01x05 - Tonne, Säure, Zement

[bunniefuu]

INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY.

EVENTS, PEOPLE, NAMES, AND LOCATIONS
HAVE BEEN CHANGED.

…we can continue to look.

What we've got
are photos, blank postcards,

gold teeth, cassette,
jewelry, leaflet for emigrants.

- There's a lot to work with.
- That's very good work, everyone.

You got lucky too, but that's part of it.

Now we can finally set up
a special investigative team.

Credit where it's due.

Although you've all done a good job,
only one of you can lead the team,

and that is, as always,
the most senior officer.

As they say, over to you, Balbek.

Thanks, everyone. Your trust is…

DEADLOCK

SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE TEAM 926

Nice photo. "Group Portrait with a Lady".
Like the novel by Konsalik.

- It's by Heinrich Böll.
- If you say so.

It brings to mind
the committee of a local bowling club.

Shall I praise
the artistic composition too?

This is a serious matter.

This special investigative team
that was formed

because we believe
that your case is a m*rder case.

All this turns him on enough
to take the gag out of my mouth.

Thank God.
My fear that I will die subsides somewhat.

You tortured Cornelia Kessler,
tormented her.

Physically and psychologically.

And in the end…

And in the end…?

In the end, what?

That's nonsense. It's not real.

We were having fun together.

I had this Danish erotic novel
and Cornelia liked it as much as I did.

We goaded each other on.

Sexually too.

She liked that.

The culmination of that was the cassette.

But what she says was all in the book.

- What's the title of the book?
- That took a while! Finally.

The title… the title… Wait.

We need to talk.
About the press conference.

Not now. Later.

I can't remember it.
It was a while ago, though.

- You remember it was a Danish novel?
- Yes.

Tillich didn't put me on the list
for the press conference.

Why not? Did you know about that?

He's angry about some interview you gave.

So why does Cornelia Kessler
name the German book

Hot Sex Tips for Girls
as the source on the cassette?

Does she?

Then it must have been that book.

Now then, who's heading
this investigation team?

- Is it you?
- Balbek.

We'll talk about it later.

Nela, don't you want
to pour your boss a coffee?

That Danish novel doesn't exist.
You're talking sh*t, Mr. Doormann,

to distract
from Cornelia's actual t*rture.

I'd like a lot of cream
and three sugars, please.

And please don't spit in my coffee.

- Although if you do…
- That's enough.

I can do it.

Shouldn't you be heading this team, Nela?

It was you set everything
in motion, after all.

And made all the mistakes.

Otherwise an innocent man like me
wouldn't be here.

Innocent? The nonsense you spout
and the lies you stall us with

won't protect you forever.

- Is the coffee hot?
- Very hot.

When I get out of here soon,
I'd love to meet privately, Nela.

Ms. Langenbeck, please!

That is really…

Very hot.

Where are Cornelia Kessler's remains?

Cornelia…

Met a rich Swiss guy.

And went with him to South America.

She probably spends most of her time
lying on the beach now,

and is brown as a berry.

How am I meant to add cream and sugar?

That's enough now.

It's just sugar.

Sweet tears.

Everything I did with Cornelia…

She really enjoyed it.

The tears she cried were sweet tears.

ONE WEEK LATER

ARRESTED TO PARTY!

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday, dear Balbek

Happy birthday to you

Thank you for everything.

Here's to you!

Thank you.

- Cheers!
- Cheers!

MANHUNT
BIRTHDAY BOYS MUST SMOKE CIGARS

My wife better not get to see this!

Show me.

In the end, we're all guilty.

But at least I can say that
at huge expense,

I had Dr. Polke obtain
this wonderful meat from his pig farmer.

The detective squad's nectar.

Ms. Langenbeck, don't you want
to toast Balbek with a ground pork roll?

Or are you… what's it called?
…a vegetarian?

- Can you leave me alone, please?
- You've been moping around all week.

Wishing you were back in your old office?

If you don't like our department,
why don't you transfer?

You'd like that. Problem solved.

What is the problem?

That you weren't put in charge?
You and Burmeister are the newcomers here.

You wouldn't be in charge
if you'd uncovered Jack the Ripper.

What do I do here? I'm sent
to make coffee and I write reports.

Ms. Langenbeck, firstly, you make
better coffee than all your colleagues.

Very funny. Secondly?

It was agreed

that no woman
would interview a possible sex offender.

I learned how to speak
to liars like that in Vice.

But this isn't Vice.

If you want to piss standing,
try it in the privacy of your own home,

but while you're here, follow the rules.

Why didn't you put me
on the list to do the press conference?

- You've had enough press.
- Because of the Hanseatic Evening News?

Seriously?

"A Woman Acts Alone".

"A woman develops a m*rder theory

despite the resistance
of her male colleagues."

