- A woman is found murdered. All the DNA evidence collected at the crime scene converges on a suspect, in prison at the time of the facts. Astrid and Raphaelle quickly understand that they must be dealing with a serial killer.
- A man is wiping clean a worksurface in the kitchen of a flat. He packs up to leave and as he does so he turns and looks at a woman, apparently dead on the floor. He smiles, and continues and leaves without further apparent emotion. Now we are in the canteen at the Criminal Records Office in Paris. Astrid's immediate boss and a colleague are making snide remarks about Astrid, whom they resent for her non-conformity and for her bond with Raphaëlle Coste, the mid-level police detective. The director of the Office M. Gaillard, intercepts her and sits with her, and congratulates her on how far she has developed since she started working there. He is her legal guardian, because of her autistic condition, and he suggests it might be appropriate to terminate that arrangement. She should think about it. Now she is at her place of work; she imagines her dead Father coming to tell her that he too is impressed with her progress; there is a tender moment where they discuss the subtleties of some classical music, but the bubble is burst by a text from Raphaëlle. Astrid goes to police HQ. There has been a death - Camille Vavin, 25 years old. As has become their habit, Raphaëlle and Astrid go to the murder scene together. Enguien, one of Raphaëlle's staff, explains the situation there. The victim seems to have let the murderer in voluntarily. Fournier, the police pathologist, is there; the victim was killed by a clean cut to the throat, at about 10 pm last night. Astrid notices that the victim's eyes are closed. The eyes stay open or closed at the moment of death - why would her eyes have been closed? The forensics investigator says that there is DNA everywhere; in particular under her fingernails. And there are fingerprints on the weapon. The investigator is M. Frédéric, who has expressed romantic interest in Astrid in the past, but been rebuffed by her. At police HQ they are discussing the case. The victim led a quiet life and there is no obvious explanation for the attack. Her boyfriend Simon Cusson is in the interview room. But his grief at the death seems genuine; and her parents met with her every week; there is no sign of any family drama. Interviewing Cusson gets nowhere; she smoked the occasional spliff, but nothing more. However investigations show that there is a violent man, Marc Varenne, living in the block of flats. He is wearing an ankle tag in connection with an earlier assault, on his ex and he has been convicted of trafficking drugs. But the tag shows that he was at home when the murder occurred. But the prints found at the murder scene are those of Varenne. Raphaëlle and her colleagues go and arrest Varenne, with guns drawn. He had a gun in his hand, but seeing the armed police, he didn't attempt to use it. Immediately afterwards we see a short sequence in which another man goes to the door of his flat with a gun concealed behind his back; this time it is a delivery courier who hands over a package, delivering it to a company called ICHAF.. Varenne is questioned at police HQ and denies murdering anyone. Astrid has been watching the interview and feels something is wrong. The Commissioner has Raphaëlle's report and is pleased that another case has been wrapped up. But he now presses Raphaëlle to take a holiday - she seems not to have taken a break for a long time. Raphaëlle goes to see Astrid at the Criminal Records Office. A conversation starts about Bach, and the fact that he included puzzles, or "enigmas" in his music. Astrid likes that; and also she listened to Bach's music with her Father. Raphaëlle tells her that she is going on holiday with Théo, for three days. She was expecting more of a reaction from Astrid, but Astrid simply notes the fact. Now Fournier is at the Criminal Records Office to see Astrid. He has looked for DNA or other traces on the eyelids of the deceased woman, but there is none. The corneas usually go opaque if the eyelids are open at the time of death. In this case the corneas were opaque, suggesting that someone closed them later. Fournier feels awkward, but he now thanks Astrid and congratulates her on her knowledge; it has helped him immensely to consider peripheral matters when examining bodies, and she is probably the greatest criminal experts he has ever worked with. She has helped him grow. He really enjoys working in collaboration with her. Raphaëlle is now with her son on a fishing trip, and Astrid phones her. There is something wrong in the forensic reports on Varenne, that have just come in. The hair samples analysed in the lab had indications of cannabis, and yet when Varenne was routinely tested on arrival at the police station, he was clear. This appears to mean that the samples from the scene of the crime are irrelevant and that Varenne is innocent. In fact the hair was two months old, and Raphaëlle is now saying to the Commissioner (on the phone from the trip) that they were set up. So they take further samples from poor old Varenne. Astrid is talking to Frédéric, the head of forensics; is it possible to skew the DNA tests? Well, yes, it might be possible. A man wearing a woolly hat has taken the actual sample and comes to Frédéric to say that the samples have been taken. Next we see the man who was wearing the woolly hat, sitting in his room. He is raging with anger. He removes a disguise and a wig. It is the man who took the ICHOR parcel in. Astrid is in the canteen at the Records Office, and she finds M. Gaillard. He is the head of the office, but also her legal guardian since her Father died. She asks him to come to the Paper