"SHOCK TREATMENT" " I have a reservation." "The name is Masson." " Miss Masson?" "Yes, of course." "It was made for you by Jêrôme Savignat." "If you'd like to fill this form out." "Much obliged, Colonel." "Room 323 is reserved for you this year, as usual." "Thank you, miss." "Miss Masson, dinner will be served at eight this evening, as it is every evening." "I'm exhausted." "For five years now, I've been on the go." "Though I'm not sure where." "I work very hard and I get paid well for it." "I'm all alone." "You see, Jêrôme, for the first time in my life," "I feel my age." "It's time I took stock." "A few days here, and you'll be a new woman." "It's partly the climate, exposure to the wind and the sun." "It's a microclimate, you know." "Then you've got the ocean." "The ocean cleanses and purifies." "Water's one of the primary elements." "You'll feel younger than ever, like a newborn baby." "Let's not go overboard." "Wait till you begin the treatment." "Look, do you believe in this living cell theory?" "It's miraculous." "Look at me." "Look at the others." "You've always looked like a kid." "Maybe I have, but they haven't." "Doctor Devilers will guide you and counsel you." "What a fascinating man he is." "Sounds like you're in love with him." "You wouldn't understand." "Is that him?" "No, that's his assistant," "Doctor Bernard." "What are we eating?" "Seaweed steak, from the ocean." " But it's disgusting." " Disgusting, but you'll get used to it." "It's all part of the cure." "You must chew it slowly, at least 30 times per mouthful." "Hey, watch this." "These Portuguese boys are charming." "I quite agree." "They're ever so much better than the Spaniards we had last year." "Dr Devilers sends his apologies." "He won't be back from Paris till tomorrow." "Tell me, Miss Masson, how old are you?" "39?" "No, 38." " You've never had any major illnesses?" " No." "Good." "will you please follow me?" "You're a close friend of Jêrôme Savignat, aren't you?" "He's a charming man with a huge fortune." "Now, if you'll remove your robe, please." "Just walk back and forth a few times." "Stop right there." "Don't move, please." "Come and have a look." "Do you see these lines?" "They indicate a turning inward on oneself, a state of depression." "You run a firm of women's clothing, don't you?" "Yes." "You've taken on too much work, too much responsibility." "You're suffering from exhaustion." "We'll start off with the salt-water cure." "And when you've regained..." "a certain stability, you can start the medical treatment." "For that I'll need to do a blood test." "Roll up your sleeve, please." "Good afternoon, Miss Masson." "Come on, quick." "Take off your robe and step into the water." "It's a beautiful day today." "You'll see, just a few days here and you'll be a new woman." "Nothing compares to our coastal climate." "Constant exposure to the wind and sun." "It's a microclimate here, you know." "How's the water?" "Comfortable?" "If you want anything, just ring." " How was the bubble bath?" " Oh, it was marvellous." "My name is Renê Gassin." "Hêlène Masson." " It's my first day here." "And you?" " Me too." "Miss Masson, please." "Right." "Goodbye." "Turn around, please." " What's your name?" " Joâo." " Where are you from?" " Porto Alegre." " Joâo, come with me immediately." " Yes, Mr Almeida." "Coming." ""Your physical posture" ""reflects the state of your psyche."" " Just what are you doing?" " Nothing." "You were looking at your arse." "Afraid of middle-age spread?" "Oh, and what about you?" "Oh, you're doing pretty well too." "How old are you really?" "Eh?" "Let me see your arse." " No." " Let me see it!" "It's too bad that I don't like women." "I would definitely have married you." "My dream!" "To marry a rich man." "Because I'm told you're now worth a huge fortune." "Who told you that?" " Doctor Bernard." " You didn't tell him otherwise?" " No, but why tell him such a thing?" " Well, just..." "Just to be on the same level as the others." "The first day leaves you exhausted." "It's getting accustomed to the climate too." "At first I hated the atmosphere of the institute, the diet, the schedule." "Now I can't do without it." "Once you detoxicate, you forget." "My wife is right." "You'll see." "You become more and more impatient to return." "And you're among old friends again." "We never lose contact." "We encourage each other." "We're