Previously...
- Could you see her face? - No, it was too disfigured.
New prosecutor. Nice, huh?
Unbelievable.
The victim loses her diary before being killed.
I saw you with Benoit Faye.
- So where is the bloody diary? - We're screwed.
- Well? - The judge took the diary home.
I've met someone else, Pierre.
You're high. You're back on it.
- The judge wants to get the Romanian. - I hear you're looking for me.
We need the Romanian or the judge will harass Faye.
From now on, it's free.
And in return?
In Elina Andrescu's diary, one name intrigues me.
More of a nickname or a sobriquet.
- Boulou? - I told you?
Exactly, Boulou.
Do you know who it is, Judge?
I think that Boulou is our old friend,
the foreign trade minister's adviser.
Arnaud Laborde?
He's in the diary under his real name.
That is what's so surprising.
Laborde has a house at La Baule. Guess what it's called.
Villa Boulou.
Laborde and Boulou are one and the same. I'm sure of it.
There are no coincidences in crime.
SPIRAL
Your head teacher says you're a good pupil.
What are you studying?
Aeronautical engineering.
I'm ahead of the others.
Why did you want to see me?
My brother vanished a few days ago.
- You should go to the police. - They won't listen.
They think he's a criminal.
And is he?
- He's done some stupid things. - Such as?
- Some dealing. - Has he ever been convicted?
No, he's been lucky.
Why are you worried?
There's something funny going on with his friends, Fred and Bambi.
They argued and he hasn't been seen since.
He's been the breadwinner since he was sixteen.
I've got my course. My sister is doing well at school.
She should stay on for A-levels.
Impossible without my brother.
Does his dealing pay for your studies?
My dad's dead and Mum is ill. He's all we've got.
I just don't want Fred and Bambi to hurt him.
What's his name?
Homêre. Homêre Simoês.
Right. I'll see what I can do.
All right?
Are you OK?
- You're late. - I know I'm late.
- You're late. - You two should set up a club!
- What's that? - Your pretty prosecutor...
Frédéric Gimenez, Bambi Cagociana. What does he want from them?
He wants us to question them. Wasn't there a third?
Here's the third. Homêre Simoês.
No previous convictions, crafty bugger.
Homêre's the one your prosecutor is looking for.
He's got attached to his brother for some reason.
We'll have to go after them. They won't come willingly.
- I'll see to it. - They might be dangerous.
Are you OK?
- I have to go into court later. - Are you worried about it?
I'd rather not go.
You'll be fine. It's not you that's on trial. Good luck.
Arnaud Laborde. Adviser to a minister.
You must be pleased. There'll be a big fuss.
- That's not what I want. - Why not Robert De Niro?
If his name had been in the diary, maybe.
But it isn't, whereas Mr Laborde's is.
This is not about justice any more. It's a farce.
You're just after publicity.
He was one of the victim's clients.
You're just showing off, flexing your judicial muscle
to make out you're fighting this single-handedly.
I've never wanted that.
If Laborde was the gas man,
he wouldn't exist as far as you're concerned.
She did have other clients.
I have good reason to question him but if you object, I won't pursue it.
You know you're free to conduct the investigation as you see fit.
I can't stop you.
Yes, you can. You just have to ask.
If you don't want me to summon Laborde, I won't.
I will, however, explain why I wanted to summon him.
Who to?
This is blackmail.
Or, if you prefer, I could arrange to see him in private.
There are civil parties involved.
In such legal proceedings, they have to be kept informed.
So much for privacy.
They will be informed afterwards.
- Afterwards? - After my interview with Mr Laborde.
How many do we have to question?
Ah, yes, two, that's right. Two.
Fred and Bambi.
Are you sure there are enough of us? There are two of them after all.
You can't be too careful.
How many of us are there?
There are fifteen of us, right? Do you think that's enough?
They are delinquents.
They may be armed and they're dangerous.
Dangerous!
Dangerous enough.
Once someone gets hurt, it will be too late to do anything.
Ah, now I understand.
- You're here to look out for us. - That's enough. Stop it.
Whereas you do everything you can to land us in it.
I'm glad you're here to look out for me.
Look out for yourself. I'm not your mum.
Alpha, Alpha, the van is behind you.
Not before time.
You all know what to do? Let's go.
Amar!
