"She took a taxi she had just called." "No, I called the taxi." "Six hours later, she is found dead in a skip, disfigured, a bag over her head." "Spare me the details." "We ran her photo." "I showed it to you and you said nothing." " Who was she to you?" " A girl I really loved." "She was beautiful and clever." "With her, life was fun." "Serious in her work, she knew how to play, highly intelligent." "Didn't she live on your money?" "Yes, partly, but so what?" "I'm rich." "I helped her out." "Tell me, damn it!" "Did you recognise her from the photo?" "I don't know what happened." "She left my place to go home." "End of story." "Do you have an alibi?" "Yes, I went to a casino." "Will they remember you?" "Given how much I lost that night..." "You had better go and see the judge as soon as possible." "I'll do whatever you like." " Shall I say you sent me?" " No, don't." " Is it best that I don't know you?" " Yes, for now." " What is he like?" " He's tough." "He's a judge." "I won't touch you..." "I won't touch you." "Listen..." "I just want you to sit down..." "That's all." "Then you'll be free to go, OK?" "That way." "It was her..." "The nanny." "And is she the mother?" "A neighbour." "She called the police." "Music had been playing full blast for hours." " Where is the mother?" " Gilou..." "There's an address on this pay slip." "A supermarket..." "Her name is Ghislaine Androux." "She's a checkout girl." "Phone her." " If she's there, we'll go to her." " I hope not." "It's the back of beyond." " Don't worry." " Hello, madam." "I'm the State Prosecutor, Pierre Clément." "Do you know the father of the child?" "I think he's dead." "Mr Prosecutor." "Mrs Androux is not working today." "Excuse me." "Take the nanny in for psychiatric assessment." "She probably has a history." "See if you can locate the mother." "The inspector will wait in case she turns up." "I'll do some research." "And this time, try not to miss her." "SPIRAL" "They lay out keyrings on the tables." "Then they come back to get them or the money people pay for them." "Yes, I've seen that." "They are foreigners and no one cares." "Do you want us to arrest them?" "They're not really deaf and dumb." "We've tried to make contact with them." "When we approach them, they run off." "Being deaf and dumb is a handicap." "He knows that." "But he doesn't want your pity." "Respect, care, help, but never pity." "That's been his lifelong struggle." "Fine." "In Lyon, it's the same as in Lille." "They go to cafés and public places handing out keyrings, bothering no one, and they collect what people give them, like here." "It's the same gang all over France." "I found the mother." "Ghislaine Androux." "Former junkie." "She was in rehab." "We monitor her." " Is she using again?" " No, it's alcohol now." "She has an appointment." "I'll go there now." "No, I'll go!" "Your story is getting interesting." "Let's try to find out more." "Where can we reach you?" "To interpret." "Leave a number, just in case." "Is she always like that?" "I've spotted one." "Just across the street." "Yeah..." "Handing out keyrings." "OK..." "I have to go." "He's crossing the road." "I'll follow him." "It's always the same." "We try to help them to rebuild their lives while you just drag them down." "We try to give them a future, while you just dig up the past." "She's doing fine." "She comes here twice a week." "She goes to Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous." "And she's working, looking after her baby." "She's rebuilding her life, and you come and tear it all down." "I don't like the police." "Her baby is dead." "He was murdered." "Stabbed to death by the nanny." "Why come here to tell her?" "This is the only place I could find her." "Are you counting on me to do it?" "Do you think it's the psychologist's job to announce her baby's death?" "Forget it." "I'll tell her, but if you could take over afterwards, it might help." "Here she comes." "She is trying to sort herself out." "Come in, Ghislaine." "I have to leave a bit earlier today." "I have an interview for that job in the clothes shop and I can't change it." "This lady is from the police." "Mrs Androux, please take a seat." "Something dreadful has happened to your baby." "No one knows anything about that girl in the skip." " Did you ask?" " I swear I did!" "High and low." "The prostitutes' world is a small one." "Someone always knows someone, but no one knows this girl." "Strange." "Here..." "I'm returning what you gave me." "Not in broad daylight!" " You've taken loads." " I tested some." "If that is all that's left, you can keep it." " I don't use it now." " Oh, sure." "Stop!" "It's your loss, then." "Come on..." "Get lost." "Was she a researcher or a student?" "She was both." "On the one hand, her laboratory job helped her make ends meet." "And on the