more or less one big family." "As long as certain rules are observed." " Right, Jêrôme?" " What rules?" "Rules, Mr Gassin, is too precise a word." "I'd say more of a code." "A code of honour, of chivalry." "Jêrôme will explain it to you." "Jêrôme!" "Stop!" "I can't go much further." "I'm not in good shape." "Once you've begun your treatment, it'll be different." "You're not used to the climate." "You'll see, you'll feel young again." "Sure, I know, with your sun and your wind, it's a microclimate, and so on." "Devilers is back." "I say, therapy pays well." "One's youth is priceless." "What seems to be the trouble?" "Is it money worries?" "Yes, but no more than usual." "How are things between you and Alain?" "Not so hot." "Money worries are no help." "Yes?" "Come in." " A card for madam." " Thank you." "I have some urgent "business" in town." "I'll be back in three days." "Relax and enjoy the microclimate." "Love and kisses, Jêrôme." "Miss Masson," "Dr Devilers will receive you in his private residence in half an hour." "Come on, eat and drink something." "Just look at how they treat us." "Surely back home you were not used to eating meat like this every day." "The meat I want does not come on a dish." " Hello." " Hello." "Come, he's waiting for you." "How do you do?" "I'm delighted to meet you at long last." "I've heard a lot about you." "Sit down, please." "I'll leave you to it." "Please excuse the mess." "I wanted to see you here." "It's much more..." "How can I put it?" "More intimate." "Yes." "Exactly." "Would you like a drink?" "No, thank you." "Well..." " Do you still wish to follow the treatment?" " Yes, of course." "Good." "No reason why we shouldn't start tomorrow." "Before any therapy we do, even minor, we need the consent of the patient." "Miss Masson, there's one question on my mind." "I don't understand exactly why you've come here." "You're good-looking, you're still young." "You seem to be well balanced, even if you are suffering momentarily from fatigue." "A holiday, some physical exercise should suffice in your case." "You really must know?" "I can't help you if you don't trust me completely." "I was ditched." "Sure, it happens all the time to others, but it was the first time for me." "I saw him a few days ago in a restaurant with... how shall I put it?" "...my replacement." "She was pretty in her way, no more than that." "There was a mirror in front of me." "I Iooked at myself in it." "I tried to see why." "I went home and spent over an hour in front of my mirror." "Has that never happened to you before?" "A woman doing her make-up is half blind." "It's like putting a watch together." "An eyelid, your eyes, your eyelashes, your eyebrows." "The lips, the cheekbones." "But never the face as a whole." "Or only the surface." "All of a sudden I saw through it." "There, that's all." "I don't think so." "But you know the rest." "Or your clients wouldn't be here." "They must have talked about it." "The lines, each day a deepening of the features." "Until you become a caricature of yourself." "And hidden underneath, the anguish, the fear of ageing," "of death." "I thought I was different." "I paid little attention to myself." "I was...invulnerable." "That's when the bottom fell out." "I'm no different from the rest now." "I understand them, anyway." "I've aged." "I want to call a halt before it's too late." "Is this where you sign?" "Well, did it take the wind out of you?" "Look, we've all faced up to it." "Afterwards you feel better." "Anyway, you will begin treatment tomorrow." " I don't know." " Oh, yes." "First the confession and then the reward." "That's how it goes." "Why don't you join us?" "It's a shame we can't drink champagne." "Your first treatment calls for a drink." "Well, well." "It's your first too?" "Oh, yes." "We'll be losing our virginity together." "It's a pleasant prospect." "A round of carrot juice cocktails?" "I assure you, they're quite delicious." " Remember our first treatment, Lise?" " Yes." "It was ten years ago to the day." "How long ago was it for you, Judge?" "Let's see... it was two months before the Lecas case." "Nine years ago?" "Another who's drunk too much." "The climate's too much for them so they drink." "The climate?" "Why yes." "Remember your first few days?" "Last year it was much worse with our Spaniards." "They kept dropping like flies." "You mustn't think about