Astrid et Raphaëlle

SILENCED SHOT ATTENUATED IMPACT.

HIGH-PITCHED WHINE.

Raphaëlle? Raphaëlle.

When a new child arrives in your life, it risks causing a series of events

that could significantly disrupt our habits.

Astrid, we're not going to make a big deal out of it.

At the moment there's no need to dramatize.

And the kid isn't here yet, huh?

And this pregnancy, it's not certain yet.

- I read all it takes is a blood test. - Yes, I don't have the results yet.

YOU ONLY DIE ONCE.

Oh. When will you have the results of your blood test?

- When I do it. - You haven't done it yet.

Raphaëlle.

Two months ago you had a positive urine test.

When are you going to do this blood test? - When I have time,

when I have time! What do you want me to tell you?

RAPH SIGHS.

Damn, damn! Uh, Astrid? Um-

- Yes? - I know you don't like to lie, but

I haven't said anything to Nico, so we won't talk about this

in front of him, all right? - Mm-mmm,

I'm not comfortable with lying.

It's not a lie, we'll say it's a small omission.

And that is exactly the definition of lying.

Oh! Mmm...

How are you? - And you? Hello, Astrid.

- Hello, Capt Perran. - What's new?

There is nothing new that would be of a sufficiently exceptional character

for me to tell you about. What is explained is explained

and I do not have any particular information.

Okay Astrid, no problem.

- Uh, shall we go? - Hmm.

- That way? - Hmm.

FLASH FIRES.

Get the lips too.

... There, that's good. Thanks.

So? What do we have?

- The victim had her ID on her. - Astrid?

Alice Alliot, 41.

- Thank you, sir. - Okay. She's...

from Montreal. All right.

Gym membership.

Loyalty card to a bookstore in the 15th.

Well, Ms Average Citizen. ASTRID: Mm-mmm,

she is not Ms Average Citizen, she is Ms Alliot.

Oh there, Fournier, when you make that face it means you're uncomfortable.

What's happening?

Not comfortable, far from it. Obviously this woman died of poisoning.

There are signs of asphyxia and clotted blood on the lips.

Moreover, significant cyanosis on the neck,

and signs of necrosis, creating edema.

If I listened to myself, I'd tell you this woman was bitten by a snake.

- Great. A snake. - Mmm.

What kind of snake?

Her symptoms correspond to the bite of a Dendroaspis snake

of the mamba family,

a snake with one of the most toxic venoms in the world.

Only, it doesn't work.

That's it. - That's it.

- Why? - Because there is no bite.

Within the necrosis, there:

a microscopic wound.

As if a venom injection was given in the neck

with a syringe. - Is there a syringe-

There's no syringe. On the CCTV footage

we see her collapse at 12:34 pm.

Uh-huh.

No one approached her in the preceding minutes.

So unless it was an invisible man-

Oh stop it, Fournier!

Astrid? Astrid? Where are you going?

Thank you, sir.

To the hotel.

We have to go to the hotel at the other end of the bridge.

All right, let's go to the hotel.

What makes you think this hotel has anything

to do with our case?

I think the venom was not injected with a syringe,

I think she was injected by a dart

fired from a long-distance third-party weapon.

All right.

Hello ma'am. RECEPTION: Hello.

We're going to check your CCTV.

Mm-hmm. Thank you.

I've gotta say, Astrid, I hate to contradict you, but

sending such a small projectile from so far away, it doesn't work.

It defies the laws of physics, of aerodynamcis, of ballistics, and-

There. The bald man.

He enters his room at 12:29 pm

and comes out at 12:36. Hmm.

Okay. Astrid, are you sure

about this poisoned dart theory?

I cannot be absolutely certain,

but the evidence is consistent.

That's enough for me. Nico, call Forensics,

ask them to join us in room 806.

Yes.

Thank you, ma'am.

The occupants vacated the room at 11 am.

The cleaning done around 2:30 would cover their tracks.

It's perfect timing.

We have a lot of biological traces, but

it's a hotel room, huh? - Yes.

We could have anybody.

Did you find anything else apart from these biological traces?

Classic stuff: Cotton, paper residue.

We found something there, near the window...

residue of dessicated cellulose particles.

Hmm!

Does that mean something to you, Astrid?

Yes. I know who killed the victim.

The Reptile. He is a professional killer

suspected of committing very numerous homicides.

'Very numerous'? How many victims are we talking about?

54 homicides and probably others that could not be identified.

54? How come we never investigated these murders?

The Reptile was the chief killer for the Saponetti Family for 15 years,

helping them gain control of trafficking in the capital.

On their behalf he killed rivals, dissidents and politicians.

The underworld rightly fears him.

He was never identified?

He's a shadow.

No one's ever found out his identity,

not even the Saponetti Family.

Know why he's called The Reptile?

He injects snake venom into his victims

using a dart fired from a very long distance.

The dart is housed in a custom-made cellulose projectile.

When fired the cellulose disintegrates,

allowing the metallic stinger to deliver its poison. Hm-hmm.

Fournier confirms a poisoned dart was in the victim's neck.

Does our victim have a connection with the Saponettis?

She's not really the profile. She was a freelance translator.

Single, no children, some friends

but no one close. An ordinary life.

Well, keep digging.

She may have witnessed something. Go look for irregularities in the room.

Have you contacted the Canadian embassy?

Yes, we are waiting for them

to send the family's contact details.

And him?

I'm trying to identify him. DOOR OPENS.

Is it true? You managed to get a picture of his face?

Cmdr Olivier Legendre of Violent Crime.

I've been after him for 15 years. Now that we

know what he looks like, I'm not giving up.

At the moment we're not even sure

if this case is related to organized crime.

Hold on, The Reptile killed this girl.

It's definitely a Violent Crime case! RAPH: Or not.

Until further notice this case belongs to the Crime Squad.

But if you want to help, you can help,

I won't say no, Commander.

Cmdr Coste.

De... lighted.

What's extraordinary about this case is that

no crime has been attributed to The Reptile for 6 years.

But that doesn't mean he stopped killing.

It means we must've missed some of his crimes.

That would surprise me.

He always uses the same MO. And something else:

last year we actually arrested a pillar of the Saponetti Family.

The Reptile notified them of his intention to retire.

- And they accepted? That's not like them. - They tried to say no,

but he started killing all the members of the Family.

They were trapped. So they were forced to accept.

This guy scares people who aren't used to being scared.

What I'd like to know is why the bogeyman came out of retirement

to murder a woman with no dark past?

Did you find something? - Not exactly.

I contacted the Canadian authorities.

They claim that they have no nationals named Alice Alliot from France.

Was she illegal?

It seems Canada has no female citizens at all named Alice Alliot.

Alice Alliot doesn't exist.

A false identity?

Alice Alliot's trail is nowhere to be found.

The process under which she entered France is official,

but when we backtrack to Canada,

it's impossible to find a trace.

If the Canadian authorities didn't know who she was,

she could've been hiding here, right?

A kind of witness protection program?

That would explain a contract on the life of an ordinary woman.

OK, I'll make a request to the prosecutor, but

a foreign case could take a long time.

- Mmm. - So, I think it'd be better

to find our own answers.

I captured one of your stones. Hmm.

Astrid.

I didn't dare tell you,

but I lost my scholarship.

All right.

It's your turn, Tetsuo.

By losing this scholarship,

I risk losing my visa.

But that is not certain.

No, actually.

Hmm. So we shouldn't make a big deal about it.