other hand she was doing her thesis, which she had almost finished, apart from some results that she hadn't had yet." "Miss Andrescu was not just a brilliant researcher." "She led a kind of double life." "Elina was not what you think." " Do you know what an escort girl is?" " Tell me." "A kind of lady companion..." " For men?" " For businessmen only." "They don't like being alone, far from home." "Would she keep them company?" "She would accompany them to dinners, parties, the theatre, and so on." "And to hotels?" " Not always." " She slept with them." " She slept with those she liked." " For money." "That's your view, Your Honour, but I don't share it." "Do you know any of the names on this list?" "But these names are known to all." "But to you, personally?" "Yes, I know quite a few." "It's a small world." "I'm well-known in my circles, too." "Alain Laborde?" "It's him you want." "You aim high." "A ministerial advisor." "Do you recognise this?" " It's a diary." " It was the victim's." "Full of names, Laborde and others." " And my name too?" " Yes, of course." "All these important, famous people." "You must be loving it." "I'll need to see you again, Mr Faye." "Your testimony seems incomplete." "Marianne." "Sorry I'm late." "Just a second." "You didn't have to bring the painting." "Or the rest..." "It's just an excuse to see your new apartment." "Can we go up?" "It's huge!" "Well, you know Benoit..." "I'm glad you brought it after all." "Shall we hang it?" "This is Simon, our interpreter." " Well?" " See the little hotel behind me?" " The blue one?" " Yes." "Be discreet." "See the big man in the suit?" "He's the checker." "He takes the cash, checks the bag, and lets the man in." " There's one now." " You'll see." " Did you get any photos?" " Yeah, from the bar." "Crazy." "In broad daylight!" "He's deaf." "Did you see?" "No, you told me not to look..." "Pretend you're talking to Fromentin here, and discreetly look behind him." " I'm just not used to this." " It's not that hard." "Here comes one now." "Discreetly..." "They're deaf, all right." "They're not faking." "I don't understand everything." "I think he's speaking Russian." "The big man's telling him off, but the kid is fighting back." "I think he's saying he did a bad job." "He's not happy." " Isn't sign language international?" " Only partly." "He's off." "Do we follow him?" "No, we'll take the others." " All of them?" " Yes." "Police, madam." "Five on every floor!" "Arrest everybody!" " Police!" " Open up!" "Open up!" "Open up!" "Open the damn door!" "They're deaf..." "They're deaf!" "Police!" "Don't look so down." "What we've just done is no big deal." "We're married." "It changes nothing." "We're separated and we stay that way." "I know." "Making love hasn't solved our problems." "But it makes them lighter." "I don't see how." "I'm not saying that our problems have simply vanished." "I know I'm magic in bed, but not to that extent." "You're magic!" "I'm Merlin the wizard, remember?" "I'm happy we can make love like before, as single people... with no ties." "I'm happy, too." "Coming!" " Were you having a nap?" " You could have phoned." " Am I disturbing you?" " No, it's OK." "I said I would come after I saw the judge." "Are you interested or not?" " Has the landlord come to visit?" " Yes." " All right?" " Yes, and you?" "Fine." " Great to see you." " It's been a while." "I have to go." "I'm not driving you away, am I?" "If I knew you were coming, I would have stayed." " Nice of you to look after Pierre." " You too!" "Bye!" "I see your wife hasn't changed." "Always in a hurry - "I'm leaving, I'm back."" " Did I disturb you?" " No, she had to leave." "Can I have a drink?" "I think all I've got is tomato juice." " Do you want some?" " No, there was alcohol here." "Vodka?" "No, thanks." "Not for me." "That judge of yours..." "He's edgy." "He's a public menace." "Did you know he has a diary?" "A diary?" "Elina's diary." "He intends to use it." "It's dangerous for me, for everyone." "He quoted a few names." "It's deadly." "He's just looking for witnesses." "Some people met Elina through me." "If he summons them they won't like it." "You said you knew nothing of her double life." " Now you say you're a go-between?" " Pierre..." "I must know who is in that diary." " But how?" " You could borrow it." "I can't." "It's state evidence." "We'll just sneak a look at it when he's not there." "That'll do, Benoit." "Pierre, listen." "Your father-in-law, Marianne's father, is in that diary." " Robert Villequier's in there?" " I'm not sure, but probably!" "He dined with Elina." " And you were the go-between?" " We did business together." "You call it "business"?" "I'm not a fool!" "I got him export perks via my political contacts." "Then I arranged a meal with Elina." "He met her once with me and found