MISSING
Smile, you are in VILLEFRANCHE
I think I've seen her before.
Her name is Sandra Chevrier.
She was a rookie district nurse.
It's a shame, I liked her.
So...
the eyes were pecked out by these damn crows.
The rest is a human's work.
Five stabs with a fine blade.
There's blood over there. She was carried here...
It happened at least ten hours ago.
Probably last night.
This place is so remote.
What the hell was she doing here?
-Teddy Bear? -Yeah?
Take this.
What?
This thing here...
Infinity...
It didn't bring her luck.
Yeah, I know it's weird. I've seen this before.
It must be the iron oxide in the soil.
The birds are going crazy...
The trees are bleeding...
It's going to be a shitty new year.
WELCOME TO VILLEFRANCHE
BLACK SPOT
Shut the fuck up! I'm trying to study!
Major!
There's a protest in front of the sawmill.
It's shutting down in two days. Could go sour.
Hermann?
Can you go check on it?
-Before it escalates? -Yeah.
How was it?
A woman that was stabbed and hanged.
OK. By the way, the new district attorney had a problem with his car.
Good. I had no idea about what brings him here.
-What's this? -So, well...
The new district attorney: Frank Siriani.
André found him on the roadside,
so he towed him back here in his trailer.
So, he's not...
No, he's sleeping.
So you're allergic to bees?
Like most insects...
and the sun, dust mites, pollen,
and nuts too...
It must spice up your life a bit.
I could've died there...
It's not easy to get to Villefranche.
After a three-hour drive, my car just stopped
less than a mile from here.
And I couldn't get a signal on my GPS!
We're in a dead zone.
No mobile signal, no GPS...
Even microwaves can get a bit fickle.
Sir, we usually deal with prosecutors by phone,
so what brings you here?
I've just been given all your cases,
and when I saw the pile on my desk,
I just had to come over to check it out.
It's a small town like any other.
Oh yeah?
So can you tell me why your homicide rate
is six times the national average?
I've only got three gendarmes.
The coroner is the local doctor.
We're in the middle of this huge forest
with freezing winters and scorching summers,
but everything's fine.
The 37 murder cases in my trunk beg to differ.
38:
we found a body this morning.
So, this is Adjutant Ferrandis.
He's the district attorney, he came over
to see how we work.
Camille Laugier. She's studying for her OPJ exam.
And Hermann, our Chief Adjutant.
Hello.
What do we have on Sandra Chevrier?
Nothing.
Single, no friends.
I didn't find anything interesting at her place.
We know that guy.
Yes, it's Dimitri.
Who's he?
Her brother. They grew up together in a foster home.
She'd come here to pick him up. He's into drugs...
Always up to no good.
Should we go check on him?
I knew it!
I knew it! This thing rang a bell.
Remember? Five years ago,
we saved a guy who'd hanged himself from the same tree!
See this? These glasses here,
carved in the bark.
No. I believe it's...
the infinity symbol in mathematics.
That's a pair of glasses.
It's Bruno Winkler.
His parents live nearby.
-Do you have the address? -Yes...
Well...
while my car's getting fixed,
and with another 37 cases to deal with,
we'll go check this out now.
We'll use your car, Major.
So what do you plan to do?
Usually, what I do is I ring the bell.
What are you doing here?
This is horrible.
Of course we knew Sandra Chevrier,
she was his nurse.
She was here last night to care for Bruno...
Had she been doing that for a while?
She started out two weeks ago.
Bruno liked her.
He's been like this
for the past five years.
His brain suffered from oxygen deprivation.
The doctors don't know why he's still alive.
But we haven't lost hope...
He can hear you, you know.
We don't know that, Mathilde.
Nobody knows.
The body was hanging from the same tree your son had picked.
Do you know if they...
Don't touch this!
Don't worry, I used to have the same one.
A mishap caused by a cashew nut.
But why is it that last night, between 9PM and 1AM,
it didn't record anything?
