Original subtitles

Just a moment, I'm coming.

It's better like that.

You'd need some accessories.

You can get dressed.

Does this feeling of tiredness occur often?

At the present time, yes.

Is it mental or physical fatigue?

Well...

And being out of breath?

After some exertion...

...like running for a bus...

...or climbing stairs.

Do you sleep peacefully?

What do you think?

How's your appetite?

I eat.

But you've no interest in food?

That's right.

Just to satisfy hunger?

That's all.

You need to get some rest...

Or bring your retirement forward, eh?

Well, your blood pressure's a bit high, but at your age...

Your bronchial tubes seem clogged, so I'll arrange an x-ray

In the meantime...

I'll ask you to make a huge sacrifice.

You need to stop smoking.

- Cheers, my love. - Here's to you.

Come and I'll introduce you.

- Champagne? - Thanks, I already have one.

-Robert!

My pleasure!

This is Jeanine. We were talking about you.

Lovely to meet you, Robert.

This is Jeanine.

Congratulations. You're terrific.

- Are you well, dear? - Marvelous, mother.

See you again soon.

Where did that dress come from? I didn't invite you.

Go make a scene somewhere else. Do you want to ruin my party?

- So why are you here? - Don't!

- It's all over? - Yes, she's leaving.

- Right away! Go on! - I'll take care of it.

What is it you want?

Money?

That's it, is it? Haven't you been given enough?

Take this, and fuck off!

Yes, come in.

We won't get anything out of him tonight.

Lapointe will try the ditty.

With that guy, it could go on till morning.

Will I get some sandwiches?

As you wish, Janvier, but I'm going home.

What if he confesses, chief?

Take him down to the cells.

Police emergency, I'm listening.

Close her eyes.

No sort of identity on her.

She's been stabbed several times.

Weapon not found. We're doing a thorough search of the area.

- Who called emergency? - We don't know.

He or she broke the call-box without a word.

Begin a thorough survey of the neighborhood.

Has the department been notified?

It's being attended to.

Did you have dinner, at least?

Oh, I don't know anymore.

Go back to sleep.

Goodnight.

Goodnight.

I'll have it outside.

You OK?

Yeah.

- Don't catch cold. - No, everything's OK.

Inspector Maigret?

I'm the witness.

Your inspector told me to come and see you.

I live at number 5, over there, just across the square.

A bit after midnight, I'd just gone to bed.

I heard a car stop.

Sounded like a big classy motor.

Then two doors, opened and closed...

...and the boot as well.

The car left again, I'd say...

...5 to 10 minutes later.

That was it.

Poor girl.

So young.

The female victim, Caucasian, was a minor...

...20 years old at the most.

Healthy, but undernourished.

There are 5 stab wounds...

...in the chest and abdomen.

Their depth indicates a slicing or carving knife.

The attacker is likely left-handed, given the angle of the incisions.

The blows were given in a haphazard way, at close range.

They're the apparent cause of death.

"Apparent"?

Cervical rupture and pulmonary morbidity.

I've asked for further autopsy.

The body has no other external signs of abuse.

At what time would she have died?

Not easy to establish.

The stomach is almost empty.

Probably between 10 pm and midnight.

Before midnight, anyway.

A passerby, perhaps the murderer himself...

...warned police-emergency at 12.33

Nothing indicates the attack took place on the spot.

The lividities don't match the body's position.

It means that it was moved or transported after death.

Exactly.

You started studying medicine. Why did you stop?

To earn my crust.

In the police force?

That or something else... It was just chance.

I discovered a white fibre of fabric...

...attached to a fingernail on the left hand.

Maybe a white sheet had been used to wrap the body.

That's not all...

She'd absorbed a good dose of strong alcohol.

She was in an advanced state of intoxication.

Considering the neighborhood, she could've been a bar-hostess.

This kind of girl doesn't drink...

She makes you drink.

The kind that sleeps with the customers?

Who may be available.

She was no longer a virgin.

But before her death, she'd had no sexual intercourse...

...either forced or consensual.

I'd like to see her.

If you wish... but she hasn't been closed up.

You no longer smoke a pipe.

How do you feel?

Stark naked.

Feeling better?

I'm sorry... that smell...

You'll get used to it

I've got Janvier.

No missing person notices correspond.

Nor in the papers.

Lucas is busy with the clubs and bars in the district.

Focus on taxi drivers... on those who work nights.

- Where are we going? - H.Q.

