1
00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:35,400
THE BLANCS-MANTEAUX ENIGMA

2
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Part Two

3
00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:00,520
You had a close call.

4
00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:03,320
Your head was on the pavement.

5
00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:05,720
Had you not been wearing
your three-cornered hat,

6
00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:09,520
your equally thick Breton skull
would have been split open.

7
00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:13,040
By Jove,
I must be seriously hurt

8
00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:15,600
if you have come to my bedside.

9
00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:18,200
It is an annoyance, Nicolas,

10
00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:21,680
particularly as my insincerity
is partly to blame.

11
00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:24,880
Yet you have less to fear
than the king.

12
00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:26,920
At last!

13
00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:31,080
You have agreed at last
to enlighten me.

14
00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:36,680
Commissaire Lardin pressured me.

15
00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:41,080
I shall spare you the details
and get to the heart of the matter.

16
00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:44,400
Upon the death
of a foreign dignitary,

17
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an inventory of his belongings
was made.

18
00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:49,880
I shall tell you
neither who nor what.

19
00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:53,640
However, during the inventory,
which took place in his jurisdiction,

20
00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:57,280
Commissaire Lardin intercepted
several letters.

21
00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,520
They are
extremely compromising for the king

22
00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:04,520
and could be harmful
to the security of the kingdom.

23
00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,160
That is why you promoted him
as chief of the gambling police.

24
00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:18,880
A fox minding geese...

25
00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:21,920
It hardly kept Lardin from ruin.

26
00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:23,280
Make no mistake, Nicolas.

27
00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:25,880
Whatever he would lose,
he'd gain elsewhere.

28
00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:28,760
He ran a rigged faro table
at the Dauphin Couronné.

29
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- Yet you stood idly by?
- He held me and the king in a vice!

30
00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:38,480
He didn't lose,

31
00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:41,200
and yet his house is empty,

32
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run by but a few servants.

33
00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:48,600
Where did his winnings go, then?

34
00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:58,960
Now that Lardin has vanished,
who has a grip on you now?

35
00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:03,080
To my knowledge,
no one has come forward yet.

36
00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:06,760
Lardin might have taken
certain precautions.

37
00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,680
The idea of these letters falling
into enemy hands worries me greatly.

38
00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:14,880
This is why I am ordering you

39
00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:17,240
to seize them,

40
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by any means available
and with all haste.

41
00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:24,680
Does your head still ache?

42
00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:27,920
Perfect.

43
00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:31,680
You can easily imagine
the anguish I feel

44
00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:33,880
at the thought of the king's peril.

45
00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:02,160
Glad to see you alive, sir.

46
00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:06,880
Lardin has a strange house
with odd comings and goings.

47
00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,280
His wife went out and came back
several times.

48
00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:15,160
A ruffian left twice,
though he'd not been seen entering.

49
00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:17,640
Two other men, too,
from out of nowhere.

50
00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:20,120
What did they look like?

51
00:04:20,280 --> 00:04:22,720
One is a great gangling fellow,
scary looking.

52
00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:24,360
Like a German mercenary.

53
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The other one was stocky
and wrapped himself in a dark cloak.

54
00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:31,360
But nothing can hide his wooden leg.

55
00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:32,640
A wooden leg?

56
00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:09,120
My God, my friend!
Your face is as pale as Death's.

57
00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:12,120
What sort of trouble are you in?

58
00:05:12,280 --> 00:05:14,680
It is less worrisome than yours, Scemacgus.

59
00:05:14,840 --> 00:05:16,520
I have no reason to complain.

60
00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:19,560
My accommodations are more pleasant
than others' here.

61
00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:22,720
I've warm clothes.
The food is good. Drink is plenty.

62
00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:25,760
In résumé, I only lack freedom.

63
00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:29,840
Would you be my guest, my friend?

64
00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:45,600
What do you know of the Lardin case?

65
00:05:47,840 --> 00:05:49,360
Nothing to interest justice.

66
00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:51,640
What can you say
of Saint-Louis, your driver?

67
00:05:51,840 --> 00:05:56,760
Nothing, alas.
There is my main worry.

68
00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:59,280
To tell you the truth,
I fear the worst.

69
00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:01,640
You should fear for yourself, Scemacgus.

70
00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:06,840
You are suspected
of murdering Commissaire Lardin.

71
00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:09,160
On what grounds?

72
00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:11,760
Your carnal relations
with Lady Lardin.

73
00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:13,720
- Ridiculous!
- For the same reason,

74
00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:17,440
along with others
which made you find him hateful,

75
00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:19,160
you are suspected of murdering
Dr Descare.

76
00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:20,960
Equally ridiculous!

77
00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:26,080
Descare! Who would have thought
of putting an end to such a life?

78
00:06:26,280 --> 00:06:28,280
In either case,
you might have had help

79
00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:30,480
from hands as powerful as your own,

80
00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,400
by a man able to help you
accomplish your dreadful task.

81
00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:35,080
Saint-Louis, right?

82
00:06:35,280 --> 00:06:39,200
Your coachman and your cabriolet
vanished shortly before Lardin did.

83
00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:41,840
You reappeared
quite late the following day.

84
00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:44,640
I was at the Basse-Geôle!
You saw me there.

85
00:06:44,840 --> 00:06:47,800
A judge might see this
as a clever criminal's attempt

86
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to build an alibi
on the testimony of the investigator.

87
00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:56,040
Nicolas, do you believe me capable
of such knavery?

88
00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,200
I am not asked to think but to prove.

89
00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:04,000
My friend, this case goes beyond
what either of us can imagine.

90
00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,800
My friend, I beg you,
allow me to save you.

91
00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:12,680
Tell me what you insist on hiding
with such foolish obstinacy!

92
00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:15,640
I have nothing to say.

93
00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:19,280
As I've told you,
I took no part in these crimes

94
00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:21,440
and have no idea who committed them.

95
00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:23,960
In that case, sir,

96
00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:26,560
I cannot envy you your fate.

97
00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:22,360
Commissaire Lardin
used your home

98
00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,320
for his rigged gaming table,
unbeknownst to me.

99
00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:28,200
Commissaire Lardin had the backing
of Mr de Sartine.

