Original subtitles

Mr. Francoeur?

Hello!

How are you?

Hi guys!

What’s up?

Hello, Arthur!

Hello, Commander.

You still haven’t told her?

Uh?

Astrid?

That you found her mother.

I don’t think it’s my place, actually.

Honestly, I think it’s the right thing to do, but I…

You don’t want to meddle with it,

and you’re right.

Astrid has great difficulties dealing with emotions and the unexpected.

So I don’t know how she'd react to this.

And who am I to interfere in her life like this?

I don’t know.

Her friend?

Yes, honey?

What?

You want to stay with Dad tonight?

But it’s our night…

A concert?

Who’s playing?

No, it doesn’t bother me hun, you should go.

Yes, baby,

have fun.

Love you. Big kisses.

Hello, Commissioner.

Some good news, I hope? I’m not in the mood right now.

Yes, I’m coming.

The entire lab is on this case. We’ll be on our way in 15 minutes tops.

Excuse me.

Coste?

Ah, Commissioner!

So far from your office,

it must be really important.

It’s a suicide, but it’s a celebrity, so it must be handled quickly.

You know me, I’m not one to nitpick.

So?

Who’s our VIP?

- Henry Francoeur. - Doesn’t ring a bell.

Henry Francoeur. Born October 2nd, 1970,

better known under the pseudonym Eric Ernest,

crime novelist.

Yes, I know him by name.

I didn’t know what he looked like though.

Yes, he was a bit of recluse,

but a successful one.

30 books out in 10 years of career, all smashing successes.

Hated by the critics, loved by the readers.

Isn’t it odd to commit suicide when you’re so successful?

Coste, don’t start.

The flat was locked from the inside, with two bolts. It’s a suicide.

Period. We write a report, we classify and we move on, okay?

Page 96.

Yeah.

No wonder we never saw any pictures of him.

There are traces of blood near the mouth,

the lips and the nails have turned purplish.

There is a body of consistent evidence indicating that this man

was poisoned with potassium cyanide.

The lab was at top speed on this one.

Your guy was poisoned with KCN.

Also known as potassium cyanide.

Exactly.

We found some in his bloodstream and there were traces

in the glass next to the body.

The victim mixed it with whiskey.

He really couldn’t have botched it, there was enough to kill a bull.

Commander?

The guy who found the body is in the kitchen.

He’s the concierge, he’s a little bit in shock.

Coming with me, Astrid?

I would like to clarify a point with Dr. Fournier.

Go easy on him.

I do go easy on Dr. Fournier.

I am even being instructive with him.

Yes, but sometimes, without meaning to,

you… belittle him a little.

- Ah! - Be careful.

So, you found poison in the glass.

Uh, yes, I did.

- Like I just told you. - Okay.

Was there any in the bottle?

I don’t know. Why?

Because if there was poison in the glass but not in the bottle,

that means that it was poured directly into the glass.

Uh, well, yes. That’s obvious.

Could you be clearer instead of beating around the bush?

I am going easy on you Dr. Fournier,

so that you do not feel belittled.

Uh, thanks.

You are welcome.

Ok.

Let’s hear what you’re thinking.

If there was poison in the glass but not in the bottle,

that means that it was poured directly into the glass.

Therefore,

you should have found the poison container.

Did you find the poison container, Dr. Fournier?

Hello, Laurent? It’s Fournier.

Was there any KNC in the bottle or not?

Well, check. Check.

Yes, I’m waiting.

It’s uh, it’s in-

We’re checking it.

Anything else?

No. Well done, Dr. Fournier.

Thank you, I appreciate it.

I knew right away something was off.

I tried to open, I’m a locksmith,

but it was locked from the inside with two bolts.

Why did he lock himself up like that?

He was a weird guy,

half-agoraphobic.

He almost never went outside.

Though,

with the scars on his face, it’s understandable.

On top of that, he had trouble walking, he was disabled.

- Do you know what happened to him? - No.

He never mentioned it.

Did he have any visitors?

Hardly any.

He even refused to have a nurse come over, even though he was entitled to it.

He’d rather struggle on his own than let someone inside his home.

Commander, I think we have a problem.

And you found nothing that contained this damned poison?

Nothing, Commissioner.

The guys from the lab went through every inch of the place.

The poison didn’t appear magically inside the glass.

If Francoeur had poured it himself, we would have found the container.

Someone else must have poured it in and left with the bottle.

