The Madame Blanc Mysteries

You have great taste, monsieur.

This is top of the range.

She's worth it.

You can't take it with you, can you?

Very true.

Wow.

You must be doing great, with these prices.

As great as you would like.

Thank you.

I'll see you soon.

I'll let you know if she likes it.

She will.

You fellas ought to get this door checked out.

[Speaking French] [Telephone rings] [Footsteps ascending, telephone ringing] [Mid-tempo jazz playing] [Dramatic music plays] [Door opens] Raffy!

Non!

Non!

Raffy!

Raffy!

Raffy!

[Alarm blaring] Raffy.

Raffy!

Do you remember the first time That my eyes set on you?

Your smile came from nowhere For sometime never or sometime soon The road is a long one I was only passing through I was only passing through Oh.

This must be it.

Apparently there's been some right goings-on.

Come on, then.

What's wrong?

[Sighs] Cooper keeps texting to meet up.

I'm just saying, I don't want to be best mates with my main competitor.

Is business still bad?

It's not bad, it's just... not quite as good as it was.

I mean, who is this Cooper anyway?

Just appeared out of nowhere.

When does he want to meet you?

Tomorrow at La Couronne.

Apparently Niall's got some Irish stout in, and Cooper's mad keen to try it.

I just...

I just think it's a little bit weird.

You know, Glo is infatuated with him, yet we don't know anything about him.

Oh, he's all right.

And it's lovely to see Gloria so happy.

Just text him and say you can't meet up because you're helping me.

Do I, though?

What?

Do I help?

Course you do.

You sure?

Yeah.

I like your face.

It...makes me focus.

[Chuckles] [Caron speaking French] Caron: Jean, Dom.

Monsieur Ozanne, this is my colleague.

[Sobbing] I wonder if you would come and look at the CCTV with me.

Yeah, of course.

Two minutes.

[Door opens, closes] [Sobbing] Raimund says he went upstairs to answer the phone, and his twin brother, Raffy, finished cashing up.

Out of the window, he saw a man in a clown mask run into the street in front of the shop.

Clown mask?

Uh, yes.

This one.

Arlecchino.

Pardon?

The mask.

It's a character from commedia dell'arte.

16th-century Italian theater.

Sorry.

So he was upstairs, and he saw a man running away?

Oui.

He got suspicious, came downstairs and found his brother suffocating under the tape around his mouth and nose.

Hang on.

How long was he taped up for?

Not more than a minute.

But Raimund told us Raffy suffered from a respiratory disease called hypoxemia, which means even 30 seconds of restricted breath would be enough to kill him.

Oh, that's awful!

Poor bloke.

Yes.

The robber was wearing the clown mask, the same as the Toulouse robberies.

It must be the same person.

But they've never killed anyone before.

No.

Well, I suppose they never thought that taping him up would actually kill him, with his hy... Hypoxemia.

Yeah.

So, what was stolen?

Ah.

A few bottles of perfume, some cash, and this.

This is why I called you.

1940s pressed-glass perfume bottle.

Hmm.

Definitely a collector's item.

Is it valuable?

Well, it's a rare one.

I'd say 500 to 1,000 euro.

Small price to lose your life for.

Mm.

Barbara: Did you find out anything?

On Friday, Jean stays late to do the accounts.

Interesting.

Well, whatever I do, it has to be final.

Final?

Like that old art dealer, Albert Gilbert?

Wow, you really wanted that African painting, didn't you?

How did you manage to kill him while he was in a hospital, surrounded by medics?

Oh... a simple injection of oxygen into his drip.

Stopped his heart [Snaps fingers] instantly.

Oh, mon dieu!

I know!

So easy.

Rory was a bit more difficult.

Oh.

So you did kill Jean's husband?

He was going to be my husband.

And she ruined everything.

I killed him with a lighter that she bought for him.

Quite poetic, don't you think?

Trs potique.

But the only one I didn't kill was Jean.

But she won't escape this time.

Now, I need you to call me this afternoon.