it." "Just enjoy each passing minute as tomorrow night approaches." "Is it always at night?" "Yes, always." "You awake at dawn and it's almost as if a new life is beginning." "It's time. will you follow me, please?" " Good evening, Miss Masson." " Good evening." "Just relax." "Count with me." "One...two..." "I knew you'd feel better." "Look at them." "They're not the same people." " Let's all go for a seaweed sauna." " I'll even make that an order." "Everyone into the ocean." "Let's go!" "Do we go as we are?" "Won't we shock the employees?" "Not at all." "They're used to it." "Doctor!" "Come and join us!" "Come on in, Doctor, the water's lovely." "What are you waiting for, Doctor?" "There you are." " OK?" " Yes." "It's years since I've felt this good." "That deserves a kiss." " I'm starving." " Me too." "It affects us all like that the first few days." "Nut cutlets, wholegrain rice, seaweed tart." "Oh, no!" "Just this once let me take you all to the harbour to eat your fill." "I love being with you." "Everything is so simple." "That's what I told you." "We're one big family." " We have so much in common." " Like what?" "A sort of complicity." "I said no and I mean it." "I refuse to serve you another." "If you can't hold your liquor, you shouldn't drink. 6,20 francs." " I'm going to tell Dr Devilers." " You do that." "And Doctor Bernard." "And the police." "We've done nothing wrong, unlike you." "Let go of me!" "I don't think we're very popular." "Look at him." "I suppose he'll go blabbering to Le Quêrec." "There's another one I can't stand." "No, Mr Savignat, the orders I have are extremely precise." "You can stay tonight but that's all." " But Dr Devilers told me..." " There's no point discussing it." "Hêlène." "Please, Hêlène, help me." "I'm ruined." "I've had it." "I'm ruined, Hêlène." "Come here." "Are things really so bad?" "You need money, don't you?" " At least I can help you there." " No." "I have no credit, I've been dropped everywhere." "Even here I owe everyone money." "You've seen how I'm avoided." "I just tried raising the money in Paris." "Then I tried in Bordeaux." "Alain refused." "Alain." "I mean his parents." "But Jêrôme, you won't be put in prison." "You're only worried about your treatment." "You don't understand." "I gave everything up for this treatment." "It's life itself to me if I want to go on loving and being loved, to stay young." "You can already see what I'm becoming." "A caricature, a pitiful thing." "An old queen like all those I see around me." "Those whores who smear on powder and paint, who wallow in day facials and night facials, who gobble monkey hormones and pig hormones, who end up having facelifts, with hair transplants for an old queen." "There she is, the old hag." "The old hag..." "Jêrôme, come here, come on." "Calm down." "Did you try to explain it to Devilers?" "Devilers." "All that counts for Devilers is money, you see?" "You're going to stay with me tonight." "And I'm sure that tomorrow we'll find a solution." "Hêlène..." "Yes?" "Be careful." "That treatment works like a drug." "Soon you become hooked on it." "That's his power over us." "Why don't we talk about it tomorrow?" "For the moment, try to get some sleep." "You accept the little things first, then the monstrous horrors." " You're sucked under." " Yes." "Now sleep." "Sleep." "Get out, Hêlène." "Get out." "Hello, Mr Savignat's room, please." " Has Mr Savignat checked out?" " I don't know how to..." "Has something happened to him?" "When did you last speak to Mr Savignat?" "Last night." "Did he seem normal to you?" "No, he was very nervous." "Did he tell you why?" "He has financial worries." "I know he was quite concerned about having to interrupt his treatment." "There was nothing else?" "No, nothing special, Inspector." "I have made careful examination of the site." "The footprints on the cliff, the position of the body." "From past experience, I'd be surprised at the autopsy if they don't confirm it a suicide." "It's sure to be suicide." "You know, Miss Masson, the role of the police ends here, with facts and conclusions." "Anything else is pure conjecture." "If you ever need to get in touch with me, here's my card." "Do you plan on staying here long?" "I don't know." "Anyone who dashes off like that at the drop of a hat won't be permitted to return." "Jêrôme wanted very badly to stay but no one tried to hold him