- Is that teamwork?
- What's not true about it?

You trying to inflate your own importance!

At worst, you want to start some
feminist w*r. But this isn't about you.

I want to solve the case.

A case no one here believed in,
which only exists because I fought for it,

because I listened to the victims,
and I believed the victims.

Are you saying I… made a mistake?

It's not about that.

Guys, please. Come on, it's my birthday.
Quiet, please.

It's your colleague's birthday,
so just eat your f*cking ground pork roll.

What I wanted to say is this.

Do you know why
this ground pork is so special?

The farmer only fed the pig
with natural ingredients.

He petted it and gave it a name.

Ede the Crook. Does anyone know why?

Eduard Zimmerman's nickname,
the crook turned detective.

Right. Because the farmer knows
Polke will buy this pig from him,

and it will end up here at the station.

He's a pro. He knows what he's doing.

His profession is pig farmer…

And to be able to work,
he needs a good pig.

We are Homicide.
We need a corpse to be able to work.

So find Cornelia Kessler, or someone else,
ideally someone who's been m*rder*d,

or this team will be disbanded quicker

than this pig going through a grinder.

Don't worry, boss.
We'll definitely find Cornelia Kessler.

Balbek speaking.

Yes.

Can you repeat that? Cornelia Kessler?

You're sure?

It's Customs. Cornelia Kessler
arrived in Germany yesterday.

Yes, send it over. Thank you.

- Maybe the photos will tell us more.
- Definitely…

Anything new?

Cornelia… The woman
who's supposedly Cornelia Kessler

disappeared
after going through passport control.

Arrived from Rio via Paris.

There are photos from CCTV.
They've been faxed over.

It could be any woman in Cornelia's age.

A courier's bringing over the originals.

I'll take them to her mother.

If she really is alive,
we'll look like idiots.

What?

Doormann must have sold
her passport in South America.

Anything else would somehow be… ironic.

Anyone have an aspirin?

When I show you the photo…

Take all the time you need.

- I'll put the kettle on again.
- Thanks…

But not for me.

What do you think?

Is it her?

What do you think?

Is that your daughter?

Is that Cornelia?

Take your time.

Yes.

It's her.

- What?
- Cornelia's alive.

Cornelia's alive.

"Is there a more beautiful spot on earth?"

If you don't want to visit me,
I'll visit you.

I'll be in Hamburg briefly this summer.

On June 17, I'll watch the opening game
and then I'll go to the US

to support Costa Rica's team
at the World Cup.

Shall we meet me on June 16 for a chat?

"Yours from sunny Costa Rica, Raik."

Thanks. Keep serving us beers, okay?

I took the liberty…

I hope you'll have a drink with me, Nela.

Really, Nela?

You think I've poisoned
your beer or spat in it?

Why did you want to meet?

To show you everything
that wouldn't have happened

if Cornelia and Irmgard hadn't turned up.

I might still be languishing in prison.

But everything turned out well.

Look.

This is in front of our house
in Costa Rica.

The baby Carmen
is holding is my son Carlos.

The woman next to her is Juanita,
with my other son Eduardo.

Carmen finds it exciting
that I impregnate other women.

And the old woman
by the door is Irmgard Lübke?

Let me guess. She got in touch with you
and has become part of your big family.

Exactly.

And if I'd put you in jail,

your precious seed
would be withering away, unused.

I like it when you talk dirty like that.

But just to correct you,
if you'd put an innocent man in jail.

In Costa Rica, I'm the good German now.

The neighbor you can ask any favor of,

the person
who coaches the youth soccer team.

Very successfully, of course.

They even named
a street after me near the stadium.

Congratulations.

Can I have a black tea, please?
With lemon.

It's called "Avenue Raik Doormann".

Bearing in mind that most streets
in Costa Rica aren't named,

it's a particular honor,
even if my street is just…

If you're just here
to show off, I'm leaving.

No, Nela. I'm worried about you.

Honestly. I was wondering how you were.

You left the Homicide division.

I hope that wasn't my fault.

I changed departments, because I didn't
see eye-to-eye with my boss.

You gave a big interview
in the newspaper without his agreement.

"Woman Acts Alone".
Men don't like that. They get scared.

The first woman in Homicide.
All the men are angry.

So many naughty cusswords.
Women's libber, feminist.

Dirty little c**t.

I hung up the interview
in the guest bathroom.

Yes, it didn't go down well.

Will I get tea or did you bribe
the barman to only serve beer?

To be honest, I thought a few beers
might remove the stick from your a*s.

Bullshit.

This is one of your games.

Control.

This is the rotten nut.

The others are lies,

games,

precautions,

contradictions.

These nuts camouflage the fact
that the really rotten nut is inside.

And when
you painstakingly crunch one up…

Two more appear.

