A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES
[siren passing outside]
[solemn music playing]
[sighs]
[indistinct shouting outside]
[elevator pings]
Thanks for getting in so quickly.
I didn't have anything planned at 3:27 in the morning.
Here. You're going to start with Omar.
In my opinion he'll be more relaxed with men.
[Gérard sighs]
And Olivier?
His son's sick. He's on his way.
There's not a lot to go on.
It happened three hours ago and the guy is already here?
He refused his visit for a medical. They brought him straight here.
The prosecutor's already called for an update. It's serious.
I'm going to need coffee.
- [loud thump] - For fuck's sake.
Maintenance won't come before tomorrow morning.
- [keypad beeping] - [door buzzing]
I don't remember calling you.
It was Omar who called me.
[pulsing music playing]
[beep]
So, 3:28, the interrogation will now begin with Lieutenant Sarkissian
and Brigadier Matif in the room.
[Omar] Mr. Lacombe, we're wondering why you were running away.
I started to run when I saw two guys running towards me.
It was dark and their heads were covered.
I had no way of knowing they were police officers.
- That's the point of plain clothes. - What I'm saying is, I panicked.
But I didn't just run away.
Yeah. You wanted some air, right?
I'd had a few drinks at the restaurant
and I didn't want to go home straight away.
Did you arrest all the people who were drunk in the Marais?
The others didn't have blood on their shirt.
- It's my blood. - [Omar] Could have come from a fight.
No, it was when your colleague pushed me to the floor.
Has anyone checked with the CSU about the blood, yet?
Yeah, I called them.
Apparently he resisted quite a lot during arrest
but they're not 100% sure he hurt himself during the struggle.
[Omar] They say it was visible before.
Great!
They're lying.
The lab will tell us who this blood belongs to.
Is it me, or does he look drunk to you?
He looks like he's got an answer to explain everything. I detest that.
OK, listen. I'm too tired to play games.
I've been here for two hours without any explanation.
Let's just figure this out so I can go home to my wife and children.
I don't know why I'm here. Tell them.
Just leave your lawyer out of this.
I want you to speak to me.
They got me out of bed to come here.
Now I'm here, I want to get my money's worth.
In that case,
you could start by telling me who I'm supposed to have killed.
All right, this is how it is.
You're here because shortly after 12:30 this evening
we found a man, Rémi Fabretti, who was seriously wounded,
in Impasse de Pot de Fer in the 4th arrondissement.
The reports detail multiple wounds to the face and body
that would have been as a result of a repeated multiple beating.
The victim died on his way to the hospital.
[high-pitched whine]
[haunting music playing]
[drinks machine whirring]
[door buzzing]
Where did you get that from?
From the machine.
Help yourself. I'll get another one.
Oh. Thanks.
Leo's OK?
He vomited up all he could. He's probably got gastroenteritis.
Make sure you don't spread it here, then.
[Omar] Mr. Lacombe, do you know this man?
No, I don't recognise him.
[Omar] Are you sure?
It's not a recent photo.
The only other ones we have are of his cadaver,
and trust me, you don't want to see those.
Never seen him.
So what's happening, then?
You tell me. Looks like we're making it up as we go along.
You haven't missed anything yet.
The court-appointed lawyer seems even more uncomfortable than him.
[Omar] Fabretti's body was discovered a few minutes after his attack.
The police arrived on site at 35 minutes past midnight.
Eight minutes later, you were arrested as you were running away to your car.
- [Lacombe] I wasn't running away. - [Omar] Oh, yeah, sorry.
You were getting some air after a boozy dinner.
Where were you at half past midnight?
I'm not sure. I left the restaurant at around...
23:45. Then what?
And then I walked.
So apparently, you weren't in such a rush to see your wife and children.
Then, huh?
As I said, I was a bit boozy. I didn't want to drive.
You went walking where? Down which streets?
I don't know...
I live in the suburbs. I was probably lost.