back." "Hêlène, we're all so sorry that this thing happened." " We form a unique community..." " Do you mind?" " will you prepare my bill?" " Very well, Miss Masson." "But first, I'm afraid, it requires the signature of Dr Bernard on a formal release card." "You've just suffered a cruel shock." "Mr Savignat was a friend of yours." "But now we have to think of you." " You must overcome this setback." " In other words, you won't let me go." "My dear Miss Masson, permit me to remind you that we began this treatment with your consent." "It's risky to stop halfway through." "It would be unwise for us to let you go." "On this point, I'm in entire agreement with Dr Bernard." "Naturally." "I try to respect the wishes of my collaborators too." " How much longer will it continue?" " Ten days to two weeks." "It all depends on your reactions." "If you wish to be released this very moment, you're free to go but you do so at your risk and peril." "And thereafter we decline all responsibility." " Good morning." " Good morning." "Is there a problem?" "Have you been drinking?" "I can't stand it here so I do like the others and have a drink." " Are you leaving?" " Yes." "Please, take me with you." " What is it?" " I don't want to stay." "Take me with you." "Do you have all your papers?" "No, I don't." "Mr Almeida took care of everything with my parents." "Let's just hope they don't see me talking to you." "It's not allowed." "Please take me away from here." "I'm not leaving, all right?" "Go." "25,000 francs." "And you, Jacques?" "How much did you lose?" "Some 30,000." "I was luckier than you." "Poor Jêrôme only got 10,000 from me." "And you?" "About 6,000 francs." "It's a good thing I was able to warn Marcel." "He was never meant to be part of our private community." "If you want to live beyond your means, OK, but you need brass nuts for that." "Miss Masson." "Yes, I'm here." "I merely wanted to tell you how delighted I am that you're staying with us." "Now get some rest, will you?" "Good morning." "It's your turn." "What a lovely day." "We really have such a splendid climate." "Exposed to the sea breeze and the sun... will you excuse me?" " Aren't you having lunch with us?" " No, not today." "I hope you know I didn't say that because of you." "But as rich as they are, the town doesn't profit from the patients." "None of the locals have ever worked at the institute." "They only hire foreigners without work permits." "Almeida is the louse who runs the racket." "Are the police not aware of it?" "They have VIPs in their clientele." "They'll cover up anything." "And Le Quêrec?" "Le Quêrec was never worth a fig, not even before he ran off to South America." "They say that's where he ran into Devilers." " How long ago?" " Oh, ten years or so." "His family's always lived by crooked means." "His boat, for example." "Where did he find the dough for it?" "He goes fishing for them, sure." "All they buy is seaweed." "You don't pay for a boat by peddling seaweed." "You're through to Paris, Miss Masson." "Thank you." "Yvette?" "Hêlène." "Just fine." "I'll be back in about ten days." "No problem with that Iamê trouser suit?" "Really?" "If they want them faster, you'd better get Rozinski to give you a hand." "He won't mind sharing the profits." "Come in." "Thank you." "See you soon." "Joâo." "Joâo!" " No!" "What are you going to do to him?" " He's sick." "We'll take care of him." " I want to know what it is." "I'll come along." " No, you won't, Miss Masson." "What's the matter?" "Joâo is sick." "Joâo is sick!" "He's going to die!" "First it was Jêrôme, now it's Joâo." "It's too much." "You're not making a bit of sense." "Calm down." "No?" "Well, it had better begin making sense because you organised this whole thing." "Do something or I'll call the police." "Stop it." "No!" "Don't you touch me!" "Miss Masson, that's enough." "No, no, no!" "Forgive me but it's the only way to stop you." "Please try to explain as calmly as you can what happened." " What's wrong with her?" " She's probably energy-deficient." "We shouldn't have interrupted treatment." "She needs her injection." "No, no!" "You're going to kill me, aren't you?" "Yes." "Feeling better?" "Yes." "And Joâo?" "Joâo couldn't cope with the climate." "We decided to send him home." "I was the one who saw him off." " This morning." " Ah, well." "That was nice of you." " Hêlène?" " Yes?" "I really am