her... very nice." "That's called pimping." "You sign a deal with people, not companies." "You keep Mr So-And-So happy, not the shareholders." "Happy businessmen make good deals." "And Elina had a knack of giving them self-worth." "And you used it..." "Don't drop me in it, Pierre." "I must see the diary or I'm done for." "Your nationality?" "Do you have one of these?" "Any identification?" "They're tourists..." "What is he saying?" "He says that they are tourists, and that the guide has their ID." "So where do the keyrings come in?" "Where do these come from?" " What's he saying?" " He won't answer." "He thinks we're fools." "OK." "Let's change tactics." "Keep him, and let the others go." "Prison!" " I think we'll need a solicitor." " A solicitor?" "What for?" "See?" "He's asking for a solicitor." "He has the right to see one." "I see you two are starting to get along..." "OK, let's go!" "Same to you." "We might get him to denounce the ringleaders if we give him a scare." "He seems to be in cahoots with them." "There are rehabilitation centres." "We can offer him a way out." "We'll see..." " Do you want to help me?" " I'd love to." "You plead, see the clients, negotiate..." "I don't exist." "No one hears talk of me." "Do you want me to be your puppet?" "I want you to be the visible face of the partnership." "While you stay invisible." "Unnoticed... and unsuspected." "Why?" "Many solicitors practising are no less presentable than you." "Oh, no." "I am not presentable at all." "Why so?" "I was struck off." "Don't you want to know why?" "Why?" "Do you know what it is like?" "Professionally, it's a death penalty." "I beg you, miss, to grant me a resurrection, or at least the chance to be my own ghost." "Why?" "Why were you struck off?" "After a conviction." "My sister can't bear seeing me idle." "She insists that I get back to work." "She says I'm letting myself go." "She's right." "I'm bored." "So give me new life, happiness, work." "Illegal practice of the legal profession." "Exactly..." "And you would be an accomplice." "I'll pay you 20% more than Escudié." "The work will be a lot more interesting." "30%." "Reviewable every six months." "Every year." " What were you convicted of?" " Rape." "A young female colleague accused me of having sexually abused her." "You can speak and hear perfectly." "Sure, it's not hereditary." "Never?" "It can happen, but very rarely." "My grandparents weren't deaf." "We lived with them, so I had both languages." "Sign language with my parents, and normal language with my grandparents." "That youngster, Pavel..." "Do you think he'll denounce the gang?" "I doubt it." "Maybe if we prolong his detention with the consent of the Prosecutor." "I mean, the stand-in who requested the investigation." "We'll see... tomorrow." " But in the meantime..." " In the meantime?" "I don't know..." "What do you want to do?" "She was suffering." "The mother..." "She was suffering." "The baby was a burden." "Did she say that?" "No, I understood." "The baby was a burden." "The burden of evil." "Because evil was inside of it." "Evil was inside the baby?" "How did this evil manifest itself?" "The baby was a creature of God." "Evil was within it." "It inhabited the baby like... like an undesirable lodger." "I had to chase it out." "A long and difficult battle, sir." "The baby is dead." "It had to be killed." " The psychiatric report, Your Honour." " Did I ask for it?" "The psychiatric assessment..." "I've read it." "Its conclusion is diminished responsibility." "Therefore, I intend to ask for her to be reassessed." "Your Honour, you heard her as well as I did." "She's totally insane, raving mad." "This talk of God, the devil..." "People are free to choose their religious convictions." "This has nothing to do with religion." "She cut the baby into pieces." "It's appalling." "All crimes are appalling." "Killing is not reasonable." "Strictly speaking, it is demented." "But there comes a time for accountability." "We can't hide behind insanity." "Many, like you, think justice should be replaced by psychiatry... and criminal punishment by medicine." "As a judge, I don't agree." "This lady knows that she killed that baby." "She's just admitted as much to us." "The matter of her responsibility must be determined." "I hereby order a reassessment." "You came all this way to ask for an extension?" " Yes." " Do you always do that?" "No, only when the Prosecutor is a cute guy." "Otherwise, I phone." "I don't see a motive." "His situation is in order, and I can't deport an invalid." "I can cover for your mistakes during questioning." "That's all." " There's no crime." " Stolen goods?" "A load of keyrings in his room with no proof of purchase." "Stolen goods destined for the black market." "It's not a big deal, but it's a crime." "What's the value of the