All language subtitles for Maigret S02E09 The Liars_Track03-eng

{chicken clucks)
{soft music)

- Hey, Rateau, dirty old blacksmith!

Paid your tax yet, or
have you drunk the money?

(laughs)

It's little Jean-Paul,
the schoclmaster's boy

How's your father, dear?

Or isn't he your father? (laughs)

- Jean-Paul

Jean-Paul!

(dramatic music)

(gun bangs)
(glass shatters)

{upbeat music)

(Maigret whistles)

- [Lucas] Good morning, Patron

- Good morning, Lucas.

- So, hello, things are
looking up, new suit, new hat

- Yes, you like it?

- Ah, very smart.

- This time. Lucas, it
really is the spring

- Champs-Elysees

I thought that was only for tourists.

There's a man waiting
outside in purgatory

His card's here.

- Hmm, best time of the year it is, Lucas

Oh, I wish I was in the country,

better still, at the seaside

- Well, the man in
purgatory has been there

for more than two hours.

- Have you ever been to Fouras?

It's in the Charente.

I spent a week there once
in weather just like this

- Well, will you see him nowy?

- No, no, no, I don't wanna see him

I don't wanna see anyone, Lucas

All I wanna do is to
sit down at the terrace

of a certain little bistro I know,

eating oysters in the sunshine,

washing them down with
a local French wine.

Ah, best white wine in all France

And the oysters!

- His name's Gastin.

- Oh, well, I suppose I'll
have to make do with a Pernod.

It's the next best thing to Charente wine

on a day like this

- All right, I'll tell him

you'll be another couple of hours, hm~

- Best holiday I ever had that, Lucas

How I wish I could get a week off.

Lucas!

Just a minute.

Show him in.

- What, now?

- Yeah.

- What, no Pernod, no oysters?

- Later.

- All right, monsieur,
you can come in now

- Ah, sit down, Monsieur Gastin

- Thank you

- [Lucas] You, you are
feeling all right, Patron?

- Oh, of course, Lucas, thank you

Monsieur, I see that you're

from Saint-Andre Choumer at the Charente.

- Oh, you know about it then

- [Maigret] What?

- A journalist arrived just before I left

I suppose it's in the papers already.

- [Maigret] I haven't seen the papers

- Oh.

Well, Leonie Birard has
been killed and shot.

- Oh, who is she?

- She was the postmistress of our village

- Mm-hmm.

- Everyone hated her

- Who shot her?

- I don't know.

Everyone else in
Saint-Andre does, of course.

(Maigret chuckles)

They all think it was the schoolmaster

- Hmm, and was it?

- I know it wasn't.

- How?

- I am the schoolmaster.

- Oh, I see

And why has the whole
village made up its mind

that you killed the old lady?

- I'm not popular

- [Maigret] Why not?

- They resent sending
their children te school.

They'd rather have them
helping in the fields

or at the oyster beds

- Oh, the oyster beds

- [Gastin] Also, they
regard me as a stranger

- How long have you lived there”

- [Gastin] Nine years now.

- Still a stranger?

- (scoffs) They are not lot,
unless you are born there

You know the country well?

- Oh, slightly

I once spent a week at Fouras.

- Fouras, that's only eight
kilometres from Saint-Andre.

- sit?

- Yes.

- Well, it was at this
time of year, actually

Wonderful oysters

- Yes.

Yeah, excellent, all along
our stretch of coast,

and the local wine.

- Oh, the local wine

- [Gastin] I told a very
silly lie to the police

That's what makes it so bad for me.

- Mm-hmm, what lie?

- Leonie was killed a quarter past 10

I said I was in the classroom
all morning with the children

- [Maigret] And weren't you”

- I went out for 10 minutes at 10 past 10.

I had to go to the merit
to sign a certificate

You see, I'm also the town clerk

I could have slipped into
my house and shot her

through the window

- But you didn't, huh?

- [Gastin] No.

But I did go into my
house for a cup of coffee.

- Mm-hmm.

Well, why did you lie?

- Hmm?

- [Maigret] Why did you lie?

- I panicked

I just panicked.

- Hmm.

