Marseille Synopsis
Carmine Diop was looking for the Fast Lane; instead, he met his Maker. A mistake, a sin. The wages of sin are death for beautiful Annette and her boyfriend Youbai. Dust to dust.
Marseille
Every city has its specialties, including Marseille. Fish dishes or delicacies from North Africa? No. The grill.
The outskirts in the early morning. The motorway to Nice. Below is a burned car with a passenger. The victim was barbecued.
The path is clear. First the autopsy.
I would like to do without that. It is difficult to listen, pray and vomit at the same time. Strength and honor said the Romans… Inspector Benoit thought to himself.
Says the doctor - you're in luck, Inspector. There's a pin in her left knee. It has a serial number so you can find the victim's identity. She was blonde, around forty years old.
There is more. The skin of the face is cracked. Once this woman had a different face. The hands and feet are broken hard. Let's say with a hammer.
Mere grilling would be something every day, ordinary. Our standards are higher in Marseille. The violence must be inventive and terrible to keep up with the competition.
Should one scream out to God? This death calls for revenge.
The identity emerges. Martine Soulier-Duserq got this pin as a girl. Maybe in an accident. But we find no such woman here. Allegedly Martine died ten years ago, according to the records.
There are three major industries in Marseille. The books talk about food, fishing, and tourism. No. Marseille is driven by drugs, asylum and money. What is at work here?
Without any DNA traces, Martine is unfortunately a cold case. And her secrets remain pure.
We can extract DNA from teeth. Where can you try to find a match? The records from the police in France or even in the USA. The French love to travel.
A hit comes. Annette Houblecq was arrested in Florida after a car accident. The police took DNA and fingerprints as usual.
Do we know this so-called Houblecq in Marseille? Yes, she was the proprietor of a boutique hotel.
I remember the hotel and the woman. Both were attractive. You know the scale of attractiveness. 7 out of 10 turns heads and 9 stops the traffic. Annette was memorable. Had she stolen an identity, and falsified her past? Indeed.
Now we are following three directions. The victim's last movements and calls, her bank accounts and debts, but also the rumors. Hurry up!
Why do attractive women like bad young men? Is the connection sexy and exciting? The boyfriend of Houblecq is Jamal Youbai, a gangster by profession.
Can the torture and barbeque of Houblecq be punishment for Youbai?
Never mind. With two bullets in his head, Youbai is dead today. No bullet cartridges at the crime scene, so no DNA. No witnesses, of course. A Mafiosi-style kill at a robbery gone wrong.
Who calls the shots? What triggered this?
It is tempting to ignore Youbai as one evil among a great many. But Houblecq appears to be collateral damage with a mystery until we learn more.
A candle in prayer. A curse with it.
A month earlier.
In six months, I'll be an old man at twenty. I must win my kingdom soon. Where is the Fast Lane? So thought Carmine Diop to himself.
One moment. Into the alley steps Louise Desmoule, a well-known beauty and drug dealer. She meets ... Eric Topie himself! They kiss. Topie is chairman of Football South, business tycoon and media star. A river of money flows around him! I've found my new food temple. Extortion by force will do nicely.
Unfortunately, Carmine drives and acts fast, aggressively and without thinking. He doesn't know that Topie is a protected species. A prayer to his archangel ... and evil disappears.
The Capo di Capo says - Youbai, convince this Diop that Topie is forbidden fruit. Scare him off. Leave him in fear.
What happens when two arrogant, impatient young men like Youbai and Diop meet? Hot words. Terrible threats. Enough! Youbai stabs Diop with his knife. A huge mistake.
The heavens cry. Carmine was the only son of Auillet Diop, a drug baron.
He who sins, feels no rest, no forgiveness. The wages of sin are death. Youbai has no future. And his friends too.
Dust to dust. Auillet is avenged.
Bio
A man is a man, wrote Berthold Brecht. That covers it all for Peter Wright, now writer.