Original subtitles

What's this mess?

What's all this?

Oh my God!

Philippe!

The teacher told us:

"I told you, by Christmas,

"a third of you'd be gone."

Does he think he's a magician, or what?

Hey!

Hi, darling!

Hi, Mum.

Are you OK?

Your grandma has been trying to make cookies.

She wants to send you some. Do you need anything else?

A raincoat, maybe?

You're full of humour.

Very funny, Thomas! Just because I'm in Brittany...

Thomas, you're late.

- Oh yes! Cutting off now. - Bye.

Lots of love.

I'm staying at Dad's tonight, OK? Bye.

No kiss for me, Thomas?

No time, I'm in a hurry.

Great.

You got up without giving me a kiss.

Maybe I was planning to come back.

Hey, Mum...

Did you write the cheque for the cafeteria?

No, I don't know what you're talking about.

The university canteen.

Oh yes, the cheque for the canteen. Sure.

Ask your father. You'll see him tonight.

OK.

- Bye then. - Bye.

I know. I know. I know...

I said nothing.

Your kids are grown up now.

They'll understand

you have a new life.

But when you think about it,

they're... not that grown up, you see?

And this kind of conversation

needs the right place and time, a good mood...

All that, all that.

So all this hiding is for them?

Of course. Who else would it be for?

What a question!

Yes, Paul?

The Saint Bouzille soap factory.

OK, see you there.

See you in a bit.

I'll talk to them.

Yes.

Hello, Major.

Hello, Erwan. Is Marchal here?

I haven't seen him yet.

Are you OK?

Fine. You seem on top form.

Thanks.

- Nothing was touched? - No.

- So there was a fight. - Looks like it.

- Who found the body? - The foreman. Mourad Rebaï.

- He identified it? - Yes, it was his boss.

Philippe Préjean, 54, the factory manager.

Do we have a weapon?

Yes. It's a spatula.

A spatula used to mix the soap.

Right.

From the rigidity, I'd say he died last night,

between 8 and 11pm.

- Did you take fingerprints? - There are none on the spatula.

OK.

Galtier Soap Factory, 1922...

The only traditional factory left.

France Galtier Préjean, the victim's wife,

got it from her father...

Who got it from his, I guess.

We found hairs in the victim's hand.

OK, test the others' DNA then.

One might be a match.

Yes, OK.

Madame Galtier-Préjean,

Mr Préjean was your second husband, right?

That's right.

We lived together,

but only married 6 months ago.

And he managed the factory.

It was always a family business.

Laurent, my first husband, ran it,

then Philippe took over.

Why is life so cruel?

Our father died 8 years ago.

How did he die?

He fell into a tank.

After his death, Philippe helped...

He's always been there for us, especially in hard times.

And... how did you get on with your stepfather?

Pretty well.

And you, Théo?

What happened?

Mourad just told me...

Chloé... Darling...

Hello. National Gendarmerie. And you are...?

Chloé Préjean, Philippe's daughter.

I know it's hard,

but we need to do DNA tests

on each of you.

Just a routine step.

We'll send a team at once.

The one who said he got on well with his stepfather,

I don't believe him.

But it's hard for kids

to accept a replacement father.

- Is it? - Yes.

Yes, especially here,

where there's a stepsister too.

The house has to be adapted, rooms, organization...

The daughter works at the factory,

but doesn't live there. No.

OK.

- Ah, Marchal! - Yes.

You almost made us wait.

I was in the office at 8, unlike some people.

I'm off now.

- 8am? - Yes.

Unbelievable!

Thomas held me up.

You know him,

he gets up late, eats slowly,

goes off reluctantly...

Maybe we were wrong to make him study biology.

Don't start that again. We've been through it.

Law would have been a worse choice.

His plan to be a gendarme is just...

- Nonsense, yes. - For sure.

He needs authority.

- No, he's too... - Too sensitive.

When I look at you...

It's true that...

You're in a teasing mood.