- The murder weapon? - Hasn't been found.

Careful or you'll break your briar.

I had a thought.

Do you remember the lady-killer of Monceau?

We never caught him.

Nope.

Monceau is not far from Batignolles.

How did he kill his victims?

Strangled with a wire.

And now?

Now, no.

But he might have wanted to change his method...

Nothing much to tell us anything.

No fingerprints or traceable dust.

Hardly anything in her bag.

Handkerchief, cheap lipstick.

Her underwear is ordinary... Uniprix or similar.

Imitation pearl earrings.

Her shoes are good quality, but well-worn.

None of that fits in with the evening dress.

Why not?

Different category altogether.

Haute couture. Top label.

It'd be worth a small fortune.

It's certainly one of ours.

"Evening Dream".

A pre-war model.

The 1937 winter collection.

1937...

How sad for it to be damaged!

If it was only the dress!

Would you know who ordered it?

She would have been very well-off.

It's impossible to trace every one of our clients.

But according to the measurements...

...the head of our workshop could remember something.

Could I talk to her?

Alas, she died.

Just a month after she retired. Isn't that amazing?

Open it, but you might be disappointed.

Why a 20 year old girl wear a dress that could have been her mother's?

What girl?

Exactly, I don't know. I don't know anything about her. Nothing.

Not even her name.

I made fricandeau with sorrel. Alright with you?

Just a taste. I'm not hungry.

Do you remember our first date/ That society ball.

"Evening dress required".

I was feeling awkward, I know.

But when I saw you in your bad suit and crumpled tie...

...I said to myself... "Here's someone at least as clumsy as I am."

Well I had the pretty blue dress that I'd rented.

There are shops for that, like for tuxedos.

Why would she have rented a dress?

Well, Inspector...

How awful!

Your inspector didn't tell me anything.

We don't reveal this sort of news over the phone.

- What was her name? - I was going to ask YOU.

I forgot to ask her.

She was in a hurry.

She needed an evening dress, as if her life depended on it.

Oh, sorry.

In this neighbourhood, last minute customers...

...are artists, or girls who scored themselves a punter.

- She could have been one? - Her? No, not at all.

She was so fragile...

A bird fallen from its nest.

Where was she going with that dress?

Apparently, she hoped to find someone.

Someone?

Someone who could help her.

Materially, anyway.

She didn't even have enough to pay for the rental.

She left me her things.

She'd get them back when she returned the dress.

I waited for her the next day, but...

You're one of the last people to have seen her alive.

I would have liked to see her alive again.

What was she like?

Pretty, very pretty... Pale skin, brunette with a fringe.

What I meant was... What stood out about her?

She looked lost. Not from around here.

The girl from nowhere.

And she had that adorable gesture of twiddling with her hair...

...like a child who is afraid of being scolded.

These girls, they come from their province...

...dreaming of an artistic career, or having a beautiful wedding...

...and end up as domestic workers...

...or in another sort of establishment, or on the street.

Trocadero 08-40?

Hello, Madam.

I'm sorry, Madamoiselle.

Could you tell me your name?

It's me calling you, yes.

I AM going to tell you, but first I need... Hello?

Really good! Besides, I was starving.

Aren't you eating?

Never while I'm drinking.

Can I pour you some Pouilly, Betty? Here.

That'd be nice.

There you are.

Betty's an unusual name.

My real name's Marie. I wanted a change.

Where are you from?

Romans-sur-Isere.

Oh, I know it.

No kidding?

Famous for shoes.

Yes. both my parents work at the factory.

I had a job waiting for me... but spend your life making shoes?

No thanks.

I only had one dream... to go up to Paris.

“We'll see when you come of age“ said my father, so...

I took the train the morning I turned 21.

Without telling your parents?

Not anyone.

If I were your father, I'd wonder where you are...

...what you did during the day...

...did for a living, who you hung out with.

Why don't you tell them anything?

You're full of questions!

People tell me that.

What did you hope for when you came to Paris?

To be free...

...Do what I wanted... meet interesting people, read...

...to visit museums.

Steal from stores?

Does telling you about my life interest you?

It helps me a little, to understand.

Understand what?

A girl like you.

There are lots of girls like me in Paris.

Souls in torment, who are in a whirl.

I spot them straight off. I feel sorry for them.

I'd like some dessert.

The Tatin tart is very good.

- Shall we share one? - No, I don't like sweets.

The young lady will have the Tatin.