100
00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:33,440
In secret, he showed me orders
from the Lt. General of the police

101
00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:37,120
naming him as gaming police chief.
I couldn't oppose him.

102
00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:41,000
Did that then include allowing him
to run a rigged table?

103
00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,240
This note you penned...

104
00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:52,760
shows you invited Lardin
to a midnight repast during Carnaval.

105
00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:55,560
Don't deny it.
I found it in his doublet.

106
00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,280
You might be charged
as an accomplice to murder.

107
00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:02,480
It was in your home, your invitation,
that he met his murderer.

108
00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:06,320
Who had you write this note, madame?

109
00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:08,480
Commissaire Lardin did.

110
00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:11,080
He also enjoined me to write
two others.

111
00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:13,040
One to Dr Descare

112
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and the other
to your dear friend Scemacgus.

113
00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:20,600
Furthermore,
Commissaire Lardin ordered

114
00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:23,160
the capes and masks

115
00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:26,840
designed to conceal
his and his guests' identity.

116
00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:31,000
The capes,
as is the case with your suit,

117
00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:33,000
were made by Vachon.

118
00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:47,520
My gruel will be light fare, Nicolas.

119
00:09:47,680 --> 00:09:50,160
But I hope the sight of your appetite

120
00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:53,800
will satisfy
my own vain expectations.

121
00:09:57,120 --> 00:09:59,840
So, how is your friend Scemacgus?

122
00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:03,600
Is he being held
on the order of Mr de Sartine?

123
00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:07,400
Fine for a man about to be put
to the question for refusing to talk.

124
00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:09,560
Put to the question?

125
00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:13,360
If he remains mute,
he most certainly will be.

126
00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:17,040
The famous letters reportedly
held by Commissaire Lardin...

127
00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:19,840
The consternation of the king

128
00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:21,680
is fueling his dark melancoly

129
00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:23,720
and his thorough disgust
with mankind.

130
00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:25,840
I find something curious.

131
00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:28,760
You are a man who is aware

132
00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:32,240
of all things
in the court and the city.

133
00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:35,680
Why would you impute
the late Dr Descare with Jansenism?

134
00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:41,080
That faithless, lawless charlatan!
What makes you think that?

135
00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:44,360
His credenza has
an incongruous addition: a Christ.

136
00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:48,400
In that case, Nicolas, you must
suspect me of Jansenism, too.

137
00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:52,800
Come.

138
00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:07,440
Your cabinet of curiosities.

139
00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:13,080
The same one.

140
00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:16,080
Descare has an identical statue.

141
00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:18,720
- Where did you get it?
- An unknown courier

142
00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:21,880
brought it to me
as an addition to my curiosities.

143
00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:23,480
The piece is remarkable.

144
00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:26,360
It's rather original craftsmanship.

145
00:11:26,560 --> 00:11:27,720
Who gave it to you?

146
00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:31,840
As anonymous
as the lad who brought it in.

147
00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:35,480
As I have little regard
for these sorts of tragic figures,

148
00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:39,440
I've left it there in the corner.
There was a note attached.

149
00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:43,360
I put it in this drawer,
I do believe.

150
00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:45,640
Indeed.

151
00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:56,000
"Closed no more, they will open
And pour out their words.

152
00:11:57,720 --> 00:11:58,920
Lardin.

153
00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:15,480
Madame, I must speak with him.

154
00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:18,000
Where is your husband?

155
00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:20,640
Quite certainly in Hell by now.

156
00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:25,440
What makes you think
it might be otherwise?

157
00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:28,200
Your husband didn't lose in gambling.

158
00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:31,080
Your apparent financial ruin
was likely planned

159
00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:33,760
so he could disappear,
and then you, as well.

160
00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:35,200
You're raving mad, sir.

161
00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:38,680
So, then,

162
00:12:39,560 --> 00:12:41,880
if he is in Hell,
he may as well stay there.

163
00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:45,000
- You're in a church!
- You and I

164
00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:47,000
want the same thing.

165
00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:49,040
The same thing.

166
00:12:50,560 --> 00:12:53,960
Those letters, madame.
The letters which your husband

167
00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:55,960
cared about so greatly.

168
00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:01,080
Let us join together
instead of fighting each other.

169
00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:05,240
Nicolas!
Are you now acting out of greed?

170
00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:08,880
A paragon of integrity,
as my husband called you.

171
00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:12,640
Your integrity made him
suspicious of you.

172
00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:18,640
You, who appeared
to be totally disinterested in money?

173
00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:22,480
He also thought me
totally disinterested in women.

174
00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,160
You and I, however, know differently.

175
00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:33,120
You've lost none
of your magic, madame.

176
00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:38,240
Indeed, sir. Indeed.

177
00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:41,440
But I don't believe
in late-in-life conversions.

178
00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:44,640
How entirely regrettable
for you, then.

179
00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:48,360
We've little time.

180
00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:16,480
Put your mind at ease,

181
00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:20,520
neither the ravages of time or of men
have dimmed your resplendent beauty,

182
00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:24,760
which has been heightened
by the fineries of widowhood.

183
00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:28,320
Did you obtain the consolation
you sought

184
00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:30,680
in your faith and prayers?

185
00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:32,480
Some consolations are less sure.

186
00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:34,440
Austerity does not suit you.

187
00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:37,480
I had no idea you were so prudish.

188
00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:41,240
You didn't learn it
plying your trade at Madame Paulet's.

189
00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:44,360
You are a whore, madame,
and I'll use you as such!

190
00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:46,320
You generally do not detest it.

191
00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:50,080
Then you'll have to pay me dearly.
The price has gone up since then.

192
00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:57,200
Get out before I get an inkling
to jab this right in your heart.

193
00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:14,520
Did the viper strike at last?

194
00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:17,440
Did Mrs Lardin tell you
she got visits

195
00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:22,240
from the Holy Spirit
and the commissaire today?

196
00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,560
I expect this news is worth
a few coins, my lord.

197
00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:30,480
Rapace also deserves
your consideration, my lord.

198
00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:34,880
My faithful helper has deep affection
for your person.

199
00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:37,920
Two men alone
are worth more than one alone.

200
00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:40,400
A duo is a rarity these days.