Ah, Saint-Andres Choumer

Police, police

(laughs) Is Lieutenant Danielou
handling this investigation?

- [Gastin] Da you know him?

- Yes, I met him

We used to call him dandy Danielou

- I think he's going to arrest me.

That's why I came here
to see you before he did

- Hmm, do you have a gun?

- [Gastin] My son has a .22 rifle

-.22.

Hmm, you have to be at very close range

to kill someone with that.

- No, she was shot through the eye.

- At a distance?

Somecne's a very good marksman

- [Gastin] I got a medal for shooting

when I was in the army, the
only thing I was any good at

- Oh.

Lucas.

- I never had any luck

If he'll arrest me, I
won't stand a chance.

Once they have put me away,
they can do what they like

So I thought maybe if I told you,

you'd come down and find out the truth?

- You're aware, you understand

I have no local authority there.

- Patron?

- Ah, Lucas

Will you get me Lieutenant
Danielou at Saint-Andres Choumer

- In the Charente?

- Yes, right next to Fouras

- I'll check the train timetables too.

- I'd like to get down there

first thing in the morning if I can

- I'm not offering you
any money Monsieur Maigret.

I know that isn't what interests you

- Howr do you know what interests me?

- I read about you in magazines

- Ah.

- Anyway, I haven't any money, that is

But I swear I'm innocent.

I swear.

I mean, otherwise, I wouldn't
have come all the way

from Saint-Andre to see you, would I?

Would 1?

{soft music)

{ominous music)

That's where I live.

{upbeat music)

- Where is Leonie Birard's house?

- Behind the school, down that lane

- Right, then we go together

(pensive music)

- Here he comes.

- That's all I needed.

Just when I'm almost
ready to make an arrest,

he has to come down here from
Paris and take all the credit.

- He's taller than in the pictures

- Chief Inspector Maigret

I'm not going to interfere in any way.

(scoffs) Let me tell you,

he's just down for the local oysters.

- He was lighting his pipe

- [Danielou] Ah.

- Hello, monsieur.

- Chief Inspector, how good to see you,

fo have the assistance of a man like--

- The real truth is, Danielou,

that I thought it would be nice

to come down again and
taste the local oysters.

I brought your schoolmaster back with me

- [Danielou] Where did you leave him?

- At the school for the afternoon classes.

- If he has any pupils

- Hmm, was he guilty?

- I don't think that
there's very much doubt.

- Shame.

Pathetic little chap

- Why pathetic?

- Well, he does his best

People who do their best
often are rather pathetic

don't you think?

- Yeah.

- [Maigret] Is this is
where the body was found?

- [Danielou] Oh, yes

- [Maigret] Hmm

- Oh.

The junk she has in here.

- Which is the schoolmaster's house?

- The one with the blue shutters.

You see, so Gastin could have shot her

from his Kitchen window.

- So could anyone from
any of these houses

- Through the eye at 20 metres?

No, no

He's the only expert shot in the village

- 20 metres, huh?

And the crime lab confirmed that?

- Well, unfortunately,

the bullet was flattened
at the back of her skull.

All they can say is
that it came from a .22

but they can't identify which one.

So I've taken all the 22s in the village,

including Gastin's.

- Mm-hmm.

I gather Leonie wasn't very popular

- She was the postmistress for years,

opened everyone's mail,
knew their secrets,

and spat in their faces.

- That gives the whole village a motive.

- Ah, but only Gastin had the
opportunity and the ability

- What did he have against her?

- I think she was blackmailing him

- Oh, in what way?

- Well, that's what
I'm trying to find out

They came here nine years ago
from Strasbourg in the Alsace

some sort of scandal
that had been hushed up

I have a man up there investigating,

something te do with his wife

- What?

- Well, every time Madam
Gastin passed this place,

Leonie would yell filthy remarks at her

And the point is she'd lift her skirt up

- She was no lady

- Well, it was her way of showing

that she knew something
bad about Madam Gastin.

- Obviously

- And he lied about leaving the classroom

- Oh, in panic.

- Why panic if he's innocent?

