I Confess Page #6

Would you say that the cassock

had been hidden in the trunk?

Did it seem as though placed

so as to escape detection?

Well, there were a lot

of other things covering it.

A raincoat, a pair of galoshes

and several books.

- Thank you. Your witness.

- No questions.

That's all. Thank you.

Call Dr. Bonnard.

The evidence you give

shall be the truth, the whole truth...

...and nothing but the truth.

- I swear.

- Your name?

- Georges Bonnard.

- Your age, please?

- Forty-two.

- Your occupation?

- Pathologist.

- You're a professor at Laval University?

- I am.

- You have examined these stains?

- I have, sir.

- Would you tell the court what they are?

- They're human blood.

- Would you tell us what blood type?

- Type O, sir.

Is this the same blood type

as that of the murdered man?

- It is, sir.

- Thank you, doctor.

On the night of the murder,

you spoke to the accused?

At what time did your conversation

take place?

A little after 11:45, sir.

Would you tell the court of the events

that led up to this conversation?

Yes, sir.

My wife was asleep, sir,

and I was just about to go to bed.

I happened to look out the window,

and I saw someone enter the church.

I couldn't tell who it was

at that distance...

...so I went downstairs

and through the passageway...

...that connects the rectory

to the church.

The light was dim, sir,

but I could see someone...

...who was kneeling

against the altar rail.

As he lifted his head...

...I recognized Father Logan, sir.

Was there anything about his manner

that seemed out of the ordinary?

He seemed...

...distressed, sir.

- Did you speak to him?

- Yes, sir. I asked him if he were ill.

He said no. He said I should go back

and leave him alone.

- But you didn't leave him immediately?

- No, sir.

Why was that?

Father Logan had always been very kind

to my wife and to me...

...so I wanted to help him if I could.

He seemed to need help?

He seemed very, very distressed, sir.

And he wouldn't let you help him?

No, sir. He said to me again,

"Go back, Keller. Leave me alone."

So I went back to my room.

You spoke to your wife

of this incident?

No, sir.

- Why not?

- She was asleep, sir.

And also I didn't like

to talk about it.

It didn't seem right to me...

...to mention such distress

as Father Logan's to anyone.

It seemed a very private distress, sir.

I'm only trying to clarify

your testimony.

I've told you everything

you need to know.

That is hardly for you to decide.

Madame Grandfort, will you please

answer my questions, "yes" or "no"?

Some questions cannot

be answered that way.

Well, I'll try to rephrase it.

I'll try to help you.

Is it true that you had an association

with the accused...

...which you didn't wish

to become public knowledge?

You're twisting my words.

You haven't listened to me.

The witness will confine herself

to answer as to the facts.

Madame Grandfort, let me repeat

your answer to my earlier question.

You said that you were in love with

the accused before the war. Am I right?

Yes.

Then were you in love with him...

...at the time of your marriage

to Monsieur Grandfort?

- I object, my lord.

- I refuse to answer.

- You have no right.

- Objection overruled.

We have your signed testimony

as to your relationship.

Do you wish that testimony

read to this court?

Then were you in love

with the accused...

...at the time of your marriage

to Monsieur Grandfort?

- Yes.

- And still in love with him...

...on the night of the murder?

Yes.

Then isn't it possible that you met

with him between the night...

...at the summerhouse and the night

Villette was killed?

I did not.

You can hardly expect

the jury to believe...

...that a woman in love doesn't

attempt to meet her lover.

I object, my lord.

This line of questioning

doesn't seem particularly relevant.

It is, my lord. I'm trying

to establish a motive for the murder.

I'm trying to discover

if Villette's blackmail...

...was based on his knowledge

not merely of one night at his home...

...but also of a continuous,

uninterrupted, illicit...

- No, that's not true! Not true!

- Silence! Silence!

Father Logan, will you

examine this garment?

Is this your cassock?

No, sir.

- Then did you borrow this cassock?

- No.

It's not yours,

and you did not borrow it.

And yet it was found in your trunk.

- Someone must have put it there.

- Yes.

Have you any idea who might have

put this cassock in your trunk?

I can't say.

Father Logan, when did you decide

to become a priest?

After the war.

In becoming a priest, were you,

perhaps, trying to hide from something?

I had never thought of the priesthood

as offering a hiding place.

I understand you to mean that priesthood

involves certain responsibilities...

...certain moralities.

- Yes.

You were aware of these

responsibilities, these moralities?

Yes.

Yet you saw nothing wrong...

...in having a clandestine meeting

with a woman?

Are you trying to imply that I was

a priest at that time? I was not.

Did you take into consideration

that this woman was married?

I wasn't aware that she was.

And so you spent the whole day

with this woman?

Yes. We were good friends.

I hadn't seen her in over two years.

Such good friends that you spent

the night with her?

- We were caught in a storm.

- Oh, the storm was the villain.

Did you warn Madame Grandfort that

her husband might not agree on that?

As I said,

I didn't know she was married.

On discovering that she was...

...did you make any attempt to explain

the situation to Monsieur Grandfort?

No.

But surely there is

some contradiction...

...between this secretiveness

and your vocation.

I saw nothing wrong

with being caught in a storm.

If there was nothing wrong...

...why did you have such a violent

argument with Villette the next morning?

Were you anxious to protect

Madame Grandfort's reputation?

Yes.

Then her reputation was in danger?

You realized there was something more

than merely being caught in the storm?

Villette made an insinuation.

My argument with Villette had nothing

to do with any sudden realization.

- And you hit him?

- Yes, I did.

- In anger?

- Yes.

You're capable of hitting a man...

...who merely intrudes

upon a harmless situation.

Then surely you are capable

of far more violent action...

...when that same man blackmails

your good friend Madame Grandfort.

- I'm not capable of murder.

- You would allow such a man...

...to destroy Madame Grandfort's home

and your career?

No.

You would go to such a man and,

unable to control your temper...

...unable to face a public scandal,

you'd turn to physical force.

No, I would not!

Silence! Silence!

You and Madame Grandfort separated

at 11:
00 on the night of the murder.

That's right. Yes.

Then it was possible for you

to go to Villette's house.

It was possible for you to arrive there

at 11:
30, the time he was murdered.

Yes, it was possible,

but I didn't go there.

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