It looks like...
there aren't any night recordings.
I don't know what to tell you...
It was the nurse who used these machines.
Do you know why your son tried to commit suicide 5 years ago?
No.
He worked at the sawmill, we rarely saw him.
We never saw it coming.
But...
now we'll never abandon him again.
It's a just a reflex.
Happens from time to time.
They scared the shit out of me...
I noticed.
-And did you notice the tattoo? -Yeah.
Did you know that in Dante's Divine Comedy,
those who committed suicide were turned into a tree
in the Seventh Circle of Hell.
Oh yeah?
Hopefully, Sandra's brother will be more helpful than Dante.
We can drop you off at the gendarmerie.
Are you kidding? Let's keep going.
Villefranche has been delivering on its promises so far.
I bet this place isn't advertised to tourists.
Same problems here as everywhere else.
We'll go for the usual approach.
Dimitri! It's Major Weiss!
-Don't stand there. -Why is that?
-And what's the "usual approach"? -Don't stay there!
Dimitri!
Are you OK?
Tilt your head forward.
Not backwards! You're going like this...
Aren't you tired of all your bullshit, Dimitri?
Goddammit, man,
no need to rub it in!
Call my sister...
We hadn't seen each other in a month.
We had an argument,
she wanted me to go clean.
How did that work out?
Where are the drugs? In the toilet?
-Where were you last night? -Here.
I can't go anywhere with that ride of mine.
Did Sandra ever mention Bruno Winkler?
One of her patients.
You know him?
Someone killed her,
and then hanged her from a tree,
this is no joke.
Dimitri?
What happened?
He raped her! That's what happened!
-What are your saying? -Five years ago...
Sandra and me,
we had a summer job at the sawmill.
Winkler was our manager.
One night,
after work,
I found her in a corner, she was shaking...
You never told anyone?
She lodged a complaint with the prosecutor,
that's why he tried to kill himself.
Why is there no trace of that complaint?
I don't know... But it was him...
Winkler did it...
-Dimitri… -He's the one who did it, goddammit!
He was looking for revenge!
That's why he came back!
That's great.
Thanks.
Well...
the rape was indeed reported in July 2011.
But there's no evidence,
and with Winkler in a coma, the case was closed.
They didn't believe her.
Or someone didn't want the Steiners' name tarnished.
The Steiners?
The mayor's family.
He owns the sawmill and half the town.
Why would she want to care for him?
Revenge, perhaps?
All the recordings that were erased
had to contain something.
She's the one who died,
not that Sleeping Rapist guy...
Hermann called. I just heard "mess", "sawmill", and "ASAP".
So, are we done?
-Are you coming? -No.
I've had enough for today.
Will you call me to keep me posted?
Yeah, right.
NO SHUTDOWN
How did they hang this up there?
They used a bow.
We don't want you here!
Bitch!
Fucking assholes!
Assholes!
Leave us alone!
We don't want you around.
DON'T TOUCH OUR SAWMILL
Assholes!
Calm down! Calm down!
Calm down! Easy now!
Can you please be reasonable?
Easy! Everybody calm down!
You're doing OK?
Yeah, yeah. We just need to keep cool.
Get lost!
Goddammit Victor!
Do that again and I'll whup your ass!
Got it?
Fucking asshole...
It's OK. I got this. The mayor's over there.
-Get lost! -Assholes!
-Please... -This sawmill's a symbol, Steiner,
you can't shut it down.
What's in it for you anyway?
I get why you're all angry, OK?
I get it. But you've got to understand:
the things I do, I do them for you, to save my town.
Bullshit!
Your town? It ain't the Middle Ages anymore!
I'm just trying to get you out of the Dark Age!
Scumbag!
Get out of here!
Calm down!
Get the fuck out of here!
-Calm down! -You calm down!
We can't let them push us around!
No! Never!
Never!
They blocked today's orders. What a waste!