sorry about Jêrôme." " You could have saved him." " You could have saved him yourself." "But he never even asked you." "I am no philanthropist." "If you can't pay, you do without." "Jêrôme knew very well." "He couldn't pay." "You put up quite a struggle." "You get special treatment." "Make the most of it." "Do as everyone else does." "From now on, think of yourself." "Yes, Doctor." ""Yes, Doctor." "Thank you, Doctor." ""You're very kind." "Yes, Doctor"" "What the hell's the matter with me?" "I'm losing my marbles." "Jêrôme was right." "It's much worse than drugs." "Yes?" "There." "Joâo is not here?" "No, he went back to his town." " When did he leave?" " Yesterday." " Are you sure?" " Yes." "They took him to the station." " Do you like it here?" " The food and drinks are good." " What's your name?" " Manoel." " Oh, it's you." " This is no place to talk." "Hêlène, can I be of any help?" "I don't know." "I agree, there are some strange things going on." "You want to know the facts but don't be foolish." "For one thing, Renê, the treatment..." "What exactly is it?" "Injections of live blood cels taken from a sheep embryo." " And nothing more?" " Yes." "But that's the doctor's secret." "Anyway, it does seem to do the trick." "Look at the judge." "He's pushing 60, as far as I can make out." "There you are." "We've been looking for you everywhere." "We're going on a boat trip." " Renê." " Yes." "Who's he?" "Jacques Boyer, director of the CIB." " Do you know what that means?" " No." "It's a very large commercial bank." "Someone like that could be useful to you." "Oh, yes, of course." "Next to him is his wife, heiress to the Potu fortune in sugar." "Incidentally, the Potus are cousins by marriage to the Giovanelli." "That's why Paul has so much money for his election campaign." "Marcel turned it into a scandal in his column but that hasn't stopped them from being bosom buddies." " Mr Gassin." " Yes." "Mr Gassin, do you want to take the helm?" "Coming." "Hêlène, come here." "Come and join us!" "What's so funny?" "We were discussing Dr Devilers." "You know he's enormously intrigued by you." "Yes!" "I'd never have expected him to like a wiild cat because for a while there..." "Now I'm much better." "They gave me my injection so now I'm back to normal." "Anyway, Dr Devilers is simply not my type." " Oh, but you're so wrong." " He's quite special." "Well, then, Gassin?" "I don't find him attractive at all but I enjoy his company." "There go our new life cells." "I'm amazed you find it so easy to make light of." "And what do you expect?" "Do you want me to weep like the Pope over every soul?" "They'll never see the light of day." "Wouldn't that be worse?" "We live better by virtue of their dying." "It's to my benefit and to your benefit." "You know something?" "In the course of a long life, I've only learnt one thing." "There's no worse sin than hypocrisy." "If you really want to join our small community, and enjoy its many advantages, you'd be well advised to stop hiding behind your shield of sensitivity." "After all, it's only another form of hypocrisy." "Excuse me." "You can do something for me now." "I want to check the hold." " Call me if anyone comes." " Do be careful." "Hêlène!" "Hêlène!" "Don't waste your time down here." "There's more to look at up on deck." "If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you." "I'll drive you back myself." "Hello, Miss Masson." "I've told the doctor that the autopsy results mean we can safely conclude it was suicide." "I've made arrangements to transfer the body." "He had no family." "Is there anything else we can do?" "No, we can't do a thing for him now." "Miss Masson." "Come and have a drink with me." "It might be just the thing to cheer you up." "Why, Dr Devilers!" " Afternoon, Doctor." "Won't you sit down?" " Good afternoon." "What can I get you?" " A Muscadet?" "I've got a few bottles left." " No, please, don't go to any trouble." "I insist." "It's not often we have the pleasure of seeing you." "I like them a lot." "They couldn't be nicer." "Very good." "What's all this about Almeida?" "I'm told he was causing you trouble." "Not at all!" "Where did you hear that?" "People get so jealous, Doctor." "They'll say anything..." "The minute there's any recurrence, you must tell me." "I know that." "If you hadn't come to me, we'd never have obtained your liquor licence." "We can never