Still nothing for you?

No thanks, Arlette.

You're not having anything, Inspector?

Inspector...?

Police?

Maigret, CID, 36 quai des Orfevres.

Someone wanted to get rid of this unknown girl.

But she must have left traces, around here, somewhere...

...however tenuous.

Like blinking lamps.

Crime all the time... day and night.

You have to protect yourself. Don't be insensitive...

...but keep the right distance till you know where you stand.

In the long run, it's necessary to create a shell for yourself.

One day, during a trivial affair, you'll get to know why.

You're struck by some detail...

...A wallpaper pattern, say...

...a plush toy... a sentence... a look...

And then, all your certainties suddenly collapse.

You become a little child again, who's afraid of the dark.

Depositions to be signed for the prosecutor’s office .

They need to be deferred.

I'll leave them with you.

We finally located the pharmacy.

The little bottle in the girl's bag.

Lapointe's going there. He'll report back.

No, I'll go myself.

Yes, I didn't write down her name...

...but she had no prescription.

It is a derivative of laudanum, quite powerful.

But you sold it to her?

I'd seen her around the neighbourhood.

She always looked... I don't know.

- Lost? - Yes, lost.

One evening she came here... She was suffering.

From what?

Insomnia, nerves, anxiety.

She'd come back for some more of the product and I never saw her again.

No doubt she's better.

No doubt.

Is this medication compatible with alcohol?

Not at all. It amplifies the side-effects.

Drowsiness, loss of balance...

Did you advise her not to drink?

I didn't think that a girl that young...

She didn't do anything wrong, I hope?

Her... no.

You said that she lived in the neighbourhood?

Fine. Thank you.

Don't mention it.

There's no shortage of young women. I've 6 floors.

3 apartments per floor, not counting the maid's rooms.

She sleeps badly... she likely gets up late... she eats little.

She doesn't go shopping, much.

She's a girl who looks sad.

The kind no one notices.

She most likely lives alone.

She plays with her hair like this.

That could be the little girl who lives in 6D.

- I don't even know her name. - You neither?

Well no... She never gets any mail.

And it's not her from the start, who'd rented the room.

Perhaps she's up there right now.

Do you have a duplicate key?

Er... yes.

I don't feel like climbing 6 floors.

That's quite alright, I won't need you.

Has the girl who lived there, left?

Yes.

Are you the landlord?

Sometimes I heard her crying, behind the wall.

Even when she wasn't crying she seemed sad.

- Thank you. - Happy to oblige.

Felicie Bonnec, I work for Gaulliers.

You didn't tell me what you wanted with her.

No, I didn't tell you.

She's dead, murdered.

That's not possible!

- Up there? - No, not up there.

Was she friends with anyone in the building, a neighbour?

Her? No way.

Always alone.

Alone and withdrawn.

Who had rented the room originally?

Another girl, Jeanine.

That one went out a lot, stinking of perfume...

That someone was paying for, if you get my meaning.

She could come and go at night.

She left, leaving the other girl, who didn't pay her rent.

Dead? We were going to evict her.

Well, that's done..

The first tenant, this Jeanine, have you seen her again?

She comes to pick up her mail sometimes.

Chief, it's Janvier.

I traced the number you gave me. Trocadero 08-40.

It belongs to Jeanine Armenieu.

It looks like she's working on a film at the Billancourt studios.

Don't bother, it's a set.

Everything's fake here.

Do I have an appointment with you?

Jeanine Armenieu?

Here I'm Nadine d'Arcy.

Sorry, I was trying out for a movie.

- Are you the star? - Oh no.

I play bit-parts.

The Secretary who types the boss's letter...

...and who sometimes has it off with the boss.

The maid who opens the door.

The fake door.

Do you go to the movies, Inspector??

It happens... to change my mind.

So you don't see detective films?

Chases, fights...

The suspect beaten up with a phone book to make him talk, no...

Too unbelievable.

How do you get your suspects to talk?

Nothing. I listen to them.

Come... it'll be quieter next door.

That's fake too.

It's a background.

Background.

So, tell me.

You live at 3 Albion Square?

Yes, why?

And previously... at what address,

71 rue Crubellier, 17th district.

Alone?

Yes, well, no. With another girl.

Actress too?

Not at all. I'd just met her on the train to Paris.

She didn't know where to stay, I helped her out.

Her name?

Her name was Louise. Louise Louviere.

Louise Louviere.

Why did you say her name WAS?