I asked the prefect for backup. Where are they?
Should've called me. I can talk to them.
And that's not all...
Steiner! Bourgeois pig!
There you go.
Cora.
-Hi Mom. -Enough is enough.
I'm sick and tired of this.
GMO's, slaughter houses...
-You're going to end up at the station. -Cool,
they have excellent room service.
Rudy,
I was counting on you...
Sorry Mrs Weiss, I wanted to go to the movies...
I knew you'd defend your BFF, the mayor.
You're on the wrong side.
You're the only one who doesn't realize that.
So, what do we do now?
We take everybody in.
That's great.
Come on.
They really think I wanted to shut it down?
There's no more money in timber. It's over!
-We need to move forward. -Don't take it on me,
you did want to it shut down.
Sorry. I know it's not your fault, but...
I didn't need the extra stress, there's already...
Marion will come back.
Runaways are always found, even after six months.
We notified the whole region...
I know.
A body was found this morning,
in the woods.
It's linked to a rape that happened here five years ago.
Here?
You could help me with the company records.
Without a judge's warrant, no.
We'll never get one thanks to your father's friends.
Stop it. You know the law as well as I do.
That girl was raped in your sawmill,
you owe it to her, don't you think?
Something to be ashamed of?
Of course not. And I thought
we kept our business and personal lives apart.
Her name was Sandra Chevrier, just in case you're interested...
Unlike me, she won't come back.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
-And... -Ten.
I warned you! I can't get drunk. It's my build.
You'll have to wait for my autopsy to find out.
It's pretty crowded tonight.
Yeah, the first drink is free for the former sawmill workers.
Hey you look like someone
who just had an argument with the mayor.
Not at all.
Yeah, you'd better stop flirting with him,
it'll only get you in trouble.
A beer, please.
You dated for a year in high-school 20 years ago!
You gotta move on, goddammit!
If I were you,
I'd pick one of these guys
to go frolic behind some bushes.
-I'm just saying. -Come on, stop it.
It's been over between us for a while.
-Oh yeah? -Hey, did you hear that?
Hey, it's Major Weiss!
How are you?
Was it nice licking the mayor's boots?
Come on, be nice. I don't want to work tonight.
Well, I'd love to work,
but now I can't!
I gave 18 years of my life to that sawmill.
Yeah, but causing trouble won't help.
What are you gonna do with eight fingers?
Calm down, Pierrot, that's enough.
I lost my fingers in a hunting accident,
because of an angry wild boar.
Its head is now in my living room.
Yours would look nice next to his.
-Say that again? -You know you want to do it.
I'll teach you, bitch!
You're still here?
I've underestimated the scope of my mechanical problems...
I was told I could find a room here.
Sabine isn't a tourist type of person.
When you see her wielding her cattle prod...
Any news about the nurse?
Nothing yet.
We don't know what she was doing in the woods.
The mayor won't cooperate.
But I heard you two were close...
It's complicated.
I'm here to help.
No, you're being punished.
I did my research.
You must've really messed up to be sent to Villefranche.
Let's say my bosses and I had diverging viewpoints.
I need to go.
Any cases to solve?
Good luck for tonight.
You came back…
So...
let's not fight again...
Cora...
nice stunt you pulled off earlier.
We're planning emergency proceedings against the shutdown.
That's it.
Well, the fun isn't over then...
That's funny.
MISSING Since December 4, 2015
MARION STEINER, 18
Are you just trying to annoy Bertrand?
It's his fault Marion left...
It's all his fault.
It's not that simple.
My best friend disappeared. I miss her,
that's simple enough.
Well, good night then...
She'll be early for her training.
She does that to avoid me.
So she's skipping breakfast.
-Are you OK? -No.
I had a rough night, that hanging business got to me.
I dreamed that Winkler was lying down next to me,
it just filled me with dread.
Your vulnerable side is showing.
Very funny.