No, ne, no, no, no

I think you'll agree that
if my man up in Strasbourg

comes up with a strong enough motive,

I have enough evidence for an arrest.

- Yeah, well, I think there's
very little I can do about it

- Well, it's a pretty open and shut case

- I'm staying down at the inn.

Would you like to have lunch with me?

- Thank you very much, but I
must get back to the station

I'm expecting a call from Strasbourg

- Au revoir.

- Au revoir.

So even the great Maigret

can't find a loophole in
my investigation. (laughs)

- By the way, I suppose
the old woman herself

wouldn't have had a rifle
of her own, would she?

- Old Leonie?

Oh, no, no, no, I don't think so

- Oh, yes, monsieur, I
collected it with the others.

You told me to get them all

She was also a .22.

- Why didn't you tell
me one of them was hers?

- Well, I thought you knew

Don't you remember all that trouble

when she shot the mayor's dog last year?

- How should I remember?

It was months ago!

Why didn't you show me her rifle?

- Well, I didn't think it counted

I mean, she couldn't have
shot herself, could she?

- You see what I'm up against, monsieur?

- Hmm, well, I just
thought I'd mention it,

might be worth investigating

Au revoir.

- You idiot!

He's thrown the whole case
upside down now thanks to you!

- I don't understand.

She couldn't have done it herself.

- Couldn't someone have
shot her with her own rifle?

It wouldn't take an
expert shot like Gastin

to hit her inthe eye at a
couple of metres now, would it?

- You'll like Inspector
Maigret, Jean-Paul

He's just like you'd imagine him

You remember that magazine article

I gave you fo read last year?

(chuckles) He's just like that, big bad

He'll be coming here later
to ask questions, I expect.

Just think, you'll be able to say,

"I've met the famous Inspector Maigret.”

- Why den't you answer your
father when he speaks to you?

- Be quiet.

Hmm.

I'll tell you what I'll do

I'll ask him to have dinner with us, hmm.

Would you like that?

You can talk to him all evening.

Yes.

Well, it's a stone off
my heart, I can tell you

I have a man of real intelligence
dealing with these ignorant louts

He'll find out the truth.

(scoffs) We have nothing
to worry about now

- I'm not worried.

What have I got to worry about?

- What have you got to wo

Your own father and the whole village

accusing him of murder and you
dare to sit there and say--

- Be quiet!

- I've got to get ready for school

- You will be good enough not
ta raise your voice to my son

I won't tell you again.

- I'm sorry

Can't you see that I'm
out of my mind with worry”?

- [Gastin] About me?

- Well, of course about you

{Gastin scoffs)

Philippe,

I love you.

- Don't use that word to me, not to me

- Stop, please, stop

Can't you see that I'm out of my mind”?

For the past nine years--

- Don't think I don't know
what you have been doing,

setting him against me.

- No.
- The only thing I have left,

and now, you want to spoil that foo.

He has hardly spoken to
me in the last six months,

and you have the
effrontery to talk of love”?

- Please!

- Well, I beg your pardon

I beg your pardon

I was forgetting, of course,

you know a great deal
more about love than I do.

- Philippe!

- Ah, ready for school, Jean-Paul?

- Yes.

- Come along then.

(pensive music)

- Hmm.

- Room all right?

- Ah, fine, Monsieur Paumelle.

- Anything to eat yet?

- Well now, I think I could
manage half a dozen oysters

- Oh, sorry, no oysters.

- [Maigret] No oysters”?

- Neap tide

- Neap tide. (chuckles)

How long is this gonna last?

- Oh, hard to say.

There might be some oysters tomorrow,

maybe not for three or four days.

Rabbit stew?

- All right.

- Therese, one stew

- [Therese] All right

- How long will you be staying?

- Oh, I don't know, three or four days

It depends how it goes.

- You're wasting your time

You might just as well arrest Gastin now

- Why, did he do it?

- Ask anyone

Ask that lot in there.

- Not that one. (laughs)

- They'll all tell you the same thing

- Reliable witnesses?

- Bah, we're all liars around here.

Come and have a word with them.

Boys, this is Chief
Inspector Maigret from Paris

- And there's an ace and a jack

Pay up, Sellier, pay up

That blasted Gastin.