Okay, and how does did this someone get out

of a flat that’s locked from the inside?

It is a locked-room mystery.

It is a well-known subgenre of mystery fiction, a classic.

Except we’re not in a book.

You have until tonight to find me something concrete.

Until proven otherwise, it’s a suicide.

I phoned the others, they’ll join us in a bit.

Don’t worry, Astrid.

At this hour, it’ll be quiet.

And Michel never plays any music inside his bar.

You see?

It’s a bit like my very own paper room.

It’s a place that helps me think.

- How are you, Michel? - Fine.

Pour me the usual?

What would you like to drink, Astrid?

A glass of water.

A glass of water.

Mineral water.

Mineral water.

You seem to know plenty about crime novels.

I would rather call them mystery novels.

It is solving the case

before the protagonist

that I'm interested in.

So, forbidden love stories,

the destinies of strong and independent women...

they don’t interest you at all?

Not at all.

When I find the solution, I close the book.

Or when the author cheats.

I like to be on par with the investigator when I’m playing.

- When you’re playing? - Yes.

They’re like puzzles to you?

Exactly.

And Eric Ernest’s cases are particularly rigorous and complex.

I read all of his books.

In their entirety.

You’ll have to tell me where this passion for puzzles comes from one day.

You’re interested?

It's called a himitsu-bako,

it’s Japanese.

It’s a box for secrets.

To open it, you have to do a specific set of moves.

The mechanism is hidden. Let me show you.

You know, Astrid,

grown-ups can spend hours getting it to open.

- Are you sure you don’t want my help? - I will do it on my own.

On my own.

- Hello! - Hi there.

Ok, so...

I recognized the MO.

It’s a Dutilleul’s trick for sure.

Dutilleul?

Do we have a suspect?

- Did you do some research? - No. No, Arthur.

Dutilleul is the name of Marcel Aymé’s “Passe-muraille”.

A guy who could walk through walls.

I mean, your story’s a bit far-fetched...

Francoeur was locked inside his home, with two bolts.

The killer could have gotten out between the moment he poisoned his victim

and the moment the poison started to kick in.

Impossible.

Potassium cyanide has a very short latency period.

Barely a few seconds.

There must be a reasonable explanation.

There must be another way out of this flat.

Impossible again.

I got hold of the building and the flat blueprints,

they match.

No space for a fake partition or for a secret passage.

Of any kind.

In this case, the culprit could have poured the poison into the glass

and gotten out before Francoeur drank it.

I thought about it but it doesn’t add up.

The concierge was making his round and talking to tenants for a least an hour.

He would’ve seen them.

The author John Dickson Carr drew up a list of 7 solutions

to locked-room mysteries.

1:

The murder was perpetrated with the help of a concealed mechanical device.

2:

We think that the victim died in the locked room

but they are still alive.

3:

We think it is a murder,

but it is in fact a series of coincidences

that makes us think it is a murder.

4:

- We think- - yeah, okay, we get the idea!

- I am not finished. - Anyway, if there is a culprit,

they must have gotten inside the flat at some point.

Eric Ernest’s publisher, Paul Junot.

According to the concierge, he was one of the only person who came to see him.

We could start there.

- Want some coffee? - Yes.

2 coffees, Michel, please.

What can you tell me about him?

Not a whole lot.

I would stop by once a month to deal with current affairs.

He never talked about his private life.

Not even about how he got these scars on his face?

No, but I know the legend.

Rumor has it, he was injured in a fire that killed

his childhood sweetheart. It made him agoraphobic,

and it also fueled his work.

But, well,

I never knew if it was true, though.

Right out of a novel, you could say.

And in his day-to-day behavior, did you notice anything...

out of the ordinary?

Everything was out of the ordinary with him. He was a genius,

with all the quirks that come with it.

He wrote solely on an old typewriter.

And he wrote in one go,

without any proofreading.

All his royalties were to be transferred onto

an offshore bank account.

He only liked Scottish whiskey.

I once had the unfortunate idea, I thought he would like it,

to give him a bottle of nice bourbon.

He saw red and he threw it in my face.

He was quite a character.

I understand Francoeur’s pseudonym better now.

Eric Ernest?

Eric is the name of the phantom of the opera.

Ernest is a pianist who inspired Gaston Leroux.

He was disfigured by a fire in an auditorium

where a dancer he was madly in love with perished.

It sounds a lot like Francoeur’s legend.

Still doesn’t mean it’s true.