- It's the police... - Police! Don't move, you idiot...
Stay there!
Stay where you are. Stay where you are...
What's the matter with you? What's the matter with you?
Get in there. You'll see. Calm down.
Calm down, you bastard!
Let me get the cuffs on this bastard.
Damn it, you bastard!
What's your problem?
What the hell are you doing?
Just calm down! Shit, get off me.
Stop!
Is he hurt, Bambi?
- He hurt himself. - He hurt himself?
He was gushing blood.
We're looking after him.
- If he'd come quietly, he'd be fine. - We haven't done anything.
You shouldn't have resisted arrest. You know that.
We didn't resist.
Didn't you? Everyone saw you. The neighbours are witnesses.
- These people are liars. - They're liars, are they?
Look, see that little nose of yours...
What's wrong with it?
It's broken.
People will say it happened during questioning.
My nose isn't broken!
I haven't finished. You're going to talk.
Hang on a minute, what's this? It's Sofia's...
No, wait...
Have you already made the connection?
OK, I scared him and he told me everything.
You scared him?
Will you leave us alone?
They went away for the weekend to Amsterdam.
They came back with 100g of gear. So they're tough, your boys!
It was 100g when they were thirteen years old. It's more now.
- Some people never move on. - You should know!
As you said, a deal that went wrong.
The trouble is that we found nothing. Trust me. I did a thorough search.
- Does he know where Simoês is? - He says not.
Check their mobiles.
See where they went and what they did
before and after disappearing.
- Are you off to the courts? - No, I still have a bit of time.
It will be fine.
I've got an appointment with Mr Laborde.
The clerk will take you to him.
Come in.
Mr Faye.
Sit down.
You find a girl for me and six months later, I go before the judge.
As a witness.
It's not because I found you a girl. It's because she's dead.
How could she have been careless enough to write down my name?
She was flattered to know you.
Well, you were wrong to introduce her to me.
I don't like flatterers.
I understand that you find this situation awkward.
- But you risk nothing. - It's the last thing I need.
God knows what she may have written in her diary.
- It's unimportant. - I'd like to see you in it.
I am in it.
What do you intend to do for me?
Nothing.
- There's no point. The judge... - What's his name?
François Roban. R-O-B-A-N.
The diary is the basis for his investigation.
- That's the problem. - He hasn't got it.
He doesn't have the diary any more.
Very funny. What's happened to it?
He left it lying around. Someone took it.
He can say what he likes. He has no proof, nothing.
We've been fortunate. This diary could have fallen into anyone's hands.
Are you ready?
This isn't the first time I've been to court.
Whatever you did in the past is irrelevant.
You can't get it wrong in court.
You have to know your game...
and stay on your toes, both mentally and physically.
You sound like a football trainer.
It's a trifling little affair.
Thank you, Rachid.
A pathetic hold-up by a pathetic bunch.
- Our aim is to make it a great trial. - You've already told me.
I'm telling you again. It's important.
The police have messed it up. That's our line of attack.
We'll make a case out of the police.
We'll hit hard. We'll hit hard.
By the end, your client must look like a victim.
The Chief Inspector's evidence will be vital.
What's her name?
Laure Berthaud.
Rip her to shreds.
Be ruthless.
It all happened very quickly. We located the vehicle.
We gave chase with several vehicles
and managed to block it down a side street.
We asked them to calmly leave their vehicle
twice, through a loudspeaker, but they failed to react.
Excuse me, could you speak up a bit?
I'm sorry, Your Honour.
And it was then that we noticed
that at least two of the men in the vehicle were armed.
So we asked them, still using the loudspeaker,
to drop their weapons and give themselves up, which they didn't do.
On the contrary, the driver drove the vehicle at us.
Is that when you gave the order to shoot?
Yes, Your Honour.
We had to stop the vehicle
and make sure they didn't fire at the blockade.
And was it these shots that killed two of the delinquents?
The driver was hit by a bullet shot by the police.
He lost control of the vehicle
and one of the passengers was killed in the ensuing accident.
Your declarations are confirmed by the fact that two weapons were found in the vehicle -
an assault gun and an automatic pistol...
Further examination showed that neither of these weapons was loaded.
But obviously you had no way of knowing that.
Counsel for the prosecution?
I have no questions, Your Honour.