I knew you must have some reason

for staying in your lousy inn

- What are you doing here”

- I came down with your Monsieur Gastin

- It shouldn't be long

before you're leaving with him, should it?

{group laughs)

- Theo's the deputy mayor.

He heard the shot, didn't you, Theo?

- Imagine that.

- Where were you?

- In my garden, planting onions

- Overlooking Leonie's house?

- Yeah.

- What time is this?

- Quarter past 10, by the church

- That clock's a liar too.

{group laughs)

- Howr many onions did you plant?

- About 45.

And I haven't got a .22 rifle

{group laughs)

- Anyone else hear the shot?

- Not me.

I was shoeing a horse.

- Rateau is a blacksmith.

- Could you see Leonie's
house from yours, smithy?

- I didn't look.

- He's always blind at that
time of the day anyway

{group laughs)

- Who are you?

- Sellier.

- The plumber.

- Hmm.

Do you see Leonie's house from yours?

- Yes, but I was in bed

- Well, anyone see you?

- My wife had a good view

{group laughs)

- His wife is Leonie's niece.

- Will she inherit the property?

- Doubt it.

The old bitch said she'll never
forgive her for marrying me,

said she'd leave it to Therese.

- Who's Therese?

- She works for me.

Therese!

- [Therese] Coming

- Yeah, she calls in
to clean up for Leonie

a couple of times a week

- You don't mind if I
have a word with her?

- Help yourself

Therese.

- Hmm, stew smells good

Sit down.

- Just my luck

- It's a small world, isn't it?

- You won't tell him, will you?

- Hmm, is this your cooking?

- Mm-hmm.

- Very good

Now, let's see, five years ago, isn't it?

The bright lights of Paris
and the pretty country girl

who's a little bit dazzled by it all, hmm

Why do you wanna get mixed
up with a gang like that?

- But I've been good since

- I'm sure you have

Tell me, what's this I hear

about you inheriting Leonie's property”?

- Oh, that

She only said it to upset her
niece who married Sellier

- Mm-hmm.

- I just used to clean
up for her now and then

I don't want her property.

- Did she know about your
little adventure in Paris?

Does Monsieur Paumelle?

- He promised to marry me

- Ah, like that, is he?

- He promised me for years

He's bound to make up
his mind sooner or later.

(Maigret chuckles)

Now you have to turn up

- Just as the only person in the village

who knew anything about you was killed.

{soft piano music)

- You see, Inspector, six out of 32

- Well still, I'd like
talk to them all the same.

- All right.

Sit down.

Children, this is Chief Inspector Maigret.

He wants to ask you a few questions

Now, I den't care what you tell him

provided it is the truth.

(student chuckles)

{suspenseful music)

Who did that?

Who did that?

I'm sorry, Inspector.

I'm beginning to feel the strain.

I'll leave you to it

- Now then, which of you owns a .22 rifle?

- I do.

-Sodol.

The police took it away

- [Maigret] What did you shoot with it?

- Sparrows.

- He always misses

- They won't keep still

- [Maigret] Anyone else?

- Me.

- He keeps it in his father's tool shed

- Oh, you're Jean-Paul,
the schoolmaster's son.

- Yes.

- [Maigret] Mm-hmm

Anyone else have a .22 rifle?

- Some of the other boys have 22s

They aren't here

- Did any of you go out of
the room on Tuesday morning

while Mr. Gastin was away?

- [Students] No.

- [Maigret] Did any of the others?

- [Students] No.

- Does anyone who owns a .22 rifle

who wasn't here at all on Tuesday?

- Joseph, Joseph Rateau

He's the blacksmith's son.

- [Maigret] Where was he?

- It couldn't have been him.

He was at home in bed.

He can't move.

- [Maigret] Why not?

- He had an accident last month.

- [Maigret] A shooting accident?

- No, he got run over by a motorbike

He broke his leg

- Oh, I see

So no one left the room on Tuesday

Well, what did you do?

What, you just sit quietly at your desk?

(students chuckle)

No, you played about, didn't you?

- Abit.