thank you enough for that, Doctor." "You're a real life-saver." "Well, we'll leave you to it." "It's very wise of you to take time to get to know the locals better." "The climate makes them more human, more sociable, friendlier." "Hêlène..." "What are you after?" "No one's keeping you here." "If you like I can speak to Bernard." "You'll be able to go whenever you want." "Otherwise you won't have any choice." "You'll wind up like the others." "Sorry, I couldn't help myself." "You mustn't give up on me now when I most need you." " You're not too cold?" " No, I'm just fine." "Oh, no, not tonight." "Be a pal, Hêlène, save me from her." "You're invited to dinner, OK?" "OK." "It's been more than a month since that's happened to me." "How about you?" "Oh, well, you know..." "Go on, admit it." "You've had every one of them." "Almost." " Which one's the best?" " You, of course!" "No doubt about it." "Of the others, though?" "Well, the others..." "I can't talk about them, they're my patients." "I see." "Because this is part of the treatment?" "Right." "But there's no extra charge." "Yes, yes, just a minute." "Yes, yes." "No, no!" "You promised four and only three came." "That's no good." "Yes." "Yes." "Not yet." "That's no good!" "Not yet." "Of course not." "If it's necessary." "Of course." "Exactly." "Of course." "I understand." "All right." "All right." "Of course." "That's it." "Of course." "Sure." "All right." "I'll call you later." "You're doing very well." "But your accent is Brazilian." "Yes, Miss Masson." "We know you speak Portuguese." "Sorry but I have work to do." "Get dressed." "Is it this evening, Judge?" "Your injection, I mean?" " Yes." "Paul's too." " Mm-hm." "Can't you be more careful?" "No, no, the carrot juice is for me." "The celery juice is for my wife, and the mango juice for madam." "He's not coping with this climate, either." "Luckily there are three new boys." "Have you seen them?" "They'll do very nicely." "Is no one surprised by the changes in staff?" "Oh, no." "In one year I had six different maids." "I suppose the doctor has to deal with much the same problem." "I did an article on the inability of the foreign worker to adjust." "I made a number of trips myself into the slum areas." "Dreadful." "But we're on holiday." "I would just as soon..." "I know, but it seems awfully strange to me." "Hêlène, I don't understand you." "You're on extremely good form." "You're making the most of your treatment." "So why make your life miserable?" "You're going to spoil not only your holiday but ours as well." "If you must know the details, they can be obtained directly from the doctor." " You're well placed to ask these days." " You're right." "Hêlène, I've got to talk to you." " Go on, talk." " No, not here." "Be careful." "Or you'll wind up with everyone hating you." "What have they got against me?" "They can't figure out what you want." "Me neither, to be honest." "Even though you find everything suspect, you're on the best terms with Devilers." "Don't tell me you're jealous." "No." "No, I know I wouldn't have a chance with you anyhow." " But Renê, you know as well as I do..." " Watch it!" "Do you think what happens to the Portuguese is normal?" "If they're sick it's not our problem." "I'm just glad to feel alive again." "Our friends are right there." "They don't want to see anything at all." "How can you say that?" "They represent the very best in our society, highly responsible, worthy of trust." "Yes, but you, Renê, what's your opinion?" " Mine?" "Well..." " Wait." "Wait here for me." "I don't feel well." "I want to leave." " Why don't you?" " I only get paid at the end of the week." " How much?" " 1 ,800 for two months." " Don't worry, I'll give you the money." " They won't let you." "I'll come tonight." "When do you go to bed?" " At 8pm." " Come with me." "Wait for me by the shed, at 8:30pm." " All right?" " All right." "Manoel?" "Manoel!" "Manoel?" "Manoel?" "Doctor, you may come now." "Good." "He's out for three or four hours." "Come on." "Hurry up." "The doctor's waiting." "But I saw them." "They had drugged him and were drawing his blood out." "Miss Masson, even if I were to believe you, it would hardly incriminate anyone." "It wouldn't?" "I have complete faith in the doctor." "Any concern he shows for his foreign workers is certainly for their own good." " Shall we speak to him about it?" " No, you