The bloody nude body of a young white woman is discovered at the dump. Her face has been smashed in and her nipples cut off. Eww. The police are on the scene collecting evidence. Captain Laure Berthaud fills in the new prosecutor on what little they know about the unidentified victim.
After the opening credits, we see the new prosecutor dealing with some outraged parents whose daughter claims her teacher, Mrs. Sauvanet, dressed up as a witch and hit the girl with a broom. The parents have gotten a petition together to try and get Sauvanet replaced. And this has what to do with what?
Down at the morgue the M.E., Marquant, is trying to carefully remove a bag that was placed over the dead woman's head. (Is this going to be gross? Do I need to look away?) Ah, it is gross! Even Capt. Berthaud has to look away. For the second time it is mentioned the dead woman must have been beautiful, hence the ferocity of the attack towards her face. However Marquant says the wounds to her face were done after she was dead.
More gross stuff goes on. The X-Rays show the woman once had a broken leg that was put back together with a plate and screws. The M.E. hopes to use this as a means of identifying the woman. Why we have to see him actually remove it, I don't know. Anyway, there is Cyrillic writing on the plate so they're working on the theory the woman is from a former Communist country.
Berthaud's lieutenant has to leave the room before he passes out. I can't blame him but Berthaud does, fussing at him that this isn't his first autopsy.
Back to the prosecutor and some Law & Order: French Division. He's arguing a case in court against a couple who sound like a pair of gems. They tied some guy to a radiator and slashed him with a carpet knife. When the couples' lawyer stands up to begin his defense, Mr. Escudie suddenly clutches his chest and falls to the floor dead. You'd think this would be enough to stop the proceedings, but Escudie's partner, Miss Karlsson, takes over the case and is confident she can get an acquittal. No one seems to mourn the passing of Mr. Escudie.
Back to the dead girl that they now believe was an Eastern European prostitute. The prosecutor (if he has a name I still haven't caught it) asks Berthaud if she got his message about the teacher case. If there is supposed to be an attraction between Berthaud and the prosecutor, I ain't feelin' it. Yeah he's a good looking guy, but when its not there, its not there.
We go to a rather small apartment where a man and a woman are discussing the murder of the girl. The man is a cop and the woman is a prostitute he's hoping to get more information from. Perhaps she knew the dead woman or has heard something out on The Street. The washed-up hooker offers him some coke, and I don't mean the kind you pour over ice cubes.
Back to the courthouse where Karlsson has indeed won her case. Now here I can feel the attraction between her and Prosecutor With No Name. Unfortunately this means Prosecutor is free to get back to the teacher case. What has this got to do with anything? Mrs. Sauvanet claims she never dressed up as a witch but she does use a puppet witch in her classroom. Both the Prosecutor and I find Sauvanet a bit off her rocker from the things she says.
Berthaud's team has learned a young Romanian woman, Sofia Andrescu, has been reported missing although she doesn't quite fit the profile of the dead woman. Berthaud notices one of her guys isn't acting quite right. That would be Coke Cop.
A skinny guy is about to pick the lock to an apartment when he's scared off by the approach of the elevator. It's Berthaud and Coke Cop come to interview Sofia's sister, Elina, who was the person who reported Sofia missing. Elina doesn't answer the door but a passing neighbor is just chocked full of information about the woman, like how she reads Balzac, will have her PhD. in biology, and works for a pharmaceutical lab. Thank you for the info, nosey neighbor who knows everything. What would crime shows be without these neighbors?
Berthaud leaves Coke Cop to watch the apartment for when Elina comes back. Coke Cop is too busy cutting himself a line to notice Skinny Guy leaving the apartment building with a large bag. It's up to Nosey Neighbor to call Berthaud and alert her that Elina's apartment has just been ransacked. A quick check shows the girl's computer is missing. This was no regular burglary but a clean-up job.
We learn Prosecutor has split up with his wife of eight years and he's mainly been living in hotels. His friend Benoit urges him to get a new apartment. I don't know about the Prosecutor but I'll take the apartment they're looking at right now. Ah, I finally learn Prosecutor's first name is Pierre. Now what's his last name?
The cops determine the dead woman is really Elina, not her sister Sofia. Berthaud is suspicious Elina was living such a luxurious lifestyle for a student who just started working at the pharmaceutical lab. And where's Sofia?
More boring stuff about the student/teacher case. Now it's beginning to look like the child's family are very suspicious.
Prosecutor Pierre is having lunch with Benoit and shows his friend the picture of Elina (before she had her face beaten in). Why Benoit, what's that strange look upon your face? Did you know the dead woman?
Karlsson gets a job offer to work with another lawyer who likes to play with sticks. Again, what has this got to do with anything?
Prosecutor Pierre calls in the complaining parents from the beginning of the episode. He's figured out the girl's older sister is the one beating her, not the slightly cracked teacher. The mother forged some of the signatures on her petition which could be a charge against her. He throws the parents out of his office. Mrs. Sauvanet is innocent but ends up having a nervous breakdown anyway. Is that the end of this storyline? Why was this even in here?
Berthaud gets a lead. A taxi driver comes forward to say he gave Elina a ride the night of her murder. She had left a large diary behind in the taxi. How convenient. The diary is filled with names and addresses of well known people.
Clement! Prosecutor Pierre Clement! Now was that so hard, Show?
Pierre learns one of the addresses in Elina's diary is for his friend Benoit who finally admits he did know Elina.
So dark. So dreary. It's like all the colors have been washed out. That's the only thing that's been washed. Everything - and everybody - seems to have a layer of grime. I'm not saying all French people are dirty, its just the way this program was filmed. It makes me want to grab some soap and water and scrub everything - and everyone - in sight.
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