Biology is good, if he misses officer school...

He'll have plenty of other options.

OK, Léa? You did nothing wrong.

We did nothing wrong.

- OK. - OK.

Don't worry, it'll... What's that?

- What's there? - A necklace.

Oh yes... Yes.

Well, you... You never wear necklaces.

I do, sometimes.

Yes. I guess... People change.

Everyone changes, yes... Most people.

Well, the crime scene is down the street, under the porch,

so I'll leave you to look around, get an impression.

- I'll... All this! There. - OK.

I'm due to see Captain Marchal.

Sabine Mauriac.

- I'll call him. - Thanks.

Sabine Mauriac?

Hello.

I'm Inès Zaïdi. Lieutenant.

Welcome to Montpellier, Captain.

I see you've read my file.

About my war wounds.

You can talk normally,

I have a good hearing aid.

Excuse me... I'm sorry. I...

Actually, I was told...

It's fine, no problem.

I'm sorry. So... Let me walk with you to...

Yes, that would be nice.

We're pleased you're here, it was a bit chaotic recently,

with the major suspended,

but in the end she was reinstated.

Then the colonel had to leave.

- Captain Vannier... - Whom I'm replacing.

Yes, who was filling in for the major, also left.

It would have been odd.

Here we are.

For computers call 128.

I'll just check, fine.

Any questions?

I'll be fine for now.

Oh yes, the new colonel...

- You know who it is? - No.

I think I do.

How do you know?

Soler's in such a good mood.

You think she's promoted?

Sabine Mauriac. Hello.

Bonjour. Lieutenant Erwan Lebellec. Welcome.

No need for that, she can hear very well.

What?

She has a hearing aid.

So I can hear you too.

- Yes. - OK.

Well...

I'll brief you on the case

Galtier Soap Factory...

- You know about 128? - Yes. She told me almost everything.

Almost everything?

- This is 4 metres deep? - Yes. Below floor level.

And this is where you cook the soap?

It's not really cooking.

It's a chemical reaction, oils combine with caustic soda.

Isn't that dangerous?

Not after the reaction, but before...

That's what happened to Mr Belmont.

Right.

He fell into the tank.

It was terrible.

Terrible for his wife... His two sons...

Mr Belmont was a good man.

And Mr Préjean?

I won't speak ill of the dead.

They were different.

Préjean wanted to modernize things.

He wanted to use

copra instead of olive oil.

Imagine that!

Copra, in Galtier soap!

It's good to diversify, no?

Given the competition, I think...

This is a soap factory.

Did his 2 stepsons agree?

They didn't have much say.

He sidelined them.

I went and told Préjean

those boys were the Galtier heirs.

How did he react?

He said he'd fire me.

Imagine! After 30 years work here!

- I've always worked here! - Yes.

OK. Very interesting, Captain Mauriac.

- Ah! - Hi.

Hello. Paul Marchal.

This is Captain Mauriac,

replacing Captain Vannier.

You were supposed to meet her.

Well, well, well.

Any information?

Yes, lots of suspects.

The victim wasn't very popular.

Préjean was gently sidelining

his stepsons.

- No! - Yes.

Unbelievable! What do you say?

Unbelievable. Look.

OK, you already knew, right?

Yes. Look at this.

Welcome to Galtier-Préjean soap factory.

As you can see, it's a traditional factory.

Using old methods.

But we've adapted

to the modern world, with 100% natural ingredients.

That was my daughter's idea.

Chloé is ready

to take over as manager.

Right, darling?

The succession is in safe hands.

Yes.

Yes, and the factory

is now called Galtier-Préjean.

When was this broadcast?

2 weeks ago.

Imagine the stepsons' reaction.

He wasn't very subtle about favouring his daughter.

To put it mildly.

You'd better go and see her.

Franck says she's in the lab.

- Here? - Yes.

- OK. - Thanks.

The door.

Thank you.

I wanted to see him.

I understand, Chloé...