201
00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,240
There are two of them.
One is called Rapace.

202
00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:55,200
He's an ex-soldier
who walked away from his regiment

203
00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:57,800
and became a butcher
as it happened.

204
00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:00,440
The other one, Bricart,

205
00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:03,160
was a gunner in the navy.

206
00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:06,440
He boasts
that he can break chains bare-fisted

207
00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:09,520
as easily as he can strangle an ox
with his bare hands.

208
00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:12,120
- He'll do fine.
- You can't miss him.

209
00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:16,720
He lost a leg
in a battle against the English,

210
00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:18,280
and wears a wooden peg.

211
00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:20,520
Excellent.

212
00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:27,560
Where can I find them?

213
00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:32,640
They can be found every evening
in a disreputable public house

214
00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:35,240
near the Sainte-Catherine cemetery.

215
00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:37,440
I advise you not to go there

216
00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:41,280
without a very stalwart
and determined

217
00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:45,240
backup squad.

218
00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:54,280
I need you, Bourdeau.
Our goal is in sight.

219
00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,000
Do you believe in omens, inspector?

220
00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:22,480
No more than you do, commissaire.

221
00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:27,000
The place you were told about is
at the corner of two cemetery walls.

222
00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:29,600
We should have warned
the patrolmen.

223
00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:33,280
We cannot, Bourdeau.
We must use stealth.

224
00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:38,000
Wait here for our scoundrels.

225
00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:41,680
Keep to the shadows.

226
00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:50,840
There they are.

227
00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:19,480
I'd have preferred to do this
with the help of fellow officers!

228
00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:22,280
At two against two
in a surprise attack,

229
00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:25,800
we'll likely get the best of them.

230
00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:52,760
Look out, sir!

231
00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:55,560
Jardié, the rascal got it good!

232
00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:02,160
These lead-filled crutches
can crack open a head!

233
00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:10,080
We'll work his friend over
until he tells us

234
00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:11,880
what we want to hear.

235
00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:14,720
That's Scemacgus's cabriolet.

236
00:19:18,120 --> 00:19:19,680
Well now, Commissaire,

237
00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:22,960
I have something to make you chat.

238
00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:26,480
Sensitive, are we?

239
00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:29,760
Tie him up, Rapace. Make him talk
before I make him bleed!

240
00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,360
Easy does it, laddie. Easy!

241
00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:42,800
Believe me, my angel,
yours is now a hopeless case.

242
00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:46,160
Let me hear that voice a little
before I cut your throat out.

243
00:19:46,360 --> 00:19:48,400
On my orders, all ye Saint-Roch boys!

244
00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:53,200
They've opened the gates of Hell!

245
00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:12,680
- So, it's you then?
- It is, sir.

246
00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:16,160
Do not worry, sir,
we won't hurt him as badly

247
00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:20,360
as he and his fellows hurt
the children they capture.

248
00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,000
They kidnap children
and sell them.

249
00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:26,200
- Let us have him.
- I can't.

250
00:20:26,360 --> 00:20:28,840
He's at the heart
of a major investigation.

251
00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:45,040
I've never seen such ferocity.

252
00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:46,920
Bourdeau, bind his hands.

253
00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:48,960
Have him taken away promptly.

254
00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:01,120
Midday or midnight?

255
00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:06,320
Midnight seems more plausible to me.

256
00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:10,880
- Who ordered you to set this ambush?
- I shall say nothing.

257
00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:13,400
And you can't do much to make me.

258
00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:15,560
Only putting you to the question.

259
00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:18,360
I can prove, however,

260
00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:19,880
quite rapidly,

261
00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:24,520
that you were present at a site
where human remains were dumped.

262
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:27,920
At Montfaucon.
I can also prove

263
00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:31,160
that you were at Dr Descare's
just prior to his death.

264
00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:35,160
I can also prove you frequented
Madame Paulet's

265
00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:38,000
and even went into her apartment.

266
00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:47,120
Bricart, step on it!

267
00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:50,760
Come on,
put all your weight onto it.

268
00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:52,840
Come now, Bricart!

269
00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:06,640
Proof positive, Bricart.

270
00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:11,440
Who ordered you to do this?

271
00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:15,200
On the night of Carnaval...

272
00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:20,200
a stranger introduced us
to three masks.

273
00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:24,080
One of the three ordered
the death of a man.

274
00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:26,120
Commissaire Lardin's.

275
00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:28,720
- I didn't know that.
- Did you kill him?

276
00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:29,880
No!

277
00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:32,440
All we were to do

278
00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:37,960
was dismember the body

279
00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:41,520
and take the remains
along Montfaucon road,

280
00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,560
with his bludgeon
and his personal belongings.

281
00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:48,200
It was the Negro who killed him.

282
00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:49,520
The Negro?

283
00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:51,480
The Negro.

284
00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:57,720
The coachman did him in
on the orders of his master

285
00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:02,600
because the man was making trouble
over some love affair.

286
00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:06,400
Naturally, you can't tell me more
about the three masks.

287
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:11,360
Too bad, but you will talk,
once you're put to the question.

288
00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:15,840
Now that I think about it...

289
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:23,040
I believe I recognized...

290
00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:28,640
from among the others,
a woman's voice.

291
00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:30,040
A woman's voice?

292
00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:33,520
Commissaire,

293
00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:37,440
the lieutenant general wishes
to see you in his office immediately.

294
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,120
There is a rumour
that the commissaire's death

295
00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:58,440
should now be called
the Lardin letter scandal.

296
00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:04,440
The secret that we strove to keep
is now out.

297
00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:13,480
If it so happened that the kindness
I oddly showed Lardin

298
00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:15,480
were to be revealed,

299
00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:21,200
my position would become untenable.

300
00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:28,440
My position would become untenable

301
00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:32,720
and so would yours,
being more precarious and less sure.

302
00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:35,040
Everyone is aware
you are under my orders.

303
00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:39,280
The royal police would be taken over
by incompetents and schemers,

304
00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:42,200
leaving the monarch exposed.

305
00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:50,960
Take some time off, commissaire,
for tomorrow...

306
00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:53,400
Tomorrow?

307
00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:55,760
We've no time for prevaricating.

