Hiding The Truth
Episode 3 of Criminal France begins with Matif and Sarkissian conducting an interview with Jerome Lacombe. They ask him why he was fleeing when he saw the police and he replies that he started running because he was scared. They then reveal that the victim is Remi Fabretti and he was beaten so badly that he died on his way to the hospital. As it turns out, Jerome is unable to provide an alibi for the whole night. While Matif tells him that Remi visited a gay bar called Access that night, Jerome explains that he and his team went out for dinner and drinks to celebrate their recent successes. The waitress from the restaurant made a statement saying that the boys were quite loud and made lewd comments towards her. Sarkissian then produces Jerome’s phone and in a group chat they find a lot of gay insults aimed at other people. They then try to make him admit that he is a homophobe and he is the one that beat up Remi. During the break, Laeticia confides in Omar and thinks that maybe she came back to work too early. Sarkissian tells Audrey that she needs to take the reigns and not always hide behind the glass. After the break, Audrey and Laeticia carry on with the interrogation while Omar confronts Hagen about being too harsh on Audrey and not doing anything to help a troubled Laeticia. He tells him that he thinks he’s doing that so that when things go south, he will be made team leader. The questioning starts again and Audrey tells Jerome that no one believes him but also that she suspects that he’s hiding something else, something more personal. She takes out the forensic report and reads that Rémi had sexual relations before his death. When asked if he met Remi at the bar, Jerome vehemently denies it but starts to look very uncomfortable. Audrey then takes a picture of his daughters and tries to use them as a way to make him talk. He starts saying that he can’t say anything and that he will lose everything he has, but then quickly changes his mind and insists that none of it is true. Audrey sees him getting more and more nervous and he hides his feet under the table, which prompts her to ask him to remove his shoes and socks. He does so and reveals his painted toenails. Taking pity on him, Audrey tells him that she understands it mustn’t be easy to work within his team but he replies that he doesn’t hold a grudge against them. He then reveals that he’s been living a double life as a transvestite. After the restaurant, he changed his clothes and that’s when he met Remi at the bar. After a few drinks, they went to the backyard and had sex. Afterwards they left the bar and were followed by a group of men. As the men chased after them, Jerome fell and managed to hide. Petrified, he heard everything but was unable to do anything. Audrey ends the session by telling him that he will need to give a full description of the men and eventually be a witness. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the case, all his details are likely to be made public. Afterwards, Sarkissian admits to Audrey that he was the one who let it slip to the Webber lawyer that Laeticia was signed off work. He didn’t want to admit it as he’s close to retiring and he didn’t think she would last more than a few weeks. After this revelation, she orders him to go and speak to the director and tell him he will need to be transferred. After their conversation, Hagen arrives and bitterly congratulates Audrey on a job well done. The last episode of Criminal France was not as shocking as the first two in terms of twists, but it was still an emotional one nonetheless. Stuck in between two lives, Jerome didn’t feel like he had any choice but lie about that fateful night. After this tragedy, he will have to live with the guilt of not having tried to help Remi but also deal with the ramifications of his other life being made public to his friends and family. Will he lose his job and his wife? Things are looking bleak for Jerome. The last episode also brought some closure for Audrey with Sarkissian coming forward about who blew the whistle on Laeticia’s leave of absence and also with Hagen finally admitting defeat. Criminal France’s episodes have been very interesting and quite emotional. While the third has been a little less shocking, these three installments are definitely worth the watch.
