid." "Ducky stayed with us, saw the statue and went..." "He looked at me, then turned to the field." "Nothing was moving in there." "Nothing at all, at all." "Ducky started yelling:" "Touchy!" "No answer." "He was getting scared, he said:" "Was he alone?" "How should I know?" "They hang out in gangs." "It was no joke." "We were all staring at the corn field... even the Morin girl... who was quite... quite drunk." "Ducky was getting more nervous." "Touchy, did you catch him?" "Only the crickets answered." "And to make us more nervous..." "Was he armed?" "Hey, that's when..." "I said:" "We're going in." "I was determined." "Ducky was panicking." "I thought he went to get the tire iron, but no." "He came back with a flashlight." "I told Cédulie:" "Don't move!" "As we were about to go into the field, the corn started moving." "Touchy was coming out, holding the kid by the arm." "He runs fast but not in the corn." "The kid let himself fall to the ground." "I put the 12 gauge in his face, to keep him quiet." "When Touchy caught his breath..." "What's he done to make me run like this?" "Ducky showed him what the problem was." "The smashed statue." "The black kid looked at Touchy who couldn't get over it." "Oh well, well, well..." "The kid looked less arrogant than before." "And that's when Cédulie said:" "Let him go, boys." "Boys..." "She still called us that." "So if I understand..." "Mrs Lajeunesse wanted to let him go, but you didn't want to." "I agreed with her." "I said:" "She's right." "What'll happen if we call the cops?" "Touchy disagreed, he said:" "They'll talk to him and force him to buy a new one." "I can buy another one." "That's not the point." "He did something illegal." "Since when do you care about what's legal." "And I suppose you drank milk at the hotel, so you could drive back?" "The kind of milk Ducky could lose his license for." "And not you?" "I can't lose mine, I already lost it." "No... that's a joke..." "he still has his license." "Everybody was laughing, except... except the neg..." "black kid, and Ducky convinced her about the police." "It's like drinking and driving." "You don't get caught, you're OK." "He got caught, he's gotta pay." "It's our duty as citizens." "What if he smashes all the little statues around?" "If we let him go, he might go and do a massacre at Gagnon's Nursery." "We'll feel guilty... our whole lives." "They won't hang him, they'll just... give him a ticket." "Alright!" "You want to do it, you deal with it." "Bertrand, you know where the phone is." "I'm going to bed." "Come Polo sweetheart." "We'll go beddy-byes." "Come with mommy." "She took Polo by the arm and..." "She went back inside caressing his hair, and..." "It's the last time I saw her alive." "You stayed with the others?" "No, I was tired, I had to work early the next morning." "I let them deal with it, I jumped into my truck and I went straight home." "You're here now, so you came back later." " Is that it?" " One hour later." "Yeah, one hour later." "I don't know why, but I couldn't sleep." "I drank some water and looked out the window." "Lights were on at Cédulie's, so I went over right away." "Just as I got there, I think I heard a gun shot." "Then the lights went out." "So I slowed down, down, then... a second shot, and the lights came on." "I stepped on it, then I saw the kid with the gun." "I just had time to lean over, then another shot." "There was a hole where my face was before, the black guy was gone." "I got out of my truck and ran across the lawn." "There's Touchy, Ducky with Josée, and Cédulie, covered in blood." "What happened?" "I asked." "Touchy couldn't answer." "Cédulie wasn't moving." "Ducky was speechless." "Josée, was crying." "Touchy was trying to bring her to..." "I felt something in my back." "I turned, saw Polo." "He had blood in his mouth." "We tried to bring her to, but she was gone, gone for good." "Polo walked towards where the black kid was." "That's when I felt a burning in my back and I knew he bit me." "I never saw him do anything like that." "Maybe he knew his mother was gone." "Maybe he did it to show his grief." "Maybe he would've bitten himself, had he been alone." "We don't know." "We don't know how he thinks." "Maybe he understands, but it's all stuck inside, and can't come out with words." "Poor Polo..." "What's gonna happen to him?" "Where will he end up?" "'Twenty years old, a heart filled with hope and dreams" "'He comes to buy 'a few roses still in bud" "'The flower girl is pretty" "'Iost in the first blushes" "'He's unsure