May I?
I suppose you remember perfectly, Chief Inspector,
why you had to intervene?
Didn't these events occur at approximately 11:00pm?
The questioning did.
The events obviously took place before that.
So it was pitch-black.
One moment, that's not my question.
According to the weather reports, it was a very cloudy night.
What's more, the street these events took place in is poorly lit,
as I saw for myself when I went to see it.
However, you assure us, and this is what you just said
that you clearly saw the weapons in question?
That's right.
Some of your colleagues testified as you did.
- Others claim to have seen nothing. - And yet they were there.
No one is denying that.
The point is to establish if they could be seen,
if they were visible.
At the time of the attack of which they are accused,
did the youths you were chasing use their weapons at all?
No, of course not.
Of course not, since they weren't loaded.
They did not use their weapons
to make a noise or shoot into the air
because they were not loaded.
- We had no way of knowing that. - Please, Chief Inspector.
Give me a chance to ask my questions.
Were you warned that they were armed?
I knew they had just attacked a shopkeeper.
That's not what I asked.
I knew they had attacked someone and I saw that they were armed.
You thought you saw that and you gave orders to shoot them.
I gave orders to shoot to stop the vehicle
that was charging towards us.
Don't you think that they were trying to escape?
The road was blocked. They couldn't escape.
So you didn't shoot at them to stop them.
It was a typical case of legitimate self-defence.
One last question.
You knew that the occupants of the vehicle had just attacked a shop.
Did you know how much they had stolen?
I found out later.
300 euros.
Two people are dead as a result of your intervention
because of 300 euros.
We didn't shoot at the hold-up but when we were threatened.
You were threatened, but it was them that died.
One was twenty, the other, seventeen.
Daniel, Fabien's younger brother, was only seventeen years old.
Seventeen years old.
You will plead in a moment.
I've finished, Your Honour.
Come in.
Sit down.
Don't you want to know?
The verdict?
I already know.
Four years for our client, double for his friend.
Is that all you can say? It could have been fifteen years.
Do you want me to congratulate you?
Well done.
It's you who deserves to be congratulated.
Your idea was sound. It's your strategy that swung it.
Four years is good.
Very good.
But you're wrong. It was you who won it.
Victory is won on the battlefield, not in the office.
A friend of mine was in court. He found you impressive.
Are you teasing me?
Not at all.
It was difficult and you did it all.
I'd like to take you out to dinner to celebrate.
If you're free, that is.
I promise not to drink too much.
But there's one condition.
What?
That you go to bed early. It's crucial that you recover.
Yes?
I'm putting my pencils and rubbers away like a good pupil.
Good pupils look after their school things.
I went to the laboratory where Elina Andrescu worked.
And?
- They hated her. - Who?
Her colleagues, everyone.
As a scientist, she was way ahead.
She gave them a complex.
Also because she was beautiful. Or so I imagine.
No one understood why she was working there.
It wasn't a real research lab.
She was earning a living.
No, it was badly paid.
Anyway, she had all the money she wanted.
The lifestyle that she already had, her flat and all that.
Perhaps she wanted to change her life.
Are you OK?
It's the trial...
Oh, yes, it was today...
The lawyer was brutal. She said it was the first operation I had managed.
And is that true?
I had just been promoted. It was me who gave the order to shoot.
Did you get into trouble for that?
See?
You used your weapons in legitimate circumstances.
There was an inquiry.
I know it can't be easy, but you've done nothing wrong.
How could a lawyer put you in this state?
They shouldn't have died...
She's done a good job, this lawyer. Who was it?
A redhead.
Young, attractive. Joséphine Karlsson.
I know her. She's good.
A complete bitch.
She was Escudié's colleague,
the one who died in court after my speech.
Want to come back with me?
I didn't mean it. Forget it.
No, I would like to. I would really like to.
Tonight, I'm having dinner with my wife, Marianne.
I could see you later if you like.
Thanks, but I'd rather go home. I'm so tired.
Good evening.
I'm happy to be having dinner with my ex-wife.
- Not yet. - The dinner?
The ex.
So we're not separating?
Shall we order?
You know that Romanian girl that died.
She was working for a pharmaceutical company.
You told me. I know the company.
Is it one of your competitors?
It's both competitor and supplier.
You amaze me, you pharmacists.
