Original subtitles

Last night, in Uncle Leopold’s orchard,

we found Marie-Therese Jolicoeur’s skeleton.

Mum?

I’ve been remembering things.

In the fire, with the mask, there was something else.

What?

- Who’s that cute girl upstairs? - Es a pi grim.

Old lady McNeil’s shed

Fuck!

- Why the gun? - It’s hunting season, come on!

- I’m out of patience, Seb. - Don’t call me that.

Yesterday someone stole your shovel and dug up a corpse.

Something’s fishy there.

Father Gabriel

Do you think God in His mercy is sending us signs?

Well, of course.

Today I was struck by a coincidence.

There are events that, at first glance,

aren’t connected, but...

That’s the Lord talking to you.

Do you remember the young girl who was killed

near the lake in the ’80s?

The Jolicoeur girl.

Veronique Jolicoeur, yes.

They never found her body, except...

her head.

Her grandmother’s skeleton has just been found.

On a plot of land that used to belong to the abbey.

I don’t know how to explain it,

but it seems to me that these tragic events

are coming to light

to punish me.

Come now, Sebastien.

Christ is not cruel.

But what if I deserve it?

You think you deserve to be tormented?

Well, no, of course not!

We'we all sinned.

We all have remorse,

even Brother Jacques.

Why do you bring him up?

He said that the surest path to find Christ

is the path of repentance.

Yes.

Repentance.

I’m sure you’re right.

Sebastien...

Sebastien! Where are you going?

If the monk wanted to dance

I’d give him a rosary I’d give him a rosary

Dance, my monk, dance You can’t hear the dance...

You don’t hear my mill, la la! You don’t hear my mill working

Oh! If my monk wanted to dance!

Pray for our sins...

THE WALL

Here.

But I saw it burn in the fire.

It must be another one.

- You were never religious. - No. Vero gave it to me.

Holding it in my hands helps me talk to her.

Could she have given one

No, I don’t think so.

But she had a bracelet with the same beads and cross.

She said they were a set.

Where did she get it? At the abbey?

When she gave it to me she said something important.

I know you’re not a believer, but it’ll help you think of me when I’m gone.

- Are you going somewhere? - Not right away, but one day.

It’ll help you recall absent friends.

Honey, anyone who isn’t here tonight, I don’t want to see them anyway.

Look.

I have an identical bracelet.

Thank you, sweetie. Thank you!

Before I saw it in the fire, I’d never seen that bracelet.

When did she give you the rosary?

- A few weeks before... - Halloween?

Yes.

Veronique would never have bought this. Someone gave it to her.

What does her wearing this bracelet prove?

Gift or not, it doesn’t mean they killed her.

It means she got a gift, from someone she never told me about.

Despite how close we were!

I guess she kept secrets even from you.

- Celine, no offence, but... - Look.

- Memories are all I have left, Alex. - Now.

They’re not enough to reopen the case.

Too bad.

That’s where I have to look.

In my memory, what I tried to suppress.

But which might still be there.

I’d love to help you, but I need to progress the Marie-Therese case.

I have an idea about that.

Where’s that damn apple tree? I can’t find it.

Is it much further?

- My knee is killing me. - Almost there, Auntie.

Mum was...

in there?

- Was it in 1953 that she disappeared?

Was there rivalry with the Morencys back then?

Yes, it started during Prohibition.

My dad crossed the border to sell whisky.

He was raking it in. The Morencys were drooling.

When Dad died, they tried to muscle in.

They had the nerve to cross our land to get across the border.

What did Marie-Therese do?

One night,

she set fire to their barn and all the gin that was inside.

They could never prove it was her, but...

So the Morencys killed her years later in revenge?

The Eastern Townships aren’t Chicago.

People play rough, but no one murders anyone over business around here.

Except maybe once.

Maybe, but there’s something else that doesn’t make sense.

Mum didn’t like the orchard.

She didn’t want us to wander there.

Why? Because of the monks?