of himself when he gently tells her:" "'Give me some roses, 'mademoiselle" "'I have a "rendez-vous"" "'It's very important" "'Choose them for me" "'Among the more beautiful ones" "'Give me some roses" "'She loves them so." "Goddam tragedy!" "Goddam gun!" "Why did I leave it with her?" "Goddam son-of-a-bitch." "Fine... you can go." "Thanks." "You hurt yourself?" "It's nothing." "A stupid thumb-tack over there." "You should disinfect it." "Yeah, later." "You know, earlier with the coroner, maybe I went too fast." "You weren't too hot for the idea." "No, it's OK." "I'm sorry." "You didn't want to." "Not really, no." "What is it?" "Well, you know..." "I'm retiring in 3 months." "Yeah, so?" "This case looks complicated." "I might still have to go to court in 1, maybe 2 years after I retire, so..." "We started and that's what counts." "You sure?" "Yeah, sure." "Found anything interesting?" "Yeah, actually..." "Come, I have a question for them." "Who wears high heels?" "We found fresh tracks." "We just need to take prints, it'll be easy to find." "He must be talking about the girl, the dancer." "The dancer?" "What dancer?" "You never mentioned a dancer." "He didn't see her, she stayed in my truck until he left." "When he came back, she had gone back to the hotel." "What's her name?" "Samantha... so she said." "A cutie, fully equipped." "Back to the hotel?" "What hotel?" "The Intersexion." "I'll go check it out." "Well... next!" "You go." "Name, address and occupation." "Duck..." "Lionel Plourde," "I live at 157, 3rd lane in St-Jude." "Occupation..." "I worked on the van Klee farm, but I had a small accident, so..." "I'm declared an invalid..." "that's about it." "OK, go ahead." "What happened?" "What happened?" "Well, a lot happened." "From the top." "Well, at the beginning..." "Josée Morin, Touchy Tougas and me, we... we met at the hotel around 7:00pm." "Start with when you arrived, and you saw the black guy." "You saw him with the lady and her gun." "That's it." "That's what?" "That's it... we saw them." "You got out of your car?" "Yeah." "Who was there with you, aside from the lady, her son and the suspect?" "There was the one you call Touchy?" "Sorry." "Josée Morin, the dancer..." "Anybody else?" "No, I don't think so." "Wasn't Bertrand Joyal with you?" "Yeah, but no..." "Was he there or not?" "He was there in the yard, but he wasn't with us... at the hotel or in the car." "Alright." "So when you got there?" "He ran away." "And you caught him." "Yeah." "You ran after him?" "Yeah, well Touchy ran, me... with the pick up." "With the pick up?" "In the corn?" "Yeah, I've got a bad leg." "So then... you caught him and you brought him back." "What did you do to keep him from running away?" "You locked him up?" "You aimed the gun at him?" "What?" "No, no, we thought that was too dangerous." "Same with locking him up." "We didn't want him to break anything else." "So..." "We didn't..." "we didn't lock him up." "In that case, what did you do?" "Did you tie him up?" "You tied him up?" "You tied him up?" "Just like that?" "Either that or we'd have to shove the gun in his face." "Too dangerous." "Out here, we call the pig... the police, they don't get here that fast, it can take an hour." "I don't know why I'm telling you this," "I guess you know that..." "You tied him up." "I don't get it." "You all agreed." "Even the lady?" "She just didn't want us to hurt him." " So she was against it." " No, she didn't want us to hurt him." "So you hurt him?" "No, that's not it, it's... you know..." "I just wanted to say this..." "The kid, we could see he was just a kid." "We couldn't let him do things like that, and do nothing about it." "He's gotta grow up properly." " So he'd grow up properly?" " Yeah." "Yeah, OK." "And then?" "After that..." "Well, Josée Morin, you know... she got like, a bit sick." "So we put her to bed in here." "When I came out, the black kid had gotten loose, and was aiming the gun at them." "Wait a minute..." "She was sick..." "She was throwing up?" "Yeah, she had a few drinks at the hotel." "Well, quite a few." "Maybe a few too many, maybe." "Yeah and I guess she must've fallen too, judging by the bruises." "Yeah, many times over." "You also fell." "Your lip?" "Oh me, just one time over." "How did it happen?" "It's, well..." "That happened when we..." "in the corn, you know." "I was driving the pick up." "It swings a lot and we caught a small ditch and it... right here." "On the steering." "But I'm fine." "You get outside, the black kid had gotten loose?" "He got