Give this to mademoiselle isabel. Tell her it is the key to the heart.
Do you understand? The key to the heart.
Mademoiselle, come quickly. It's monsieur ashcroft,
he's been stabbed.
Andre, call the police!
- It's from your father. - From my father?
This came with it.
Dear syd, finally decided to close down the house in provence.
I know how fascinated you've always been with your dear grandmother.
Well, guess what? I found her trunk in the attic.
This belonged to isabel.
She ran away from home when she was fourteen, ended up in paris...
where she became a singer and a can-can dancer in the moulin rouge.
The moulin rouge? So are you going to open it or what?
She was the belle of paris, then she was arrested.
- Arrested? - For what?
Stealing a locket.
What's this? Oh my god. Isabel's diary.
What?
I knew it. Isabel didn't take that locket.
We're going to paris, Nigel, immediately.
I can't go to paris. My... my...
my lease is up next week and i've got to find an apartment.
- I could find it for you. - Claudia, i appreciate the offer, but...
look, i know this really great broker, brad. We're very tight.
Nigel?
- How tight? - Tight.
That tight? Well, i know when you say tight, you're not fooling around.
- nigel? - Well of course you are fooling around...
that's the whole thing about tight...
- what... what i meant was... - Nigel...
- yes? - You can count on me.
- Can i? Can i really? - nigel!
- One bedroom, large, no small spaces. - Large spaces.
- H igh-rise. - Woosh...
- with a view. - Got to have a view.
And above all, claudia, modern.
I live with old, i lived with quaint, i live with charming everyday with...
nigel!
With... argh!
The locket was a gift from her lover. H is family was incensed and wanted it back.
She was convinced a girl at the club had stolen it.
- Why? - The girl was in love with the same guy.
Who was the girl?
A simone deguerre. We have to find that locket and a clear isabel's name, Nigel.
Yes, i'd like to speak to brad h orowitz, in the ex ecutive apartment division.
What do you mean he doesn't work there any more? Well, where did he go to?
Pizza express is not a real estate agency.
Oh. You know that... fine.
There are at least twelve simone deguerre's in paris.
But only one living on the street where the moulin rouge is.
- this has got to be her place. - how do we get inside?
Don't worry, we'll think of something.
Bonjour, mademoiselle.
Can i help you?
So much for my french. We're music historians researching parisien chanteuses.
We are interested in speaking with simone deguerre. Does she live here?
Yeah, she's my grandmother.
You have a lovely home here.
N ana? These are two...
i am simone deguerre. C ome closer.
Just the englishman.
Oh, you have beautiful eyes. I adore the english.
I knew an englishman once. H e was aristocrat and a secret agent.
He gave his life for his country and for ours.
Yes, well, uh...
miss deguerre, we're here to talk about...
isabel!
You called me isabel. Why?
You look so much like someone i once knew... a dear friend. H er name was isabel.
- H er lover was the englishman - phillip. - Isabel was my grandmother.
- I'm here to solve an old mystery. - Mystery?
I wanted to find out what happened to the locket isabel was accused of stealing.
- Do you remember anything at all? - No.
I have isabel's diary. She seemed to think you knew what happened to it.
I was just a girl. How could i know about anything?
Were you in love with phillip?
Yes, of course. Every girl at the club loved phillip.
Every woman in montmartre loved him. I'm sorry, but i cannot help you.
I'm tired now. Please... leave me now.
Isabel's lover was phillip ashcroft. H e was a spy.
Churchill sent him to moscow to smuggle a tiara back to london.
The c zarina's tiara, known as the h eart of europe.
Stalin offered it to finance the allies if war broke out...
and ashcroft was murdered in paris, it was assumed, by enemy agents.
The tiara was never found.
What if he managed to hide it before he was killed?
Phillip told isabel the locket was the key to the heart.
Why would he say the heart instead of his heart?
H eart was a clue and the locket is the key.
We've got to get that locket.
Well, if simone was involved, it'll be impossible to get her to talk.
- You've got that right. - U nless someone were to soften her up.
- Why don't i like the way this is going? - She loves the english.
- She's old enough to being my... - it's the only way.
- Absolutely not. - There's no choice, Nigel.
Not this time, syd.
Oh. Oh... well... um, your visit upset n ana.
Really? Maybe i should come back later.
Oh, no, no. She is very eager to see you. She loves...
- the english. - The english.
They seem to, um, energise her.
- Really? - U h-huh. C ome in.
She'll be with you in a moment.
There's no need for you to, uh, leave.
I have been expecting you.