It'll be OK.

Can I...

Can I ask you one last question?

Yes.

In the report, your father said

you were going to take over the business. Is that true?

It was just a possibility.

He was just talking.

But he seemed sure of it.

But Benjamin and Théo

will inherit the factory, right?

After the report...

I asked him why he'd said that.

He said something like...

"Benjamin and Théo aren't capable."

OK, thanks. I won't... I won't bother you any more.

I'll take you back.

20 years of marriage? Great.

But the result was that I gained 20 kilos.

Did you find anything

in the factory papers?

Yes. When Préjean said Chloé would take over, he meant it.

The graphologist must check, but his wife's signature was faked,

to sell shares to Chloé.

Really?

For a derisory sum, of course.

If the sons found out,

they had reason to be angry with him.

I'll call Benjamin.

I didn't like Philippe.

Always laying down the law,

especially with Théo.

But I didn't kill him.

Yet he was taking over the factory.

You found out from the TV report.

So you looked in the company papers.

What's all this?

Shares in Chloé's name?

Mum would never sell them.

An expert says he imitated her signature,

You two didn't know?

No. Of course not.

What happened with Préjean, in the workshop?

You tackled him

and things got heated? - No!

That's not why I didn't like him.

I think...

I think he killed my father.

He could have invented it.

A teenage boy who loses his father,

and gains a stepfather he can't stand.

A complicated situation.

It seems there was no enquiry.

Belmont was found floating in the tank,

his body damaged by the soda.

Charming. Who identified the body?

Préjean.

Handy... So no one else got too close.

He had much to gain from Belmont's death.

He was an employee.

Suddenly he had the factory, the wife and all.

Maybe Benjamin's right.

It wasn't an accidental death.

The only way of knowing is to exhume the body.

We'd need permission from France Galtier-Prejean.

Not an easy request.

The family's agreement will speed things up.

I'll leave that to you.

We want to check by doing a postmortem.

I know it's hard.

You really think Philippe...

He could have...

Is it quite unthinkable?

Where do I sign?

Here.

- Hi, Franck. - Hello, Léa.

Oh no...

Oh no! I enjoyed it.

A body that was dissolved

and buried 8 years ago, that's real forensics.

I knew you were weird.

Did you find anything?

Of course. Look.

No thanks, it's fine.

Oh, OK, yes.

I've just started,

but I know it was a violent death.

A blow to the head.

Not from falling into the tank?

No, no. A blow to the head

From something flat and heavy.

So was Laurent Belmont murdered?

It's hard to say.

But I have a surprise.

See the synostosis?

And the synovial joints?

Yes, I see.

They're typical

of a man under 30.

But you're wrong there.

When Belmont died,

he was about 50, so...

So...

So this isn't Belmont's body?

Exactly.

Very well, Captain.

Thanks.

I'll join Marchal.

Abandoned car near the factory.

I'll tell him. See you later.

- Captain! - Yes?

They got the DNA results.

There's a match

with the hair?

Yes. With Benjamin and Théo's DNA.

Their father's DNA.

The hairs were from Laurent Belmont.

Everyone thinks

he's been dead for years.

I've found something.

A driving licence belonging to "Manuel Belmonte".

- That's it? - Yes.

Bingo!

No... It's impossible.

It's impossible.

Laurent would never have abandoned us.

It often happens.

Not Laurent.

He wasn't like that.

Wait, I understand...

No, you don't.

He came from nothing,

as an apprentice,

he'd do anything for us.

He worked so hard.

People change.

You made a new life.

You remarried.

Philippe always helped me.

He imitated your signature to put shares in Chloé's name.

What?

Would Laurent kill him for that?

You're crazy! That's grotesque!

Mum? Is everything OK?

Yes... Yes, fine.

Are you joking?

We've proof your father's alive.

His DNA, his driving licence...

Since I was 14...

Every day,

I've wondered what we'd have done together.

Going fishing, watching a film together...

I missed him so much.

