Psychic Sleuth _ Bizarre Murders _ Retold

There's a way to make an entrance. My destiny. It was now a conspiracy of witches. Download Veely today. The events in this program are inspired by a true story. Names, dates and details have been changed. Viewer discretion is advised. On this episode of Bizarre Murders. When a beloved matriarch disappears without a trace. Why would she leave her car here? Her family thinks something terrible has happened. But when investigators find no evidence of foul play. This could be the answer. Her brother turns to an unconventional source for help. Will the gift of second sight lead to a revelation? Or bitter disappointment? Francine, the head of a family-run maple syrup business, hasn't been seen in 24 hours. Her car has been found abandoned, but no sign of Francine. The last anyone heard, she was drinking and playing the slots at the Palais de Folie. Off to the casino, huh? Why would she leave her car here? She'd probably had a few and called a boyfriend to pick her up before getting on the highway. It's happened before. I'll drive it back to my place. Merci, Inspector. Francine and her family have been in the maple syrup business for generations. She's made a small fortune through hard work and keeping her people close. Her younger brother, Antoine, runs the day-to-day operations. See what the lavos have to say about these numbers, huh? And keeps the peace with local rivals and politicians. Don't forget your syrup. Don't put it all on one set of pancakes, eh? Yes. Francine's nephew didn't quite inherit the family's knack for the business. Merde! And he can't afford to lose a drop of product. Despite his best efforts... Tabarrette! ...his sugar bush just isn't yielding enough sap to meet Francine's strict family quota. I need this gate! It's a raucous family, but Francine runs it like she runs her business. Why don't you sort of get me another rain, Ginger? Oui, oui. There's no doubt about who's in charge. Hurry up, Antoine! Yeah, hurry up. I'm coming! It may look all joie de vivre, but you don't need to be a cop to know that every family has simmering tensions below the surface. You see, Francine is head of the family and boss of the family business. They all depend on her for their jobs. And Francine's a tough coach. You didn't bring in your syrup quota? Penalty. Get lippier out of line? Benched. Maybe for good. What are you doing, love? Oh, God, man! So everyone's just a little bit afraid of old Francine. Francine works hard, but she plays just as hard. Merci, Khalid. She's famous for having a good time. Her week-long benders are legendary. A blur of fry, men, Any luck? and money. Inspector! Inspector. Francine has now been gone for three days, and her brother Antoine thinks something's wrong. You know Francine, hm? The night her car was found, she was supposed to meet him for some poutine and business talk. I wait there for hours. She not show up. I've been calling her for three days now. She no answer. Nothing. So, Antoine, so, she may be out just having a good time and she forgot to call home. I mean, what makes you think something bad has happened to her? You don't understand, Inspector. She calls always, and she cannot make it for dinner, let alone gone for three days. Not so much as a, hello, I'm safe. Antoine, you know your sister. She has the reputation. She likes to party a lot. Oui, oui. She doesn't come home sometimes. We all know that. Look, sooner or later, she'll come to her senses, and she'll come home. Antoine, if I hear anything, I'll call you. All right? So here we have a lady who really knows how to sin and who's gone MIA before. The thing is, if you're a grown-up, it isn't against the law to drop out of sight and get your family all worried. Most of the time, nothing has even gone down. When I was at the Bureau, we only designated maybe 15% of all missing persons cases as involuntary, as in kidnapped or killed. Sometimes people just want to get away from it all, and there's nothing you or the cops can do. A week after Antoine reports his sister missing, a newspaper article grabs his attention. This could be the answer. A bank teller in Montreal named Alice recently led police to a missing child she'd seen on TV. She claims she can tune into someone's whereabouts if she sees a picture of them. But not everyone in Francine's family is as enthusiastic as Antoine. What do we have to lose, eh? She found that boy, oui? Antoine sends Alice a photograph of Francine, as well as some of her personal belongings. Using these items, Alice tunes into Francine. She comes out of her trance with a cryptic message. This is Alice. Do the letters C-R-K mean anything to you? Alice, those are the letters on Francine's license plate. How did you know that? I got a vision. I think I can help you find her. Have a good day. Antoine is so impressed with Alice's vision, he buys her a bus ticket to Laurierville. Alice. Antoine. Bonjour. It's a pleasure. As an investigator who deals in nothing but the facts, ma'am, I cringe, I mean I really cringe when these people enter the picture. They're usually in it for the attention and the money. But even I have to admit that Alice doesn't seem like your typical psychic. First of all, she works at a bank, not a strip mall. No crystal balls, no flowing robes, no 1-800 number, and oh yeah, she doesn't charge for her services. Like I said, she's not your typical psychic. And if it gives you hope, why not? Just beware. Having no luck when they went to where Francine's car was found, Alice's next stop is Robert's sugar shack. Francine is leaving us a trail of clues. She's telling me to come here. We must follow the mystic breadcrumbs. I've been hit! You're not looking for a missing person. You're