Because... I don't see her anymore. I don't know what became of her.

She was found dead. on Saturday night.

- In Batignolles Square. - Oh my God!

Please forgive me.

Dead, how?

Not a natural death, in any case.

Do you know her age?

Not exactly. Barely 20, I'd say.

Did she have any documentation?

No idea. She said she was an orphan.

Born of an unknown father. She wanted to find him.

But then... Louviere?

Her mother's name. Died when Louise was little.

She was raised by the nuns, then placed as a maid.

They mistreated her, so she ran away.

That's how we met.

Why did she come to Paris?

That's what I wonder.

Most of the time, she stayed in her room...

As if she was afraid to go out.

Poor Louise.

I got her a job here, at the studio.

Lighting double. To set up, before a scene is shot.

She stood in for the star.

She looks like her, but it's not her.

She was also was an extra in 'You Dance, Miss'?

Oh, no masterpiece.

Why did you come to Paris?

- Me? - Yes.

To be a success.

Apart from you, did she have any friends?

No one, that I know of.

- No boyfriend? - Oh, even less chance.

Kaplan, does that name mean anything to you?

Not at all.

But we weren't really girlfriends. We were too different.

Her negativity eventually really got to me.

I left the room to her.

About 3 months ago. Since then she phoned me 2 or 3 times

The last time, she pissed me off with her whining...

...that I'd abandoned her. I was her only friend. She was unhappy.

- I hung up on her. - You seem to do that a lot.

Eh?

Trocadero 08-40?

Sorry, I didn't know who you were.

So, Louviere, Louise.

Nothing. Nowhere on file.

I have one, condemned for infanticide, but that was in 1892.

And Armenieu, Jeanine?

Nothing either. Apart from a peccadillo recently, under her stage name.

Rowdy behaviour outside the Calavados, a nightclub on the Champs-Elysées.

Very well.

My papers are in order, Inspector.

No, I didn't come for that. Tell me about that girl.

What girl?

-Louise. Louise Louviere.

She disappeared, didn't she?

In a way. You knew her?

Of course.

When I reported her missing to your colleagues, they said to me...

"Weird looking for someone when one is sought out oneself."

So I put a notice in the paper.

Looking for girl, brown sports coat,

blue sweater, beige skirt, black shoes

That girl you were looking for, what was her name?

Louise Louviere?

Louise.

Loulou. Lulu.

[Yiddish]

I called her Ida

Like the Ida of my grandma's story when I was a child...

...in Vilnius.

You know Vilnius, Inspector?

No, I don't.

That doesn't surprise me... The city changed its name so often.

Vilnius, Wilno, Vilna...

All the people I ever knew there, have disappeared.

There are no more than their spirits wandering among the ruins.

So the name, you know...

What's the significance?

Was Louise Louviere part of your family?

My family?

Here too, they've all disappeared.

No one left.

I'm the sole survivor. The only one.

- Want to see my papers? - Nope.

Did she come to see you?

Who?

Louise.

When?

I don't know. Recently.

Oh, no, no.

I've been waiting for her for so long.

She disappeared one night during the curfew.

She never came back.

I don't think we're talking about the same person.

Sorry to have disturbed you.

When you lose your child you lose everything.

There's nothing left, you know.

Only the night.

I know, Mr Kaplan.

I know.

It's me. Don't wait for me for dinner or for bed.

It'll depend. I don't know yet.

Chief?

Okay? Can you hear me? Chief?

We've got something new on little Louise.

I noticed her on rue Blanche.

She was walking quickly, but not straight.

She seemed to be dressed up like a princess...

It was painful to see.

She ended up agreeing to get in the cab.

Must say she wasn't going next door.

I've charged you cab-fare before, Inspector. Do you remember?

No.

You'd stopped this woman of the world...

...who'd murdered her husband at La Muette.

I was surprised to see you in a taxi. You said you didn't have a licence.

Just continue to tell me about the girl.

Well, actually, she didn't talk much.

She was nervous...

Worried, even.

Like she was afraid.

I hadn't counted on a fare. She had no money at all.

I waited till she got inside, and then I left.

A young brunette in an ivory-coloured evening dress.

Late arrival... around 10.30.

Sorry, I was too busy serving to notice.

After the reception, were you missing a white tablecloth?

I couldn't say.

But silverware, yes. Customers can't help it.

Thanks.

I didn't move from the cloakroom.

I don't remember having seen her arrive.