You have a one-hour period which you're incapable of remembering.
To most people that sounds vague and unverifiable.
And to me, it sounds like a bullshit story.
I have nothing to say.
Why would I attack this man?
Mr. Fabretti had spent his evening in a bar
near the place where we found him.
The Access. You recognise it?
I've already told you, I don't know the area.
[Omar] OK, the Access is a bar mainly frequented
by the gay and LGBT community.
Mr. Fabretti was a regular.
We think that he was followed when he left the bar,
and that the attack happened soon after.
All the associations are all over this on Twitter and Facebook.
Is that why the Prosecutor's so concerned?
He wants to talk to the press straight away.
He needs to announce we have a suspect in custody.
You know, after the attacks...
- He wants to make an example. - Yeah.
- Was he seen near the crime scene? - [Laetitia] Right now, we have nothing.
A camera on the street corner filmed a woman just before the attack.
She could be a potential witness, but we still haven't identified her.
[Lacombe] You think I killed this guy because he's gay?
I'm glad you understand me.
[Lacombe laughs]
[Omar] Does it bother you, the idea of two men, two women together?
- What do you think? - Not bothered.
Respond to my question.
What should I say?
I don't know who he is and I don't care if he's homosexual.
Is that why I'm arrested? You judge me as a homophobe?
I'm not sure any more. How do you judge a homophobe?
Seriously, Mr. Lacombe, enlighten me. How do you identify a homophobe?
Or an anti-Semite?
Or a racist?
I'll tell you what.
In my experience
they wear the same suits as the next guy, drive the same cars,
and have a photo of their family in their wallet, like everyone else.
You know what? It shows real disgust to beat someone to death
just for being who they are.
Usually, here, we look for an explanation for the crimes people commit.
Something logical and personal
that might help us understand what happened.
So often, we find circumstances that do.
Does understanding mean forgiving?
Not tonight.
Tonight, there's nothing to understand, nothing to forgive.
What's more, it's aggravating circumstance.
It's late.
If you have anything that ties my client to the attack, let us know.
If not, we can go back to bed.
You mean other than his absence of alibi,
blood on his shirt and suspicious behaviour?
We're getting there, Councilor.
We're getting there.
[traffic rumbling outside]
[ticking]
[Gérard] I'd like to talk about your evening, Mr. Lacombe.
Apparently you were celebrating something with your colleagues.
Yeah, we were celebrating the results of my sales team.
After a good first quarter. The market's not easy at the moment.
So we let off some steam.
- And you sell what? - Windows.
PVC, wood, technical materials. A good selection.
Who was at this dinner?
The whole team: five sales reps, plus me.
I gave their names when I was arrested.
And they're all men?
Yeah, but I can't explain why it's like that.
We questioned the waitress at the restaurant.
Apparently your guys were a bit inappropriate with her.
Lots of comments about her chest.
One even had a wandering hand.
I've already told you, the guys were letting off steam.
Following the takeover by the Danes,
our sales targets have been through the roof.
I'm aware their conduct in the restaurant was less than perfect
but it wasn't malicious.
Where are you going with this, Lieutenant?
The waiters also said that you proposed a toast, shouting,
"We're going to kill those poofters."
So, who are the poofters?
No, no...
It's another team of reps. It's Franck Mangin's.
It's a little joke of ours.
For two years they've been getting better results,
and this year it was our turn to win.
And all the men are homosexual?
No, evidently not.
It was just something we said.
You didn't mean anything by it?
A bit like this group on WhatsApp
that you've been using to communicate with your team?
[rustling plastic]
Do you recognise your telephone?
That's private, you have no right.
How do you know my code?
Your boss gave it to us.
Bother you, does it?
Do you have something to hide in there?
No.
I'm going to read you the kinds of things
that you were saying with your sales team.
And you tell me if you didn't mean anything.
So, on February 13,
"Go get fucked, you big queer.
It's your turn for the weekly debrief."
I mean...
On April 2,
"We're going to kill those poofters."