Room, a disused space where she keeps papers when she is trying to sort out the facts of a case. She asks him to take off his shoes, as she does when Raphaëlle goes there. She has never taken anyone other than Raphaëlle there. She has collated thirteen other murders that seem to be linked to the present one. In every case the accused has been convicted based on forensic evidence only, and she is sure that they are all innocent. There was never any motive and they all protested their innocence, just like Varenne. But the link is the criminal's signature. In every case the victim's eyes had been closed. You don't die that way unless you are asleep. Gaillard is impressed with Astrid's work. Your Father would be proud of you. There is now a flashback; Gaillard is telling Astrid that her Father has been killed in action. We move on to some official body concerned with welfare, and they suggest appointing a guardian for her. The bureaucrats agree that she needs to be "placed immediately", we assume in an institution, and Astrid bolts out of the door. In fact we already know that Gaillard was her guardian. Back in the present Gaillard rings Nico, Raphaëlle's deputy, and asks him to come to the Criminal Records Office. He agrees to do so. We now see a sinister-looking man approaching Astrid in the Criminal Records Office. He says he is there to hand over the new forensic information about Varenne, but she says it is too soon - it shouldn't be ready yet. Astrid looks at the results and is suspicious, but in her unguarded manner she refers to "the other murders". She says out loud, "The only explanation is that the results were falsified." Nico promised Gaillard to go to the Criminal Records Office but now realises he hasn't time and he ask Arthur to go instead. Back at the Records Office, the sinister man has grabbed Astrid and has a knife at her throat. He realises that all the files relating to his previous murders are out on the desk; he tells Astrid to put them away. Gaillard comes on the scene and doesn't see the man. He asks Astrid if there is a problem? Yes there is a problem. Arthur is coming into the building to see Gaillard, and is taken to Astrid, because he has gone to see her. As Arthur approaches, they find Gaillard dead. Raphaëlle has come back from her break and rushes to the scene. The Commissioner is there, and Astrid's office is a crime scene, where forensic evidence is being taken. Astrid is missing. There are no other DNA deposits at the scene than Gaillard's and Astrid's. They have the DNA from Varenne, and he had cocaine in his system - the first test was a false negative. The Commissioner has told Raphaëlle to leave as she is not objective in this case, but she asks for permission to examine the crime scene, as she knows Astrid may have left a message in some way. Raphaëlle discovers that some of the file boxes have been disarranged; there are five shelves. Previously Astrid had explained to Raphaëlle how the composer Bach left his name by the arrangement of notes on the staves in his music - in his case the notes B-A-C-H (in German notation). Could the files by a musical message? They examine the layout and spell out A-C-E-G-A. Frédéric is there and says that he has a man called Esteban Acega on his forensic team. They rush to Acega's flat and break in. There are countless forensic samples there, and folders containing the identity of past and future victims, and other apparatus. But Acega is gone. In a big warehouse shed, Astrid is tied to a chair. In her imagine Raphaëlle appears and urges her not to put up a fight, but to play for time, on the basis that she Raphaëlle will find her, give n a little time. The killer returns with his box of apparatus. Astrid mentions that he is hairless and doesn't sweat - that's how he doesn't leave DNA traces at the scenes. Anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, she says. Acega turns increasingly threatening, but now in imagination Astrid's father appears at her side, telling her to trust herself. She is capable; keep on buying time. She mentions his physical condition, and that people mocked him. He denies that, but we can see now that his murderous tendencies are due to being laughed at by others for his hairless state. Now Raphaëlle has discovered the delivery package at Acega's house; it was delivered for a company called ICHOR and they know the address. Acega is growing increasingly threatening and is clearly on the point of killing Astrid. But Raphaëlle has arrived and kills him in a single shot. Astrid goes to the mortuary and sees the body of Gaillard. Raphaëlle is there too. Now we see a flashback to the two officials in the Guardianship department; they are saying to Gaillard that they propose to take Astrid into care; he tells them he is applying for guardianship, and he tells them to go away. Back in the present, Astrid is back in her office. The other clerical workers are gathered round. This includes her immediate supervisor, who has been adversarial to her in the past. He now apologises and they all say they will do their best to help her now. Left alone, she tidies her desk. She is now before a probate judge, whose job is to decide what to do about her guardianship, as Gaillard is dead. Would she like to be released from guardianship? Gaillard had sent a letter before his death recommending that she is ready for this. If she indicates that this is what she wants, she can be released from it and will be a fully responsible adult person. We don't hear her answer, but she leaves and Raphaëlle is waiting for her. Astrid says she said yes. "I am a fully responsible adult". Raphaëlle hugs her. Astrid is momentarily horrified at the physical contact but then forces a smile.
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