But with customers coming and going to the toilets...

- Inspector... - Yes?

- The invitation to the reception. - Thanks.

"Mrs Arnaud Clermont-Valois, Mr and Mrs Pierre Armenieu..."

Good evening.

It's my fiance Laurent's car. It's thanks to him that I work here.

- He's in business. - Me too.

Another kind of business.

We didn't have an appointment. did we?

Do you know where your friend Louise went to on the evening of her death?

How would I know?

She went to the reception for your engagement.

You forgot to tell me that, the last time.

If she was at the reception, why would I keep it from you?

Well...

...that's it... why?

I haven't seen her for months. I know nothing. Leave me alone!

I'm sorry... you're telling me these things so...

I didn't invite her.

I didn't tell her I was getting married.

No newspaper announcement?

Yes, she could've seen that. But apart from it...

We have a witness... a taxi driver who dropped her off.

A taxi ? She refused herself nothing, poor thing.

Drat! I've laddered my stocking.

She must have decided against coming in...

...out of shyness or fear of imposing herself.

She must have gone off, alone at night...

...and had a dreadful encounter.

I'm grateful for your help.

- Go! - Wait…

I was forgetting. I have to summon you to the Forensic Institute.

What's that?

It used to be called the morgue.

We need you to identify the body.

Otherwise it can't be buried.

Buried?

She has the right to a burial.

Of course, but why me?

As you're aware, she had no family or friends...

She only had you.

Come in here, come on!

Quickly!

- Stop! Calm down! - Let go of me!

I've got her. Go on, call the cops!

What were you doing there?

Do you have nowhere to stay?

You run off, because I'm police...

Then you want help from the police.

Once again.

Will you put that in your report? "Evil, perverse, wicked."

That's it. Then we'll take you to the cells.

The height chart, the fingerprints, front and profile photos...

...body search...

...before locking you in a damp, putrid cell.

With rats for company.

Why might I want to quash this breaking and entering charge?

Don't know.

I can also be nice.

Would you like me to be nice?

Chief, the examining magistrate wants to see you.

Later.

Whose is it?

She's left.

What if she comes back?

She's not coming back.

If someone asks for her, you let me know.

I'll leave you the key, here.

- You're leaving already? - Yes.

Why are you doing this for me?

-I'm not doing this for you.

- For rent in advance. - That's fine.

I want you to remain discreet.

Understood! I'll keep an eye out.

Did I ask you to do that?

Sir?

Inspector Maigret... to see Mr Laurent...

Laurent Clermont-Valois.

- Have you seen my bag? - No, Mr Laurent.

Mother, I can't find my bag.

In its usual place, darling.

She always puts it away in an impossible place.

As if she didn't want me to go to the office.

She used to hide my schoolbag...

...and call the principal to say I was sick.

Louise Louviere was a friend of your fiancee.

We're not the same kind of people.

To be quite open about it... we're from different worlds.

But you got engaged.

So you'll deduce that Jeanine has other qualities.

So I imagine. How did you meet her?

Does it matter?

In a nightclub. Is that all?

This friend of your fiancee, Louise Louviere.

Louise Louviere...

Would you have recognized her among the guests at your engagement party?

How could I, if I'd never seen her before?

Fair enough.

But your fiancee could have introduced you.

No. Tell me what it's all about, without beating around the bush anymore!

Your fiancee hasn't said anything to you?

Regarding what?

I'll be back.

I have a board meeting. Shall I go with you?

I'll stay a while.

The busy man. Like his father.

- So you live with your son? - No...

My son lives with me.

In this house, that he'll leave to get married.

His fiancee is a fine-looking girl.

Oh, if you say so... But awfully common.

We didn't used to confuse wives with dancing-girls.

My husband used to have fleeting affairs with cabaret dancers,

...bar girls...

I put up with it for 25 years.

Did you have separate bedrooms?

Madam, I'm not your enemy.

My duty is to seek the truth.

I hope to find it, doing as little harm as possible.

I never loved my husband, yet he was very good to me.

You haven't thought of asking for a divorce?

I wanted to stay Mrs Arnaud Clermont-Valois.

And I still am, having buried him.

At the funeral, I said that he'd been a wonderful husband...

...and a marvelous father.

Excuse me.... Mr Delaunay the attorney on the phone.

Hello?

Yes.

No, I don't know.

We will talk about it later.

Oh, you're lovely. Me too.

See you this evening.

Where were we?