I imagine by the repeat of that, that's the other team of reps, yeah?
And then,
four days ago,
"I'm sure that he'd prefer a big fat cock up the arse."
That's enough. We get it.
I'm not reading you all this out of pleasure, Mr. Lacombe.
It makes me sick.
I'm not in favour of all this bullshit surrounding political correctness,
where you can't say anything to anyone any more.
But what I do know
is that the six people involved in writing in this group
who got drunk in a neighbourhood known to be gay,
that's nothing but bad news.
What we'd like to know, Mr. Lacombe,
is if you actually did go out to "kill those poofters" this evening.
[Omar] What happened?
You were walking in the street, you saw him kissing another guy,
you were disgusted, so you and your buddies beat him up?
Look,
just because there's an old culture of homophobia in my client's company,
doesn't mean that he killed him.
"Old culture of homophobia"? You're a poet now, too!
Make your remarks at the end of this hearing, if you don't mind.
You know very well that it's the same everywhere.
We're all constantly offending.
I bet even your bathroom walls are full of this kind of rubbish.
That's just how it is.
[Omar] "That's just how it is"?
"Internal bleeding, likely due to multiple broken ribs."
Suspected severed cervical vertebrae,
"multiple head injuries, broken right collarbone..."
- [lawyer] Is all that really necessary? - I'd say so.
Once you've served 15 years for murder,
maybe the world will be less... "how it is."
[exhales]
[buzzing]
It's the Prosecutor.
What are you going to tell him?
Nothing concrete, and he's certainly not close to cracking.
[Lacombe] You know...
your job isn't actually that different from mine.
In fact, the only thing you have to sell...
[buzzing continues]
...is that I'm the one who killed this man.
So I'll give you some advice.
Because selling,
that's my thing, and I'm good at it.
We're all ears, champ.
C-A-P.
It's the method that we teach to new people at work.
C is for characteristics.
You should always start by describing the product.
Now, you have the creation.
A normal guy off the rails, a monster extraordinaire.
That always works, yeah?
A is for advantages.
Customers must comprehend which characteristics are beneficial to them.
Here, it's evident.
The case is wrapped up in an evening.
It reassures the public and the press can have a field day.
Brief, and everyone is happy.
The problem is P.
P for proof.
You must prove the existence of the advantages of the product
for it to work.
For example, a demonstration or reviews from clients who are satisfied.
And that's where the difficulty lies for you.
Because you've got nothing.
Not a shred of proof.
No proof,
no sale.
[pulsing music playing]
Let's start from the top.
- [beep] - [Audrey] Let's take a break.
The interrogation is interrupted at 05:13.
[beep]
[humming]
Thanks.
[pulsing music continues]
[beep]
This bastard holds up under pressure. It's going to take all night.
Thanks.
You OK?
Yeah.
Since I got back, everything's going so well.
What, because of Audrey?
It will pass, you know that?
In the meantime, I may never get back into the interview room.
I don't know any more, Omar.
Perhaps I wasn't ready to come back.
[footsteps]
You should've let us rattle him a bit more.
Innocent people don't have gaps in their memory when it suits them.
You had come to a stop, Gérard, believe me.
You know to hand it over when it isn't working with a suspect.
That's true.
There's a chance he'll have some of the victim's blood on him.
Yeah, if it is Fabretti's blood.
Considering the backlog in the lab we won't get the DNA for two days.
The Prosecutor won't wait that long.
Any news on the witness in the surveillance footage?
Still nothing.
Prosecutor's going to completely destroy this case.
Do you think we should stop the interview and let him go?
That's not my decision. You're the leader of this group.
If it was up to you?
The sun will be up in an hour and the Prosecutor wants a suspect.
You might as well give him that one for the journalists.
He'll decide later what to do about the judge.
What if he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time?
If there was anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time, it was Rémi Fabretti.
He's not walking away.
What do you think, then?
I think you need to stop asking everyone what they think.