308
00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:58,600
It is in everyone's interest

309
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:01,760
to act quickly

310
00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:04,560
without getting sidetracked uselessly.

311
00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:07,480
You have a suspect,
the naval surgeon.

312
00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:08,880
Scemacgus?

313
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:12,920
I want him put to the question
first thing tomorrow morning.

314
00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:18,920
Given the gravity of this case,

315
00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,840
commissaire,
I expect you to be present

316
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,760
during Sanson the executioner's
operations.

317
00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:34,400
You're to take notes of every detail

318
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:37,320
and of the result.

319
00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:41,760
I shall not bid you good night.
You may leave now, sir.

320
00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:22,040
Can't you sleep?

321
00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:27,760
You're terribly gloomy.

322
00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:31,960
and seem burdened
by a heavy, gnawing pain.

323
00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:35,640
What can I do for you
that I haven't already done?

324
00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:38,320
I fear there is nothing you can do.

325
00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:47,880
Have you ever reflected
on the strange and grievous threads

326
00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:50,320
in the weave of our lives?

327
00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:58,240
I try to avoid it, madame.

328
00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:08,200
A man whose friendship I cherish
will be put to the question tomorrow.

329
00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:10,240
Tomorrow?

330
00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:14,040
I mean in a while,
as morning has now dawned.

331
00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:17,760
A man who loves me
like a younger brother...

332
00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:19,760
and I can do nothing to save him.

333
00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:29,520
Oh, sir, I fear for your life!

334
00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:32,800
We've looked everywhere for you!
Bricart is dead.

335
00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:37,000
The jailer found him at dawn,
on the floor of his cell,

336
00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:40,240
- already cold and stiff as a tax.
- How could it be?

337
00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:44,240
I don't know. I've had the body
carried to the Basse-Geôle,

338
00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:47,800
and enjoined Sanson to proceed
with opening it.

339
00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:49,680
How is Scemacgus?

340
00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:52,840
Your friend Scemacgus
is doing very well.

341
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:55,160
He had a hearty breakfast
this morning.

342
00:28:09,360 --> 00:28:12,280
The question, right?

343
00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:19,160
For the last time, sir,
I beg you to tell me all you know.

344
00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:21,840
I can say nothing other than

345
00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:26,120
that I swear I am innocent
of the charges laid against me.

346
00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:30,200
The rest, you may perhaps hear
during my conversation with Sanson.

347
00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:37,040
Should matters take a bad turn,
I promise...

348
00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:38,640
Promise nothing.

349
00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:42,760
Nothing, my friend,
that you cannot hold to.

350
00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:45,040
My hands tremble, see?

351
00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,120
But neither my heart nor my spirit.

352
00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:54,360
Come now, sir,
let's not look so glum.

353
00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:57,720
After all, you're not the one
who will be tortured.

354
00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:07,840
For the last time...

355
00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:10,720
I can see
the hard-headed Breton that you are!

356
00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:13,200
Do you recognize this?

357
00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:16,880
Without the slightest doubt.
That is my watch.

358
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:20,800
- Where did you find it?
- In your cabriolet

359
00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:23,360
on the cushions
still spattered with blood.

360
00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:26,560
It was in a barn
being used by ruffians.

361
00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:30,120
One of them accuses you
of ordering Lardin's murder.

362
00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:32,560
It was my watch, I should say.

363
00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:38,960
I gave it to my driver Saint-Louis,
the day I set him free.

364
00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:42,520
I gave him it so he could manage
his time as a free man.

365
00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:44,760
Saint-Louis?

366
00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:50,560
This man did not die
of natural causes.

367
00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:54,720
He was beaten repeatedly
by blunt instruments.

368
00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:57,880
I'll take this as evidence.

369
00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:00,600
One of the blows broke his ribs.

370
00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:04,080
Racked by so much pain,
he probably did not notice.

371
00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:09,040
One move sufficed to cause a rib
to puncture a lung.

372
00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:13,040
The large quantity of blood
caused his death.

373
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:19,160
You're not to blame.
Death was already at his door.

374
00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:25,960
The time has come.

375
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:28,200
Not quite yet, sir!

376
00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:30,120
I'd like us to have

377
00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:33,360
another look at the remains
of the man known as Lardin.

378
00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:36,800
The bone fracture you see here

379
00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:38,720
is one that I myself set.

380
00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:41,160
These remains

381
00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:44,200
are not Commissaire Lardin's,
they are my driver's.

382
00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,080
Poor Saint-Louis' remains.
Take a look there.

383
00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:49,280
See the black smudge.

384
00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:53,840
He was named for his birth place,
but Saint-Louis was a Muslim.

385
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:55,240
He always shaved his head,

386
00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:57,520
save one lock atop his skull

387
00:30:57,680 --> 00:30:59,600
which his god could grab

388
00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:00,800
the day of his death.

389
00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:03,920
Old Émilie saw a light being lit
and something burning.

390
00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:06,680
Commissaire Lardin was bald
beneath his wig.

391
00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:09,480
To pass this body off as Lardin's,

392
00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:12,440
that feature had to be rubbed out.

393
00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:15,680
'Tis odd, my faithful friend,

394
00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:19,480
that though Death
has struck you dumb,

395
00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:22,840
still you silently give witness
to my innocence.

396
00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:25,240
Not quite, Scemacgus.

397
00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:28,080
This temporarily delays
the excruciating torture

398
00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:30,200
of the question.
Go back to your cell.

399
00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:32,200
I'll go back to my investigation.

400
00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:38,880
So, Lardin isn't Lardin.

401
00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:40,040
No.

402
00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:43,880
Lardin is not Lardin.

403
00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:47,720
It reinforces your initial suspicion
that he isn't dead.

404
00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:49,560
No, Bourdeau.

405
00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:52,120
Alas, it doesn't.

406
00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:57,000
Two facts contradict you.
The inhuman interrogation

407
00:31:57,200 --> 00:32:00,320
that Dr Descare was subjected to
prior to his death,

408
00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:05,680
and then, there is the harsh way
his office was searched.

409
00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:08,640
If Lardin were alive,

410
00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:11,240
why would he need to search out

411
00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:14,200
what he had so carefully hidden?

412
00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:19,320
What might Lardin have concealed
so carefully?