If it truly happened, there should be records of it

at the Criminal Documentation.

There are always records.

Not right now.

Fournier wants to see me and he insists that you come with me.

Ah.

What is he up to again?

Following your remark, I wondered how the poison

got into Francoeur’s drink.

So, I searched for poison traces

on the victim’s hands and I found some on his thumb

and his index.

And?

And they must have landed there when Francoeur was holding the bottle.

So I’m sorry, Miss Nielsen.

We may not have been able to find the bottle,

but it’s Francoeur himself who poured the poison in his glass.

It’s a suicide. QED.

It is not logical.

You should have found the container.

But, we have proof he had poison on his fingers.

Or maybe, there just never was any container.

Impossible.

Potassium cyanide does not present itself in a solid enough form

to be able to be manipulated this way.

Ah.

Unless...

Unless someone solidified it.

Exactly.

Well done.

An ice cube tray?

You had to see me right away

to show me an ice cube tray?

Not any ice cube tray.

The one in Francoeur’s freezer.

In which the lab just found traces of cyanide.

You’re saying he poisoned his drink

- with an ice cube full of cyanide? - No.

He didn’t know the ice cubes were poisoned.

Henry Francoeur was murdered.

The cyanide could have been there for weeks.

We can’t know for sure when the assassin visited the flat.

Did you make any progress on the offshore account?

Dead end. We won’t get anything,

even with an international warrant.

- The joys of tax havens. - Dammit.

But I have something else.

Francoeur opened an account in a French bank two months ago.

He opened it with a very large deposit.

Wow,

that much money makes for a good motive.

Even I could kill for this.

And where does all of this come from?

That's where it gets interesting.

It’s a transfer from Paname, an important publishing house.

I called them and they transferred the money after

signing a big contract.

They had bought Eric Ernest’s next book.

Was it a commission?

I know someone who probably didn’t like that they stole his golden goose.

I filed in the paperwork to get you a temporary accreditation.

You’ll be able to do your research.

Thank you.

Are you sure that what you’re looking for is in this section?

We only keep the administrative documents here.

There’s no criminal cases.

No criminal cases.

I am looking for information about an accident.

A fire.

You are sitting on my desk.

It must have hurt to find out he had betrayed you.

I didn’t know.

When Eric Ernest sends you his first manuscript, he’s a nobody.

But you agree to publish him before even meeting him.

Stop it.

And then,

You meet the man behind the pseudonym.

Henry Francoeur lives a secluded life, he’s difficult,

but you grow up together.

He may have the talent but you make him a star.

He doesn’t want to go outside?

Fine.

Let’s build up a myth.

The crowd will love it and the mystery will fuel Eric Ernest’s legend.

You have no idea

of the sacrifices I had to make.

And then, he betrays you.

He uses the fame you helped him build

to sell himself to your competitor.

Powerless.

Everything you’re not.

That’s true.

When I saw he had signed a book

with Paname,

under the name Eric Ernest, I was disgusted.

It drove me crazy.

But I wouldn’t have killed him.

What does his death bring me?

I thought it was just a whim

and that he would quickly come back to work with us.

Unfortunately, you were the only one who came to see him.

And you have a motive.

Everything points towards the publisher but I’m pretty sure it’s not him.

Francoeur cheated on him,

but Junot still liked him, that’s clear.

It is never the first suspect.

What?

The first suspect is only here to distract your attention.

What do you mean?

In Eric Ernest’s books,

the goal of the mystery is to confuse the reader,

to put on a smokescreen.

I didn’t find anything about Francoeur’s accident.

It is natural. There was no investigation.

- There wasn’t? - But I found something else.

A fire incident report from the Bourg d’Oisans fire department

in the Alps, dated from December 12th,1987.

A cabin hosting seasonal workers of the Alpe d’Huez burned down.

Henry Francoeur was one of the victims.

No casualties?

One casualty.

A young woman. Sophie Nobel.

Maybe the great love from the legend.

Wait, there was a death but no investigation?

- You’re sure? - Absolutely.

There was another casualty but they only had superficial wounds.

The name is Alain Lamarque.

Everything is in here.

- Weren't those the papers on the victim? - Yes.

We were hoping to find a trace of the book promised to Paname.

And?

And we have 4 manuscripts.

Tapuscripts.

Uh?

Manuscript is for when it’s handwritten, tapuscript is

for when it’s from a typewriter.