We're just not used to our suspects being comatose...
Did you buy some cheese?
We'll have to check back on the parents,
something's off about them.
Why is that?
Their son has been a vegetable for five years,
and the girl who caused it just turns up one day...
What would you have done?
You search their home, I'll catch up.
This is utter nonsense...
We didn't do anything to her...
We didn't even know her before she turned up
and the story about the rape is ridiculous.
Where were you two nights ago?
Right here. I couldn't leave Bruno alone.
I didn't find anything in the bedroom...
Are you OK?
Yeah...
He reminds me of my wife towards the end.
She was with me and yet...
she wasn't there.
How can they be doing this for five years?
-If it happens to me... -I'll shoot you in the head.
To sum up, you don't have an alibi.
My son never raped anyone...
and he hates it when people touch his stuff!
-Teddy Bear? -Yeah?
Come here.
I'll be right back.
What do we have here?
Check out the hands.
What's this?
Wait for it, there's more...
What's going on?
What do you mean my car won't start?
How should I know? I'm no mechanic.
Apparently, they had to take it apart...
Then again, it's expected with foreign cars.
It's a French car.
Well, it's not from around here...
Your files are being taken care of. It'll take a while.
So here are the keys to the "Royal Suite".
I'm not sure I can survive another night here.
Watch your mouth.
STEINER Road and Telecom Network
Dimitri?
Look at this.
I think that's what she was looking for
when she got killed.
Do you know why?
I don't know why it was there...
She must have buried it years ago.
He was here last night...
-Who? -Winkler...
Dimitri... stop it. He's in a coma.
Focus on the pictures.
I swear he was here, goddammit,
he was behind the trees... watching me!
Did you call the number I gave you?
You can't go on like this.
You got to get some help.
Don't leave me alone. He'll be back...
He's gonna kill me!
Calm down now.
You need to get better.
If you don't do it for me, do it for your sister.
Do you understand?
All right.
Wait a minute, you saw his feet,
and the machines don't work at night...
I've checked it. He's been a vegetable for five years.
He won't go out for a midnight jog.
No, there's something going on in this house.
But these pics won't help much.
I'd rough the Winklers' feathers up!
You seem tense...
-I need to find you a man! -Hermann.
You need to find other summer interns.
Maybe they'll remember what happened at the sawmill.
You mean without asking the Steiners.
Without asking the Steiners.
She's going back there?
I thought it was all over?
No... It got worse since Marion went missing.
How does she not get scared shitless?
Don't worry,
I think she's scared every second of every minute.
So now you're following me?
I need to know what you're looking for.
I'm checking out stuff for work.
Right. Alone in the middle of the night? No...
What's this?
Is it Marion?
-What? -You're looking for her?
If you know something, tell me.
-I'm trying to help! -You're not helping!
Is she here? Is that it?
You know something?
No, you don't... which is a good thing,
if she's here, then she's doomed.
For fuck's sake...
Do not... touch him.
What's going on here?
I'm doing what I need to do.
For my son.
You're the one who dragged him out here?
Like I do every night.
He needs this.
-You need to get him back in. -No.
Leave him...
Your son's dying. You need to call a doctor...
Doctors don't know anything!
It's the local soil that keeps him alive, not your machines!
What are you saying?
He's right, Mathilde.
We're crazy to keep this up.
-We said we'd never abandon him. -I know.
But what's the point?
I can't stand seeing him like this.
We sacrificed everything to bring him here.
We can't live like that,
what's the point of all this?
Look at him.
We need to let him go...
Don't you say this. Please.
We can't go on living like this...
He was lying naked in the middle of their yard...
I couldn't help but feel pity for him.
I've already been butt-naked in my own yard...
That's only going to make my nightmares worse.
How about a drink?
-What? -Want some?
No, it's too early.
Well, it is already noon somewhere!
What about the sawmill interns?
I found three of them.
They all heard about the rape,
but they say Winkler never said or did anything wrong.