I'm the rotten nut?

You're…

Poisonous, even.

Yes.

There were no murders, Nela,
and there are no dead bodies.

It's all in your head.

Serve the drinks properly, okay?

And you've got a rat in your bar!

- Hey, could you respond?
- He can't.

A serious w*r injury when he was young.

No tongue and hard-of-hearing.

Maybe he shouldn't be a barman.

You of all people saying that, the first
woman in the Hamburg Homicide division.

Say, isn't being a woman
a bit like being disabled?

I thank the gods every day
that I can pee standing up.

Not being able to piss
standing up is a disability?

You want to divert
my attention from something.

You want to divert
my attention from something.

Ludwig Lübke, Margot Kessler…

"Dear Ludwig,

I've pleaded with you for years
to sell the business.

But you always find new excuses
to keep hold of your furs.

Only since I've been on vacation
have I truly understood that.

For the first time, I'm doing really well,
and I can see things clearly.

I'll give you one more chance.
Behave like a man.

"Don't go to the police,
because you don't…"

"I would like to clarify herewith
that I, Cornelia Kessler, am not missing."

I've heard about
all the fuss that my mother has made.

Since my father died,
I've been everything to her.

Despite that, I've made up my mind.

"I can't take my family
into consideration in this matter."

- What if it's true?
- What do you mean?

If Cornelia Kessler's alive,
maybe Irmgard is too.

She left because I wasn't
a good husband to her.

That's why she stopped calling me.
I smothered her.

I got in the way of her happiness.

Of course she won't call. Because of Elke.

You haven't betrayed Irmgard.

- I'm so ashamed.
- There's no reason for you to be ashamed.

There is.

I don't know what's worse anymore.

For her to be dead
or for all this to be true.

- What if I've done everything wrong?
- You haven't.

You don't know what that means.

What the price is.

That's only possible
if Irmgard died a violent death.

The fact that they're both alive

means one had a bad mother,

the other a bad husband,
and both of them left.

And that means
that you've been hunting a ghost.

And that means
that you're a bad police officer, Nela.

You've wanted to be a hero
since your childhood.

I didn't want to be a hero.

Don't call me Nela, Doormann.

Why did you become a cop?

I enjoyed solving crossword puzzles.

As a child, I always thought
when a street was named after a person,

they must have been
an especially good person,

good in moral terms.

In my case, that's true.
But it's not necessarily so.

No. These streets were never named
after someone who was simply kind.

And that confused little Nela, right?

Life is always chaotic.

Sometimes you have to bring order to it.

The press conference was on TV

so viewers could identify
items from the search of the house.

I was angry I wasn't there.
I was in the office.

There are no dead bodies anymore.
It's all water under the bridge.

I think you're really very charming.

Come with me to Costa Rica.

I've prepared a little film
to show you what to expect there.

RESERVED FOR THE OPENING MATCH!

YOUR PARADISE, NELA

I want to watch the press conference.

This afternoon,
the press was asked for help

to locate
the original owners of these items.

Police fear the furrier from Rahlstedt
could have other women on his conscience.

It is chilling
that the police cannot match these shoes

with any of the currently missing women.

The police is asking for your help.

Who has information
on these pieces of jewelry?

For example,
on this garnet necklace or this…

Any information…

"Transit sun in the first house."

BARREL, ACID…

I missed something.

- I was tired.
- I want the remote control.

Angry. I was full of self-doubt.

I'm going to take the remote control.

I know that you have a weapon.

But you won't do anything to me.

Maybe I will.

This is Cornelia Kessler's hair.

- Impossible.
- No.

Because this is a dream.

No, this isn't a dream.

Cornelia is alive.

She visited me in Costa Rica.

Can you see this postcard?

That's Cornelia.

You won't persuade me
that it's Cornelia Kessler in the photo.

I love you, Nela.

With all my heart.

I didn't want to wake you,
but you were muttering about tea.

I made coffee.

The courier arrived.

- I must bring order to the chaos.
- Sorry?

That's the first step.

Is this your daughter?

Is that Cornelia?

Yes. That's her.

Cornelia's alive.

No.

It's not her.

You just want it to be her.

Because if that really was Cornelia…

Then she'd have come here long ago.

Because you're a good mother.

Full of sorrow.

What's up?

"Barrel, acid, iron,

saw, excavate, cement."

That was your job.

- Get it sorted.
- I'll take care of it.

What's this?
Why's that f*cking barrel here?

- It's from Doormann's garage.
- I've got a rain barrel in my garage too.

You're just wasting your time.

We found a handwritten note by Doormann

indicating that this isn't
a rain barrel like yours.

A bit difficult to read,
but very illuminating.

"Barrel, acid, iron,

saw, excavate, cement."