goods?" "Seventy to one hundred euros." "Your Pavel is not a culprit." "He's a victim." "I can't extend the detention of a victim." "Do you mind?" "Yes?" "Good." "I'll do that, Your Honour." "It was Judge Roban." "He wants me to investigate Benoit Faye." "Do you know him?" "A businessman." "That disfigured girl was at his place the night she was killed." "Are you OK?" "I was miles away." " Why Faye?" "He's not the murderer." " The judge thinks he's involved." "He just knew her." "She was alive when she left him." "I suppose that Judge Roban knows his job." "Here comes our friend." "He's scared." "He's right to be." "He's in for a beating." "Look." "That van that's just pulled up." " Our friend in the suit." " Right..." "He's dragging him into the van." "Yeah, I thought he would." "He's going to give him a beating." "And you'll just let him do it?" "I have no choice." "Have you got something to say?" "Go on, it's time to talk." "It will help, not having to watch." "Look at me." "I'm listening." "Is it about last night?" "In fact..." "I'm engaged." "Soon to be married." "We only slept together." "It's no big deal." " We both enjoyed it, didn't we?" " Yes." "It eased some tension, that's all." "Not a word to your fiancée." "She's lucky." "You're a decent man." "Right." "They've finished." " Aren't we following them?" " We have it covered" "The white van is on its way." " Hello, Mr Pierre!" " Hello, Marie-Paule." " Is my father-in-law in?" " Yes." "Have you come for lunch?" "I wasn't told." "Sorry to come at such a bad time." "We can't let you die of hunger." " Right, Marie-Paule?" " Yes." " Set a place for my son-in-law." " Yes, sir." "Tell me..." " Do you do business with Benoit Faye?" " Yes, I do." " Your friend Benoit." " What kind of business?" "I didn't think that my company interested you." "You know what I do." "You make equipment and medicines for hospitals." "I do manufacture a little, but I mainly sell." "I export, and that's where your friend Benoit came in." "To make things easier." "Exporting to those countries can mean..." "Fraud?" "That's a big word." "We came to an arrangement." "Thanks to Benoit?" "You live in a simplified world." "As a judge, you reason by the law." "But as a company boss, I can't always abide by it." "We do things that may not be legal, but we pretend they are." "That girl found dead in the skip." "Have you followed the case?" "No?" "It was in the papers." "It's an interesting case." "Now it's just news, but soon... it's going to be much more." "Such cases bring fame." "Get in there." "And how do I "get in there"?" "Via the parents and solicitors for the plaintiff." "I have it all set up." "They're due at the forensic lab to identify their daughter." "Be there, too." "Hold on, not so fast." "It's all in here." "As for the rest... you can improvise." "Her face is extremely disfigured." "Are you sure you want to see her?" "Yes, we want to see her." "She's our daughter." "There are wounds to her body, but it's intact." "However... her face is really in a very bad state." "She's unrecognisable." "I've seen it." "It's very hard to take." "Can you tell her?" "I speak French." "I'm sorry." "We want to see her." "Hello, I'm your solicitor." "Mr Holender probably told you." "Thank you, miss, but I don't think we need a solicitor any more." " French police will take care of it." " The police don't have the time." " Are you a detective or a lawyer?" " I can ensure police efficiency." "To them, yours is just another case." "I'll represent you." " But we can't pay you." " Mr Holender has taken care of that." " I'm handling your other daughter." " Sofia?" " The police are looking for her." " No." "They have put her name on a missing persons' list and are awaiting her return, dead or alive." "I want to help you." "I don't want to lie to you." "So, how is he?" "He's OK." "He even has a smile." "He's using French signs so I can understand." "This time they just beat him, but they didn't burn him." "Bloody hell!" "They're bad burns." "It looks like it was done with a blow lamp." "And his statement?" "We've got the breakdown of the organisation and the big bosses' nicknames." "Basically it's a pyramid." "People at this level set the targets for the ones below, and so on, with the kids at the bottom with their sales quotas." "Every day they have to buy 20 euros of merchandise and make enough to pay for it." "How much extra do you make?" "Twenty or thirty euros." "Part of that goes to the family or on drink or prostitutes..." "You go with prostitutes, eh?" "What was the row with the big man about?" "He says it's tough." "They also have to pay the hotel." "Come in." "Do you have an appointment, madam?" "Chief Inspector Bertaud suggested that I see you." "Do come in." "Take a seat." "She can no longer help me." "She says it's no longer a