Sandra Chevrier and Bruno Winkler had the same tattoo.
-The glasses. -Were they together?
No, why would she report a rape if they were together?
There is no evidence of a rape...
She could've simply lied to everyone.
Then she got the tattoo removed,
-for whatever reason... -She did report it.
Something happened at the sawmill...
but Bertrand won't let us go through his stuff.
Perhaps you didn't ask him nicely...
You want to seize all my records?
It's purely professional.
Frank Siriani.
-I'm the new District... -I know.
I imagine this is all your idea. Charming.
I still have a few friends at the courthouse and...
a few arms to twist...
Too bad. We destroyed
all the documents ahead of the sale.
-You didn't, did you? -I did.
But I did keep
all the stuff about Sandra Chevrier's internship.
There you go.
I was going to send it to you, but you bring in the big guns...
You should find this interesting.
Just before his suicide attempt, Bruno Winkler had requested
drug tests for the workers,
and five of them tested positive.
-Were you aware of that? -No,
I hadn't taken over the management yet.
It wasn't worth bothering the District Attorney.
No need to worry about me,
it's always a pleasure, an opportunity to meet you...
All right. For me too, but...
I would've rather invited you for lunch.
It's just a question of habit, you'll see...
Bertrand, should we go?
Coming.
-Hello. -Hi...
Villefranche hasn't revealed all of its secrets yet.
Who was she?
Léa Steiner,
the mayor's wife.
Dimitri tested positive of course...
She accused Winkler of raping her to cover for him...
She had to choose between her brother and her man.
It explains her lie, but not her murder.
Five years of silence is a long time, believe me...
that's usually when people get killed.
She came back to dig up the box.
Because she was about to talk...
and to abandon her brother...
Dimitri?
He's here!
Fuck... What did you do? Hey, Dimitri?
Call the fire department!
Sorry Major, I didn't call the right number...
Teddy Bear to Hermann...
I didn't want to kill her...
I just meant to surprise her,
I stopped using for her,
I was so proud!
I...
And then I saw her leaving Winkler's house...
she still loved him!
She even went back to their tree!
And you followed her all the way to the tree?
Come on! Talk to me!
I wanted to tell her to forget about the whole thing...
But she wanted to talk...
to get rid of me,
to be free...
I want to be free too, Major...
Hey!
Come on! Can you hear me?
Stay with me.
Come on Dimitri! Teddy Bear!
Don't you die on me! Fuck!
Stay with me! Can you hear me?
Dammit, I'm losing him!
What's going on?
It's over,
it's shutting down tonight.
What about the emergency proceedings?
Jérôme never lodged them...
He's in the hospital. He got beaten up.
Has it been dealt with?
There won't be any surprises tonight...
My arguments changed their mind...
Yeah. Leave out the details.
What about the demolition permit?
The judge says it's all good,
but that new district attorney...
worries him.
No big deal.
Well, then...
Can I have a beer, please?
-He's still here? -Well...
Thanks.
"At the midpoint on the journey of life, I found myself in a dark forest."
Stop it already with Dante. Seriously.
I just noticed there's no church in Villefranche.
We tried to build one,
in the 15th century.
The stones were supposed to arrive by boat,
and there was a storm, they sank. End of story.
The conclusion is:
we're alone.
Thanks...
Your car is fixed. I called them myself.
Turns out, I decided to stay here for a while.
There's a lot of bees around here,
and nuts.
Perhaps,
but you've convinced me there's something special
about Villefranche.
I did some research on you too...
You were born in Villefranche,
and you've always stayed here,
which is rare for a gendarme.
And I stumbled upon something else.
MISSING GIRL LAURÈNE WEISS FOUND ALIVE
20 years ago, you too got lost in the dark forest.
It took them three days to find you...
Two of your fingers were missing.
It seems you were luckier
than the mayor's daughter.
Subtitles: Thomas ISACKSON