I'll have a plan by then.

The use of a smuggled phone comes at a very high price.

Just call.

[Bell rings] Oh.

Well, till later, dear friend.

Don't look at me with them eyes.

It's the vet that put you on a diet, not me.

Someone smells good.

Hey, handsome.

Hey.

This perfume's amazing.

I've never smelled better.

[Cellphone ringing] Oh, hang on.

Hello, Gendarme Richard.

10:00 a.m.?

Yeah, that's fine.

[Whispering] I totally forgot about this.

Do you want me to walk Douglas?

Oh, that'd be brilliant, thank you.

See you later.

Yeah, that's fine.

Bye.

Now... who said you could borrow that?

[Chuckling] [Laughs] Judith: [Singsong voice] Darling!

Ooh.

Mm!

Have you seen my beautiful Herms scarf anywhere?

Um... Oh!

There you are, my darling.

Now, listen, I'd like to take you out for lunch.

I've got a little surprise for you.

Where were you thinking?

La Couronne.

Well, okay, so long as it's just La Couronne.

I can't possibly go to the country club.

I don't get my collagen fillers until Tuesday.

[Thuds] [Up-tempo pop music playing] Never thought it could be like this Me and you [Knocking on hood] Aaah!

It's okay!

Baby, it's okay.

What the hell are you doing?!

Oh, come here.

I'm so sorry.

I just wanted to make you laugh.

With that thing?!

Douglas found it on our walk.

Reminded me of home.

Is that what your mum looks like?

[Laughs] No, it reminded me of Halloween and all.

You scared me to death!

You don't say.

Shut up!

[Whimpers] [Knocking] Oh, hiya.

It was the glow plugs.

And I've changed the oil as well.

No charge.

Merci, Gloria.

You -- Where did you get that from?

I said, where did you get that mask from?

Hey, there's no need to speak to him like that!

I, um...

I found it.

You need to accompany me to the station.

[Indistinct conversations] Judith: It's never happened before, but... Ah, Jean!

Just what we need.

A woman's opinion.

Jean, now, am I or am I not correct in saying that the perfume a woman wears is as personal as her underwear?

Oh, um...

I've never really thought about it.

Darling, that's not quite the point.

No, but, oh, no, just tell me, Jean, what is your most trusted scent?

I don't know.

Whatever I get for Christmas, usually.

[Laughter] Well, Judith has a signature smell created by two of the finest noses in France.

Noses?

Um, official term for perfumer.

Oh.

Who knew?

But my husband, who made a big deal about surprising me today, has chosen to buy me a cheap copy which he thought I wouldn't notice.

Darling, that is just nonsense.

I collected your new bottle from Ozanne's last week.

I promise.

Ozanne's perfumery?

Then you collected the wrong one.

But they both smell the same to me.

So you're suggesting that Ozanne's are suddenly skimping on quality ingredients?

Of course not.

If it wasn't for the fact that poor Raffy has passed away, I would go in all guns blazing.

So you get the same perfume from Ozanne's every time?

Oh, yes.

For almost 15 years now.

Their mother created it for me.

But this most recent bottle, it smelled different?

Yes, it smells absolutely ghastly.

Um, would it be possible to take a look at these bottles sometime?

I'm helping Caron with his investigation of the Ozannes, and it would just be good to know a bit more about them.

How about now?

No time like the present.

Oh, yes!

Splendid.

Champers at the chteau.

I was just about to get a sandwich, actually.

Come on, darling.

Come on.

It'll be a laugh, this.

You've got to let me see him!

Gloria, you cannot go through there.

I don't know what you think he's done.

Where did he get this from?

I've never seen it before in my life.

Not until Cooper was messing about with it this morning.

He said Douglas found it.

And you witnessed this?

Mm, no.

Gloria, he's not under arrest.

We just need to ask him some questions.

You are welcome to wait here in reception.

Cooper is a good man, Caron.

I can vouch for him.

Gloria, how long have you and Monsieur McGraw known each other?

