Paul-Marie Fragonard

'''POTENTIAL SPOILER WARNING: YOU ARE CURRENTLY VIEWING INFORMATION ABOUT A SUSPECT IN ONE OF THE INVESTIGATIONS. IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED THE THE JUDGE CASE YET, IT'S BEST TO AVOID THIS PAGE. '''

Fragonard is one of the many passengers you can pick up in Night Call. He is also a suspect in The Judge case.

Passidex

 * You have met Fragonard.
 * This is unmissable. You'll get it upon your first interaction.


 * You have heard all his stories.
 * You do cry sometimes.
 * Fragonard told you about a serial killer.
 * Fragonard admitted to having vomited.
 * Fragonard told you about the hostage situation in a sex shop.
 * Fragonard hunted a tiger.
 * Fragonard was married to a judge.
 * You lied to Fragonard.
 * Fragonard told you about one of his female colleagues.
 * Fragonard told you about the jewellery store heist.
 * Fragonard told you about a crime scene.
 * You found  the murder weapon    the murder weapon  
 * Fragonard can leave the gun on the seat during The Judge case. This may be a random event, but it IS obtainable.


 * You thought about when you met Fragonard.



Transcript


Night 2
« Hôpital Saint-Louis, please. »

 SPOILER WARNING: This is the final night of the case.

Your next passenger is... your suspect. The retired policeman. Judging by his looks, you could have easily guessed.

FRAGONARD: "Hôpital Saint-Louis, please."

You nod your head and start the engine. Your passenger seems to have his mind elsewhere... Not entirely awake... stubble on his chin... You scan his skin, his movements, his attitude, his...

FRAGONARD: "It's cold as shit this morning..."

His voice makes you jump. You nod.

FRAGONARD: "You have more people or not as many when it's cold out like this?"

HOUSSINE: "Folks tend to stay at home when it's too cold... There might be more of them but they make shorter trips."

FRAGONARD: "Makes sense..."

Dead silence.

(Talk about the weather.) (Say nothing.)

TBA

See below...

You drive in silence for a second. The road goes by. You don't want to look in your side mirrors too often... You haven't seen a trace of the cops yet. Busset told you not to worry, but...

FRAGONARD: "You know, it's funny... Just this morning, I was thinking about an old case. One of my first cases, actually. It was just after the Mesrine case... You know who Mesrine is, don't you? Or am I really that old?"

You sense it's the right time to get him to talk.

« That rings a bell... »   « Nope. Never heard of him. »   « Public Enemy Number 1? »   « Yes, yes. »

TBA

TBA

See below...

TBA

FRAGONARD: "Exactly. Public enemy number 1. I joined the force a few months after his death and everybody was still talking about it. Public opinion was very divided: did the cops murder Mesrine or was it self-defence? I know the answer. They shot him down like a dog."

He looks straight at you. You can see the hint of an underground fire roaring deep in his eyes.

FRAGONARD: "Now, I most certainly do not want to die like a dog, understood?"

He catches his breath and is clearly shaken. He ever-so-slowly reaches into his pocket and pulls out his weapon.

FRAGONARD: "Where did Busset ask you to take me?"

« Uh... Excuse me? »   « Busset? »   « I don't know what you're talking about. »   (Tell the truth.)

TBA

TBA

TBA

See below...

HOUSSINE: "A... a warehouse... some old garage. They're waiting for us there."

FRAGONARD: "An ambush. I'm no Mesrine, you know. I'm not going to pull a grenade out from under the back seat here..."

He cuts off with a groan. When he starts speaking again, his voice is chilling.

FRAGONARD: "Busset..."

You can see his finger on the trigger. It's shaking, ever so slightly.

FRAGONARD: "How much does she know?"

« I don't know. »   « Everything. »   « She has evidence. »   « Don't shoot. »

TBA

TBA

See below...

TBA

You hear a long sigh coming from the back seat. A few seconds go by. You try to concentrate on driving... despite your sweaty hands... and dripping brow.

FRAGONARD: "Ok... Why hasn't she tried to arrest me then??"

You shrug.

HOUSSINE: "Don't know. She told me it would be easier this way... I... I think she hopes you'll turn yourself in without a fight."

He looks away.

FRAGONARD: "You know, Busset is really one-of-a-kind. But she doesn't fit into today's world. Neither do I, for that matter."

The weapon he's holding is shaking slightly, wavering. You suddenly notice he's speaking to you in a more familiar tone.