Right, Astrid?

Exactly, Commander Coste.

Okay.

- Well anyway, we have 4, uh- - Tapuscripts.

tapuscripts that are 4 novels published by Junot over the last few years

under the pseudonym Eric Ernest.

But there was this.

A single page.

Page 96.

Is it a page of the book promised to Paname?

It’s likely. It would only add to the publisher’s motive.

Junot would have killed him to steal his manuscript

to publish it himself.

Yeah, but to publish a book, having it isn’t enough.

There are contracts for that.

Ask Arthur to dig into the other victims.

There’s Sophie Nobel,

the young woman who died in the fire

and another guy… What’s his name, again?

Alain Lamarque. Caucasian. Born January 24th, 1967. and another guy… What’s his name, again?

Alain Lamarque. Caucasian. Born January 24th, 1967.

- You’re kidding me? - No.

Lamarque?

You don’t know Alain Lamarque? The writer?

- No. - Uh...

Adam’s Mountain? Doesn’t ring any bell?

- No. - That’s his latest book.

It was widely talked about in literary circles.

No?

This book is incredible.

It’s the chronicle of a raw passion that inexorably leads to madness.

It’s deeply moving. Read it!

Yes, I love these kinds of books.

Let's pay him a visit.

Him and Francoeur were in the same fire, maybe they stayed in touch.

I have the address, Astrid. Let's go?

Mr. Lamarque?

Yes.

Who allowed you to get inside my property?

The gate was opened.

We'd like to ask you a few questions.

Wait, if you want an interview, do like everyone else.

Contact my press office.

I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.

Commander Coste, Criminal police.

Did you see Henry Francoeur since that fire in the Alps?

What are you talking about?

That fire in the Alps was ages ago.

No. It was on December 12th, 1987.

Mr. Lamarque...

Henry Francoeur is dead.

Come in.

That's horrible.

I can’t believe it.

Henry was like a brother to me.

A brother?

After the horror we went through, you can imagine.

We were already friends before the fire.

It brought us closer.

This picture. There was the same one at Henry Francoeur’s.

Here.

It was taken in the Alps.

We were seasonal workers.

Henry was happy at that time,

radiant even.

He never could handle Sophie’s death.

It destroyed him.

Sophie?

Sophie Nobel?

Yes.

The young woman who died in the fire?

It wasn’t a legend?

We met every winter.

He loved her like we all love at that age.

We think it’s forever.

Do you see each other often?

Every chance we get, which means not much.

You know, I...

I receive a lot of requests and Henry wasn’t very social.

Did he ever mention a book in the making?

We found an isolated page of a tapuscript at his place.

No, no, not at all.

We talked about everything except work.

Spending time together was enough.

We were very much alike.

Expect he was snubbed by the critics

and you, by the public.

Yes, I did my homework before coming over.

I feel like your books aren’t selling all that well,

unlike his.

His are sold at supermarkets. That’s his customer base.

Henry wrote airport novels.

You read it, you forget it.

Me? I write to leave a mark.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend.

I always favored quality over quantity.

Just like with wine.

You’ve got common, table wines, and then you've got the others

with more subtlety,

the grand crus.

You write grand crus.

I’ll give it to you as a gift.

I'll let you be the judge of that.

Thank you so much. It is very nice of you.

The affection I had for Henry was deep, sincere.

But we just didn’t have the same job.

Now, if you don’t have any more questions, I won't keep you.

I’m tired and I have a lot of work to do.

Ma'ams.

I don’t like him.

Isn’t denigrating a witness by talking about his bad sales

socially improper?

I did it on purpose.

Ah.

What for?

To know who I was dealing with.

And now, I know his weak spot.

It’s his pride.

Oh no.

Théo was supposed to be home tonight. I’ve been waiting for this for two days

and his dad is buying him off with stupid concert tickets.

Now, I’m all alone.

Why are you telling me this?

Does it have anything to do with the investigation?

No. No. I’m just saying.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you.

I cannot do anything to help you.

I do not even know Théo’s dad.

Sorry, I-

I need to confide in someone.

Why?

Why what?

Why do you need to confide in someone?

I don’t know, Astrid! Because,

because I trust you.

Ah.

Very well.

Goodbye, Commander.

It’s crazy, this habit of

leaving in the middle of a conversation.

That’s completely insane.

That’s what all neurotypicals do.

They talk about themselves to establish contact.

That’s absurd. I don’t see the point.