- Hmm.

What did you do?

- Nothing much, just played about

- Mm-hmm.

That's Leonie Birard's
house over there, isn't it?

- Yes.

- [Maigret] Nobody happened
to look out of this window

on Tuesday morning while
Mr. Gastin was out?

Nobody saw anyone go into
Leonie's house or leave?

- I had a lock through that window

You can't see Leonie's house though

- Jean-Paul, come here, please

Look out of the window.

Can you see your father's house?

- Yes.

- Did you see anything?

- No.

I didn't move from my desk.

I just saw Marcel go to the window

- This one?

- Yes.

- Hmm.

Marcel.

Did you see Monsieur
Gastin go into his house?

- Yes, he came across from
the merit and went in

- Mm-hmm.

Jean-Paul, you keep your rifle
in the tool shed, don't you?

- Yes.

- Well, I can see the tool shed from here

Well, Marcel?

All right, I wanna talk to
Marcel and Jean-Paul alone.

The rest of you, run to the playground

Chalky.

Why did you draw that
picture on the board?

- It's what everyone's saying

- Hmm.

Why didn't you stop him, Jean-Paul, hmm,

drawing your father like that?

Now, Marcel, you could see the tool shed

from that window, right?

- Yes.

- So if Monsieur Gastin did shoot Leonie,

he must have gone to the
tool shed to get the rifle

and you must have seen
it from that window.

- I suppose so

- Well, what does that mean?

Did you see him or didn't you?

- Yes.

- You actually saw him
go into the tool shed

and come out with a rifle?

- Yes.

- Jean-Paul, are you positive

it was that window you saw Marcel at?

- Yes.

- Do you ever tell lies, Jean-Paul?

- No.

- Do you?

- Sometimes.

- How often?

- About once a month.

- Are you two boys good friends?

- No!

- No.

- Who's your best friend, Marcel?

- Joseph, the blacksmith's son

He's the one that's in
bed with the broken leg.

I go to see him every day.

He can't move, you know

- And yours”?

- No one.

- Why not?

- I'm the schoolmaster's son, I suppose.

Nobody wants to be friends

- Is that right”?

- I suppose so

- Do you two boys
realise what you've done?

Lieutenant Danielou is
almost certain to arrest

Monsieur Gastin now, and
you will have to tell him

exactly what you told me

Now, are you both sure it's true?

Neither of you wants
to change their story?

- No.

- No.

(Maigret sighs)

- Jean-Paul, can you think of any reason

why your father should
want to kill Leonie?

- Everyone hated her

- Yeah, but why your father?

Good God, bay, don't you
care what happens to him?

- No!

- Monsieur Gastin.

- Yes?

- Young Marcel here says
he stood at that window

and saw you go into the tool
shed and come out with a rifle.

- I didn't, Inspector

Why?

Why are you lying?

- And your son svrears that
he saw him at the window

- Jean-Paul?

- Yes.

- Jean-Paul says that?

Jean-Paul.

Jean-Paul!

- Philippe didn't do it.

I swear it, Inspector

He couldn't have.

He's too gentle

I don't know why Marcel should say

he saw him go to the tool shed

I don't know why he should
lie about it, or Jean-Paul

- What interests me is
why your son didn't lie

to save his father.

Why didn't he swear that
Marcel was at the other window

where you couldn't see the tool shed”?

- He's a strange child

I haven't heard him cry
since he was a baby

And these last few months, I
don't understand him anymore

I don't understand anything

My whole life's gone to pieces.

- Why these last few months?

What happened?

- I don't know.

Are you going to arrest Philippe”

- [Maigret] Well that's up to Danielou

- Well, he's like all the rest of them

They all hate us because we're strangers

- Ah, yeah, strangers

Tell me, why leave Strasbourg,
where you're known

to come here and live among strangers?

- It's all my fault, the whole thing

- Come now, tell me

Why did you leave Strasbourg?

- My husband would have had
a brilliant career there

He had an exceptional brain

Everything looked bright for the future

Then 1...

I don't think it was love.

I've always loved Philippe

though he wouldn't believe that now

- [Maigret] Who was the man?