- For me? - Yes.
Merci, Nigel.
- I knew you would come back. - You did?
I have always had an influence on men.
It is sometimes a burden, sometimes, a blessing.
You will not be a burden.
Ticklish. I've always been that way, i don't know why. Even when my mother...
- i was... wondering... if we could talk. - Yes, talk to me in that lovely english voice.
When phillip spoke, every word sang a sweet song.
Tell me about phillip.
Phillip hid something in the locket he gave to isabel...
a clue to the tiara he brought back from russia.
- H e was killed for that tiara. - I had no idea.
- H e gave his life protecting the tiara. - Oh, phillip was so very brave.
Few people know how brave he was.
If we had the locket, we would find the tiara...
and the whole world would know what a hero phillip ashcroft was.
I saw something that night. I saw babbette steal isabel's locket.
Babbette?
She was a chorus girl from alsace.
I was at the club late one night, sewing my costume.
I saw babbette. She should not have been there. I followed her.
Babbette was inside going through isabel's dressing table.
- I saw her find the locket and take it. - Did you tell the police?
Of course i told them!
The police didn't want to know what i saw.
They just were after isabel.
I never forgot her. I watched babbette, i watched her...
waste her wretched life one day at a time.
For years, she borrowed money from a gangster named rocher.
She had to give him everything she had to pay him back.
Everything, the locket, everything... including her body.
- Is she still alive? - No...
they say she was murdered.
So?
According to simone, babbette gave the locket to a gangster named rocher...
who bought the club in the '60s at the end of her career.
- Why did she give him the locket? - She owed him money.
When she gave him everything she had to pay him back and it wasn't enough...
- h e's having auditions today. - H e has them every day.
Simone says this is his way of getting women to perform for free.
Why don't you just make him an offer?
Because then he'll think the locket's worth something. H e'll never sell it.
We'll have to take it. It was stolen from isabel.
We'll just have to go through the club.
- You're determined to do this? - C ompletely.
I have an idea.
- I hate this idea. - Auditions are the perfect cover.
- mademoiselle? - H ello.
- Guy rocher. And you are? - Sydney fo x.
- Of course you are. enchante. - She's here for the audition, mate.
Sept, huit...
- tony torquet. I represent miss fo x. - A manager?
I should have guessed from the shoes.
- You sing, of course. - Like an angel, mate.
- She will go number two, uh? - Yeah.
Louis will take care of you... and if you do well, so shall i.
I hate this idea.
That must be rocher's office up there. I just need a little time.
- What is she singing? - What's she singing?
What song will the lady be performing for our discerning clientele?
- Do you know frere jacques? - frere jacques?
N 'sync?
- You go second. - Second?
Actually, miss fo x usually appears later on in the bill. It...
it... creates a larger sense of mystery and expectation, a certain je ne sais quou...
with a touch of joix de vive produces...
- you'll go second. - Right.
All right, hold that pose, hold it... good.
Nigel, how's it going?
Incredible. Who would have thought you could use a bowling pin and a dog collar...
- in such a unique kind of... - Nigel, the time.
How are we doing on time?
Not good.
Thank you, gentlemen. Such flair, such innovation, such a natural talent.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, a very special event...
all the way from across the atlantic and, uh, god bless america...
the lovely, the talented, the very fo xy, miss sydney the fo x.
- What do i do now? - I don't know.
You're my manager. You're supposed to know.
Wrong song, mate. Wrong song.
- It's frere jacques? - Well it's the french frere jacques, yes.
But why would she be singing a nursery rhyme?
- I don't understand. - The british frere jacques.
What?
The techno, house, acid jazz, industrial disco, heavy metal...
top ten in the charts for sixteen weeks hit.
Frere jacques.
My god son, where have you been? In a cave?
I don't know what you're up to, tony. But you have one number to figure it out...
and then i'm going to figure you out. Do we understand each other?
Yes, very much.
I bought us some more time.
- H e treats himself well. - H mmm.
Nigel...
- look. I knew we'd find it. - Never a doubt in my mind.
My god, simone looks remarkably like babbette.
Take that with us. We'll figure it out later.
Time to try another door.
Is it just the locket you have taken or is there more?
It's just the locket. It was stolen from my own grandmother by her.
- I'm sure the police will be fascinated. - We don't need the police, do we?
I mean, when am i on? I'd love to show you what i can do.
I think you have done enough performing for one day.
Oh, but you haven't seen me tap dance.
I do a great number called shuffling off to buffalo.
It's a killer!
Guards, be quick!