But why...

Why did he let us suffer like that?

Benjamin Belmont's free. Look after him, please.

- OK. - Thanks.

It's not easy for the son.

You don't say.

Imagine finding out your beloved father abandoned you!

Why did he do it?

He was sick of work,

went to start a new life in Spain?

Just walked off, never came back?

There are thousands of voluntary disappearances.

You forget one thing.

Belmont may have killed a guy

so he could leave.

It doesn't make sense.

Why would anyone do such a thing?

A woman?

No. I checked 10 years of the factory accounts,

and Belmont had a secret, but it wasn't that.

So he was bankrupt.

He'd asked several banks for loans,

but they'd all refused.

Préjean was right, in the TV report.

You have to adapt or die.

The result was,

he'd have gone bust

if he hadn't died.

- He had life insurance? - Yes.

That saved the factory.

Money went from France's account

to the company's account, and that was it.

Hang on, wasn't Préjean the accountant?

Well done.

So the insurance scam was done by Belmont and Préjean.

Maybe they both put the body in the tank.

Right...

What if Belmont

didn't dare tell his wife

he'd ruined the inheritance of 4 generations?

Why wait 8 years to come back?

Maybe he saw the TV report.

He knew Préjean was robbing his sons.

Then he'd ask for explanations.

Or he didn't like his wife remarrying,

so he turned up.

Hey, he had no right to be jealous!

It's classic, Paul, the guy who returns to his ex

when he sees she's moved on.

That's classic?

Yes, it often happens.

Not always?

Not always, but often.

And the opposite?

The opposite?

Yes...

I mean, do women do the same thing?

I don't know. No idea.

Why?

Heard any news about the new colonel?

Why? Have you?

- Me? - Yes.

No. But as you're a major, I thought you'd know.

No, I haven't heard.

So they haven't decided.

I guess that's it. Not yet.

I'm off, Thomas is waiting. We're going running.

Give him a hug.

Sure, will do.

Paul! That way...

Yes, I knew it.

Can we stop for 5 minutes?

It's only an hour. Come on.

I'm not your age,

I was busy all day.

I can't go on. Stop!

Slower, we burn less carbs.

Not the same as ATP,

which carries energy.

What?

You told me to do biology.

It wasn't just me, your mum wanted it too.

Tactics! I want to be a gendarme.

I suggest you wait for me here,

and I'll carry on training.

No, wait a sec, Tom. What tactics?

Don't use that word.

We don't mind you being a gendarme.

That's not it.

But leave other options open.

A biology degree

leads to lots of jobs

in food-processing, health,

the environment. That's good.

Why are you laughing?

Are your options open?

What do you mean?

I don't know.

What are your plans?

We're not talking about me. What do you mean?

Job, love life.

Not much going on, eh?

That's very kind of you. Thanks.

Why say that?

You're not doing much.

I want to be a gendarme, like you and Mum.

I need you to believe in me.

See you back home?

Not doing much...

He's an idiot.

Hey, Tom! I'll show you!

You won't believe it!

No...

Great! Enjoy.

Bye, Isa, take care. Bye now.

- I had an exhausting day! - Really?

Yes. I'm just dreaming of one thing now.

A nice, romantic terrace, a glass of white wine,

people talking, just life going on...

I was thinking of a quiet dinner at home.

Are you joking?

No, I'm serious.

I'll do it all.

- OK. - And give me that.

Oh no, Greg...

You must learn to switch off.

For your own good.

Don't turn it off. The kids.

No, I won't turn it off.

- Léa? - Yes?

I found courgette flowers at the market.

See what you think.

Pretty!

Why the foreman again?

Marchal says so.

He thinks if anyone knows Belmont came back,

it'll be him.

Mr Rebaï?

Hello. Lieutenant Zaïdi. You know my colleague.

We have a few more questions.

No problem. Go ahead.

Were you close

to Laurent Belmont?

Yes. He hired me when I was young.