- Chevaseux, his hame
was, Charles Chevaseux.

He was on the staff there.

He was married too.

I don't know how it happened.

I didn't even like him.

- [Maigret] It was a scandal?

- Well, his wife found out

She was hysterical

We had to leave.

Now, he has to waste away in this place.

- [Maigret] Leonie Birard
found out about this

- She knew everything.

Charles wrote to me once.

She opened the letter.

- [Maigret] You paid her to keep quiet?

- Philippe did

Not much, we don't have much.

- [Maigret] And hows long
did your affair last?

- (sighs) A few months

- Hmm.

Now, your husband says
that he came into the house

just after 10 on Tuesday morning

- He says he did, he did

He always tells the truth

I was upstairs.

I found an empty coffee
cup when I came down

- Hmm.

Would it have been possible
for you to come downstairs,

go out through the front door,
run to the side of the house

to the tool shed at the bank
without your husband seeing you

as he sat here drinking his coffee?

- And shot her myself?

- [Maigret] Yeah

- Would you believe me if I said I did?

- No, one more lie to add to my list

- Shall I tell you the truth?

I almost wish I had.

{suspenseful music)

{soft music)

- I've got the evidence from Strasbourg.

- Fine, have some wine

Therese, another glass

- My guy's got the whole story

Nowy, if you don't think
Gastin had a strong motive,

listen to this.

- Nine years ago, Madam
Gastin had an affair

with a man called Chevaseux.

It was a scandal, and they
had to leave Strasbourg

They came here

Leonie Birard got a hold of
the story and blackmailed them

Therese, a glass for the lieutenant

- Where did you get it?

- Madam Gastin.

- Well, I call that a pretty
good motive, don't you?

- Oh, yeah

What's more, young Marcel swears
that he saw Monsieur Gastin

go into the tool shed and
come out with a rifle,

saw him from the school room window.

And Jean-Paul swears that
he saw Marcel at the window.

Where are you going?

- To arrest him, of course

- Oh, sit down

You haven't had your wine yet.

Thank you, Therese

- You don't...

- Thank you, Therese.

- You don't still doubt
that he did it, do you?

- I'm damn sure he didn't.

- But you said Marcel saw him get the gun

Gastin's own son backs him up

Now, why if it isn't true?

- Ah, that's the big question

Look, just suppose for a
moment that Marcel is lying,

that, actually, he was
at the other window.

Then he would have seen
Leonie being shot, won't he?

- Uh-huh.

- Now, who would he be shielding?

That's his father.

(Sellier laughs)

- He has an alibi.

- Provided by his wife,
who is Leonie's niece.

And Leonie had threatened
to cut her out of the will,

and the will hasn't been found.

- Oh, Sellier, you won again

Paumelle, another cne

- You've had enough

Tell him, doctor

- I've been telling him for years.

If he wants to kill
himself, I can't stop him.

- Pour me another one, damn you!

(glass shatters)

- Doctor.

- Leave him.

Let him sleep it off.

- Rateau, the blacksmith

- I know.

Is he like that everyday?

- Yes, from morning till night.

He drinks all his earns.

I don't know how his
wife and child survive.

- Child, eh.

- Yes, the son, Joseph

He was knocked last month by
a motorbike and broke his leg

- That one.

- Why?

- The horseshoe, I've
forgotten about the horseshoe

Call the doctor over here, will you”

Therese, another glass

- Doctor, come and have
a glass of wine with us

Dr. Bresselles, this is Chief
Inspector Maigret from Paris

- How do you do?

This is very nice of you, Inspector

- I see you've had a lot
of trouble with Rateau.

- He's been going around
for years with a liver like a stone

I don't think he'll last much longer

- His son is your patient too, huh?

- At the moment, a broken leg in plaster

- Motorbike, wasn't it?

- Yes.

- I hope the driver was insured.

- I believe he was.

- When was this?

- A month ago

- And the boy still can't move?

- A difficult fracture.

- Shame.

Still, the worse the
injury, the more money

Rateau gets from the
insurance company, doesn't he”?

- That is none of my business, monsieur.