You've been trying to do this job from behind the mirror,
but that's not how it works.
You're the captain of the team, not the trainer.
And the captain's in charge out there.
[receding footsteps]
[ticking]
[door opens]
[Lacombe clears his throat]
[pulsing music playing]
Mr. Lacombe,
I hope you were able to get a bit of rest during the interruption.
[beep]
[Audrey] It's 5:30 a.m.
I'm Captain Larsen and this is Sergeant Serra.
We're now going to resume your interrogation.
[Olivier] This will be fun.
I just hope we haven't screwed up by treating Audrey like that.
It's enough of a mess as it is. We don't need to get each other as well.
She nearly completely fucked it on that Weber case, remember?
Look how she treats Laetitia.
You think we're idiots, don't you?
- You think we can't see. - What are you talking about?
You've been watching them tear each other apart.
You think Laetitia's OK?
- She's a big girl, she'll be all right. - I'm not sure she's OK.
And you're waiting for the explosion so you can lead the group.
Go on, tell me I'm wrong.
Anyway, it's up to the Director to decide what happens from now on.
[Audrey] I'd like to say that your explanations
are perfectly plausible up to now.
Maybe you were just getting some air when you left the restaurant.
Perhaps you were injured during your apprehension.
Perhaps you really were just unlucky this evening, huh?
Unlucky?
No.
I think you're lying because your whole life's at risk if you tell the truth.
All of my team agree on that, and my superiors, too.
In fact, everyone's in agreement that you'll be made an example of.
They're determined that someone will go down for this.
I know it, you know it,
but you persist stubbornly with your explanations.
Because it's the truth.
One of two things is true.
Either you killed Rémi Fabretti and now you're wasting our time,
or you're hiding something else altogether.
Something that terrifies you even more than being questioned for murder.
There are few things that have that power.
So the supposition of my colleague, Brigadier Matif, was probably wrong.
There's something personal about this story.
So I'm going to ask you one more time...
do you know the victim, Rémi Fabretti?
Respond to the question you've been asked.
[sighs]
No, I don't know him.
I haven't been here a long time.
But I've noticed something.
In general, the men and women sitting in your place
are battling between the person who they are
and the person who others think they are.
It's hard to bear that kind of pressure.
I'm not sure that this line of thinking is beneficial.
What do you know about pressure?
I know what it's like to play a role where every day you're watched.
The duty to measure up, to hide your doubts,
the fear of disappointing...
And the relief of those rare moments
when you can finally breathe and just be yourself.
It's something that's rarely permitted to me.
Who are you in your heart, Mr. Lacombe?
Some manager of an aggressive horde, as they'd like to view you?
Or a sales leader obsessed with targets? A loving family man?
Or everything at once?
Or maybe none of those.
Rest assured that I won't re-read you the forensics report
that my colleague detailed earlier.
No, what's of interest is the mention in it
that Rémi Fabretti had been active, sexually, just before his death.
Apparently there are several little courtyards behind the bar
where the regulars like to go to, let's say, to...
get to know each other better.
Why are you saying that?
I told you, I don't know the place you're talking about.
More specifically, the report notes that there were traces of saliva
around the pubic and the genital area of the victim.
In fact, I'm just wondering whether those traces are yours, Mr. Lacombe.
You know, all we need is a comparison of your DNA to be sure.
[Lacombe] Are you fucking serious?
- That's a big risk, no? - Yeah, but it's disturbed him, look.
[Audrey] We'll get the analysis soon.
This is bullshit.
So hang on, an hour ago I was a certified homophobe,
and now you're telling me I'm a homosexual
that literally sucked off this guy who was then murdered?
You can't be serious.
So that's how your job works, is it?
Unbelievable.
You stick a label on people and wait to see if it sticks or not.
Let's imagine that you ambled to the bar when you left the restaurant.
Not true.
[Audrey] You met up with Rémi Fabretti,
or maybe you'd arranged to meet.