They sell and make drugs. So do we.
It's not difficult.
They're competitors for some drugs, suppliers for others.
Do they manufacture them?
They have them produced. Their factories are abroad.
You never stop talking about work.
Sorry, I'll stop.
We'll go back there later. They might be there...
- You're working late. - I've got nothing better to do.
I don't know, you should go out, do something.
I'm checking the mobile phone bills for those two clowns.
For Fred and Bambi? That's what I wanted to talk to you about.
Look, that's the day Homêre Simoês disappeared.
They were in the eighth arrondissement.
- So? - It's not their area.
It's the only time they went there.
So let's search the area.
No, Fred got himself mixed up...
in a stupid Satanic ceremony two years ago.
- Show me. - In the catacombs.
There's an entrance in that area.
Shall we go there?
He disappeared ten days ago. If he's there, he's dead.
- Can't you sleep? - No, not really.
These things happen. It's not the end of the world.
Everything's fine. Don't worry.
- Is that why you can't sleep? - It's not stopping you, is it?
No, because it's not important.
You've got nothing to prove in that department.
Must be because I'm working too hard.
Stop it. It's the whole situation. It's normal.
It's not easy for you.
- Come to bed. - I'm not tired.
I was thinking about Benoit.
I think he has changed.
What do you mean, "changed"?
I have the impression that he's always on the edge of the law.
No more than before.
He's always been on the edge.
You were too busy idolising him.
Now he's in the business, the stakes are higher and it's more obvious.
Other than that, he's a good guy.
He really helped us when things were bad.
What are you talking about?
With Dad.
We were wondering if we would have to give it all up.
We nearly went into liquidation.
You never spoke to me about that.
Luckily, Benoit was there.
Hello? Wait, I'll write it down.
OK, I'll be right there.
I have to go. I'm on call.
Can I give you a lift? I'm leaving in twenty minutes, after my shower.
No, thanks.
I'll let the boss know.
Homêre Simoês. He had ID on him.
- Forensics want to speak to you. - Where is he?
He went outside.
Couldn't he stand it either?
No, he's used to it.
It's the dark. He gets claustrophobic.
Hello. I couldn't stand it in there.
OK, did you see it? Let me explain.
Laure, you listen, too. I don't think he was beaten up or hit.
They just tied him up,
no doubt threatening him to keep him quiet,
then they left, leaving him there.
He didn't fight it. He must have thought they would be back.
Once he realised they had left him to die, he struggled a bit.
What did he die of?
Hunger. Thirst. Despair.
- I saw his wounds. - The rats made them.
They started eating him after he died.
Autopsy in the morning. I'll call you.
- Goodbye. - Thank you.
He helped to train me. He's a nice guy.
What they did to him was vile, the animals.
I've seen worse.
Worse? He was their childhood friend. They grew up together.
- You seem uneasy. - What?
You've been uneasy since we spent the night together.
That's not true. I...
Do you find it awkward?
Well, yes, a little...
It's very simple. Don't make a big deal out of it.
I was upset yesterday about the trial but you mustn't think...
You're married. You're a magistrate.
These things happen.
And at work, we need to be more formal.
Mr Prosecutor, sir...
See you soon.
Your Honour, I'm afraid you're wasting your time.
Your name and phone number are in the victim's diary.
She could have found it in the phone book.
You're ex-directory, sir.
So you've looked? How amusing.
There's another thing.
Boulou.
"Boulou". What's that?
A name in the diary.
According to our research, an important figure.
Boulou?
- Does it ring a bell? - No.
It is, however, the name of your villa at La Baule, sir.
You can see the plaque in these photos.
Villa Boulou. Oh, yes, I didn't think of that.
It's called Villa Boulou, you see, not Boulou.
As you can see in your photo.
Besides, no one calls it that. You must be the only one.
There are two of us at least. Three including you.
Ah, you too, madam?
No, I meant the victim.
You mean her diary.
I'm curious to see this diary,
where my name allegedly appears alongside that of Mr Boulou.
Well? May I?
That judge's face exudes misery and meanness.
I've done some research - one of the joys of the job.
He was married, you know, but not for long.
His wife left him.
She remarried... What was his name?
A gentleman too stupid for words
but from a good family, in line for a fortune.