Personally, I do.

I don’t always have the appropriate answers

but when my neurotypicals friends do it, I let them.

And how do you answer?

Maybe by confiding in return?

By confiding in return.

But I am more comfortable when we talk about the investigation.

It makes more sense.

What are you investigating this time?

I cannot say anything.

Come on, Astrid.

We won’t tell anyone.

I cannot say anything.

It’s your special interest,

don’t tell me you don’t want talk about it.

But I am not allowed to.

That being said,

we all signed an agreement stating that

whatever is said here, stays here.

Yes.

So...

So?

Yes, it’ll be great.

Yes, yes.

Oh no! Don’t worry about me.

Please.

I'll go out...

Go for drinks with a few colleagues, come home late...

You know me!

Yes, I made dinner.

It’ll do me some good to spend the evening without kids around, you know?

Okay, baby.

Yes.

Me too.

Love you.

Astrid...

You haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.

You have to move on.

This box, it's becoming an obsession.

Come on, stop!

Astrid! Stop!

Stop!

Here.

Astrid. Astrid...

At least, let me help you.

I think there is a link between page 96 and the fire.

The single page we found at Francoeur’s,

I think it refers to the fire of December 12th, 1987.

Francoeur was writing a book about his accident?

There is a body of consistent evidence that would indicate so.

On page 96,

a name caught my eye.

Moncenis. De Moncenis, to be more precise.

This name doesn't appear in the firefighters’ intervention report.

But, by going into more depth,

I discovered that he was in fact the owner of the burned cabin.

You had a very productive evening.

I read the first two chapters of Alain Lamarque's book,

Adam’s Mountain.

I couldn’t quite get into it.

- Get into it? - Right, sorry.

It didn’t really catch my interest.

Ah.

Of course.

Did you start reading it too?

I finished it.

Last night, after my discovery,

I couldn’t get any sleep.

That's offending.

I barely read the first two chapters and you just finished it.

You didn’t miss anything. It is extremely boring.

It’s the story of a boy who loves a girl who doesn’t loves him back.

She tells him right from the start, she’s very clear.

But the boy perseveres during the entire book.

It’s absurd.

It happens sometimes.

Love is a complicated feeling.

No.

He loves her. She does not.

Everything is clear from the very start.

No mystery. No enigma.

Why did you read the whole thing?

If there was no mystery to solve?

Because there was one.

I wanted to understand why Henry Francoeur had written this kind of book.

It was so different from the ones he wrote under the name of Eric Ernest.

Wait, you lost me.

Adam’s Mountain was written by Lamarque.

No. It is indisputable.

It has the same writing patterns

and the syntactical structure is identical.

It is like a fingerprint.

On the cover, it reads Lamarck,

but Adam’s Mountain

was written

by Henry Francoeur.

I still do not understand how it is considered as a motive.

But it does Astrid, it does. Francoeur wrote dime-store novels at lightning speed.

When he decided to publish his first serious book,

publishers probably laughed right in his face.

For them, he was Erik Ernest, a low-grade writer.

He would have asked Mark to be his pseudonym.

Maybe to mock literary circles.

Like Romain Gary did with his nephew,

Paul Palvovitch, who he asked to publish under the name Emile Ajar.

Except we can assume that when Francoeur wanted to come clean,

Lamarck had gotten used to be this great author and he didn’t want it to stop.

He would have killed him to keep this secret hidden

and keep on peacefully enjoying the success.

- It adds up, doesn’t it? - It’s missing a few things to back up this hypothesis.

Astrid, not that I want to doubt your analysis but the Comissaire will want concrete proof.

Not just two similar writings. - Identical. Identical writings.

- Ah, there we go! Thanks Arthur. - What is it?

I’m looking at something that you’re going to like.

Lamarck’s offshore bank account where his publishing company transfer him his royalties.

An offshore account? Like Francoeur?

Even better. The same offshore account.

Henry brought up his plan to me two years ago, I couldn’t refuse.

- Why? Money? - Not only, I did it for him.

What do you mean?

He had been writing under the pseudo Eric Ernest for years.

When he wrote a more personal book, nobody wanted to buy it.

So he came up with an idea: to publish it under my name.

And it became a classic. 5 literary prizes.

That I had already guessed.

What I want to know is what happened when he wanted to come clean.

He didn’t want to. You don’t understand.

The only thing that mattered to him was writing.

He lived like a hermit.