The dancing-girls.

Is your son like his father in his private life?

Laurent, no, he's no wolf. He's quite different.

More complex, shall we say.

However, I can't imagine him killing anyone.

You know, the perpetrator of a crime never sees themself killing someone.

But they suddenly feel the need to assert themself... to exist.

And to exist they put an end to the existence of another.

You're informed as to what happened to that girl...

...unlike your son, or so he claims.

On the evening of the reception, the driver wasn't working.

He was given leave for the engagement party.

- Who was driving the car, then? - The fiance himself.

I took the opportunity to cook my favourite.

The fiance's clothes have been dry-cleaned.

Nothing to expect from them.

- And you? - Almost a blank.

Clermont-Valois, Laurent Arnaud Charles...

On file for morals incidents.

Touching a housemaid who was underage.

Later... deviant practices imposed on two secretaries.

Deviant?

A fetishism... unspecified.

Filed without follow-up. The mother compensated the victims.

Chief... The old monkey is calling for you.

Again?

Where are you up to with the guests?

They've all been questioned, but no one remembers the girl.

Alright. Thanks.

The red pigeon discus fish.

It's a very fussy eater.

I just bought it, at La Megisserie wharf.

An aquarium rarity.

It's found in an archipelago in the Sea of ​​Japan.

And now, it splashes on the banks of the Seine.

Yes, like us.

He'll get used to it eventually, if the others let him live.

Do you have any animals at home, Maigret?

Only on a plate.

To investigate the case, I lack firm evidence.

So do I, Sir.

Witnesses who knew the victim, don't remember her...

...or prefer to have forgotten her. Just give me some time.

You could have told me that the Clermont-Valois son was involved.

Because I didn't know.

He has a sensitive personality.

- No! - What do you mean?

Qualifying that boy as "sensitive". He gives the opposite impression.

Do you really believe that Clermont-Valois could have killed her?

I believe nothing.

Never nothing.

I even avoid thinking.

How do you do that?

I never trust the obvious.

No! No pipe or cigars here!

My fish can't cope with them, understand?

I know.

But "this is not a pipe".

That's a Belgian joke. I was trying to lighten the mood.

You're the first to see them. I just finished the prints.

Who are you looking for?

Her.

Do you have a glass?

Thanks.

Are the prints in order?

Of the course of the evening, yes.

Oh, it was you?

You're not superstitious.

No, why?

Like that, you look like her.

Like who?

The one before you. She's dead. Murdered.

Didn't your friend the inspector, tell you?

I'm trying to tidy the small bedroom. We're drowning in accumulated stuff.

Can we toss out your pile of old newspapers?

How about we go out tonight?

Don't really feel like it.

Do you really want me to?

No, it doesn't matter.

What would you like?

Nothing.

Not even a smoke, alas!

What's up with you at the moment?

What makes you say that?

I don't know. You're just not yourself.

So who am I?

Someone else.

It's her.

Can I drop you off somewhere?

Anywhere.

I wasn't expecting you.

I was passing by.

You always look grim.

I AM grim.

What's this dress?

She was my size. Don't make a fuss of it.

Take it off... now!

What else do I take off?

Do you always keep your armour on?

Did you keep the dead girl here, too?

You loved her... then she dumped you. Is that it ?

Wouldn't you prefer a beer with the ham sandwich?

Yes.

But when I start a case on white wine, I continue on white wine.

There are white cases, calva cases and beer cases.

I started on her with white.

- Snack, anyone? - I've had my fill of sandwiches.

As a result of standing around from morning to night...

Go on... we're listening.

He spends his days at his office...

He comes out for lunch with his clients.

She's shooting a film at Billancourt. They meet in the evening, late.

Restaurant, nightclub…

A last drink at her place, maybe with friends...

...and our man comes home quietly to sleep at mum's.

Did you go to the bride-to-be's house?

She let me in for a moment.

Did you play the vacuum-cleaner salesman?

No, life insurance.

Well, that's what police do.

It's a big apartment rented to her by her fiance.

Half empty, oddly. The shutters are always closed.

Even during the day.

Our blind spot is their connection to Louise.

You don't want it followed up?

Once I'm at my new address, with my future husband.

Really? All my best wishes!

Thank you.

Can I buy you a coffee?

If you want.

- I had a friend like you. - Like me?

Your type.

And what's my type?

Good kind or bad kind?

- Can I offer you a cigarette? - No thanks.

Are you looking for work?