[Lacombe] That's not true.
I've never set foot in that place and I've never seen that guy.
I've been married for 11 years.
I'm a father of two amazing girls.
Why would I choose to spend my nights dancing in a pathetic bar
with those disgusting people there?
- You admit you know the bar? - No, I've already told you.
Then how do you know that people dance?
They always do in gay bars, no? I imagine.
Maybe I just passed by and saw it one time.
The Access has opaque windows. You can't see inside from the street.
He was at the bar.
They showed his photo in the bar just after arresting him.
Nobody recognised him.
I don't fucking believe this.
This isn't happening.
You absolutely have the right to privacy, like anyone.
And normally, your life is your own.
But this evening, a man was killed.
I need to know what happened, and to do that I need your help.
Tell me about your daughters, Mr. Lacombe.
They're what age?
What are their names?
I want you to think about them and your wife.
Police officers will come to your home and turn it inside out
and then ask questions.
Questions that will eventually become intrusive.
This kind of experience doesn't go away, believe me.
You're able to avoid this by talking now.
Their names are Salomé...
Salomé and Nina.
Salomé is nine years old. She just loves horses.
It's the only thing that matters in her world.
You should see her room...
It's covered.
Even on the wallpaper. They're everywhere.
And Nina, she's five.
She's at the age where she's starting to read.
She insists on reading to me every night before bed.
But I know she's repeating the story by heart.
I love them both.
[sighs]
Every time I look at them...
I get a lump in my throat.
[Audrey] It must be very hard to compartmentalise everything like that.
Your family and your colleagues on one side,
and your other life on the other.
- I don't feel well. - [lawyer] Can we take a break?
No, we can't.
And if you have something you want to tell us, now's the time.
[clears throat]
We have 24 hours of custody left.
That gives us time to dig into your life.
We'll leave no stone unturned. We'll definitely find something.
Your daughters might have something to say.
Is there a detail that you overlooked?
You don't have to do that.
You could keep interrogating people,
looking at cameras, searching the streets.
You'll find someone who knew something, or saw them.
You saw them, didn't you?
No.
You were with Rémi Fabretti when it happened and you saw them.
No, it's not true.
Why can't you help us?
I'm not able to help you.
I'll lose too much.
My job, my family.
- [Audrey] Do it for Rémi Fabretti. - [Laetitia] For yourself.
How much longer can you lie to yourself and others?
Even if I was the person you say,
what gives you the right to decide what's best for me?
Anyway, none of that matters because... well, it's not fucking true.
Take it.
You're injured, so why did you refuse the medical check-up?
It makes no sense to me,
if you've nothing to hide.
Don't you like doctors?
Or are you afraid of being naked in front of strangers?
I didn't want to waste your time.
Remove your shoes.
Pardon?
Your shoes. Remove them.
And your socks as well.
Has she lost it?
[lawyer] This is completely unacceptable.
You have nothing to justify a body search.
I just want to see his feet. That doesn't violate his dignity.
I won't give in.
Even it's the last thing I do, I won't let you leave this place.
Are you going to stop her? She's well off procedure.
No, wait a second.
[pulsing music playing]
It's just polish. It proves nothing.
[pulsing music continues]
[Audrey] It's beautiful.
How does it make you feel? I never wear any.
It helps me get through the day.
Nobody sees it, but I know it's there.
It can't be easy with your team.
I don't hold it against them.
They don't understand how it feels to hear those disgusting things.
I've often thought of what I'd love to do one day...
I imagine...
arriving one morning, to work...
wearing my dress,
my high heels...
and just...
make calls as usual.
[Audrey] What happened after the restaurant?
[Lacombe] You know very well what happened.
Yes, but I need you to say it.
Are the details the bit you find exciting?
No.
It's your story.
So I want to hear your version.
I got changed to go to The Access.
I kept my suit in my case.
I just wanted a little time to myself before going home.
I don't have many moments like that, and when they happen...
it's as if I'm able to live a little bit more.