- That doesn’t stop one from wanting the recognition one deserves. - He didn’t care about recognition.

Not at all. It was even part of the deal.

The dinner parties, the honors, the low bows… those were for me.

He just wanted to write, to be alone. Writing was his life.

Think about it, I had no reason to kill him.

He gave me glory and recognition… he paid me well for this.

Today, I have nothing. I never wrote a sentence.

I’m screwed.

Moncenis. That was your landlord during the fire.

What happened exactly?

Francis De Moncenis. A shithead.

He bothered all the female seasonal workers who lived there. - You mean?

He had wandering hands, when it was not worst.

I don’t know what he did to Sophie but she wanted to press charges against him.

But it was the 80’s, there was no “me too” movement.

And everything stopped with the fire?

Yes.

Well, at first Henry wanted to initiate a legal procedure in the memory of Sophie.

He was crushed, at his wit’s end.

Moncenis was well connected.

Time flew by and the statute of limitations came and passed by, there was nothing left to do.

Of course, there was. Write a book to denounce.

Henry Francoeur had just done so.

Moncenis is in the database. Numerous cases for harassment, but they were all dismissed.

That fire came at the right time for Moncenis, didn’t it?

Sophie Nobel was about to press charges against him.

Where are you going with this?

Look, Francoeur was killed while in the middle of writing a book

about the fire in which Sophie Nobel perished.

It’s hard to not see a link. - You’re overstating.

We need proof before accusing people like this.

You want proof? I’m gonna find you evidence.

Yes, come in.

Oh, what do you want? I did something wrong? I missed something? I flunked the operational mode?

I do not know.

I would like to ask for your help.

So, I was able to reach Sophie Nobel’s parents. Henry Francoeur contacted them a month ago.

- Why did he call them? - He asked them plenty of questions about their daughter.

He allegedly wanted to set the record straight about her death.

Am I still overstating now?

Henry Francoeur investigated this and he wanted to make a book out of it.

- What could he have dug up 30 years later? - Maybe the fact that Sophie Nobel was assassinated.

Miss Nielsen came to see me with her research.

The intervention report has nothing to do with an official criminal report.

There is a body of consistent evidence that indicates that Sophie Nobel was already dead when the fire started.

- Okay, that changes everything. - There.

I think Francoeur was writing a book about the truth about what happened 30 years ago.

A truth that accuses Moncenis of murdering Sophie Nobel.

We sent a team at the victim’s. The concierge recognized Moncenis’ picture right away.

He was in the building a few days ago.

He would have killed Francoeur to keep him quiet?

- And to steal his tapuscript. Except that page 96 was forgotten at the crime scene.

Moncenis didn’t realize that.

Okay. And why would Francoeur wait so much time to write this testimony?

Because he only became aware of the truth recently.

I don’t know what tipped him off but he led a real investigation.

We contacted the Bourg d’Oisans fire department to know if Francoeur had gotten in touch with them.

A month ago, he filed a request to read the intervention report from the night of the fire.

He must have drawn the same conclusion as Astrid and Fournier.

That makes sense. Did you locate Moncenis?

I spoke with a colleague from the Savoy region.

Moncenis’ wife said he left for Paris yesterday

and she hasn’t heard from him since then.

Okay, look for his phone, his credit card… That guy didn’t vanish into thin air.

I’ll keep you updated. Thank you, Astrid.

Yes, goodbye. There.

Yes?

I still don’t understand the point of sharing personal information outside of their context

but I am willing to try and adapt to your neurotypical features.

So. My interest for puzzles dates back to my mother’s departure.

When she left home, she left one item behind her. One single item that my father kept.

You were really hoping to find an answer inside this box?

I did find an answer inside this box.

It was empty.

There was no reason to my mother’s departure.

She left, that was all.

Astrid, I really have to tell you something of the uttermost importance.

Yes, Nicolas?

Raph, we spotted Moncenis.

He’s in a hotel room in Montmartre. Come on guys, let’s go!

It’s going to be hard to interrogate him. Damn.

KCN. It was still inside Monceni’s hand.

It comes from Eastern Europe.

You can find that filth easily if you know how to navigate the dark web.

He killed himself with the poison that was used to kill Francoeur.

Hey! I found Francoeur’s tapuscript.

And page 96 is missing.

It looks like a real defense speech against Moncenis.

He would have killed Sophie and used fire to cover up his tracks.

Well there. The puzzle is now complete. You must be happy, Astrid.