So, Inspector, are you angry?

No?

I'm relieved that you're not angry.

I don't know anyone other than you in Paris.

Do you believe me?

You're big enough to do what you want.

My first case was here.

A drowned woman of whom we knew nothing.

The newspapers had called her "The unknown of the Seine".

Sounds pretty.

She wasn't pretty, believe me.

After several weeks on the bottom of the river.

I went on thinking about her.

Even at night, in my dreams, or rather my nightmares.

Like Ulysses.

In The Odyssey.

He's bewitched by the sirens, who lure him to the bottom of the sea.

I'll want to pay back the rent as soon as I find a good job.

A girl wants me to meet someone.

Her fiance. He'd have a job to offer me.

It's funny. This woman knew the girl who lived in my room.

Her name was...

- Jeanine?

No, Nadine.

That's her... the same one.

Did you tell her about me?

Why would I do that?

- Did she tell you about me? - Nope.

Where's your meeting?

Her place.

She's supposed to pick me up in a car...

...but I don't know if I'll go.

Why not?

It'll be late, and there's something odd about it.

You're going. It's important.

For who?

- For me. - So go yourself!

No, find an excuse about the car. I'll take you there.

Why should I obey you? Because you're a cop?

Yes that's it. A filthy copper!

Don't scowl!

I'll scowl if I want.

What will I get in return?

Nothing.

Are you doing this for that dead girl?

What's the point, since she's dead?

Listen to me.

If something makes you uncomfortable or worries you, don't hesitate to run.

- What kind of thing? - Things.

Are you throwing me into the lion's jaws, or what?

I don't really know. I hope not.

They made me drink and forced me to do stuff.

With her. Both on the couch.

He didn't touch me. He played with himself, watching us.

She did to me whatever he asked... with mouth, tongue, fingers.

It was just a job.

Paid me five thousand. And I forgot them when I left.

What a dope!

Why didn't you get out beforehand?

Why?

I don't know.

Maybe I liked it.

- OK? - She's asleep.

I lent her a nightgown.

- I couldn't leave her on her own. - You did the right thing.

This was rolled up in her sleeve.

You'll give it back to her. She didn't steal it.

Yes, I know.

- No, tomorrow morning. - Alright.

Let her sleep.

- Milk, sugar? - Thanks, no.

Some toast and plum jam?

My sister brings plums from home.

No thanks. I don't feel up to eating.

Sorry for the mess in the bedroom.

I hadn't noticed.

It's used for everything except sleeping.

If you'd like to stay a few days...

That's nice thanks, but I have somewhere.

- We don't often have guests. - You didn't have children?

A daughter.

I have the additional results for the Louise Louviere case.

The findings are surprising.

After cervical rupture, she succumbed to respiratory distress.

That's why her lungs indicated asphyxiation.

We see it here. Rupture of the odontoid and phrenic nerve injury...

...probably due to a fall, occurring earlier...

...and certainly in another place.

With the alcohol level associated with the opiate you told me about...

...accidental loss of balance is not excluded.

I feel something's bothering you.

I also had chest x-rays.

On your x-rays...

You were smoking like a chimney, but not the shadow of a stain!

They could have been of a 12-year old.

I expected to tell you you didn't have long left.

Come on, to celebrate, I invite you to share duck 'au sang'...

...at Tournelle wharf.

We could wash it down with a Pommard.

Very nice, but...

The duck died of suffocation and not bled...

That is the whole subtlety.

And it allows them to extract the carcass juices...

...to the last drop of blood, and bind it to the sauce.

Albert Janvier told me that you were here.

Sir, can we proceed?

Yes.

I haven't been here for a while. Will you walk with me?

Sure.

She would've been 20, too.

20 years old.

We're getting married.

We've decided to move the date forward.

Why not? If you love each other.

I wanted to see you again to clarify certain points...

...regarding the presence of Louise Louviere...

...on the evening of your engagement reception.

We've already answered you.

She was able to come there, but you haven't seen her.

She had to leave alone, to a dreadful assignation.

Yes. A stranger who offered her a drink.

She wouldn't have done that.

Not a girl like her.

You seem to know her.

That possibility is undermined by the results of the autopsy.

Louise Louviere did not die from stab wounds to the chest...

...and to the abdomen.

Do we have to suffer such details?

I accepted that you attend, but please don't interfere.

She did not die at the Batignolles, but earlier in the evening...

...and elsewhere.