loose..." "How?" "I don't know." "So he was aiming the gun at the people, and you tried to reason with him?" "Yeah." "His reactions?" "He wasn't reacting, like." "Did he talk to you?" "He didn't talk." "Could he understand you?" "Not at first." "Not at first." "At first, he didn't understand, then he did?" "Yeah." "When?" "When... you see..." "At one point..." "We said:" "We'll call the cops." "That's when he took off into the corn." "So we thought he understood us." "Then he didn't react to what we said anymore." "He didn't talk." "Maybe he was deaf." "It's possible." "Wait a minute." "You said, at first he didn't understand, then he did." "But wasn't the chase in the corn at the beginning?" "It's after that he stopped reacting to what we said." "So you went outside, then he was aiming at everybody with his gun, and you were..." "you couldn't possibly dissuade him?" "Right?" "So what happened then?" "After that..." "The lights went out." "I tried getting the gun." "There was some pulling, then... some struggling and the gun went off." "The old lady got it," "Fuck." "So then... the lights went out... how?" "Touchy turned them off while I talked to the neg... kid." "Then Bertrand Joyal arrived and the black kid took off after having shot at Mister Joyal's pick up." "He had left at what point?" "After the tying up." "Anything else?" "No." "Yeah, then Martial arrived." "Yes, then he chased after the black kid." "And how is Martial doing?" "He'll come out of it with quite a shock." "Yeah, great." "He's the last guy you want that to happen to." "I'll manage with this." "That's about it." "2 officers were taken hostage in a crack house, during a raid that turned into a shoot-out." "Today's the second day." "We don't know about the state of the hostages..." "I'll read it back to you, and stop me if there's a problem." ""At about 1:30am, Saturday, August 1st 2001," ""I, Lionel Plourde, also known as Ducky," ""and a declared invalid," ""residing at 157, 3rd lane, St-Jude, Bagot county," ""came back from the Intersexion" ""with Tougas, Morin who was drunk, and Samantha a dancer," ""saw the suspect, a black man about 20," ""held at gun point by the victim," ""in the presence of her son, and a neighbor," ""in front of the 141, 4th lane, St-Barnaby, Bagot county."" "OK?" "Yeah, well, it's just that you say "victim", but she's not quite a victim yet." "No, but now we know it." "But she wasn't, she had the gun." "Listen, why don't you just..." "It's just that it wasn't clear." ""We stopped right away." "Tougas and I got out" ""to help them out, but as we got there," ""the suspect ran into the corn field across the street," ""where Tougas and I rushed in behind him," ""caught him and brought him back to where he started from."" " OK up to now?" " Just fine." ""To make sure that he stayed put until the police came," ""we decided all together, Tougas, Joyal and I," ""to tie him up in the backyard."" "It's Bertrand and Touchy who tied him up." "Yes, but you agreed to it." "That's what this sentence means." "OK, I'm sorry." "I'm tired, I didn't sleep." ""Once the suspect was tied up," ""three events occurred as follows:" ""Firstly, Bertrand Joyal decided to go to bed with his truck," ""secondly, the aforementioned Samantha with Tougas's car," ""thirdly, Josée Morin, inebriated, fainted." ""Forgetting the suspect, we took her inside and laid her on the bed," ""thus leaving the victim with the suspect."" "What is it?" "What?" "That's not it?" "It's..." "No, no, it's pretty good." "What's wrong?" "Is it my style?" "It's how you make the people interact... especially with the vehicles." "It's fine, that's the way it happened anyway." "Hello?" "The boss around?" "He's sleeping." "I'm replacing him." "What's it about?" "I'm looking for Samantha." "It's about the black guy who raped and killed the lady..." "She's in room 15, in the motel across the road." "OK, thanks." ""...while Sylvain Tougas walked casually towards the veranda, the suspect fired a warning volley..."" "No, he fired a 12 gauge..." "It wasn't a..." "A warning volley means it's a shot in the ground." "It's a shot fired to tell me..." "It's a shot that was fired in front of me into the ground," "To tell me to stay where I was." "Which I did." ""Tougas reached the switch of the lamppost" ""that lit the backyard," ""and plunged it into obscurity." "I leaped at the suspect" ""and grabbed the rifle" ""that fired in the dark, unfortunately at the victim..."" "Now we have a victim." "It's Mrs Lajeunesse." ""...realizing it with dismay and