He was always a good man.

- I'll look inside. - No.

Cover the back door.

No, wait! What's this? What for?

You didn't do that?

Lieutenant Lebellec. Send a car to Mourad Rebaï's home.

Don't move! Don't move!

Don't move!

How did you get involved in this?

Don't you know what loyalty is?

I know 2 men have been killed.

That's not my business.

I came home,

saw him in my headlights, covered in blood,

and thought he was a ghost.

You didn't know he was alive?

No. But I let him into my house without hesitating.

I'm proud of that.

And why did you come back?

Philippe shouldn't have stolen the factory.

It was for my wife and sons.

So you killed him.

How did it happen?

I waited for him in the workshop.

Did he admit what he'd done?

He even taunted me.

He said I was helpless, as I was dead and buried.

It was true, in fact.

If I turned up, my wife and sons wouldn't forgive me.

And then?

Then...

We argued, and I hit him.

I've nothing more to say.

OK... And in that tank,

8 years ago, who was it?

You won't understand.

I was lost.

The factory was going bust.

How could I tell my family that?

They'd be homeless because of me.

Every day I thought of killing myself.

But the insurance won't pay in a suicide case.

Then this guy turned up one night.

He was a backpacker.

He asked if he could help me,

for a bit of money.

I was late for a delivery.

I asked him to load the truck.

What was his name?

Fabien.

I don't know his surname.

When I came back later,

he was lying there, dead.

The tailgate had fallen on him.

A fatal accident with an undeclared worker.

You're really not lucky.

I had an idea.

I couldn't save the guy,

but with the insurance money...

You could save France, the boys, the factory,

if the dead man took your place.

Did Préjean know?

Yes.

He came in as I was putting the body in the tank.

I panicked, but he swore not to tell anyone,

said he'd sort things out.

He kept his word.

Not really the way you'd imagined, but...

It was so hard to stay away.

Every day I checked on social media

that France and the boys were OK.

Then you saw the TV report.

Yes.

You know the rest.

I've told you everything.

Please!

I can't let you pass.

You can. You understand.

- I have orders! - Where is he?

In custody. You can't see him.

I want to talk to him.

- Impossible. - I want to talk to him!

- No. - It's simple, no?

Calm down.

France...

Why?

Why did you do that to us?

Every night for 8 years, I went to sleep thinking of you.

Every morning I woke up thinking you were gone!

I'll never forgive you!

Hush.

Calm down, calm down...

Come with me.

I can imagine how traumatic it is

to see your husband

when you thought he died 8 years ago.

But one thing's sure, France,

he did it out of love for you and your sons.

Yes...

That's typical of Laurent, that.

Always wanting to protect us.

But I didn't care about the factory, the house.

It was him I needed.

The boys needed their father.

He didn't think.

He was cornered,

the opportunity arose, he took it.

Don't tell me he killed Philippe.

I beg you.

I must talk to him.

Just for a moment.

I can't. It's forbidden.

I need to hear it from him, or I'll never believe it.

Isn't there an officer with them?

You say I don't follow procedure.

Now the colonel's gone, that's it...

- OK? Finished? - Yes.

I didn't know what to do, France.

I thought it would be better for you.

I couldn't bear to see you lose everything.

Every day, I thought of you.

I counted:

one month,

then one year,

then two years, three years...

As the boys grew up,

I thought: "Well, now

"Théo won't remember me."

Then I thought you'd forgotten me too.

I didn't matter to you.

How could you think that, even for a second?

I know you'll never forgive me.

I don't even know who you are.

Who are you?

Who are you?

Did you kill him?

I never thought you could do that.

Answer me!

Stop it.

- Did you? - I had no choice.

Do you see? I had no choice.

- What? - What did he say?

What did you say?

What did he say?

I can't hear.

Take her away, that's enough.

Please!

Do you believe him?

His motive makes sense,

we have proof he was at the scene.

I don't mean that.

I mean your gut feeling.