Nearly two months.

Hmm.

Merci.

Where did you find the mask?

I took Douglas for a walk this morning, and he found it.

[Chuckles] It was so kooky, I thought I'd scare Glo with it.

So you were on your own when you found it?

Yeah.

What brought you to Sainte Victoire, Monsieur McGraw?

Well, I lived in Toulouse, and...

I'd gone through a huge divorce and... wanted a fresh start.

Where were you yesterday at 5: 00 p.m.?

Shopping.

Can anyone vouch for you?

I was on my own.

At 5: 00 p.m. yesterday, there was a fatal robbery in Sainte Victoire, and the perpetrator was wearing this mask.

Apologies for keeping you waiting.

I needed to prepare.

My arms and hands have been washed thoroughly in perfume-free soap.

It is absolutely vital that there are no other interfering smells polluting the skin.

One whiff of an intruder can throw our noses into completely the wrong direction.

You may spray.

[Spritzes] The left arm is the remains of the original.

The right is the cheap copy.

You may smell.

Oh.

Oh, right.

Um... [Both sniff] [Both sniff] Hmm.

Uh... Well, they're both lovely, but I think the older one has more, um...depth.

Yeah.

Yeah, there is a difference.

The old one smells... nice, whereas, the other one smells like, uh... toilet air freshener.

Well done, Dominic.

Not quite the eloquence I would have liked, but I absolutely agree.

It was not cheap!

I bought that from Ozanne's.

My signature smell evokes memories from my childhood.

Ahh!

The olfactory bulb.

Sorry?

It's the part of the brain that processes smells.

And it's right next to the part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is crucial in creating new memories.

So memory is right next to smell.

Really?

Mm, yeah.

We've all got a scent memory.

Come on.

what's the first smell you can remember?

Um...

The smell of rain on a garden after a hot summer.

Yeah.

I was about three years old.

I got told off for sniffing the soil.

[Laughs] That's called petrichor.

Smell of rain.

Mine is the furniture polish that my gran used to use.

When my mother was dying, I sprayed her with the perfume that she wore on her wedding day to my father.

Every few hours.

She had no idea who I was by then, but I knew that she would leave this world with a beautiful memory in her head.

Which is why I am absolutely devastated with this cheap version.

As soon as Raffy is in the ground, Raimund will be getting the sharp end of my tongue, you mark my words.

Right, well, um...

I best get back to work.

Yes.

Well, thanks for your little visit.

Oh, yes, thank you.

You have quite the nose, Dominic.

Thank you.

I think.

Jean: Get you.

I couldn't even tell the difference.

What can I say?

I am a man of hidden talent.

[Cellphones chiming] Gloria: Hey, Dom.

Gloria: Hey, Jean.

I'm at the police station.

They've taken Cooper in!

I need your help.

Please hurry up!

Oh, thanks so much for coming.

I wasn't gonna call, but he's been in there for ages.

What for?

It was about a mask Cooper found.

And now I ain't seen him for hours.

You're joking.

What's going on with Cooper?

I'm holding Mr. McGraw for further questioning, because I think he was involved in the robbery on Ozanne's parfumerie.

Why?

He was found in possession of the Arlecchino clown mask used in the Toulouse robberies, and he has no alibi.

He found that mask this morning when walking Douglas.

Look, why don't we give you a lift home?

You look like you could do with a break.

I'm not going anywhere.

Look, love, I don't think for one minute that Cooper is involved in any robberies.

Just bear with me, okay?

Jean, I think there's something you should know.

Last night, he gave me this.

Glo, I-I'm gonna have to tell Caron.

I knew there was something dodgy about him.

Just because a man buys a bottle of perfume doesn't mean to say that he's a robber.

Yeah, but how can you be sure of that?

He's got no alibi, and he was found in possession of a mask and a bottle of perfume from the shop that was robbed.

It's not looking good, is it?

No.

[Cellphone chimes] Oh.

Oh!

Come on.

Where are you going?

Come on.