mustn't." "Well, then?" "You're the same as the rest." "No one wants to face the truth." "The truth, Miss Masson?" "The main thing is the rules and laws which regulate any society, rules which you seem to have forgotten with regard to us." "An employee who's wandered off, no doubt." "That's the one, the one I told you about." "Good morning, Miss Masson." "Here's your money." "It can't be mine." "I didn't lose any." "They never lie to me." "I will have to speak to the doctor." "Come on." "You see?" "He wants to speak to the doctor too." "Please, don't say a word." "All right, Miss Masson." "But I doubt if it will change anything." "As always, he'll wind up knowing everything." "I've been waiting for you." "How would you like to go flying with me?" "All right." "Where are you taking me?" "I don't know." "To Iceland." "To Africa or Brazil." "Nowhere." "How far can you go in one of these planes?" "Just far enough to leave all the imbeciles behind." "What made you go in for this?" "For what?" "Caring for all these patients." "Look at them." "A microcosm of our society." "Watch out." "The upper crust in hiding." "They're afraid of getting old." "Afraid of themselves, afraid of everything." "Luckily their kind doctor is there to take them by the hand, to watch over them." " You all right?" " Yes." "Good." "I detest this part of the world." "It's grey, it's insipid, it's sensible." "The cradle of civilisation, a cultural stockpot." "At one point I wanted to live elsewhere." "On the Amazon." "Among the so-called savages." "But I couldn't hack it." "I was a foreigner." "So I returned to all these arseholes and now I find myself depending on them." "Finding out just how far they'll go is an amusing game." "Hold on tight." " Are you staying with me tonight?" " Yes." " Do you really want to?" " Yes." "26 91 12, please." "The telephone is out of order." " For how much longer?" " Indefinitely." "Hêlène?" "They took out my car battery." "I tried to use the phone but they won't put my calls through." " Renê, I'm scared." " Keep your voice down." "Why?" "Everyone knows they want me dead." " Please." " They're all accomplices." " It's so mild out, I think I'll go for a walk." " Let me come with you." "Renê, please, lend me your car." "I'm really sorry but I can't." "Miss Masson, we've had to bring forward your injection." "No, never again." "Stop her, she's dangerous." "No, not you." "They killed Manoel and Joâo." "They're going to kill us all." "Get her!" "Get her." "What are you waiting for?" "I've hurt my back." "What else do you want to know?" "You'll be disappointed." "First there are the blood transfusions." "Then, as you can see there in the centrifuges, you have the organs of your dear Manoel from which we extract the live cells which do us all so much good." "Nothing has changed in our society." "Just like the primitives, we always sacrifice the weak." "But we suffocate them slowly." "We massacre by means of intermediaries." "What else do you need to know?" "This?" "We're all murderers, Miss Masson." "You, me, the others." "But like the good savages, I do my own killing." "I'm no hypocrite." "I've made my choice." "I've just killed a man, at the Devilers institute." "I called the police." "You deal with her." "What you've been telling me is a tale of vampires, Miss Masson." "No one will believe you." "Manoel's body was in the laboratory." "They must have removed it but not without leaving a trace." "We've already checked." " There was never a Manoel here." " And the filing cabinet next to the phone?" "And the baskets on the boat that day?" "We've looked into it." "We've questioned the guests at the institute." "Their testimonies all contradict yours." "They would." "Miss Masson, you've just killed a man and seriously injured another, as it happens, one of the Portuguese you say you're protecting." "But I've already explained it..." "Miss Masson," "I'm going to have to arrest you." "I have discussed your situation with Dr Bernard." "It seems that since Mr Savignat's suicide, you've been in a state of shock from which you've never recovered." "That is what I would advise you to plead, anyway." "I've had the pleasure of following Dr Deviler's cure twice a year." "I'm certain Dr Bernard will carry on his good work." "Several of us will be here to assist him." "We'll always need foreign workers here." "They're indispensable to us."