These are your people. You're from Bordeaux, aren't you?
Yes, I'm from that region.
Bordeaux.
Anyway, moving on...
I'd say this lower middle class judge from Bordeaux
has you in his sights, as you might say.
He mentioned you. That worries me.
I should worry.
That's your problem.
What bothers me is that he'll get to me through you.
I don't see how.
I've just told you. Through you.
You know full well that I wouldn't let that happen, Mr Laborde.
I trust you and I've shown that I trust you.
I think you deserve it and I hope you will continue to deserve it.
Have a good day, Mr Laborde.
As I was saying to my boss...
- Is she your boss? - She's my boss.
- Women can be bosses, too. - I would hate that.
You get used to it. Let me finish my sentence.
I said, "The usual won't work with these two."
The usual is where we split you up
and tell each of you that the other has informed.
- Does that work? - Oh, yes, it works.
It wouldn't work with us.
Stop talking to them, Bambi.
Can't you see that fucker is trying to trick you?
Don't talk to him.
Fred and I won't grass each other up.
That's how it is. You'd get nothing.
I know that. That's what I said to her.
To begin with, she didn't get it.
Then she understood. What did she say to herself?
Anyway, we don't need your confessions.
We have Homêre's body. Your mobiles tell us you were there.
Witnesses say you were arguing with him
and we know you've been to the place where we found the body.
So it's all sewn up.
If we killed everyone we messed with, that'd be it.
Even you would be dead by now.
And what do you have? You're all talk. You can't prove anything.
You're saying that to me?
Listen... You, for example, you've been to court before.
There was no proof for the convictions, yet you were convicted.
I'll explain. It's not my job to prove anything. I don't give a toss.
My job is to get you convicted in court.
We have plenty here to achieve that, OK? So you'll be going to court.
You don't need me to tell you, you could get anything for murder.
Two, five, ten, twenty years, life.
It depends if it was self-defence, premeditated or you had a good reason.
Of course we had good reasons but that's not why we did it.
- Shut it! - We're not murderers.
We're suspects. That's why we're here.
What good reasons?
You know very well. The argument with Homêre.
- I thought you had a witness. - Yes, several.
But you said yourself that's not a good enough reason.
You need something significant, not just a lump of dope.
Otherwise the judge will never believe you.
If you say it was a misunderstanding, he'll never believe you.
He'll know you're lying and that you're guilty.
Yeah, he'll think we killed him.
Yes, you must see that.
OK, we went to Amsterdam.
We had to pick something up. We'd arranged to meet Homêre.
It's OK! We were meeting Homêre.
He couldn't make it. He had a dodgy stomach.
We went to this car. We were meant to nick everything in it.
He did you out of the cash and you wait two days to talk to him.
- I believe you! - It's true!
- Did he steal the cash or not? - No.
- And you let him go? - No, he ran off. Didn't see him for dust.
What do you take me for?
You've known each other since kindergarten.
And he pulls a fast one on you? Come on!
I swear it. The bastard cheated me, deliberately.
- OK, I'm off. This is pointless. - What do you mean? I'm telling you.
All this stuff about Amsterdam is crap. I've heard enough.
At the same time, if they did go, that proves they didn't kill him.
They'd kill him straightaway or not at all.
If we'd wanted to, we'd have murdered the bastard.
We thought about it.
But they never went to Amsterdam.
We went round to search their place and found nothing.
The dope isn't at our place.
It's hidden.
Where?
- You're not going to tell them that? - You can't tell me what to say!
Don't you want to see your family and Fatima?
- Tosser! - Shut it!
Do you want to go down for forty years?
If you talk to the judge for us, I'll tell you everything.
OK.
Police! Hands up! Against the wall!
OK, OK. I heard you.
Don't move. Hands up.
I can explain.
My brother told me about the hiding place.
I thought I'd check it out before I bothered you.
I've been all over the place since Homêre died.
I've got exams in June. We need money for my sister's studies next year.
I'd like to believe he didn't touch it, but as for the rest...
- He wanted to sell it. It's obvious. - We got there just in time.
Otherwise we'd have nothing on Fred and Bambi.
I'll keep them in a bit longer, if you like.
Am I being too familiar? We're alone.
Yes, but we're at work.
What about Tony Simoês?
He wants to sort himself out. I don't want to prosecute.