What’s wrong?

I do not know. But something is not working right.

The pieces of the puzzle do not fit perfectly together.

He kept his socks.

The concert with dad was crazy.

You don’t like Skcus, maybe?

Skcus? It’s metal, it’s not for your age.

And I found their music a bit old-fashioned.

And it sucks.

Stop! You can’t say that. I know you have all of their albums.

You wouldn’t be jealous, would you? - No. Look, it sucks.

Look. It’s written here, sucks.

Oh, I had never seen that! It’s crazy.

It’s an ambigram, we can read it from both sides.

That’s crazy. - An ambigram…

Well, damn.

You’re a genius!

I’m calling the neighbor. I’m probably going to come back home late tonight.

- Thanks. - Sorry, baby. Everyone gets a turn.

Well, does anybody want to share something?

Me. I got a new job.

- Ah, you changed company? - No,

I’m still working at the same place but I’m not in maintenance anymore.

Thanks to all of you, I managed to talk to a colleague and

I was hired in IT. - Congrats, Max!

We’re all very, very-

Raphaëlle, good evening. - Good evening.

I’m really sorry, I don’t mean to bother you. - Take a seat.

Thank you. I came to see Astrid, but it can wait. Actually, no, it can’t wait.

Astrid, you’re free to go if you wish to.

It was not planned.

Yes, I know Astrid but… It’s an emergency.

Look, I can’t talk about it here

but I wonder if we don’t have the story backwards from the beginning. Who you know is maybe not who we think he is.

Wait, you think it’s Alain Lamarck and not Henry Francoeur hiding behind the pseudo Eric Ernest?

I talked about the investigation with the group members.

I am sorry, it is against regulations. It is totally against regulations.

- That’s the least you could say. You astound me, Astrid. - Me too, I astound myself.

I do not know if you have a good influence on me, Commander Coste.

Ah, we’ll talk about it later.

Right now, we have to go to Lamarck’s.

I think he’s playing us.

And what if he was the one who wrote everything from the start?

And if it was Francoeur, the straw man? It’s possible, isn’t it?

Technically, yes.

I recognized that it was the same writing, but it can work both ways.

An ambigram?

- Not exactly, no. - You lost me there.

But yes! Lamarck writes precise novels that aren’t very lucrative

but he could very much also be hiding behind the pseudo Eric Ernest to write mystery novels.

And to save faces, he asked his friend Francoeur to take on the part.

Yes. Of course, all of this stays between us, don’t we all agree?

Be without worry, Raphaëlle.

A secret couldn’t be better kept than in an autist’s hands.

Provided you specify that it is indeed, one.

Because sometimes, with neurotypical people, it’s not very clear.

Okay. Then, this is a secret,

very, very, secret, alright?

There you go.

Um, Astrid. We need to go right away because

we only have a small window left to legally interrogate him before it’s too late.

Let’s go?

Are you certain to need me?

Yes, of course I need you Astrid. You see things that I don’t.

Ah.

Let’s go. Thanks. Thanks.

- Goodbye. - Goodbye.

Sorry.

Commander Coste. Miss Nielsen.

You’re here just in time for a legal visit.

We have just under 34 minutes left.

- 30 minutes? You better be concise. - Concise? I know you are Eric Ernest.

- Took you some time. - You’re not denying it?

It doesn’t make me an assassin.

What’s in it for you? All of this staging? Making us believe Francoeur was writing your books?

Those books sell like hotcakes. Literally, I mean.

You can find it at the supermarket, between baby wipes and appetizers.

- So what? - So, with such a success,

you can imagine that it arouses curiosity.

Everybody wanted to know who was Eric Ernest. - It couldn’t be you, of course.

Of course not.

Henry was the perfect candidate. Discreet, invisible, always locked inside his home.

A hermit.

He wasn’t about to say some nonsense during interviews or do anything stupid in your name.

And he didn’t cost me much either.

A great whiskey bottle every once in a while, and he was happy.

Whiskey that you laced with cyanide.

Careful Commander. I could get you to court for defamation.

Don’t touch that.

Commander Coste.

You can put this typewriter under seal. It is the proof of Alain Lamarck’s culpability.

I knew right away that something was off with the tapuscript we found next to Francis De Moncenis’s body

but I did not know what it was.

And it is when I saw Alain Lamarck’s typewriter that everything fell into place.

There is a defect on the letter E on page 96.