- It's your business.
- Or yours, I imagine.

- (chuckles) It's your business

to certify the seriousness of the injury.

- And so?

- I've noticed, doctor, that
in small places like this,

a man tends to be either
honest or popular.

Wouldn't you say”?

- What's the matter, doctor?

Deserting your friends to
speak to the lousy police?

Come on, let's get on with the game

- Excuse me.

- Come on, I want to see the patient

I'll be back in about an hour.

- I'll have your rabbit ready.

- No oysters?

- Sorry, no

Maybe later?

- Where are you going?

It's your play.

- I must bring Rateau around

I have to speak to him.

{ominous music)

Rateau.

Rateau.

(knocking on door)

- (yawns) Come in.

Oh, bonjour, Lieutenant

- This is Chief Inspector Maigret

We wish to ask you some questions

- Good morning, Joseph

Well, how's the leg?

- It feels a lot better now, thanks

- Mm-hmm, can you move it?

- No.

- No?

- Well, a little for the last day or two.

- Hmm.

Could you get to the windows?

- I shouldn't think so.

- Hmm.

Marcel is your best friend, isn't he?

- [Joseph] Yes, comes to see me every day

- What about the horseshoe?

- What horseshoe?

- The one I found in Leonie's house.

Do you often take horseshoes
from your father's smithy?

Doesn't he mind?

- It was a castoff.

Won't we get the money now?

- Tell me about the night
you were run over, hmm

- [Joseph] I don't remember much about it.

- Ne, do you remember

throwing a horseshoe into Leonie's house?

- No, I didn't throw it.

We were playing in the smithy

We made up this game about being horses.

Then we thought old Leonie
will have a fit If she thinks

there's a horse coming
around in her front room.

Well, her window was open, so I crept in.

She was in the other room,

so I started clamping around
on the floor with the horseshoe

and making neighing noises.

Then she dashed in.

You should have seen her face.

- She chased you?

- [Joseph] All over the house

Then she got a gun and
started waving it at me,

and I got frightened and
ran out of the front door

- And the horseshoe got left behind.

- [Joseph] That's right

- And then?

- Well, I was running like mad

I went straight into the motorbike

- [Maigret] Oh, so it was your fault

And your father told you
that the insurance company

wouldn't pay if they found
out it was your fault

s0 you kept quiet about
the horseshoe, hmm

- Yes.

Leonie kept it

Every now and then,
she'd stand at the window

and wave it at us just to
remind us we were in her povser

And anytime she wanted,

she could tell the insurance
company what really happened

and we wouldn't get a penny.

- [Maigret] You've been able to walk

for a couple of weeks, haven't you?

And you were at that
window on Tuesday morning

- Yes.

- [Maigret] Yeah

- She was waving the horseshoe again,

so I took my gun and fired it.

Actually, I only meant to break
the window to frighten her

Then she fell down.

It was an accident.

- Where do you keep your gun?

- [Joseph] In the cupboard

- Loaded, and why?

- I thought I might have a chance

of shooting at some sparrows.
Will they send me to prison?

- You're too young

Do you have the gun?

- Well, we didn't find one here.

- Where is it?

-We hid it.

- [Maigret] Who hid it?

- My father.

- [Maigret] Where”?

- I don't know.

- [Maigret] Didn't your father
ask why you wanted it hidden?

- No.

I just asked him to hide it.

- Where was your father
when you shot Leonie?

- In the smithy, shoeing a horse

Do you want me to write a confession?

- Yeah, that'd be a pretty good idea

- I've got a bit of paper

Will pencil do?

- [Maigret] No, have my pen

Here you are.

Now, write this

I, Joseph Rateau

- I, Joseph Rateau

- Freely confess.

- [Joseph] Freely confess.

- That when Leonie Birard was killed.

- That when Leonie Birard was killed.

- [Maigret] I didn't have the gun

- I didn't have the gun

- [Maigret] In my room

- In my...

- Your father had the gun
in his smithy, didn't he?

- This is ridiculous, Inspector

You've seen him.

He can't even hold his bottle steady

- And you agreed that
it was a remarkable shot

that killed Leonie.