413
00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:20,800
Letters.

414
00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:25,760
Neither of us will ever know

415
00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:28,960
their content,
even if we manage to seize them.

416
00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:32,120
These letters could determine
the king's security

417
00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:35,160
as well as Scemacgus's fate.

418
00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:37,200
A note for Mr Le Floch.

419
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,640
A note from a lady,
whose resplendent beauty

420
00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:43,240
was enhanced
by her somber and elegant attire,

421
00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:45,480
and who instantly stole away.

422
00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:54,800
"You know when and where."

423
00:33:02,280 --> 00:33:06,000
The noose is tightening, madame.
The noose is tightening on you.

424
00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:09,440
The corpse found in Montfaucon
was not your husband's.

425
00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:12,080
- See, I can be fair-play.
- You cannot, sir!

426
00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:14,280
Tell me the truth!

427
00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:18,200
The truth as well as the name
of the man forcing your hand!

428
00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:20,960
Anything that clears Scemacgus!

429
00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:25,160
In exchange, once the path is clear,
I will give you what you seek.

430
00:33:25,320 --> 00:33:27,840
You can then negotiate
at the highest level.

431
00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:29,480
Have you found out then?

432
00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:32,720
Yes, without much difficulty.

433
00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:34,480
Well then, madame?

434
00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:35,840
Well then, sir.

435
00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:39,840
Wait no longer
to produce the letters.

436
00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:41,840
You've little room to maneuver.

437
00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:45,840
You lack one clue
that only I can provide.

438
00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:48,600
I am willing to trade it,

439
00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:51,680
otherwise I should be forced
to destroy it.

440
00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:55,040
Marie Lardin, sir,

441
00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:59,120
for whom you've long had
a constant and deep affection.

442
00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:02,640
If I were you,
I wouldn't hesitate for a second!

443
00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:06,000
As the saying goes,
"Innocence has no price."

444
00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:08,120
Don't think you've won!

445
00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:10,320
I haven't finished with you!

446
00:34:17,680 --> 00:34:21,000
Commissaire,
to what do I owe your visit?

447
00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:24,080
Can you explain the cause
of your agitation?

448
00:34:24,240 --> 00:34:27,360
Pressing reasons, too long to list.

449
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:33,680
I'm all ears, sir.
Make it quick and exact, please.

450
00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:39,120
Our goal is in sight.
You must hand me a warrant

451
00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:41,600
to conduct a house search.

452
00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:46,160
This sounds quite important.
Whose house?

453
00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:48,880
- Madame Lardin's, sir.
- Good gods!

454
00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:51,440
Madame Lardin's?

455
00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:56,720
I shall grant you this whim.

456
00:34:57,400 --> 00:34:58,800
Nevertheless...

457
00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:06,280
This antique measures out
one full day.

458
00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:11,320
I shall give you
not a fraction of another instant

459
00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:15,360
to carry out my instructions
and to put Scemacgus to the question.

460
00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:25,840
The dandy claims he has found
what we are looking for.

461
00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:29,560
I do not believe his claims
anymore than you.

462
00:35:29,720 --> 00:35:32,320
Needless to say, he seems most upset

463
00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:34,920
to hear that we hold the damsel.

464
00:35:35,240 --> 00:35:37,400
Go to where she is being held.

465
00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:40,120
You will personally keep watch
over her.

466
00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:42,040
I've had less agreeable tasks.

467
00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:45,960
Well then, Mauval, wait no longer
to obey me.

468
00:35:56,840 --> 00:35:57,840
Nicolas.

469
00:35:58,000 --> 00:35:59,240
Later, madame!

470
00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:02,640
Spare me a moment!
Innocence is at sake!

471
00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:03,880
What innocence?

472
00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:06,560
I was granted foster care
of a young novice

473
00:36:06,720 --> 00:36:08,880
who recently entered
the Dauphin Couronné.

474
00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:12,760
While I rarely feel remorse,
I am capable of pity.

475
00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:14,120
Be concise, please.

476
00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:17,720
The poor despairing girl refused
to hear my reasons.

477
00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:22,400
But after Madame Paulet
roughed her up a bit,

478
00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:25,040
she revealed to me her first name.

479
00:36:25,240 --> 00:36:27,920
She mentioned you and begged me
to seek out your help.

480
00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:29,800
- What is her name?
- Marie.

481
00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:31,160
Marie?

482
00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:35,440
You asked for me, sir?

483
00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:40,280
Yes. For an urgent mission
that will require the entire force.

484
00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:42,760
Round up all available policemen.

485
00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:45,440
You, madame, with sword?

486
00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:47,800
My station allows me to,
as does yours.

487
00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:51,520
In some traverses,
having a fine blade is recommended,

488
00:36:51,720 --> 00:36:54,360
particularly a sharp one,
unless you're a fool.

489
00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:06,840
I was helpless.
The man held me.

490
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:09,320
- Who?
- Mauval, Mrs Lardin's henchman.

491
00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:10,880
- And the girl?
- Down below,

492
00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:12,680
in a cellar with that man.

493
00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:15,920
Be careful, sir.

494
00:37:16,120 --> 00:37:19,560
Mauval is dangerous.
Commissaire Lardin never trusted him.

495
00:37:19,720 --> 00:37:23,040
He should have been more cautious.
I do not fear him.

496
00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:26,520
I saw you were at pains to conclude
several times, there.

497
00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:30,000
Your precautions
nearly cost you your life.

498
00:38:30,200 --> 00:38:32,600
I needed him alive, madame!

499
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:42,520
Sweet, dear Nicolas!

500
00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:46,800
"Relentlessly sought out
have they been."

501
00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:51,000
"Each one will return to the king."

502
00:38:54,640 --> 00:38:56,320
Do not be offended, madame.

503
00:38:56,480 --> 00:38:58,320
Mauval, your accomplice, is dead.

504
00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:01,080
I have a proper warrant
from Mr de Sartine

505
00:39:01,240 --> 00:39:03,080
to search your house
from top to bottom.

506
00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:05,800
In fact, my men are already at it.

507
00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:09,440
We found him in a passageway
running from the cellar

508
00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:11,800
to a nearby garden beyond the walls.