stupor," ""when Tougas turned the switch on the lamppost in the backyard." ""I was paralyzed by the spectacle," ""the suspect took the rifle and shot Bertrand's truck," ""who'd come to see what was going on," ""but who was also aghast at the corpse," ""allowing the suspect to flee." ""Soon after," ""the police penetrated the yard." ""Duly signed in my presence," ""Detective Sgt, Homicide, QPP," ""today, August 1st, 2001."" "Is that alright with you?" "Is it OK?" "Any changes?" "Well, that's fine." "Who is it?" "Detective Sgt Jacques Plante, QPP." "Fuck, Touchy!" "You know what time it is?" "It's not Touchy." "Take your keys, and go away!" "Shit!" "What's going on?" "Can I do anything for you?" "I mean... for us both?" "Just relax a little..." "Get dressed." "Here." "My top... it'd be nice if you..." "Do you know where we're going?" "There were a few complications at Mrs Lajeunesse's." "It was bound to finish badly." "I got a few little questions." "No problem." "Go on, Touchy!" "Show'em how to work, goddammit!" "Touchy?" "That's what they call me." "I can get around even when I can't see anymore." "OK, tell me what happened." "We left the hotel, we came from there." "We?" "Ducky, well Plourde..." "Jose, who wasn't drunk like a skunk, but like a whole zoo." "Samantha, the dancer your partner went to wake up." "Bertrand, the old lady and Polo were here." "The old lady aimed the gun at the negro, who was here by the statue." "Polo was..." "It's always hard to say where he is." "But I'd say about where you are." "We parked our cars where the ugliest one of the bunch is." "Christ, Manon, what're you doin' with that turkey?" "So Ducky and me got out, we all ended up here." "We didn't get to see the statue before... the negro took off." "Bertrand tried to grab him but the bugger kicked him in the salami." "He won't need a mirror to see his dick!" "So that's it..." "He took off, with Ducky and me after him." "We got into my truck and off into the corn!" "We did..." "Well, we can... we'll go see." "We drove around here, here, here, there, there... and we ended up..." "We'll cut across here it's easier." "We ended up... we ended up, we ended up..." "We ended up right here." "Here comes the boss." "Look at the bright side," "It's that much less to cut in the fall." "It's for a good cause." "You bet, to avenge Bertrand's balls." "So Ducky and I grabbed him." "Ducky drove back, I went with the negro." "You weren't afraid for your balls?" "I was holding him fuckin' tight!" "He wasn't gonna ruin my night with the dancer." "Was he big..." "like Tyson?" "A little one like those who dance on their heads in the US." "So that's it, we took him back to the house." "Let's go." "You were the only one missing." "Since you started working..." "I'll have to go buy some hardware, you son-of-a-bitch!" "We'll steal a couple of corns and have a party tonight." "Can you please stay behind the rope?" "Meet you at the hotel with your visas." "My saliva's expensive when things like this happen!" "So we got out of the pop corn field and brought him here." "Then you tied him up." "That's it." "Where?" "To the little tractor." "To the tractor?" "Where?" "How did you tie him?" "Over there, we tied his hands to the bucket." " It was that or else..." " You'd put the gun in his face." "I heard." "But to the tractor?" "Really..." "Would a post or a car bumper been better?" "He's not a moose, he's a human being." "And besides... the old lady wasn't sure about the cops." "She was starting to find him pretty cute." "She said it was OK, she'd buy another one, it wasn't that expensive..." "A good reason to tie him up while she made up her mind." "What happened next?" "Well, then they all started going their own way!" "Bertrand couldn't stop yawning..." "so he decided to go to bed." "Then Samantha ran out of feed and she wanted to leave." "Feed..." "Dancers don't run on "lead free"." "Anyway..." "Then Josée who was about to throw up all over, wanted to talk to him!" "Too drunk to walk, she trips, smashes her face against the bucket and conks right out!" "The old lady tells us to put her into her bed." "So me and Quack-quack carry her in." "You coming?" "So we got here with her." "But then... it's weird, the old lady didn't follow." "And Josée was heavy." "The old lady stayed outside." "By the time we went in and came out, the negro got loose, got the gun and shoved it in Ducky's face." "Then it all went real fast." "Ducky was here, I was behind on the balcony." "He wasn't far from where you are, and he aimed at Ducky cuz