She died of a cervical rupture, known as "whiplash"...

...occurring after a fall, maybe accidental.

So the body of the victim was moved, transported...

...and only then stabbed to make a series of wounds.

This amounts to saying someone disguised an accident as murder.

In principle, quite perverse.

I've no idea where you're going with this.

Me neither, to tell you the truth.

I'm groping in the dark.

Monsieur,

...it seems you left the reception for a while, a little before midnight.

Yes, I was indisposed

Meaning?

I was pissed off.

Let go of me!

I was also absent.

I went out to my son to see if he was feeling unwell.

A mother is often worried.

You maintained an intimate relationship with Louise Louviere...

...between the two of you.

Making it a threesome.

I don't understand.

Let's imagine a large apartment on Alboni Square...

...where soirees would take place, with naive, impressionable girls...

...entrapped by a procurer.

Soirees that the law cannot penalise, nor can morality, even.

Mine, at least.

Except that young prey are not always consenting...

...and that little Louise, in particular, was a minor.

And that changes everything.

These supposed soirees, Mr Maigret...

...seem to be figments of the imagination.

Louise Louviere can no longer testify, but others might.

Those that came before, and those that followed.

Very recently, I believe... a certain Betty.

Sorry, but why are you getting married...

...if you can't touch a woman's body?

I've had enough!.

Delaunay... Counsel to the family.

We've already met. The Lachaume Affair.

- Good memory. - Bad memories.

You need to conduct your interrogation in a more formal manner...

...if you intend to pursue it.

We shall see to it.

Madame.

Counsel.

You're left-handed?

Yes, why do you ask?

With people like that, the wall of silence can last lifetime.

They have it all planned... down to the smallest detail.

So what? Case closed?

No no. You pull too fast and too hard.

I hear it going "hah hah"... when it should go "pop pop".

Understand?

Slow down.

Give me that.

It's not complicated, you hear?

Oh!

Delightful!

Pop.

Hold it.

That one.

Walk a little slower.

More timid.

So. Not so straight.

As if you were in danger of falling. So.

Come back towards me.

Don't look ahead... lower your eyes...

That's it, that's good.

Yes, that's good.

I have something to ask you.

Say it.

The silk stockings... can I keep them afterwards?

We'll see.

Sir... Ma'am...

Let go of me!

Is that where Louise fell?

Did your wife hurt herself?

You should talk to me, don't you think?

For a bit there, I believed in your little play-acting, too.

The return of the ghost. Cinderella in her ball gown.

She came looking for comfort, maybe to feel loved.

Jeanine and Laurent...

...believed that she'd come to deal for her silence.

My son pulled her towards the stairs

...to get her to answer for herself.

She fell backwards, breaking her neck. Dead.

I found Laurent prostrate by the body, unable to react.

He wanted to call the police.

You didn't?

He didn't realize the consequences.

He'd be asked awkward questions.

About the soirees on Alboni Square.

Among others.

I instructed my son as to what he must do.

Transport the body, and leave it in a discreet place.

Immediately, without waiting.

That's what we did.

Not alone.

No, not alone.

My son had already returned to the car.

He didn't know that I'd taken a knife here.

Then I stabbed her.

Five times.

Maybe.

A dead girl... Whatever for?

To make it look like…

You don't always know what's going through your mind.

Just a question of routine?

Where's the knife now?

At the bottom of the Seine. I threw it.

What seems strange to me...

...is to come back to this same place to celebrate the marriage....

After what happened here.

Nothing happened here, nothing. It was an accident.

And my son only obeyed me.

It was even he who managed to call Police-emergency.

The murderer who contacts the police is common.

Is it murder to stab someone who's already dead?

Ask your lawyer for advice.

I have already.

I thought so.

If someone is to be judged, Mr Maigret, it's me.

I'm not judging anyone, ma'am.

We'll meet again to record your statement.

For now, you can go home.

And the newlyweds, of course, will have to postpone their honeymoon.

Without the death of this girl...

...this absurd marriage probably would never have happened.

What time do you get there?

It'll be night.

Your parents will be surprised.

I don't know if they'll recognise me with this.

- It looks good on you. - I was thinking of keeping it.

A souvenir.

You were great.

It's thanks to you that I...

Thanks.

Thanks for what?

You're welcome.

Everything.

So it means that you like me?

Of course.

Great!

All the best.

- All the best to you too. - Thank you.

Like to dance, Miss?

Subtitles by FatPlank for KG