matter for the police." "And she thinks that I can help you?" "In what way?" "Do I need a solicitor or not?" "It depends." "Why?" "Aren't you aware of the case I'm speaking about?" "Not unless you tell me." "I'm the mother of the baby who was cut into pieces." "I'm sorry." "I've never met you, but I was fully aware of this dreadful case." "Will I need a solicitor for the trial?" "There won't be a trial." "We can't try a person of diminished responsibility." "She is responsible." "She killed my baby." "In the eyes of the law, we cannot judge someone who is insane." "Will she go to prison?" "She'll probably go to a hospital." "But she has killed." "She must be punished." "She should be treated, but she should be punished, too." "She's not insane." "She's a monster, a criminal." "If the doctors say she is insane, legally we can't do anything." "Did they say that?" "You could ask for a reassessment, but I'm not sure it would do any good." "So, there's nothing you can do?" "Goodbye." "Goodbye." "Pierre?" "I have a spare key." "It beats waiting outside." "OK?" "I saw my father-in-law." " His dealings are dodgy." " You mean magnificent!" "No jokes." "I helped him cheat Customs and avoid a little red tape." "There are worse things..." "Like in that diary." "Is he involved in Elina's death?" "Not at all." "Go easy." "He didn't kill her." "I didn't say he did." "He was in Africa." "I know." "I didn't say I suspected him." "Your father-in-law is a decent man." "Others in that diary are more dangerous, menacing even." " Stop the melodrama." " I would love to, but you won't help!" " All I need is to see the diary!" " I've already told you." "You can't." "You have no choice." "If I go down, you go with me." "I house you here, rent free..." "So you're being put up by a criminal." "I thought it was out of friendship." "For me, it is." "But not for your friend, the judge." "Because of what I earned through your father-in-law, it looks like a deal." "Are you blackmailing me?" "No..." "I'm simply explaining." "I never asked you to investigate Benoit Faye." "Sorry, I must have misunderstood." "I want him under surveillance." "His past five years don't interest me." "I want to know what he did in the last two weeks." "Where he is now?" " Are you sure he's involved?" " No, I'm not." "I'm checking." "He's connected." "He has something to hide." "He's protecting himself or someone." "Stake him out." "Right." "I'll do that." "But congratulate your team for their report." "It's solid and serious work." "Like everything you do." "I will." "Thanks, Your Honour." "Our daughter died like a prostitute." "She died like a prostitute, her face disfigured, her body dumped on a rubbish tip." "But she wasn't a prostitute." "Our daughter always led a very free life." "But she never hid anything from us." "Have you met our daughter's research director?" "He's a highly renowned professor." "No, you haven't been to see him." "I presume the police have." " No, the police haven't either." " He'd seen no one but my wife and me." "He took the time to talk to us about Elina, despite being busy." "But no one had questioned him." "My clients are unhappy with the progress of the inquiry." "Judge Roban still hasn't seen them." "And our other daughter, Sofia..." "One daughter vanishes." "The police don't care." "The other was murdered and it's as if she were guilty." "Why link both cases?" "Because of parents in common?" "Elements of the Andrescu murder inquiry might help us find her sister." "What Elina Andrescu knew is of no help." "But we're doing nothing to find her sister." "She may be alive." "That would prove that the two cases are not connected." "Aren't they?" "Fifteen-year-old runaways." "It happens every day." "So you don't want a new inquiry?" "Do as you see fit." "It's not about what I want." "Here, the file." "I'm just saying it will lead nowhere." "It won't change my view of the case." "It's been clear from the start, from how she operated and from the inquiry, she was a high-class whore, murdered in keeping with her profession." "She was a researcher in biology, at an advanced level." "It wasn't biological research that took her to that skip." "Not all prostitutes are stupid." "The reverse can even help." "She had different clients to a streetwalker." "I met her parents." "We can't just stand idly by." "Don't let emotions think for you." "For the sister, continue your preliminary investigation." "If you find something, we can launch a full-blown inquiry." "Won't you see the parents?" "It's a waste of time." "But I'll see them, just to please you." "I'll go and get the diary." "But you'll look at it here while I supervise." "Great!" "That's all I wanted." "I'm doing this to protect me and my family." " You're doing it for me." " Don't touch me!" "Wait here." "It could take time."