It is a little like a fingerprint from the typewriter used to type it.

- Why two tapuscripts? - The first was stolen at Francoeur’s.

It lost page 96. The one we found in the hotel room next to Monceni’s body is a fake,

re-written by Lamarck based on page 96 to make us believe it was the original.

- He re-wrote a book in one night? - A hundred pages that he probably copied from the original.

But why would he do that?

Because Francoeur’s original depicts a whole other story of what happened 30 years ago.

A story where Sophie Nobel’s murderer and the fire culprit isn’t Moncenis.

But Alain Lamarck.

What are you basing that on?

Why else make a fake tapuscript? Because the first one was accusing him.

Wait, Raph, that’s not enough. We’ll need a confession.

I can get it easily. I know his weak spot.

What is it? Pride?

Sophie Nobel.

The great love from the legend. There.

I read your book, you know. Adam’s mountain.

A story about a passionate and unrequited love that drives a man to madness.

- Did you like it? - Not very much, to be honest.

And Henry Francoeur probably didn’t either.

Maybe that’s what tipped him off and drove him to investigate what really happened 30 years ago.

This picture he had all this time, he started to see it under a new light.

He wondered if it wasn’t depicting another story.

Your hand, like a claw onto Sophie’s shoulder.

That’s absurd.

All we have to do is read the tapuscript we found next to Monceni’s body

and to replace his name by yours to understand what happened.

I don’t know what you’re talking about.

I’m talking about the fact that you killed Sophie Nobel.

And to cover your murder up, you set the cabin on fire.

Your victim’s body carbonized, your rival hurt and disfigured… The perfect crime.

You were never worried about that

and you kept Henry Francoeur under your grip until he found out

the truth and decided to write a book about it and to publish it.

That’s a good story. You should write mystery novels, Commander.

You already lost the game, Mister Lamarck.

It’s going to be hard to explain how a tapuscript typed with your typewriter turned up at a murder scene.

- Sophie Nobel, you loved her, didn’t you? - Yes.

I loved her like we all love at that age. We think it’s forever.

But she loved Henry Francoeur.

So you took by force what she refused to give you.

You raped her and you murdered her so she would shut up.

Something eludes me.

How did you know Henry Francoeur was writing a book against you?

That’s quite eccentric. I eat regularly with Paname publisher in chief.

Right away, he told me about it, way too proud to hold his tongue.

He had paid a fortune for Eric Ernest’s next book.

You’d think of course I was surprised!

I’m Eric Ernest.

You stole the manuscript, but you forgot page 96 on the scene.

Without this page, we would never have gone back to you.

That’s the difference with your mystery novels. You don’t control every aspect.

Yes, I confess I was upset.

After your first visit, I checked into the manuscript and indeed, page 96 was missing.

My plan was at risk of failing because of a careless mistake.

I found a solution, I had to make stuff up, to improvise. Surprise the reader.

That’s when you thought of accusing Moncenis instead of you.

Exactly. We can’t hide anything from you.

I typed the manuscript during the night, changing the details accusing me

and improving Henry’s disastrous style of course! There was work to do.

The rest was a child’s play,

making Moncenis come to Paris telling him Henry was going to accuse him.

Making him drink the cyanide and wipe off everything,

all traces off the crime scene. The work abc’s.

The next Eric Ernest will be my biggest success,

based on true facts, written by a murderer.

People will pounce on it.

You and your colleague who is a little…

are going to become incredible mystery novel characters,

sensational,

stars.

You’re freaking crazy

and you’re going to spend the rest of your life in jail.

Do you think we are mystery novel characters?

Of course not! Lamarck’s a megalomaniac.

Yesterday evening, you said you had something important to tell me.

Yes.

I found your mother, Astrid.

Ah, that was it.

I was scared, I thought it was something important.

It is pretty important.

No. At least, I - I do not think so.

Okay. I get it. You blame her,

it’s very understandable, it’s a very natural reaction.

No, I cannot blame her because I never knew her.

Precisely. Don’t you want to get to know her?

To know why she left? To choose to blame her or to forgive her?

To get all of your anger out?

It might do you some good.

I do not have any anger inside me, Commander Coste.

And I am very sorry, but I do not see how that would be useful.

This woman left my life over 30 years ago, I do not see any reason to change that now.

It is common sense.

And congratulations again on Francoeur’s investigation, Commander Coste.

Without you, we would never have understood that we were reading the story backwards.

Goodbye.