FRAGONARD: "That's why I killed them. Bastards, all of them: rapists, murderers and liars who escaped prosecution. Now Busset... Busset'd like to do the same this I did: slam a bullet into the head of the first murderer she could get her hands on. But she can't. You just can't do that anymore."

A long, painful, heavy sigh.

FRAGONARD: "In any case, now there's only one truth left. No more confrontation, no debate... no need for justice to be served. They were guilty and I killed them. I can write that down if you want. It's no secret. I knew I'd be caught sooner or later. Either by Busset or by..."

His sentence hangs in the air.

FRAGONARD: "I'm sick. Got cancer. All over. They hope some new... drug... might cure me... but what's the point, honestly?"

He abruptly accelerates his speaking pace.

FRAGONARD: "I don't want to go to jail. A cop can't go to jail. I don't want to see my face on the cover of magazines and newspapers. But I don't want to deny Busset the pleasure of catching me... her and her team... So, here's what we're going to do... There's a place in Montmarte... a place I really love. It's my first memory of Paris... I must've been 6 or 7. My mother had come all the way from Martinique. She thought she could convince my father to... Yeah, anyway, there's no point in telling that story."

« I want to hear it. »   « No point? Why? »   (Stay nothing.)

See below...

TBA

TBA

He snickers.

FRAGONARD: "And buy yourself some time? No, no... There's a bench up there, not far from Sacré Cœur. This bench has two clear advantages. First, it faces the city of Paris. Southern facing. All the monuments are there, staring back in splendour..."

He starts to speak with confidence...

FRAGONARD: "I especially like it when all the buildings poke out above the cloud of pollution. Notre-Dame's square towers. Pompidou and its coloured pipes. The Eiffel Tower..."

He shakes his head and his voice sounds deep and serious again.

FRAGONARD: "The second advantage to sitting on this bench is that you turn your back to Sacré Cœur... an ugly building. They only built it to rub the church the right way..."

He looks away and remains silent for a while. His hands shake a little.

FRAGONARD: "I want to see Paris one last time... It's a little too early to watch the sunrise. But at least, there'll be people around... lovers... life... I just want to go and sit on the bench. Look out at Paris. Alone. For five minutes... And then you can go to the meeting point so Busset can pick me up. What do you say?"

« Only five minutes, you promise? »   « Ok. »   « If I'm late... »   (Say nothing.)

TBA

TBA

TBA

See below...

He moves the gun forward.

FRAGONARD: "I... I really don't want to use this, you know? I almost shot you back there... but I know you're just doing your job."

The reflection from a streetlamp shines off the gun.

« Ok, ok. »   « I can't do that. »

See below...

TBA

You turn around.

FRAGONARD: "You'll see. The view is incredible."

Neither of you says a word for several minutes. You drive in silence. Then, as you're beginning the climb up to the top of Montmarte... the cop lowers his weapon.

FRAGONARD: "I want to apologise. I'm sorry I hurt you... the night of the attack. Everything could have turned out so differently... You're nothing like the guy I took down, you know? He was a kid at the time, but there was something evil in his eye... something... bad... something evil."

His eyes sparkle for a bit. Tears, perhaps? Seconds later, you park a few metres away from Sacré Cœur.

FRAGONARD: "The bench is right over there, I just need five minutes. Five minutes and we'll go, got it?"

You nod.

« You want me to come along? »   « Go ahead. »   « Don't... don't do it. »   (Say nothing.)

TBA

TBA

See below...

TBA

He lays his hand on the door handle... and gives you a genuine smile.

FRAGONARD: "Do what?"

« You're going to kill yourself, aren't you? »   « Run away. »   « I... I didn't say anything. »   (Say nothing.)

See below...

TBA

TBA

TBA

He pauses.

FRAGONARD: "To be perfectly honest... I don't really know yet."

The cop suddenly seems older than he really is. His voice croaks slightly as he says to you...

FRAGONARD: "Thanks, friend."

He gets out of the cab. You watch the old cop: he takes a few steps toward the bench, walks around it like he wants to look at it from every angle. He doesn't so much as glance at Sacré Cœur and its dome, lit up with powerful spotlights. A few passersby, chilled to the bone, are wandering about nonchalantly on the square in front. The cop finally sits on the bench. He stays there a long minute, contemplating Paris. Strings of light weave around traffic circles and intersections, making a magnificent canvas. There's a sudden movement... In a matter of seconds, he pulls the gun out of his pocket and up to his chin. A shot rings out.



Continued on Busset's page...