he was closest." "The old lady was... was here." "So Ducky tells him to stop." "That we'll let him go, but he won't listen." "When I see this, I'm still on the balcony." "I think he'll get fed up and beat it." "No!" "He shoots in the ground near Ducky." "When I see he doesn't want to know nothing, and it's getting dangerous, I got no choice." "So I reach out..." "Come see the switch." "See the switch?" "I've seen one before, thanks." "So, I turn off the light." "Then a shot." "Turn it on." "When... as soon as it got dark," "Ducky who was here, tried grabbing the gun." "So when he grabbed it, the negro wanted it back." "So he pulled on his end." "When he pulled it turned this way." "And who was here?" "It's fuckin' stupid." "And that's when Mr Joyal arrived." "Right?" "Yeah." "The kid fired a shot on the road, and Bert got here in a flash." "While we tried to wake the old lady, went berserk right after." "Ducky tried calming her." "I went in to dial 9-1-1." "When I came out, Polo took a bite out of Bert's back, and took off behind the kid." "That's it." "10 minutes later, Martial arrived and took off after the kid." "I hope he'll be fine, he's been around so long." "Fine." "OK." "That'll do." "Anyway... it was a pleasure." "If there's anything, you can always reach me on my portable: 404-4474." "You wanna mark it down... no?" "Thank you." "So we left, there was Sylvain Tougas, well Touchy... there was the guy called Ducky, and... a girl, what was her name...?" " Josée Morin." " That's it, Josée." "Touchy asked me for a nightcap at his place, I said sure." "He said:" "Let's give her a lift, she can't stand up straight, we'll leave her there." "So we left, the four of us." "There was Touchy and me in his truck with the girl in the back." "Ducky followed in another car, so we were 2 cars." " What's going on?" " I don't know." "Let's go see." "Christ, Bertrand, what's this?" "It's a negro." "I can see that, but where did you get it?" "Hey!" "Check it out!" "No, I see fine from here." "Check it out!" "Holy goddam fuckin' shit!" " It's too bad." " These things happen." "These things happen..." "It shouldn't happen, especially not to me." " You're too nice..." " Well, maybe..." "I don't know what to do." "We can't call the police for this." "They won't come with a negro involved." "Since they shot a few, they let them all go now." "Hello Polo!" "How many times did I tell..." "Hunting was good tonight, granny!" "Damn!" "Holy..." "A hell of a family feud!" "What did the kid do, to bust him up like that?" "You want us to let you go, apologize." "Christ!" "You fuckin' shit negro!" "You actually got some!" "We're so happy for you, Bert!" "Does your voice go up now?" "Shit, leave me alone!" "Go catch the fucker." "Let him go!" "It's only a plaster statue." "I'm the one who got hit, I don't have plaster balls." "You're not the law!" " The law is..." " The law!" "It's only there to protect the crooks!" "From the biggest to the smallest statue buster." "It doesn't matter, they have to take care of it." "If they take care of you like they did with me." "I tell you, they won't buy you a new one." "Not only that, you'll end up being guilty... for putting a plaster statue on your balcony." "The ones who'll take care of him... is the same gang who seized my land." "You trying to make him pay for all the crap you took?" "Not at all!" "Not at all!" "I already paid enough as it is!" "I'm still paying every day!" "I've busted my ass on my tractor for 10 years for that Dutch in his Mercedes!" "Who got a 1 million dollar loan, to buy back my land." "You wouldn't have to pay, had you worked a bit." "Besides, you knew it!" "At least he takes care of his farm!" "He works on it 7 days a week!" "You are responsible for what happened." "We're not fighting." "So what do we do?" "Let's go catch him, it'll be fun." "He must be far by now, if he's on asteroids like Ben Johnson." "Get behind and lead me through the field." "Where're we going?" "Give me a chance!" " What the fuck...?" " Rodeo!" "Touchy, don't be stupid!" "Where's that damn rat!" "Go on, straight ahead!" "Will you stop fuckin' around, for Chrissake?" "There's the negro!" "Turn right!" "Straight ahead!" "Go, go, go!" "I don't like it!" "We'll catch that gazelle." "You don't have to do this." "Let him go!" "Let him go!" "I'm not having fun!" "Chase the gazelle!" "Party time!" "You're fuckin' crazy!" "Stop it right now!" "There he is!" "Where are you going?" "Not that easy in the pop corn, huh?" "Hey brownie, you got some chocolate?" "Follow me