Ah, Jean!

I have news.

Hello.

I have been to see Simone.

I need to tell you every detail.

Of course you do.

She said that she felt very lucky that I came to visit her.

Oh, Jean.

After a few minutes, it was like... well, we forgot where we were.

Forgot everything that happened.

That's quite a big statement, Charlie.

You be careful.

Oui.

Ah, so, my surprise!

Why does she do that?

I have no idea what you're talking about.

It only needed a good clean.

Where did you get this?

Enrique's called me.

It wasn't their thing, but they know that it's the real deal.

[Door closes] Can you give me a lift to Enrique's Antiques?

Yeah, course I can.

Jump in.

That's the perfume bottle that was supposed to have been stolen from Ozanne's.

Caron showed me a photograph of it yesterday.

Oh.

[Cellphone vibrating] So, will Jean be working late this Friday?

Yes.

Charlie confirmed it.

Excellent.

I've decided what to do with Jean.

I've decided she's going up in flames.

Pardon?

Jean.

She's going to burn.

And she's provided the perfect weapon.

Go on.

In the window is a Simon and Halbig doll.

The body is papier-mch.

I'm going to use the old linseed-oil-and-rag trick.

Much safer for me.

How do you mean?

Boiled linseed oil generates heat as it dries, causing spontaneous combustion.

The place will go up like a wildfire!

I'm so confused.

So, someone from Ozanne's sold the pressed-glass perfume bottle to Enrique's weeks ago.

Who was it?

Raffy.

Oh, they've dealt with him loads of times, apparently.

That is weird.

We need to speak to Caron.

Yeah.

The perfume bottle wasn't stolen from the shop.

Raffy sold it to Enrique's weeks before.

Are you sure?

Enrique knew Raffy very well.

I see.

And there's something else.

Oui?

I don't know if it means anything, but Judith is convinced that the Ozanne twins sold her inferior perfume.

It smelled like toilet air fresher.

You think the two are connected?

I don't know.

I do have some other information.

Ozanne's was mortgaged to the hilt, and they were behind on the repayments.

[Exhales sharply] That doesn't sound good, does it?

Maybe Raffy owed someone some money and this is nothing to do with the Toulouse robberies.

But, Jean, all of the evidence still points towards Cooper being involved.

Mm.

I think we need to talk to Raimund again.

Listen, I'll call you later.

I've got an airport run.

Okay.

Bye.

[Caron speaking] Oui.

[Both laugh] My mother loved London.

She would make us smell the wooden beams in Liberty's.

Did she collect things?

Like perfume bottles?

Like the 1940s pressed-glass one that you said was in the shop, Raimund.

The one you described in detail on your insurance claim.

Yes.

We know that Raffy sold it to Enrique's weeks ago.

I was so embarrassed that my own brother would sell items that had traveled through the generation of our family.

I thought I'd cover it up by putting it on the insurance claim.

And the remortgage of the shop?

You've done your homework.

I am a policeman.

We had other things we could have sold, but he wouldn't have it.

I just wish we could have sorted this out before the thief took his life.

He was all I had in this world.

Very well.

[Sniffs] Oh, Raimund!

I think your own fragrance is the best in the shop.

Oh.

Of course.

Merci beaucoup.

[Door closes] [Birds and insects chirping] I think you've frozen, love.

Errr!

[Laughs] You daft head!

How you doing?

Well, I've decided to spend a night studying perfume.

I've got an itch that I need to scratch.

You can get cream for that, you know?

You got one of them ring lights on?

Have I heck?

Put Vaseline on the lens, then?

What are you on about?

No, I'm just saying, you proper scrub up well on camera, you know.

Shut up!

No, I won't.

You do.

So do you.

Er!

[Chuckles] Right, I'd better go and scratch this itch.

Make sure to turn that camera off first.

[Laughs] I'll see you tomorrow.

Indeed you will.

[Types] [Typing] [Converse in French] Caron: I don't understand.

It's all about the ambergris.