- Exactly

- Remarkably good or remarkably bad?

Listen, if we hadn't been misled

by these children all along,

we should have seen the
truth in the first place

Now, first of all,

the killing couldn't have been deliberate

- Why?

- If you wanted to shoot Leonie,

you wouldn't try shooting her
in the eye at 20 metres, hmm,

even if you were an expert marksman

No, it was an accident.

Somebody meant only to scare her.

- I told you

- Yes.

You tried to break the pane of glass

That's what you would have done

because your hand is steady enough

But what kind of a marksman
tries to break a pane of glass

at 20 metres and ends up
hitting someone in the eye?

You should be looking for the
worst shot in the village

not the best.

- Yes, yes, let's go and pick him up

{ominous music)

- Rateau, Rateau, get up, do you hear?

- Pick him up.

Now, Therese, what about
these oysters, huh?

- All right, Rateau, you're under arrest.

You better come along with me

{suspenseful music)

(gun blasts)

(Rateau screams)

(Rateau grunts)

(Maigret screams)

(Rateau screams)

- Inspector, are you all right?

- I wouldn't have thought

he had that much fight left in him.

- He hasn't now.

- How is he?

- I think that was just
about his last fring

Just as well, I suppose

- [Maigret] You knew he'd done it

How?

- He borrowed money from me

He wanted to buy a black suit

It's Leonie's funeral tomorrow.

Funny thing, conscience

I don't think he'll be
wearing it for a while

{sombre music)

- Hey, schoolmaster, show respect.

- Hey, schoolmaster,
look what you have done

(glass shatters)

- Get away, Jean-Paul

It's got nothing to do with us!

- Jean-Paul, Philippe, what's happening”?

- [Gastin] Stand back

- Jean-Paul

Jean-Paul!

{suspenseful music)

Jean-Paul!

Jean-Paul!

Jean-Paul!

Jean-Paul!

(cows moo)

{sombre music)

{suspenseful music)

{soft music)

Hey, what was all that about”?

I only wanted to talk to you.

(sighs) It's not fair
making an old fellow like me

run so fast.

Well?

- Well what?

- Come on now, tell me again

What really happened on Tuesday morning?

- Marcel's told you

- Yes, Marcel told me,
but he didn't tell me

that you left the classroom
after your father did

and went to Leonie's house, hmm.

You actually went in”?

Did you kill her?

- No.

- But she was killed
while you were in there

- Yes.

- Did you see who did it?

- No.

She was standing at the window,

waving a horseshoe at someone

There was a shot, then she fell down

- What did you do?

- Cried.

- Why?

- I don't know.

- ‘Cause you thought
your father had done it?

- Well, I don't know.

- Why did you go to Leonie's house?

- I thought she might be out at that time

- Oh, you wanted to take
something from her house

- Yes.

- Well, what was it?

- I don't know, a letter or
something she said she got,

something in writing

- What did it say”

Did she tell you?

What did Leonie tell you?

Let me get your father and mother, hmm

- He isn't my father!

- Did Leonie tell you that?

- It's true.

She had the letter to prove it

- Jean-Paul, Leonie
was killed accidentally

by the blacksmith

Young Marcel thought his
friend Joseph had done it

so he put the blame on your father

- He isn't my father!

- I suppose Leonie told you
that story about your mother

and another man in Strasbourg, hmm

Well, she got her arithmetic
all wrong, Jean-Paul,

on purpose, I suppose.

That was nine years ago

You're nearly 13.

Come.

It's getting late, let's go home

{soft music)

- You're leaving today?

- Any oysters yet”?

- No, sorry, it's still--

- Neap tide, I know

All right, I'll have the stew.

- Sorry, no stew either.

- Huh?

- Bread and cheese.

Cook's away

- Therese, where has she gone”

- I sent her down to Montroy
to buy herself a ring

Oh, I'm no goed at choosing

- So Leonie's will has
been found at last, eh.

- At the Bank of La Rochelle.

- And Therese gets the lot?

- Oh, fancy that, cutting off
our family altogether, eh

(chuckles) Still, it's known win,

and you got what you came down for.

- Oh, yes