looking for a body. Francine's been brutally murdered. It's an impressive performance, but it's not a surprise because that's what psychics do. They ham it up and explain away anything they're wrong about by saying their insights are open to interpretation. Alice could be making a calculated guess about what happened to Francine. It's what we call cold-reading your audience, and it can be pretty convincing. But guesswork or not, the fact is, Francine's still missing, and the family needs answers. And you gotta wonder, is Alice taking them all for a ride, a cruel ride, or could this psychic actually be on the right path? With no evidence of foul play in Francine's disappearance, the police say their hands are tied. But armed with Alice's shocking psychic vision, Antoine tries once again to convince them to investigate. Look, without any evidence, my hands are tied. There may not be any hard evidence, but Alice's visions point to something bad happening. I saw it clear as day, Inspector. Someone has blood on their hands. Uh-huh. These are those magic visions, right? Okay. It makes sense, Inspector. That explains why Francine never came home that night. So does a few rye and gingers. Maybe it was a competitor. You know, Francine has been feuding with that no-good idiot LeBlanc over his price-fixing. Okay. I'll look into it. But, uh, and no disrespect, lady, go easy on the hocus-pocus. I must go wherever my visions lead me, Inspector. Let's hear about those visions. We were in a sugar shack when I had the vision. You can't really blame the cops in a situation like this. I mean, if we treated every hunch, opinion, whim, or especially a psychic vision, as a credible lead, we'd be too busy following up on junk to catch anyone. It's not that we don't feel for the family. We do. It's just that our job is to follow the evidence. When Inspector Boucher looks into the alibi of Francine's rival LeBlanc, it checks out. He was at the local maple syrup festival. Inspector Boucher then tries to track Francine's movements through her bank and phone records. He's stymied. Francine is so old-fashioned, she doesn't have a cell phone and always carries a lot of cash. And there's just no way to keep track of her whereabouts. The next day, determined to solve the mystery, Alice, Antoine, and Robert go back to his sugar shack. I can feel her presence. Is this new? I spilled some syrup the other day. I cleaned it up. It happens all the time. Francine. She's here. Robert's had enough of Alice and her visions and orders her back to Montreal. Alice reluctantly agrees. But before she leaves, she pays a visit to Antoine. I did want to let you know, I feel like Robert knows more than he's letting on. He has been acting weird ever since you got here. Like you spooked him when you were drawn to his sugar shack. You don't think Robert had anything to... Just keep an eye on him. Oui. So psychic Alice has been sent packing like a crystal ball rubbing busybody, and still no one knows if Francine's fallen victim to anything more serious than a bad hangover. Robert. But Antoine needs to believe that Alice's visions could actually reveal the truth about Francine. She's his only hope. But as they say, hope for the best, plan for the worst. The police have uncovered no leads as to Francine's whereabouts, and the case is stalling. But Francine's brother Antoine refuses to give up. The police finally have to admit that she's been gone too long to simply be on a boozing binge. You have to drop it like **** into the game for real now, Inspector. Something terrible has happened to Francine. I can feel it. Why would she just take off and let her business go down the tube? It don't make no sense. Antoine fills the inspector in on Alice's suspicions about Robert, and his own. He hides out in the sugar shack, doing nothing. Doesn't even seem to care that Francine is missing. I'm telling you, Alice is right. Robert, he knows something. A hundred miles away in Montreal, Alice continues to be tormented by the visions of violence. To Alice's surprise, it's Inspector Boucher. He says the case has gone cold, and he'll take any help he can get. I'll be in Laurierville as soon as I can. You have to take me seriously. Back in Laurierville, things immediately get heated between Alice and Robert. Somebody important in your life. What is she even doing here? Call Esther Sacrament. I had another vision. I think I know what happened to Francine. What? Abduction by aliens? Bigfoot, peut-être? Maybe call Mulder a scoli. You see, Inspector, he's acting très bizarre. All right, look, if you want, I'll ask Albert to take a polygraph test. But, you'll have to take one too. Ben oui. Inspector, I think I know what happened. All in good time, madame. Roll your eyes if you want, but even if we think they're full of, um, merde, psychics can serve a purpose. They don't solve anything. But if they reassure the family, then they're a useful tool in the investigative toolbox. Why? They keep the family off your back. As Antoine passes his test with flying colors, there's no sign of Robert. Polygraphs are another tool in our arsenal. The purpose of a poly isn't just to detect if someone's lying. It's to point out inconsistencies in their story. If someone refuses to outright take one, it looks fishy. But if someone says they'll do it and then backs out, well, that's a huge red flag. And Robert is now on Boucher's radar. Do you know where Robert is? Monsieur Inspector, now may I show you what I saw? That is where you will find Francine's body. That is the lightning tree. It's a few miles up the road. It was struck by lightning at 95. Alice's drawing is of a place only locals would know about. Even Inspector Boucher has to admit that