509
00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:16,080
Come, madame! Come pay one last visit
to your late husband!

510
00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:23,320
Forgive me for rushing you,
but this is urgent.

511
00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:25,200
It is quite all right.

512
00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:28,440
As I rarely have the chance
to enjoy air outside the jail

513
00:39:28,600 --> 00:39:30,800
I daresay I savour each one!

514
00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:34,640
Well, madame,
is this not your handiwork?

515
00:39:35,720 --> 00:39:39,640
My handiwork?
You shall have to prove it!

516
00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:42,720
Lock her up at Le Châtelet now!

517
00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:44,680
Throw her in a cell.

518
00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:48,120
We can now explain
the mysterious comings and goings.

519
00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:51,520
A sliver of a passage begins here

520
00:39:51,720 --> 00:39:55,160
and leads out to a garden
on the Rue des Blancs-Manteaux,

521
00:39:55,360 --> 00:39:58,640
where a man I had been following
mysteriously vanished.

522
00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:02,000
Rats have eaten the flesh,
thus facilitating my examination.

523
00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:04,920
We have here a shoulder blade.
Notice the gash.

524
00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:09,200
It could only have been inflicted
by a hefty blow from a good sword.

525
00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:12,480
The sword was thrust into the victim
already on his back.

526
00:40:18,520 --> 00:40:22,000
Per your order,
Mrs Lardin is in a dank, dark cell,

527
00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:25,400
propitious to meditation
and introspection.

528
00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:28,520
Darkness, decaying straw,
and scampering rats

529
00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:30,520
have a sobering effect.

530
00:40:31,080 --> 00:40:33,360
I'm at a loss to make this out.

531
00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:39,600
One thing is certain: the same hand
penned all three notes.

532
00:40:39,800 --> 00:40:42,640
It was Commissaire Lardin.
I assisted him often enough

533
00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:46,120
to recognize his handwriting
without a shadow of a doubt.

534
00:40:46,480 --> 00:40:49,640
Two of these notes
were attached to the crucifixes.

535
00:40:49,800 --> 00:40:53,120
One went to Mr de Noblecourt,
the other went to Dr Descare.

536
00:40:53,280 --> 00:40:55,680
The third was sent
by Commissaire Lardin

537
00:40:55,880 --> 00:40:58,800
to his own daughter,
instructed to remit it to me,

538
00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:00,360
in the event of misfortune.

539
00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:05,360
Look, Bourdeau.

540
00:41:05,640 --> 00:41:08,800
Do you see it?
We have an acrostic here.

541
00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:13,040
What do you read, Bourdeau?

542
00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:15,520
- "Descare."
- Descare, indeed.

543
00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:18,400
It is the clue we've needed
to finish our work.

544
00:41:20,720 --> 00:41:22,960
What do we know
about Lardin's will?

545
00:41:23,120 --> 00:41:25,120
Nothing.
Despite my insistent requests,

546
00:41:25,280 --> 00:41:28,160
his notary is as silent as the grave.

547
00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:30,800
I am a notary, Commissaire.

548
00:41:31,440 --> 00:41:35,160
As such, it is my duty
to respect utter discretion,

549
00:41:35,320 --> 00:41:38,000
even when speaking to
one of the king's officers.

550
00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:41,040
I can hardly imagine an argument
that would convince me

551
00:41:41,200 --> 00:41:45,120
to give you what I obstinately denied
your subordinate.

552
00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:47,600
I see but one that would force you:

553
00:41:48,520 --> 00:41:49,480
the question.

554
00:41:51,760 --> 00:41:53,040
I'm listening.

555
00:41:55,120 --> 00:41:57,600
Dr Descare's last wishes
were particular

556
00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:00,440
but not at all controversial.

557
00:42:00,600 --> 00:42:04,600
He wanted official papers
to be in my possession

558
00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:09,160
so he could bequeath all his fortune,
monies, buildings, furnishings,

559
00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:12,600
not to his old cousin, Louise Lardin,

560
00:42:12,760 --> 00:42:16,360
but to the youngest known heir,
one Marie Lardin.

561
00:42:16,640 --> 00:42:19,480
Could Mr Lardin have been aware
of this arrangement?

562
00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:21,040
It benefited his daughter.

563
00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:23,880
How can you explain
Descare's extravagence

564
00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:26,800
toward a young distant relation?

565
00:42:27,400 --> 00:42:31,640
Marie Lardin was born by a first wife
who died in childbirth.

566
00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:33,280
Although Lardin ignored it,

567
00:42:33,440 --> 00:42:36,360
and loved the girl,
and showed her touching affection,

568
00:42:36,520 --> 00:42:40,280
she had not been sired by him
but by Dr Descare.

569
00:42:45,480 --> 00:42:49,600
Sir, I wish to protest
your henchmen's methods and manners,

570
00:42:49,760 --> 00:42:51,520
and proclaim my innocence!

571
00:42:51,680 --> 00:42:54,880
Generally speaking,
I rarely believe in innocence,

572
00:42:55,040 --> 00:42:57,080
especially bedecked
with the fineries of crime.

573
00:42:58,240 --> 00:43:00,200
Begin, commissaire.

574
00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:02,920
I'll be brief,
although the case is complex.

575
00:43:06,480 --> 00:43:10,000
We are faced with a two-pronged case.

576
00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:15,240
First, Commissaire Lardin's scheme
to disappear,

577
00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:19,120
and make off
with his illegal winnings.

578
00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:21,600
We shall not delve
into his motives,

579
00:43:21,760 --> 00:43:25,760
born of greed
and a disgrace to his function.

580
00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:29,440
Nor shall we delve
into the strange circumstances

581
00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:32,040
which allowed him,
in plain sight,

582
00:43:32,200 --> 00:43:36,560
to run a rigged gambling table
in certain establishments...

583
00:43:38,480 --> 00:43:41,640
Undoubtedly aware of his schemes,

584
00:43:41,960 --> 00:43:44,000
or perhaps the instigator of them,

585
00:43:44,760 --> 00:43:48,640
Madame Lardin first collaborated
in the subterfuge,

586
00:43:48,800 --> 00:43:52,680
which sparked
the feigned row at the Dauphin.