There's something odd:

he didn't say how he killed Préjean, but gave details for the backpacker.

Yes, there's something odd there.

Why go to Mourad's afterwards?

He could have gone back to Spain, unnoticed.

What are you saying?

Maybe he stayed on purpose, to be arrested?

I know it's incredible, but maybe it's a hypothesis.

Wait a sec.

I had no choice.

I know.

I know who can help us.

What's he up to now?

Think of them.

Are you sure?

One of the few advantages of being deaf.

I can lipread.

That's all he said?

People who know each other well

need few words to communicate.

Yes, of course.

Think of them. Think of them.

Yes. Fine. Thank you.

Goodbye.

What's going on?

A problem of procedure.

He's not pleased

we let Belmont talk to his wife.

Second...

Franck confirms Belmont's statement.

The backpacker, Fabien Pons's wound

fits with that. It seems it was an accident.

OK.

Good. What else?

The prosecutor wants Belmont's file

sent to the magistrate. He wants an indictment.

Did you say we suspect

a false confession?

He says it's not enough.

Nor is it enough for me.

I need to investigate more before sending the file.

She won't get promotion that way.

You're telling me you killed Préjean?

Show me.

I confessed, that's enough.

No, it's not.

I'm a perfectionist.

Come on. Show me.

Where was Préjean? Where did you fight?

There.

We were arguing.

He said the boys were stupid,

they'd never succeed in life,

and... I slapped him.

He jumped on me and we fell to the ground.

Where was the spatula?

Over there, by the wall.

How did you manage to reach it?

You were fighting with him here.

I left him, fetched it...

And then I hit him.

Mr Belmont, Préjean was hit from the back.

Can you explain?

- He turned round. - Sure.

That makes sense.

You came with a weapon,

he didn't defend himself, but turned his back?

I don't believe a word of this.

What I think

is that someone else was here,

and this person killed Préjean in front of you.

And it's that person you are trying to cover for.

Mr Belmont, I...

I understand.

It's... difficult.

I put myself in your place. It's difficult.

But I need a name.

Was it Benjamin or Théo?

No, they were both at home.

France, you must tell me.

Leave me alone.

You have a guilty party. Laurent confessed.

You and I know it wasn't Laurent.

Benjamin?

Where's your brother?

Major, Théo's run away.

National Gendarmerie. Hello.

I didn't want this.

I wanted to go to the cops and say it was me,

that Dad did nothing.

But my mother stopped me.

She did what all mothers do for their children.

She tried to protect you. It's normal.

Why did she put you in the bus?

She was sending me to some cousins.

Can you tell me what happened that night?

I often went to the workshop, to calm down.

When Philippe had been very nasty to me.

I'd have a cigarette.

In secret?

So, that night, you went to the workshop,

but Philippe was there, and he wasn't alone?

At first, I didn't recognize him,

then, suddenly, his voice...

I was overwhelmed.

I thought I was going mad.

Philippe was hitting Dad. It was horrible.

He grabbed him by the neck. Dad couldn't breathe.

So you seized the spatula?

I didn't even think.

I hit him to make him let go!

It all happened so fast.

Dad took me in his arms...

told me he loved me,

that I should go back to my room,

that he'd sort things out.

Hush... It's not your fault, Théo. It's not your fault.

OK. Thanks, Léa.

Théo has confessed.

It wasn't his fault.

He wanted to save me.

What will happen to him?

Justice will take its course.

He can plead he acted in self-defence.

You will have to answer

for what happened 8 years ago.

You've almost a whole life to catch up on, now.

Cooee, darling.

Mum... What are you doing here?

It's official.

Really? Since when?

This afternoon.

I didn't know.

I thought there were 3 candidates.

Oh, they didn't know what hit them.

Hello, Major.

Hello, Dad.

Got a kiss for your new colonel?

Sure.

He starts tomorrow.

Congratulations.

- And welcome. - Thank you.

Subtitles: ECLAIR V&A