with the truck." "Why you doing this?" "He bust the statue." "Come on!" "You thought we couldn't catch up?" "I got a hell of a pick up." "Don't try what you did to Bert on me." "I curl too, when I'm mad!" "Don't move, you bastard!" "Get up!" "Hey Bert!" "What do we do?" "Bring the fucker here." "Give me your hand!" "We'll tie him to the bucket." "That's good, Bert!" "Come on!" "Let's go!" "Come on!" "Stop moving!" "It ain't funny!" "Maybe you don't understand, but you see this!" "You move a hair and I rip your head off, get it?" "Tie his legs, you got your balls back, it would be a shame to lose'em again!" "Better than nothing." "You won't get away." "Damn!" "He's really black." "Not that black." "I saw even darker ones in Montreal." "It's been at least 5 years since you saw one." "It's the first time I see one this close." "You?" "Like this, in person, not often." "If you treat them like that we won't see any more." " Untie him." " I'm not in any hurry, I'm thinking." "Think while you untie him." " Come and see!" " I'm staying here." "Come on!" "Those guys are pro dancers." "You might find a few moves to use, after you throw your g-string in the room." "What can he teach me?" "Come and see." "A lesson in moon walking, right." "How can he show me anything, if he's like that?" "Come on, untie him." "What's that thing?" "Smell the coffee, we're out in the country!" "Guys, I don't care, but with the ride she got in the corn, you'll need a shovel to clean out your car." "Why didn't you put her in your car?" "Get over here." "Polo, no, no..." "Don't be angry with him." "Get out!" "She don't drink often but when she does, she can't stop!" "2 She lacks something." "Fuck off!" "Shit!" "Grab her!" "Are you her guy or not?" "She ain't got any and won't get any either." "She gets her kid babysat, when the check comes, she ends up this way every time." "So she misses out on a good reaming." "Fuck!" "Come on, goddammit!" "Stay in your goddam vomit!" "Hey, the girl's sick!" "It's her fault!" "You know I didn't mean to hurt you." "I had the little negro in my garden, because..." "I found him beautiful." "You understand that?" "I thought he was very beautiful." "Out here, I'm quite isolated." "So sometimes beautiful things are the difference between... being able and... not being able to keep on living." "Sometimes..." "I get to the point..." "of being tired of everything." "So... let's say that, when I bought my little statue..." "I was at the end of my rope." "But it made me feel better." "And allowed me to keep going." "It's funny, sometimes all it takes are small things like that." "You know, I'm not mad at you for breaking the statue." "Maybe... for you, breaking it... was a little bit like me." "Breaking it made you feel as good as me... when I brought it back and placed it on... a throne of flowers in front of the house." "Christ, granny, are you sweet-talking him?" "What do you want?" "I could put him in your bed." "Hey you!" "Do you mind!" "Me, I'm Touchy..." "Touchy Tougas." "Who are you?" "Touchy Tougas, you is what?" "He doesn't talk." "It's possible he just came from Africa." "Zimbabwe?" "Will you stop it?" "Bertrand, do something!" "He ain't leaving 'til the damage is paid." "Do you have some money?" "Cash?" "Don't forget to check the one in front." "Only 5$!" "Not even enough to pay for the little plaster fishing rod." "I told you I could afford another one!" "Relax!" "We'll let him go later, I promise." "Souvenirs, fuck!" "Group picture!" "Get closer everyone!" "I'm fed up with you stupid farmers!" "Take me home!" "Look, we'll go after the picture." "This is my place and you're all leaving!" "We'll untie him after the picture!" "We'll leave after the picture." "Touchy, check this!" "The black one in the corner!" "Behave, or it's the cemetery." "Help me with Josée!" "It's OK, I'll take care of it." "Come on, honey." "Watch it!" "Did she eat some garbage, she smells like the dump!" "Be careful, it's hot!" "Be careful!" "The chicks on either side." "Looks great!" "Put your arm around him." "And French him?" "If you got something to wash with after, I don't care." "Wait, I got an idea." "He's not very old." "I don't know how old he his." "They all look the same." "If you like him, the age don't count." "They're born equipped like Starbuck." "Who's Starbuck?" "She doesn't know who he is?" "He's the champ at the insemination center." "You know many times he fucks in a day?" "No wonder they got long dicks." "What would a lame duck look like after being reamed by a Starbuck?" "Kneel down in front with this." "It's too dangerous." "It's just a hunting picture." "Out of the question." " You want us to let him go?" " Yes." "Then we'll take the picture." "Then it's a promise?" "Promise is a promise." "OK, let's go!" "Watch it!" "Something's missing." "Polo!" "Watch it everybody!" "Everyone say negro!" "In 5... 