Nigel, the church. Quick, inside.
- Father, we need your help. - That's evident, my daughter.
We're lost.
Perhaps you'd care to seek divine forgiveness, confess your sins.
- No, no, it's not that. It's... - a great idea.
Good. Who'll go first?
- I will! - I will!
What is it you wish to confess, my child?
Gosh... where to start?
- From the beginning. - Actually, there was this one time...
in the eighth grade in the art supplies room at school.
H is name was dave forinash.
Then there was bradley epstein. Oooh, that was a mistake.
Bobby ryan, richard stoltz, denis mcevoy...
then gérard, paolo, grant. Jimmy... johnny... jimmy. H is brother john.
And this is all still when you were a sophomore?
Oh, yeah, yeah, we haven't reached spring break yet.
C ome on, let's go.
You know, i really should get going, father.
This has been good for me, thank you.
There are men out there, men i'd rather not get involved with.
Now, this is a good start.
Actually, i'd... i'd like to ask you a really big favour.
A favour?
Thanks.
H i, i'm calling about the apartment.
What you mean it's rented? It can't be rented. It's perfect!
Then why is it still in the newspaper?
So if... if simone was babbette, does that mean she stole the locket?
- That's what isabel thought. - Well, why would she tell us anything?
I mean the only reason we found the locket is because she told us about rocher.
- Maybe she wanted us to find it. - Guilt?
There is no back to this locket.
I wonder if claudia's found me an apartment yet.
Well, if it was a 7-day ad, then you shouldn't have rented it until the last day...
so people like me don't get screwed!
- Ancient studies. - Claudia, what's wrong?
Wrong? No, um, no... nothing's wrong. Everything's really... really... really...
great.
- How is the search going? - Didn't i just say everything was great?
Great. Brad's pulling through then, is he?
U m, actually, brad's moved into... more... sort of... um... retail... kind of spaces.
- So who are you working with? - U m... basil.
- Basil? - Basil... um... oregano.
- Basil oregano? - Yeah, he specialises in kitchens.
I'm not a big kitchens person...
i'd feel a lot more comfortable if you were working with, say, high ceilings.
Look, i've got to go right now. Everything's under control, take care, bye.
Everything all right?
Claudia is working with someone or something called basil oregano...
- specialises in kitchens. - Nigel.
What does it mean?
I don't have a clue. But i'm sure i know someone who might.
- You recognise it, don't you? - Oh, oui.
- Does any of this mean anything to you? - What is this?
It's the clue that phillip left inside the locket, it could lead us to the tiara.
The tiara he gave his life protecting, simone.
I'm afraid i... i don't know what any of this means.
Does this mean anything to you?
- I've never seen that before. - You signed it babbette. Why?
This photo is a fake!
You're babbette, aren't you? You're the woman in your story.
- No. - Why did you tell us about babbette?
Because i'm a stupid, old woman.
Get out of my house, now!
I didn't mean to upset her.
I know. There is a very famous cemetery here in paris, père la chaise.
- La chaise? - Uh-huh.
The chair.
Isn't that where a lot of famous people are buried - balzac, chopin?
Yeah, and jim morrison.
These numbers could be a location inside the cemetery.
Maybe.
The cemetery is laid out in quadrangles, a, b, c, d - like the legs of a chair.
What is it, girl? Why are you staring at me?
- I am wondering who you are. - I am who i am.
Well, then, you're a woman who's been hiding the truth for too long.
- Stopped talking so foolishly. - This isn't foolish.
You need to talk about what happened. You need to be honest.
- I told them everything. - Oh no, you didn't. You lied.
You're going to die with lies in your heart.
According to this map, a-3-17 should be on chemin leger.
Some of these mausoleums are bigger than some apartments i've lived in.
Not really enough room for two in there, is there?
There is room for twenty.
- What's wrong? - I thought i heard something.
Don't start hearing things, syd, not in a cemetery.
Okay, got to find a triangle. The heart is in a triangle.
There's our triangle.
Looks like it's been pulled out before.
The heart of europe.
My god, sydney, it's fantastic.
Ivan the great had it made for his wife.
It must be worth a fortune.
I was curious why you wanted the locket.
This belongs to the russian people.
H ave you ever been to a russian museum, sydney? Full of french art. Go figure.
Drop the guns or i'll break his neck.
Drop him or i put a bullet through tony's head.
Sydney? H ello?
I'm sorry i did not have a chance to see you on stage.
Sorry about your luck.
Perhaps... you could dance now?
I don't think so. Lighting sucks.