Anyway,
I suppose I didn't know that Rémi would be there.
You knew him, then?
We'd seen each other there a couple of times before, but...
But we'd only exchanged glances.
I only knew his first name.
When I arrived,
he was still at the bar.
We started speaking,
and there was a connection.
I think.
I suppose it took off from there.
That's when you went into the courtyard to have a relationship that was sexual?
Wait a minute.
This doesn't happen often. I don't just go to bars for that.
The majority of transvestites I know are hetero.
But yeah, it's true...
sometimes I do sleep with men.
But I know that I love my wife.
I do want to be with her, physically.
I love being the man who goes home in the evening to see his family,
as much as a woman,
who was at The Access.
I love them both.
I can't choose between them.
Anyway...
we went into the courtyard.
There was another couple kissing.
They left pretty quickly.
We weren't there for long either.
It was just a passionate moment.
It was on our way back to the bar
that we saw them.
[Laetitia] How many were there?
There were five.
Unruly, brawling down the road.
The kind I know all too well.
Did they accost you?
They were between us and the bar. They were watching us from a distance.
Rémi wanted to walk past them to show he wasn't afraid.
But I...
I asked him
to leave the other way.
So we walked away.
But when I turned around, I noticed...
that I could hear them laughing.
And insulting us as they approached.
And so we had to run. Anywhere in the street.
I couldn't keep up with Rémi. It was my heels.
And then, I eventually fell over.
[Audrey] Was that how you hurt your hand?
When I got myself up, I tried to hide and saw a door that was open.
I was in the shadows.
They passed right by me, still running on.
And from there, I heard everything.
The taunts when they trapped him in the passage.
The insults.
The cries.
I wasn't able to move.
Totally terrified.
I listened to the massacre...
but I did nothing.
[Lacombe breathes deeply]
And when they departed...
I got myself changed, changed into my suit.
Removed my make-up.
I...
I placed my robe,
and my bag of things in a bin.
I arrived at my car...
and just left him there.
I'm so ashamed.
[Audrey] You feared for your life?
[Lacombe] No.
I wasn't afraid at that moment.
It wasn't about them...
or Rémi.
It was about my family and my girls...
and what I would say to them.
Because this...
this nightmare should never have happened.
That's enough for now.
[Lacombe] What will happen next?
[Audrey] For now, we're going to assume that you've told us the truth.
What do you want from me?
We're going to need descriptions, as precise as possible, for these men.
As well as you identifying them if we're able to arrest them.
And later, you'll probably have to be a witness at their trial.
Given the pressure surrounding this case, it's highly likely
that all the details about you will be made public.
This is the first time I've spoken about it.
I'm grateful for your courage.
If you could sign the report for Mr. Lacombe?
OK. And I'll take care of his transfer.
[elevator pings]
Thanks for calling me in.
No, you did well.
Do you want to get some breakfast?
Yeah.
Yeah, sure.
Don't get too excited, it's only breakfast.
Yeah, yeah, I get it.
I'm about to send over the descriptions the witness gave to the unit. We will.
I'm very grateful, Prosecutor. And you too.
[sighs]
You did well.
I'm really impressed.
The Prosecutor isn't.
Hey, the ball finished in the net. That's all we want.
Audrey.
What?
I'm the one who messed up with the Weber girl's lawyer.
I was showing off, I told her about Laetitia's time off,
without thinking. Stupid...
And when I thought about it, it was too late. I messed up.
But why didn't you say anything?
I'm two months away from retirement. It's a stupid mistake.
Besides, everyone thought it was you.
Yeah, well, I thought you wouldn't last a month with us,
here in this station, so I...
You have to talk to the Director straight away.
Yes, of course.
And preferably move departments.
[haunting music playing]
[whirring]
[beep]
I'm going home to see my son and take a shower.
See you tomorrow... I mean...
a little later.
Yes, a little later.
Oh, and well done.
[elevator pings]
[haunting music continues]