587
00:43:52,880 --> 00:43:55,640
His abject assertions are unfounded!

588
00:43:55,840 --> 00:43:59,480
Sit down, madame, let him continue.

589
00:44:03,760 --> 00:44:06,640
Lardin expected suspicion
would be cast upon a rival,

590
00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:08,800
either upon the late Dr Descare

591
00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:13,000
or upon naval surgeon Scemacgus,
standing here.

592
00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:18,320
He needed a body to pass for his own,
and thus, poor Saint-Louis,

593
00:44:18,520 --> 00:44:20,880
Scemacgus's coachman
became his prey.

594
00:44:21,360 --> 00:44:23,440
His remains, and not Lardin's,

595
00:44:23,640 --> 00:44:25,280
were found near Montfaucon.

596
00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:29,000
accompanied by
a few of Lardin's personal belongings

597
00:44:29,200 --> 00:44:31,080
masquerading as Lardin's death.

598
00:44:31,240 --> 00:44:32,360
Thus far, sir,

599
00:44:32,520 --> 00:44:36,560
the late Commissaire Lardin is
incontestably the sole perpetrator.

600
00:44:36,720 --> 00:44:39,200
I see nothing
that might be held against her,

601
00:44:39,400 --> 00:44:41,560
aside from complicity.

602
00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:44,080
I'm getting to that, sir.

603
00:44:45,400 --> 00:44:46,880
Part two of the plot

604
00:44:47,080 --> 00:44:50,960
took place underground,
where Lardin's corpse was found.

605
00:44:51,880 --> 00:44:53,600
It was in this underground room

606
00:44:53,880 --> 00:44:56,200
that Madame Lardin played her part.

607
00:44:57,640 --> 00:45:00,440
As Lardin was supposed to be dead,

608
00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:02,840
why not eliminate him for good?

609
00:45:03,040 --> 00:45:04,360
My motive, pray tell?

610
00:45:05,680 --> 00:45:09,520
Several motives,
any one of them would suffice.

611
00:45:10,240 --> 00:45:13,480
Your natural treachery
sharpened by commerce with men

612
00:45:13,640 --> 00:45:15,920
in the trade you plied

613
00:45:16,120 --> 00:45:17,560
at Madame Paulet's.

614
00:45:17,760 --> 00:45:19,840
So what? Others also,

615
00:45:20,440 --> 00:45:22,520
presently in high society.

616
00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:23,680
You, yourself, sir...

617
00:45:23,880 --> 00:45:28,760
Greed, madame, and the opportunity
to be rid of an old husband,

618
00:45:28,920 --> 00:45:31,200
rumoured incapable of satisfying you.

619
00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:35,240
But more importantly,
the desire to seize

620
00:45:35,400 --> 00:45:37,880
the object of your late husband's
own impunity.

621
00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:39,960
Stop there, Nicolas!

622
00:45:40,160 --> 00:45:42,880
The letters that
Commissaire Lardin held,

623
00:45:43,080 --> 00:45:44,960
and which,
for some odd scruple,

624
00:45:45,400 --> 00:45:46,920
he was loathe to negotiate.

625
00:45:48,560 --> 00:45:51,240
I suppose you now have a buyer
for those letters.

626
00:45:52,160 --> 00:45:53,720
What a wild imagination, sir.

627
00:45:53,880 --> 00:45:58,120
For these letters,
you eagerly tortured and killed

628
00:45:58,280 --> 00:46:01,160
- your cousin, Dr Descare.
- Prove it, sir! Prove it!

629
00:46:01,360 --> 00:46:03,840
For these letters,
you also eagerly ordered

630
00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:06,480
the abject torture and slaying

631
00:46:06,680 --> 00:46:08,960
- of your late husband.
- Prove it!

632
00:46:09,120 --> 00:46:10,520
I shall, madame.

633
00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:26,240
I know that the sight and the odour
of decomposing flesh repulses you.

634
00:46:27,360 --> 00:46:29,800
This, however, is evidence.

635
00:46:35,600 --> 00:46:36,480
Look carefully.

636
00:46:39,920 --> 00:46:43,840
Notice how the blade
and the wound of the shoulder blade

637
00:46:44,160 --> 00:46:46,360
are perfectly matched.

638
00:46:48,920 --> 00:46:52,480
Commissaire Lardin was finished off,
sprawled on the ground,

639
00:46:52,640 --> 00:46:57,560
He was stabbed in the back
by this sword,

640
00:46:57,840 --> 00:46:59,400
with great force.

641
00:46:59,880 --> 00:47:01,480
There was another man,

642
00:47:01,680 --> 00:47:06,120
sharp, bold, unscrupulous!

643
00:47:06,440 --> 00:47:09,760
A fearsome swashbuckler,
always ready to service you, madame.

644
00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:12,800
You're familiar with my appetite, commissaire.

645
00:47:12,960 --> 00:47:16,400
Mauval satisfied me thoroughly.
I see no evidence

646
00:47:16,600 --> 00:47:17,920
in any of this, however.

647
00:47:18,640 --> 00:47:20,520
Mauval is dead, madame.

648
00:47:33,280 --> 00:47:35,360
Mauval is dead and the truth

649
00:47:35,560 --> 00:47:37,040
is marching in.

650
00:47:40,680 --> 00:47:41,760
For I've a witness.

651
00:47:45,280 --> 00:47:47,800
A witness to your plotting
and blood crimes.

652
00:47:57,280 --> 00:48:00,720
Bricart, the old naval gunner.

653
00:48:01,440 --> 00:48:04,360
He spoke and the thud of his step
sounds the truth

654
00:48:04,560 --> 00:48:05,880
marching toward us.

655
00:48:06,040 --> 00:48:08,760
With his testimony,
you will be put to the question

656
00:48:08,960 --> 00:48:12,960
if you persist in denying,
and to prison if you survive.

657
00:48:13,200 --> 00:48:15,600
Your beauty will fade, madame.

658
00:48:15,800 --> 00:48:17,640
Your charms will promptly wither

659
00:48:17,800 --> 00:48:21,200
as you rot away in a horrid lazaret.

660
00:48:23,400 --> 00:48:25,880
I eliminated that foul beast.

661
00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:28,880
My deed is now out.