Put them in.
Put us in? In where?
- all right, i got it. - you got it?
- I've got it. - Don't drop it.
I am not going to drop it.
What was that? Did you drop it? You dropped it, didn't you, nigel?
You don't have to be so negative. You know, you can be very negative sometimes.
- I got it. - Good, now turn it on.
Why is it men always want to be on top?
Sydney, if we don't get out of here, we're going to suffocate, aren't we?
- We'll get out of here. - How?
I have no idea.
In a cemetery. Shameful.
C ome on.
I'm making progress. I've almost got my hands free.
Sydney, i don't know how to tell you this, but...
- what? - I seem to have a little problem...
you went three times in an hour before you got here.
No, it's not that, although it is in the same area. It's just... uh...
what?
You know how you lose the feeling in your foot when the circulation gets cut off?
You've got to be kidding.
Oh, i wouldn't be kidding about something like this. If you could just...
i'm not massaging the feeling back!
No, no, no, i just mean shift into another position.
- Okay, fine. - Ooohhh!
- What now? - You kneed me.
- Oh good, the feeling's back. - Oh, i'm eternally grateful.
C ome on... now...
- should we yell or something? - No one would hear us.
Yes, it wouldn't make any difference, would it?
- My hands are free. - Good. Push.
H arder. H arder.
- It's not moving. - It's not moving.
- We're going to die in here. - Probably.
You're supposed to be the encouraging one! You're supposed to say things like...
it's going to be all right, nigel. We're going to find a way out, nigel.
Nigel, it's going to be okay. Nigel, we're going to get out of here.
Not convincing!
No t convincing!
You're using up all the o xygen.
Well, oh my god, does it really matter sydney? Does it really matter?
Now would be the time to yell. H elp!
- help! Open up! - help! Help!
Help, quick, please, we're trapped!
- H ello? - Please help us!
Push harder, nigel. Move the lid. Move it.
C ome on.
- See, Nigel? There's always a way out. - Oh my god, they are alive.
- What are you doing there? - Looking for jim morrison.
I thought i saw some people following you when you left the apartment.
Are you alright?
We'll live. Nigel could do with a little massage, though.
Where fine, just fine, every bit of us, ex cept rocher got the tiara.
You must get it before rocher calls gerard.
Gerard?
- The man he sells things to. - H is fence?
Exactement. Everyone in... knew gerard.
Where do we find gerard?
No one know where he live. H e will come to rocher.
- Thank you, simone. - Isabel... call me babbette.
Where the hell is gerard? H e said three o'clock.
Diamonds and rubies. For this, he must pay a fortune.
Make sure it is gerard.
All right, who wants to dance?
Hope you all enjoyed the show.
Isabel and phillip loved each other so strongly, their love would light up a room.
I was young and jealous.
I took the locket not to hurt isabel, but because i loved phillip.
When he died, his family refused to believe it had been stolen from her.
The police were called.
If i wanted you and nobody else
would you laugh in my face?
I allowed that to happen. I'm so ashamed i never told the truth.
It has tortured me ever since.
I had the locket, but my heart was as cold and dead as phillip.
I wasted my years. I lost everything.
Simone, i've spent my life researching the past.
It teaches us how to live in the present.
- It's never too late to do that. - Thank you, sydney.
You know, isabel was a very wonderful woman.
You would have been proud of her... and she would have been proud of you.
- Where have you been? - Oh... um, i was at guido's italian market.
My recipe calls for only the freshest ingredients.
N ever mind that. What about basil?
Of course, silly, i even pinched it to make sure it was fresh.
Sorry?
Oh... um, basil.
You're back.
- Yes. - And you were in...
- paris. - Right.
I know it's right. I was the one who went.
Now, what about my apartment?
Your apartment...
- claudia, please tell me you did... - i hope you like it.
Twentieth floor...
modern...
beautiful...
high ceilings...
great view...
health spa and a doorman?
It's expensive?
- Eight hundred. - No!?!?
- Yes. - It's perfect.
I know.
I don't have to live with a family of four or anything?
All yours, honeybun.
You, uh... you really came through for me, didn't you?
- Me and basil, of course. - Right.
U m, oh, i almost forgot. Not that it matters, but where is it?
- Oh, right. It's maplewood. - Maplewood?
What's wrong with maplewood?
Nothing, ex cept it's an hour and a half drive.
Well, they never mentioned anything about that.
Well, how about asking? Asking, claudia, did you ever think to ask?
No.
Just goes to prove that age old adage...
if you want something done right do it yourself.