An independent woman smuggler wasn’t their cup of tea.

They didn’t like us.

So she never walked around there alone?

Never.

Maybe someone moved her there later.

Like Veronique. Her body was never found.

I’m very sorry to upset you, Auntie.

You don’t change, do you?

You’ve always been more interested in death than in life.

You don’t want to know what really happened?

What good would it do?

Auntie!

Wait, Auntie.

We both knew this time would come.

I have to get home. It’s Emile’s bedtime.

Not sick of sleeping here?

It’s fine. I’m getting used to it.

It won’t be for much longer.

Our lodger’s mum will cross the border?

Real soon.

Will you miss her? She’s pretty cute.

She’s more crazy than cute.

See you tomorrow.

I’m coming, Olivia.

I’m really hungry.

Are you on a diet? You always lunge at the brownie first.

It’s for my mum.

Did she text you?

Is that Danish?

What does it mean?

That she wants to see me. She needs to see me.

I should never have given you that.

- You don’t want to help me? - It’s not about wanting.

- You don’t know my family. - Oh, but I do, Xavier Jolicoeur.

Your parents, Claire Collins and Kevin Jolicoeur,

real estate developers.

I even found a nice photo.

“Recipe for success of two local families united for 35 years.”

Yeah... Except I’m not really part of the recipe.

Anyway, I meant my Uncle Simon.

- He mustn’t know you went out. - I can look after myself.

Do you have the bikes?

I haven’t ridden my bike in years.

What are you doing?

Wait here, I’ll be right back.

Fuck, are you okay?

What’s going on?

Olivia, wait for me!

Did you put this here?

- You’re freaking me out. - You want to go there empty-handed?

I don’t.

Don’t want to go there at all, actually.

Shit! We can’t let them see us.

- Is this a new path? - New?

When were you last here, Mr Big Business?

15, 20 years ago? You used to know our ancestral land.

- Are we still on our land? - Yes.

30 feet that way is Brother Jacques’s sanctuary.

- That way’s the States. - Why clear this path?

I have my plans.

- So I see. - Look.

That’s not for deer.

What are you trying to detect?

First tell me why you came to my place, half-drunk and on the verge of tears.

It can’t be because of your grandma’s skeleton.

No.

- It doesn’t bother you? - Old Marie-Therese’s skeleton?

Old? She was younger than you when she was killed.

Okay, we’re on abbey grounds.

Fucking hell!

- I didn’t think I’d see that. - What?

Nothing. Just a sugar shack.

Don’t go there!

Why does it scare you, Xavier, if it’s just a sugar shack?

You want to know? 35 years ago, almost to the day,

on Halloween night, a girl your age was killed in there.

Her head was found in a tree near the lake,

but she was decapitated here.

- Yeah, right. - Her body was never found.

But in the monks’ sugar shack, there was blood everywhere.

She was my dad’s cousin. Her name was Veronique.

- Don’t move! - Mum, let him go!

Mum!

You’re fat. Does your boyfriend feed you too much?

You want to revive war with the Morencys because of that?

- You think they killed her too. - I think it’s an old case.

- Hey, you said you’d do something. - Relax, okay.

The Morencys will pay. There’s no point rushing things.

Border guards!

Calm down, Kevin. We didn’t do anything wrong.

And that’s not the border guards. That’s an old friend of ours.

Sandford McNeil.

- McNeil the cop? - The ex-cop.

He can tell us who’s been prowling around here.

Hi, Sandy! I saw your wife this morning.

She says to say hi.

Hey, settle down, okay?

Say the word McNeil or I’m shooting back.

BORROWED FOR THE DAY XX

I fell off my bike.

I’ll have a sausage breakfast wrap and a large coffee.

- I’ll take it away, thanks. - You’re welcome.

One sausage wrap to go, please.

Johnny Leger, leave a message.

It’s Alex. Can you meet me at the town archives?

I want to know everything about Marie-Therese Jolicoeur.