662
00:48:30,320 --> 00:48:34,440
Descare, too,
was another foul beast.

663
00:48:35,320 --> 00:48:37,080
Both received just punishment

664
00:48:37,240 --> 00:48:40,480
for the despicable things
they subjected me to.

665
00:48:40,640 --> 00:48:45,160
They never saw me as anything
but a harlot pulled from the gutter.

666
00:48:46,240 --> 00:48:48,600
A plaything!

667
00:48:54,400 --> 00:48:56,600
I will not rot in a cell, sir!

668
00:48:57,280 --> 00:48:58,800
I won't!

669
00:49:15,880 --> 00:49:17,680
I didn't understand your silence.

670
00:49:17,840 --> 00:49:21,680
Some things escape your wisdom, sir.

671
00:49:21,840 --> 00:49:25,680
Your affair was no secret. How would
admitting it have compromised her?

672
00:49:25,840 --> 00:49:28,240
- I loved her and gave my word.
- Your word?

673
00:49:28,680 --> 00:49:32,720
I hardly hoped to believed,
but I hoped to be cleared.

674
00:49:32,880 --> 00:49:35,600
I don't believe in justice
based on confessions.

675
00:49:35,760 --> 00:49:37,320
I had great hope.

676
00:49:37,480 --> 00:49:40,520
For innocence cannot be proclaimed.
It must be proved.

677
00:49:40,680 --> 00:49:42,960
I was counting on you for that.

678
00:49:44,200 --> 00:49:47,800
Your trust in mankind
both delights and dismays me.

679
00:49:47,960 --> 00:49:49,360
You took a huge risk.

680
00:49:49,560 --> 00:49:52,120
That trust did not apply to myself.

681
00:49:52,280 --> 00:49:57,040
Under torture, I might have revealed
the little that I knew.

682
00:49:59,280 --> 00:50:00,520
Thank you, Nicolas.

683
00:50:14,480 --> 00:50:18,000
Mr de Sartine wants you to clear up
a few final details.

684
00:50:23,080 --> 00:50:24,480
Descare.

685
00:50:26,840 --> 00:50:28,720
As you can see.

686
00:50:32,680 --> 00:50:34,840
Lardin had a twisted mind

687
00:50:35,000 --> 00:50:37,160
and enjoyed playing such games.

688
00:50:37,320 --> 00:50:40,040
Indeed, he held these letters,
but as a precaution,

689
00:50:40,200 --> 00:50:41,520
not as objects for gain.

690
00:50:41,680 --> 00:50:45,480
Otherwise, he'd have used them
long ago.

691
00:50:46,600 --> 00:50:50,280
We now know that he ordered
two identical crucifixes to be made.

692
00:50:50,440 --> 00:50:53,040
They were sent as anonymous gifts.
One went to Mr de Noblecourt,

693
00:50:53,200 --> 00:50:55,280
the other to Dr Descare.

694
00:50:55,960 --> 00:50:57,880
With them, he provided clues

695
00:50:58,080 --> 00:50:59,640
in three notes pointing

696
00:50:59,800 --> 00:51:02,960
to the recipients of the very thing
you are searching for.

697
00:51:13,760 --> 00:51:16,640
The third element was safely held

698
00:51:16,840 --> 00:51:18,880
by Mr de Noblecourt.

699
00:51:19,040 --> 00:51:21,920
And Marie Lardin
was holding dear to her breast

700
00:51:22,080 --> 00:51:25,840
one of the notes meant to alert me
should anything happen to Lardin.

701
00:51:26,000 --> 00:51:30,160
How perverse to entrust one's safety
to one's enemy.

702
00:51:30,360 --> 00:51:31,480
Or an admirable ruse?

703
00:51:32,640 --> 00:51:35,640
For, who would have looked
inside this piece

704
00:51:35,800 --> 00:51:38,520
to locate the cause
of so much suffering and death?

705
00:51:40,720 --> 00:51:42,880
In fact, by the oddest fashion,

706
00:51:43,440 --> 00:51:46,680
Lardin set in motion
the king's return.

707
00:51:48,920 --> 00:51:51,640
No one is ever a bad
as one might think.

708
00:51:52,560 --> 00:51:54,080
Nor as good, either.

709
00:51:55,480 --> 00:51:56,480
Come, Nicolas.

710
00:51:56,680 --> 00:52:00,480
We must give these back
to their rightful owner.

711
00:52:01,640 --> 00:52:05,120
The situation is bleak.
The king is morose.

712
00:52:05,680 --> 00:52:08,920
I think he'll want to hear
the meanders of our investigation.

713
00:52:09,080 --> 00:52:13,120
May I suggest rounding the edges
of certain aspects?

714
00:52:13,720 --> 00:52:15,120
And then...

715
00:52:15,280 --> 00:52:19,040
I believe a touch of frivolity
might be appropriate.

716
00:52:19,400 --> 00:52:20,600
Frivolity?

717
00:52:24,320 --> 00:52:26,360
Have you found them, Sartine?

718
00:52:39,400 --> 00:52:41,640
Sad trifles, indeed.

719
00:52:42,880 --> 00:52:45,200
But penned by my own hand.

720
00:52:48,720 --> 00:52:52,320
Such sad trifles,
if one is not careful,

721
00:52:52,760 --> 00:52:54,680
can cause wars.

722
00:52:55,240 --> 00:52:58,040
Nothing is worse than war, Sartine.

723
00:52:59,200 --> 00:53:02,240
All the wars I waged,
were against my will.

724
00:53:02,400 --> 00:53:05,960
They caused nothing
but loss, ruin, and desolation.

725
00:53:08,200 --> 00:53:11,360
It is said, marquess,
that a king with no entertainment

726
00:53:12,360 --> 00:53:14,040
is a miserable man.

727
00:53:14,200 --> 00:53:15,800
Yes, it is.

728
00:53:16,480 --> 00:53:20,400
I am well aware
that you led the investigation, so...

729
00:53:23,080 --> 00:53:24,760
entertain me!

730
00:53:27,880 --> 00:53:30,360
Entertain me, marquess.

731
00:55:11,000 --> 00:55:14,000
Adaptation: David Cox
Subtitles: TÉLÉTOTA