Jean, I don't know what you're talking about, but I do not have time to go through another theory.

I have less than two hours to charge Cooper.

We've just found that he bought that perfume for Gloria minutes before Raffy was killed.

New information has come to light.

You bought a bottle of perfume from Ozanne's perfumery minutes before the robbery.

Why didn't you mention this before?

I said I was shopping.

So you were there just before the robbery, and you were found in possession of this mask, which looks identical to the one worn by the Toulouse robber.

Look, what I'm saying is true.

The damn dog dug it up!

It looked freaky, so I thought I'd keep it.

This morning, I also found out, Monsieur McGraw, that you have a police record back in the U.S. You're seriously hanging your entire case on something that happened in Ohio when I was a kid?

Please, Jean.

It's all circumstantial.

I-I'm sorry, Cooper.

There's nothing I can do.

[Knock on door] Cooper: This is a violation of my human rights!

I'm being incarcerated because a dog found a Halloween mask, and I bought a bottle of perfume?!

I demand a lawyer now!

Calm down.

This is evidence.

[Sniffs] Caron, we need to go.

What are you talking about?

I am interviewing a suspect.

We have to go now.

Cooper, I'll sort this.

We only have one more hour left with this suspect.

Jean, what on earth are you doing?

Trust me.

I'll explain on the way.

Merci beaucoup.

Oh.

Bonjour.

Raimund, um... How was your relationship with your brother?

Like any family.

We were up, we were down.

He could be difficult.

But I loved him.

I never had a brother.

He was all I had in the world.

Were you close growing up?

Well, we were very different people.

There are a lot of myths about twins.

In fact, we were quite the opposite in most things, but we always got on.

So you loved him?

Of course I loved him.

Then why did you kill him?

Killed my brother?

You saw on the surveillance camera.

The Toulouse robber came in, took my brother's life, and I saw him run away.

The Toulouse robbers have been caught.

They were nowhere near here that evening.

Also, we only have your statement that you saw a robber run away.

There was no other witnesses.

We spoke to everyone in the square, but no one saw anything.

Have you anything to say?

Okay.

This is how I see it.

You left the shop and told your brother that you were going to answer a phone call upstairs.

You went into the back office, and you cut the phone call off.

You then changed your clothes and ran out of the back door.

As he was about to lock the front door, you forced your way into the shop.

You then put the fatal tape 'round his nose and mouth, knowing full well that, with his hypoxemia condition, he would be dead within 30 seconds.

You then made the pretense of stealing things, and went out the way you came.

You changed your clothes back.

And you ran back in the shop, making a big deal of reviving your dead brother.

But you forgot your tie.

Rubbish.

You have no proof.

There is this.

Ah, yes.

The Arlecchino mask.

I think [Sniffs] you would find it hard to dispute that this is your personal fragrance.

And I expect we will find your DNA on it, Raimund.

I bet you thought you had buried it forever.

We've got a little doggy to thank for that.

You buried it on wasteland on the way home.

I mean, who on earth would find that?

What you got there, Douglas?

[Chuckles] Come on, boy.

And I bet if we searched your house, we'd find the ambergris.

Because that is what this is all about, isn't it, Raimund?

Explain to me again, Jean -- What is ambergris?

It's basically whale vomit.

A waxy mass floating in the sea.

But it's worth 25,000 euros per kilo to a perfumer, isn't it, Raimund?

Why is it so expensive?

Well, it's a rare commodity that enables the perfume to stay longer on the skin.

And it has a much purer effect than its synthetic counterpart.

And that's why Judith's perfume smelled slightly different, isn't it?

You used the cheap stuff.

I suspect that you wanted to sell the ambergris and pay off all your debts, and Raffy didn't.

He was having none of it.

So you killed him for it.

How could you possibly know?

The rock lamp.

It wasn't salt rock, was it?

It was a huge lump of ambergris.

And now it's missing.

[Sighs] Raffy was impossible.

Always the favorite.

The better-looking one.

Always the joker, the genius.