We must be able to find a grant so he and his sister can finish school.
It has to be better than heroin and prison.
I'll talk to him.
I'll have a chat with the little sister if you like.
I mean...
if you think that would be appropriate, sir.
Good idea, Chief Inspector.
You've got A-levels this year? Are you ahead?
Nothing wrong with that.
It's thanks to Homêre that I got to stay on at school.
He looked after us after Dad died.
He could have gone under, like she did.
Homêre never studied.
He said he wasn't clever enough, but it's not true.
He went to evening classes without telling anyone except me.
- Not even Tony? - Especially not Tony.
Those bastards should be killed the same way they killed Homêre
or worse, like the animals they are.
Will I go to prison?
- Why do you say that? - Because of the drugs. I lied.
I wasn't going to hand it over to the police.
You lied to them?
They didn't believe me anyway. Not that I care.
But I'm not going to lie to you.
What I wanted to do was sell it bit by bit and...
I don't know, pay for my studies and my sister's
and then I'd help my mum live in peace
until I could earn a living.
It was a bad idea. There's always another way.
OK, but no one's helping me.
Come in.
Let me introduce Elisa, Tony's sister.
Pleased to meet you.
We were just having a heart-to-heart.
Elisa thinks Tony persuaded Homêre to swindle his friends.
I don't think it, I know it. I overhead him talking to Homêre.
She says Tony knew Homêre would be killed, wanted him killed.
He was already dead with all his scheming.
I just wanted it to be over, that's all.
Stealing from thieves isn't a crime.
You knew they'd kill him!
He brought us nothing but trouble.
I just wanted us to be free of it all.
I could find work and look after you.
You were only thinking of yourself.
What are the charges against him?
That he gave bad advice to his older brother?
Elisa said she'd give evidence.
What then? He didn't kill him.
He never asked them to kill him. He just sent him to them/
He had 500g of heroin on him.
He was just picking it up. He didn't even buy it.
Look at this.
The letter from the head of his school. I told you about it.
"Tony Simoês is a responsible, hard-working student."
This is the last time. The next one won't get to me.
The next what?
The next good student?
The next kid with a delinquent brother?
- The next son of... - The next liar.
But you only know that afterwards, Pierre.
If you know in advance, you've had it.
You've had it.
There are no liars.
Just people who need help. That's why we're here.
You and I.
You have to be wary but you can't decide not to believe them.
Or you'll end up like those old judges...
who have seen too much
and who have no illusions and no feelings any more.
Do you see?
Forgive me.
No, you're right.
Thanks for being there.
It's a pleasure.
It's pathetic, a woman and a man.
Most disappointing. Uninspired.
What else is there?
I'll try and get you some rape scenes,
an amateur film made by a soldier in Bosnia.
Tanks, dicks and tattoos... I must see that.
I still don't understand how Benoit managed to steal that diary from the judge.
It was me.
I went to the judge's home and took the diary.
What were you thinking, giving it to him and not to me?
It was him who asked for it.
I didn't give it to him. I simply told him I put it in a safe place.
Did you know she called you Boulou? It was because of your villa.
Don't try to be clever.
Here you are. A gift from me.
But not the rest.
OK, send her up.
You won't be disappointed.
Come in.
I don't know if she speaks French.
You'll find out.
I'll leave you to it.
I saw Laborde this morning. The Andrescu affair.
I knew you had a meeting with him, yes.
Something very strange happened. He asked to see the diary.
The victim's diary.
That is surprising.
I might have had to show it to him.
But I was unable to.
Do you know why? I don't have it.
Someone has stolen it.
- From here? - No, from my house.
I was able to summon Laborde by bluffing my way through.
But he saw through me.
He knew I no longer had the diary. Someone had told him.
Someone stole the diary
and only you knew where it was that evening.
No, I know it wasn't you.
But you told someone.
You must know who.
You saw your friend Benoit Faye and you told him about the diary.
- That is a very serious accusation. - It's the truth, not an accusation.
Benoit Faye is a close friend. I can't believe...
Listen to me, Clément. There are some friends a magistrate shouldn't keep.
But in this case, it could be useful.
Your friend Benoit knows many things.
He's going to tell us
because you are going to help me to get him to talk to us.
Are we agreed? Otherwise, it will be a real shame.