Alice's latest vision is worth checking out. Alice hasn't quite won over the skeptical investigator, but she's got his attention. More importantly for Boucher, Robert's just shined a light on himself by blowing off a lie detector test. So Boucher comes up with a plan. If he plays Alice and Robert off against each other, maybe Robert will reveal what, if anything, he knows about Francine's disappearance. You were supposed to be at the polygraph. You never showed up. When the inspector questions Robert about why he skipped the polygraph... I forgot. I'm sorry. Can I reschedule? I have things to do today, but perhaps later in the week? Tomorrow? I'll tell you what. Why don't I drive you to the station right now? But instead of going to police headquarters, Inspector Boucher drives Robert out of town and confronts him at the place Alice saw in her vision. The place where she says they'll find Francine. Keep going. Qu'est-ce que c'est? What is this? Does this look familiar to you? No. I have never seen this place. Lies. Antoine, start digging. No! Stop! Stop! Whatever this place is, it has a dramatic effect on Robert. He breaks down and begs to be taken to police headquarters. I have something to tell you. Let's go. Robert, back there you said you had something to say. So why don't you start talking? I didn't mean to do anything. It just happened. I panicked. Merde! Take your time, Robert. Robert tells Inspector Boucher that he'd been stealing syrup from Francine for months and selling it on the black market. Remember, maple syrup is liquid gold in this part of the world. Stealing it is kind of like tapping into a whiskey distillery in Scotland. It's a very big deal. Selling to other people! You think I wouldn't notice, you feisty putz? Tu es fini, fini! You'll never see another dime from me, cochon. Look, you don't cross someone like Francine. Besides the money, she's going to banish Robert from the family forever. She'll take everything from him and leave him alone in the gutter, a total disgrace. That'd make anyone snap. Oh, no. Merde! After killing Francine, Robert realized he had to come up with a believable story to explain her disappearance. With Francine's body hidden away, he drives her car to a spot where he knows the police will find it and places himself there to deflect suspicion. Robert didn't intend to murder Francine. It's what we call an impulse kill. But those are not random. There's intense passion, a build-up of anger or jealousy that explodes when someone's reached their limit. And Robert had clearly reached his. I thought you'd never, never suspect. Robert thought he bought himself some time when the police assumed Francine was at the casino where she spends most Friday nights. But then that witch shows up. I thought the license plate thing was just a coincidence, but then she saw my, my sugar shack. Here. Even though he assumed all psychics were scam artists, when Alice claimed she knew Francine had been murdered, Robert got scared that somehow she knew he killed her. Maybe it was a competitor. You know, Francine has been feuding with that no-good idiot... He told Inspector Boucher to look into Francine's competitor as a desperate distraction. When Alice sensed where Robert had hidden Francine in the sugar shack, he panicked and moved the body before they could find it. Robert thought he outmaneuvered Alice, but he still couldn't shake the feeling she could see right through him. He started to crack, and the only solution was to get Alice out of the picture. Psychic or no psychic, Robert still has one small problem. Eventually the cops get wise to the casino story, and then, surprise! Alice is back in town and breathing down his neck. The truth is closing in on him from all sides. I don't know how she knows these things. I don't care. Just keep her away from me. Okay, Robert, you're under arrest. Stand up, please. His plan was to take over Francine's sugar bush, until it became clear Francine wouldn't be coming back. Eventually, she'd be declared legally dead, and he'd stand to inherit it and part of the family fortune. I've heard a lot of confessions, but this one's in a class of its own. Most people fess up because they know you've got enough evidence to put them away, and they want to cop a plea deal. Robert, on the other hand, gives it up because he's scared witless. Not of cops, but of a psychic. Oh, that's beautiful. Even Alice didn't see that one coming. Francine's body is recovered near the lightning tree, exactly where Alice said it would be. Am I going to win? Alice goes back to Montreal, her first murder case wrapped up. She's on her way to a new career as a psychic detective. The word psychic is never mentioned in Inspector Boucher's report. She's simply referred to as a confidential informant. But her involvement helps put Robert away for 30 years. How did she know? How? How did she know? Not something you hear about every day, is it? A psychic tipping the scales in a murder investigation. Cops and clairvoyants, yeah, strange bedfellows. And don't get me wrong, we do not make a habit of reading tea leaves. But sometimes, just sometimes, you catch a break in a case that's so out of left field, you wonder if there's something more to police work than gathering hard evidence. I mean, we investigators follow our instincts all the time. Is that so different from what a psychic like Alice does? We sweat our suspects, and Alice certainly put a cold sweat on Robert. He just couldn't take it anymore. You might say he got tapped out. I can't explain how she did it. I deal with the law of the land, not the laws of the universe. But whether you're a believer or a skeptic, one thing's for sure, justice will catch up to you, one way or another.