He's the one who inherited Mother's skills as a perfumer.

Well... that picture of you as little boys was, well, my final clue.

The rock lamp in the picture is much bigger than the one in the shop.

And there's only one reason that lamp can get smaller.

'Cause little pieces were being chipped away.

My mother left us this business.

And it was always drummed into me that he was the talent.

Go on.

She said the ambergris would last us a lifetime and never to sell it.

She used ambergris in half of her perfume.

But fashion changes.

In America, ambergris is illegal.

It became so rare and expensive that Raffy would only use it in the best, most expensive perfumes.

Like the one you make for Judith Lloyd James?

Yes.

But I made hers without the ambergris this time.

And Raffy became incandescent.

I said to him, "She's just a silly old lady!

She would never notice."

He just didn't understand that we had to sell the ambergris, otherwise we would be ruined.

He flat-out refused.

And then... he sold Mother's perfume bottle.

And that meant the world to me.

That was the last straw.

Who knew whale vomit was so valuable?

Well, I'd heard of ambergris, but it was only when I did my homework that I realized it was so expensive.

Mm.

Proper little swot, you, aren't you?

Always have been.

I used to hate homework.

Used to come up with the most elaborate excuses.

Uh, example, please.

The budgie set it on fire.

Shut it!

No, that's true, that one.

We had a budgie that had a penchant for my dad's lit cigarettes.

One day, out of his cage, he swooped down, nicked the fag out of his gob, dropped it on my homework -- pkoo!

Went up like kindling.

Yeah, course it did.

It did!

Course it did.

It did!

[Laughs] Oh.

Got to face the music.

Right behind you, sister.

[Both clear throats] Cooper, um, I just wanted to say how sorry... Jean, you've nothing to be sorry for.

You got me out of that jail.

It's not your fault, Jean.

Basically, it's Douglas's fault.

He always creates drama when he's on a diet.

Bit like me.

[Laughter] Hey, how about we try a pint of that Irish stout Niall keeps banging on about?

Sure, that sounds great.

Go on, I'll join you.

Oh, and me.

Though I have to warn you, last time I tried that stuff, I was on a hen night in Dublin.

They wouldn't let me back on the plane home.

So we're in for a good night.

[Laughter] [Cellphone chimes] Oh.

Um, I'll just be a minute.

[Speaking indistinctly] [Rattling] [Rhythmic beeping] [Keypad beeping] [Rhythmic beeping stops] Well... It's time for me to dress you up for the special occasion, my darling.

[Liquid glugging] Ah-ahhh Hello, Barbara.

Ah-ahhh Ah-ahhh Ah-ahhh Not my Simon and Halbig doll.

Took me ages to source that.

Oh.

The old linseed oil self-combustion trick.

Very clever.

How did you know?

So you were gonna set fire to our shop with me in the back and Charlie upstairs?

[Footsteps] [Door opens] Caron: Richard!

Barbara Kingsley, I'm arresting you for the murder of Albert Gilbert, the murder of Rory White, the attempted murder of Jean White, and attempted grand arson.

[Laughs] You have absolutely no proof, you fools!

You.

No.

Caron came to see me when I started my sentence.

He told me that if you ever visited me, I should let him know.

And I did.

You confessed everything.

[Chuckles] You could not help but show off.

I was wearing a wire every time we spoke.

Barbara: I killed him with a lighter that she gave to him.

Quite poetic, don't you think?

[Caron speaking] It's over, Barbara.

It will never be over.

[Sighs] Why did you only tell me this afternoon?

I always believed you, Jean, but we had no evidence.

I had to get it, and this was the only way.

I could not let you know before.

It would have been too dangerous.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

[Door opens [Door closes] She was a right nutter, weren't she?

Yeah.

Hey, hey.

You okay?

[Breathing heavily] Yeah.

I don't know why I'm crying.

I'm really happy.

Relief, and the fact she's finally been arrested.

Yeah.

You're safe now.

Come on.

The road is a long one I was only passing through I was only passing through