4... 3... 2... 1." "3 Negro!" "Now let him go!" "You want a real one?" "I can bolt him down for you." "Hey, you there!" "I better get down before I pass out." "The fumes rise up." "Now the batteries!" "Come!" "By the time I get back, he better be untied or I call the cops and they'll arrest you." "Yeah, yeah..." "OK, we're going!" "What's the hurry?" "Aren't we having fun?" "It's carnival time, Christ!" "Yes sir, madam!" "Carnival, fuck!" "Party time, Christ!" " Come here, Touchy." " We'll have a beer first." "We apologize, she's very affectionate, on pay day." "That's it, keep it up, get it out!" " Go get her." " And dirty my hands." "I'll make a deal with you." "I'll untie you, if you talk to me." "And you don't have to tell me you love me." "I'll untie you anyway." "Come on, damn, why don't you talk to me?" "I gross you out?" "Is that it?" "At least tell me, you fuckin' coward!" "You're heartless!" "You get what you deserve!" "You have no more heart than them!" "Maybe not more heart, but more tail." "Can't be picky with a gift dick." "Goddam big mouth!" "Big dick!" "Big mouth, little dick." "When you get paid to do nothing..." "Shut up!" "It makes your tongue grow and your dick shrink!" "And your brain too!" "She's after me, so she won't see her own problem." "You and me got the same problem, Quack-quack." "We're both cowards!" "Speak for yourself!" "The difference between you and me, is that I try to change." "Yeah, quite a change!" "You sit and wait for it to come along... like your check." "And when it doesn't come, then you laugh at anyone who makes an effort." "You laugh at Bert who busts his ass working to pay his debts." "You even laugh at Touchy." "Cuz he isn't smart enough to get more than his Welfare." "Shut up!" "She's just saying anything." "You laugh at me too, Christ." "Easy, huh?" "Damn right!" "I'm the idiot stuck with a kid living up in the back roads." "Here we go again, fuck!" "Fuckin' coward!" "You were fucking right and left and I should..." "I wasn't fucking around before you dumped me, asshole!" "What?" "You got it all wrong!" "Fuckin' selfish coward!" "OK, stop it!" "Tell me what..." "Tell me what..." "Admit it, Christ!" "You're a chicken, a fuckin' worm." " Admit it, at least!" " Shut the fuck up!" "It might make a man out of you." "Leave me alone!" "Ducky, don't let a woman treat you like that!" "Here!" "You're gonna leave me the fuck alone!" "Butt out, OK?" "You don't have the right to put me down!" "She can't say all that crap!" "Stop, or we'll start believing her." "If I said:" "Polo wasn't along when he fell in the bailer." "It was just the two of you." "We only have your version of the story." "OK." "It's the same as what she's doing to me!" "Move!" "We're here to have fun and we got just the right thing." "What's going on, now?" "What have you done?" "This is insane!" "What happened?" "Nothing." "It's a party." "Who did this?" "You're gonna take her inside!" "She stays there, Christ!" "She asked for it!" "You're gonna take her in or you'll have me to deal with!" "No problem." "You!" "Move and give him a hand." "Come on, let's go!" "Move it!" "And you Bertrand Joyal, you better untie that child right away!" "Enough nonsense!" "Don't drop her!" " Take me back!" " No way." "It's not far." "Come on." "I'm tired." "I'll give you a 100$." " A 100$." " You came with them, go with them." "You're rotten!" "It's just 10 minutes away." "If you're too tired, you can stay at the hotel." "I don't mind, I got room." "I didn't know if someone would untie him." " Hold it!" " He had a rough time." "I thought he was gonna bleed to death." "I'm so happy!" "Who tied this fuckin' knot!" "The hell with it!" "The hell with it!" "You can all go to hell!" "Shit!" "We're fuckin' stuck here!" "Hey, did you come here by car?" "A pick up, a scooter, a transport vehicle, no?" "I'll make a deal with you." "Say you got a car, I'll let you go." "I untie you and we both go." "I can't take the chance... if there's no car, and we run into the field, and they follow us..." "I mean, could we make a..." "Goddam fucking shit!" "Am I the only one upset around here?" "I wanted to have fun tonight, not this!" "I poked myself in the eye up to the