I'm convinced it could be a clue
as to how Doormann got rid of the bodies.

Me too.

Get on with it then.

Mischa, we have to go.

So…

Bye then.

Raik, Mischa's having a sleepover
with a friend tomorrow.

- I told you about Hanover.
- You're away all week.

- Mom, I'll be late.
- Coming! No, it's changed again.

Just tomorrow. I'm working
from home the rest of the week.

Don't look like that. You still get
the place to yourself tomorrow.

Yes.

- Bye.
- Bye.

It's Raik.

Yes, a bit earlier today.
How's it looking?

Jupiter's in the sixth house. Yes.

And Aries-Mars energy is doubled. Why?

In the sextile?

That's very unusual.

Yes, yes. I know.
Jupiter and Mars are both retrograde.

But that's unusual.

Meaning?

Extremely high inner tension
and risk of accidents?

Well, I guess
skydiving's out of the question.

Yes.

Break a leg, then.

We'll talk tomorrow. Yes.

Oh sh*t.

sh*t.

Oh sh*t.

- Hello.
- Hi, Dieter.

- You rang the doorbell?
- Yes.

- Come on. Let's go.
- We should try to talk to her.

Forget it.
She's battened down the hatches.

- I don't know.
- Definitely.

Imagine we find bodies.
How'll she explain that to her son?

She'll have to tell him at some point.

I'd like to have
the whole garden excavated.

Yes, but the dogs
would have barked last time.

I know.

- Let's go to Basedow.
- Yes.

The barrel could be anywhere.

- We do have a couple of starting points.
- Okay, tell me.

I've done a bit of research.
We're assuming acid.

It's probable acid would
permanently change the flora in the soil.

Why didn't you say anything before?

Everywhere looked the same.
There was nowhere it could have been.

But what about here?

I can't see where you mean.

Can't you see how the grass
has grown differently here?

Perfect.

- The rain?
- Yes.

Yes. The investigative methods
I read about

also said that large objects
in the ground alter how water drains.

All we have to do is wait, watch,
and then we may have two reference points.

Can you see anything in particular?

I'm not sure.

But to the right there maybe.
It looks as if the water…

We've got company.

You'll catch your death.

- Thank you. Very kind.
- Thanks.

- We're from…
- I know, I know. Homicide.

I saw you when you last turned up.
What are you looking at here?

We're seeing if we can detect
any abnormalities in the soil.

Did you ever notice
the garden being dug up here?

You couldn't miss it. Raik dug a hole
so deep it was over his head.

- It must have been six and a half feet.
- Yes, could be.

- That's why the dogs didn't smell it.
- He wanted to put compost underground.

I didn't understand why.

- And the pit was here, right?
- No.

It was over there.

Give me a hand!

- Burmeister, put that thing down.
- We have to document this.

We need the jackhammer!

Looks good.

- Thanks.
- No problem.

We have to watch out
that he doesn't work too fast.

- What?
- He could break what's down there.

I can't hear you.

Under the cement, I mean.

Ten times zoom,
so that's 0.3 to 0.7 inches…

Wow.

…done with your finger.

You don't need to turn it or anything.

It's all done from here.

And the focus is automatic.

We've got it!

The crane!

After two hours, it was already dark,

and the search team had broken through
three feet of concrete.

There wasn't anything to see yet.
The feverish search continued.

After four hours,
and another 1.5 feet of concrete,

they finally found something.

The man with the jackhammer
uncovers a lid.

On the table here. Carefully, please.

Thank you, officers.

Ms. Langenbeck.
You've dug something else up.

I thought you'd be pleased, Dr. Polke.

Like a huge surprise egg. Nice.

When all this is over,
come visit me sometime.

A day with horses doesn't put
everything in perspective, but a fair bit.

I was never into horses.

What do you see?

Good question.

I'll have to do more than look.

It will smell foul and be anything
but a walk in the park. Got it?

First we have to suction out the fluid.

You don't have to stay.

I'll go through it with you in detail
and you'll have a report too.

Thanks, but no.

It was an accident.

A really…

Terrible accident.

I didn't k*ll her.

I didn't.

It was a terrible…

A really terrible accident.

I didn't k*ll her.

I didn't.

The barrel is filled with a brown-black
amorphous liquid, presumably acid.

To be further examined.

Based on an initial visual impression,

thick lumps of fat
are floating on the surface.

Something that could be a human torso
is protruding from the barrel.

Heavily deformed body parts

that have probably been
decomposed and dissolved by acid.

To be identified
is a human skull with the hair shaved off.

A severed female torso
with arms fastened to the back.

Probably with plastic string.

A lower leg…

- Dr. Polke?
- Just a moment.

…with clearly visible saw marks,
to be further examined.

We'll have to change the table.

The acid is eating away at the metal.