Got room 4’s toast? She’s getting impatient.

- I’ll take over. A sausage wrap? - Yeah.

A sausage wrap, please.

It hurts. I think it’s infected.

Oh, shit! We really have to do something.

It really hurts!

Okay, stay there. I’ll handle it.

Hello.

Can I help you?

- Emile, come back! - He’ll end up at the abbey again.

- That might be a solution. - What?

Him joining the monks?

Aunt Louise would never let her darling go.

- Neither would I. - I know that.

Me neither. I love him, but sometimes...

Too much medication winds him up.

A little calms him down, but too much...

The monks said not to come here.

Yes, but Jacob the gardener doesn’t mind at all.

Stop it, Emile! It’s Jacob!

- He’s not a bad guy! - Yes, Emile. It’s Jacob.

- Not a bad guy? - No. Emile, it’s just a tool.

Isn’t your name Jacob?

Celine Jolicoeur!

It’s been a helluva long time.

Do you have keys to the gift shop? It doesn’t open till noon.

For old times’ sake, I wanted to take a look.

Wow, there’s a lot of stuff.

Yeah.

Okay...

Buyer: Marie-Therese Jolicoeur.

This is the land’s deed of sale, predating the house.

- What year was the sale? - 1949.

After Prohibition, then.

Marie-Therese’s husband had been dead a few years.

All this fiddling around to get Veronique’s case reopened?

- There’s a mystery to be solved. - 70 years too late.

Celine never mentioned all this!

- But you knew her cousin was killed?

Let alone the monster and the head in the tree.

A traumatic event can erase your memory.

I didn’t notice this. Look.

The monks?

Thanks.

Veronique gave this rosary to her dad.

I was wondering where she got it.

Have rosaries like this ever been sold here?

Not that I remember.

We've had wooden ones, but not mahogany like this one.

Now they’re made of plastic or precious stones.

The mahogany is beautiful.

- Do you have one? - A rosary? Of course.

I practically collect them.

I brought back a suitcase full from Compostela.

Do you ever give them away?

Sometimes.

But not this one?

I’d remember.

Did you ever give any other gifts to Veronique?

Me?

No.

What do you mean? Someone else might have?

I don’t know. Anyway, this rosary isn’t from here.

Where do you think it’s from?

I’m asking you because you’re something of an expert.

I don’t know, the wood’s been stained.

But it’s not from around here.

I’d give her a glass of cider when she came by, but that’s all.

- We didn’t come by often. - But she did.

For a while, anyway.

How old was she?

It was near the end. I mean, not long before...

She used to say...

- Hi, Jaco! - Hey! Want a glass of cider?

Not today, I’m going to see my confessor.

Right! Her famous confessor.

What was his name again? Father...

I don’t know, confessors are confidential.

No, she told me. I hate forgetting names!

- Who could tell me? - The abbot, I guess.

- Father Sebastien? - Why all these questions?

I loved Veronique.

I’m doing a kind of pilgrimage.

- Like a pilgrimage to Compostela. - Oh, right.

So you don’t forget her.

Thank you, Jacob.

Where might I find Father Sebastien?

Jacob, have you seen the abbot?

No, but it’s time for his walk. Unless he took a detour.

He didn’t attend Lauds or Terce.

- No one’s seen him since last night. - Maybe he went to the sanctuary.

Yes, to Brother Jacques’s sanctuary. But at this hour, he has appointments.

Perhaps he’s not well.

- I could go to the grotto early. - Yes, go right away.

I have a meeting. Tell him to call me.

All right, I have to get going. I have tools to load into my pickup.

Excuse me, may I come with you?

Yes, it’s true it happened around there.

You want to make a pilgrimage to the sugar shack?

No.

I’ll go to the sugar shack another time.

But I’d like to talk to Father Sebastien.

If we can’t find him, you could always just wander.

It’s lovely at the lake this time of year.

Trudeau.