elbow!" "Can somebody come and get me?" "Can't I get a cab, Christ?" "What camping ground is this?" "Holy goddam fuckin' son-of-a-bitch!" "Christ..." "You there... may be the smartest one here." "You look so damned happy." "Take me back to the hotel." "Take me back to the hotel, OK?" "I can't take it any more." "I got a fuckin' headache." "Touchy!" "What's with her now?" "What's with them tonight?" "One's the check, the other the full moon." "It makes everyone go nuts." "Where in the fuck is Bertrand?" "He took off?" "OK, time out." " What is it?" " Take me back." "We're going." "We'll untie him and we'll go." " I want a picture." " It's 5$ each." "Goddam Welfare!" "Fuckin' Workmen's Comp." "Come on, one last beer." "What?" "But we're leaving!" "Wow, fuck!" "We're having fun!" "I want a picture of his dick!" "Any pictures left in your camera?" "Still got 2." "For a 10in dick, we take two 5in pictures." "Drop his drawers!" "We'll unwoll your dick." "We'll take a picture, OK?" "It won't hurt." "He understands?" "You speak French?" "You speak French?" "Hold this." "You've been fooling us!" "Why don't you answer?" "He's been laughing at us from the start." "Son-of-a-bitch!" "You, get out of my way!" "He's mean... my old buddy's mean!" "He's mean, goddam King Kong?" "Come on, Christ, lift him up, fuck!" "You found your match, King Kong?" "You goddam Kuntakinte!" "Come on, spin him around, Touchy!" "Fuckin' son-of-a-bitch!" "Let's go, Touchy!" "You like it?" "You like that?" "Come on, negro!" "My negro's come!" "Move your ass, goddammit!" "Wiggle, my little negro!" "Come on, swing my little leg of lamb!" "Stop it!" "But we're having fun!" "No!" "You stop that!" "The negro's having fun too!" "Go on, Christ, come on!" "Come on, shake and bake!" "Come on, you fuckin' negro, Christ!" "If I'd known the keys were there..." "I would've left that sick bunch before." "Anyway..." "I came back here and went to bed." "'This client would come every Saturday" "'And before long it was every afternoon" "'Now the flower girl knows... 'his every secret" "'But she never knows for whom the bouquet is meant" "'Give me some roses, mademoiselle" "'I have a "rendez-vous"" "'It's very important" "'Choose them for me" "'Among the more beautiful ones" "'Give me some roses" "'She loves them so" "Yes, we know where the marks on the wrists come from." "What?" "That's it, fax it to me at the office." "OK, thanks J-P." "So?" "Quite different from what she told you." "Quite." "Each story is different." "But it's funny..." "I tend to trust her more." "She's not from around here, she's not covering for anyone." "And the coroner?" "Nothing special about the old lady." "A 12 gauge always does the same damage." "Your father's hunting accident!" "Sorry, it never cross..." "What about it?" "It's alright..." "It's confirmed, the boy is in a... neuro-vegetative coma." "He's finished." "Anything else?" "Something strange..." "He had... lesions on his penis." "You know what?" "In the old barn, there was a milking machine." "I found a milking machine." "Well, son-of-a-bitch!" "Where's the camera?" "What camera?" "The dancer told it all..." "For god's sake!" "It's enough!" "I've worked this area for 25 years." "So I know about the bachelor parties with milkers and calves." "Last night, you hooked the boy to a milker, and that's clear!" "What's not so clear is what happened between the milker and the shot to the old lady's chest." "Who will tell the story?" "We told you what we knew." "Except me." "No rush." "Don't talk now." "Go back to bed." " Let her talk." " Tell him!" "The 12 gauge is mine." "I had lent it to her, and showed her how to use it." "I put 3 shells in it before leaving it." "Yesterday, 3 shots were fired." "One in the ground, one in Mrs Lajeunesse and one in my pick-up." "Yeah, so?" "Martial... what, Martial?" "What was he saying last night?" "That it wasn't his fault, the kid kept shooting at him." "Yes but, with what shells?" " With what..." " Yeah?" "In front of witnesses too." "He was quick on the trigger." "Nobody wants him to get into trouble." "The kid shot the old lady and he ran away with the gun." "And Martial... he was acting in self defense." "'One day while preparing his eternal bouquet" "'She gently said, you know, I'm going" "'I'm marrying tomorrow," "'But I like you so, here are ten more roses" "'I don't want any more roses, mademoiselle" "'Since my "rendez-vous" never existed" "'It was to see you, you are so beautiful" "'Keep your bouquets, for it's you that I loved" "'For it's you that I loved"