In the sale of Marie-Therese’s orchard, the seller is listed as the abbey.

And not only that.

The orchard and the rest of her land are surrounded by abbey grounds.

Isn’t it weird the monks sold off 2000 feet of lakefront?

Especially since my aunt tells me the monks didn’t like Marie-Therese.

- Did you know this? - I knew where the Jolicoeurs’ land was.

For a while, pilgrims had a right-of-way to get to the grotto.

Brother Jacques’s grotto. It’s a pilgrimage place, right?

I’ll call you back.

- Okay. - Come and take a look.

- Hey! Hi, Mr Morency. - Hi, Jacob.

Father Sebastien was due to call me this morning.

He must be meditating in the grotto. He never takes his phone.

I imagine his bad knee is slowing him down.

Must be that. I’ll go and check.

I’m going there. I could tell him you’re here.

I also have business with Father Sebastien. Can I get a lift?

I’m in a hurry. Aren’t we meeting tonight?

One doesn’t exclude the other. Thanks, Jacob.

Here’s the lake. Here’s the abbey.

Here are the monks’ orchards and farming land.

Here’s the Jolicoeurs’ land.

The road through it is the municipality’s now

but back then it was on Jolicoeur land.

They called it Pilgrims’ Way. It’s still called that.

The pilgrims who’d come and stay at the abbey

took it to get to the other side, to Brother Jacques’s sanctuary.

Right next to it is Celine’s cousin’s maple grove.

Simon Jolicoeur. He doesn’t use it, at least not to make syrup.

Is he using it for access to the border?

God knows and the devil suspects, but we’ve never caught him.

In the middle of the sanctuary is the grotto where Brother Jacques,

the abbey’s founder, spent months as a hermit.

When he died,

the maple grove became a meditation place

with paths and signs with liturgical phrases on them.

The whole nine yards.

That’s all well and good

but it doesn’t explain why they sold a chunk of land to Marie-Therese.

How did you do this?

I need to know to avoid possible complications.

Playing with a crossbow.

The grotto’s two minutes away.

And the fire pit is ten minutes that way.

- Don’t worry, I remember. - Yeah.

Conning back here...

- Are you sure... - I’m fine.

May I ask why you want Father Sebastien?

I want him to officiate my niece’s wedding

and let us hold it at the abbey chapel.

They don’t usually do that.

But I heard they were struggling financially.

Meanwhile we might miss out on other churches.

Why do you want to see him?

Same reason I want to see you.

I somehow doubt that.

One of the reasons.

Veronique?

Veronique.

Let’s start with your niece’s wedding. I could help.

I can be pretty convincing.

I told you your job is to keep her here.

Help me.

Why the hell were you two out? She’s supposed to stay in her room.

She wants her mum. This isn’t Guantanamo.

We can’t risk her running. Did you hear Simon?

Where would she go?

Please!

It’s not in her interest to take off.

Really? Look what happens when she goes out.

I knew she was too cute for you.

- Oh, Karen. - What?

- Darling... - Don’t patronise me.

I’m gay, Karen.

You’re coming out?

What did you expect? Champagne? Balloons?

Well, some bubbly sounds good.

Where do you think you’re going?

Her wound is infected. She needs special care.

You’re not taking her to the hospital.

No, not the hospital.

Okay, but you two are telling Simon, not me.

Don’t worry, Simon already knows.

- If Kevin hadn’t been there... - Kevin?

Where? What happened last night?

Will you help me or not?

Special care...

I’d give him a rosary

Dance, my monk, dance

You can’t hear the dance...

Are you calling for me?

Maybe.

I can always tell when someone needs to confess.

Father Sebastien!

Father Sebastien!

Father Sebastien!

Father Sebastien?

No!

Let’s go!

It hit your friend pretty hard.

Did you see the body?

Yes. Maybe a little too hard.

Pardon me?

Just weirdly hard.

Hey, are you jealous?

What were you two doing here?

What?

Subtitles © SBS Australia 2023