01x06 - Das letzte Fest

[bunniefuu]

INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY.

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

- What are you doing here, Mr. Burmeister?
- I might make a training film of the case.

- I'm collecting material first.
- Leave me out of it.

And in here is where we found
the remains of Cornelia Kessler

dissolved in hydrochloric acid.

Clearly identifiable
were the torso with female breasts,

a shoulder blade with the humeral head
hanging from it, the left arm,

with the right hand lying on it…

What will you do with the barrel
when you're done with it?

No idea. Do you need it for your garden?

Definitely not.

DEADLOCK

SOKO 926 - HOTTER THAN ACID

You're not serious, are you, Burmeister?

Why are you showing me this?

I think it's funny.

And you have to make things
a bit snappier for young people.

Maybe the details
about the acid could be left out.

After the case is closed, I've been
given permission to make a training film.

- For the police academy.
- Got it.

I couldn't film everything
while we were working.

Do you need our help now?

Even at the first trial,

I got the feeling Doormann was
only interested in money and power.

He has no compassion.

He imitates social behavior.

Forensics will soon
be done gathering evidence.

Then we'll have enough
for a m*rder charge.

It may have
a positive effect on your verdict

if you finally
start cooperating with us…

This is good. It's good
that Forensics are being so thorough.

Then they'll find out that Cornelia
died as a result of an accident.

I didn't k*ll her. And it's being
completely misrepresented in the media.

The jackhammer in your bunker
and excavation of the barrel at Basedow

were just the beginning.

I will raze your houses and property
to the ground if you don't talk.

I'm pretty certain
you're not allowed to do that.

It'll be great.

It'll be really good.

How tall was Irmgard Lübke?

- Five foot three.
- Not easy to hide.

No.

I won't just look for a barrel.

I will tear up every wall, every step,
and turn over every brick

until I find a piece of her.

I don't believe you.

- This can't be legal.
- It is, I'm afraid.

Discovering Cornelia Kessler
changed everything.

Each layer of concrete will be broken up

until what's left is finer
than the sand in Costa Rica.

Let's get started. We've got a lot to do.

I have to apologize for my colleague
taking inappropriate pleasure

in the destruction of your property.

I'm sorry.

I understand.

I want my son to end up with my house.

You want to leave
something for your children.

How can I prevent her destroying my house?

She doesn't believe
I didn't hide Irmgard there, anyway.

You'll need to show us where Irmgard is.

You'll have to pay
for the material damage,

whether or not they find anything.

But if there are traces of Irmgard…

I hope, for your son's sake,
that my colleagues find them quickly.

It was a really tragic accident.

We'll talk about that
once we've found her.

Give me your pen.

This is the garden.

This is the border with my neighbor.

There's the bunker.

Here, the ventilation shaft. And there…

A barrel.

So behind the bunker
ventilation shaft in the garden

was where Raik Doormann
buried Irmgard Lübke.

When the second barrel
was taken to Forensics…

It was a very unpleasant feeling.

It's going to be fiddly.

Want to come to my party?
We have a bash every summer.

Can we talk about it later? It's
inappropriate to talk about a party now.

What do you mean, "fiddly"?

If it's Irmgard Lübke, then the acid
has had two years longer to do its work.

The gold panner's
most important tool is his pan.

It's used to wash the gold
and separate it from the soil

or, in this case, from the acid.

It has a diameter of 14 to 18 inches.

Nowadays, it's made of dark metal,
so that the gold is easier to see.

There are grooves on the inside,

which makes washing easy
and enables a better yield,

because the gold catches in the grooves.

Well…

This is how I found a fingernail

and Officer Kerber
even found a gold tooth.

If the decomposition
of a body is so far advanced,

then many factors can no longer
be determined precisely.

This makes the suspect's statement
on the crime all the more important.

The best case scenario is he confesses.

Irmie was a real sweetheart.

Much too soft for Ludwig.

I got to know her well
when I worked for that old devil.

He just wasn't a nice man.

He was domineering, selfish, stingy

with no compassion whatsoever.

Mr. Lübke testified that you cheated
in your furriers' qualification exam.

That you only passed
with your mother's help

and were unworthy of the guild.

That's what I mean.
He was a malicious person.

I worked hard for everything I achieved.

I wasn't given anything on a plate.

It's because of that kind of thing
that Irmie wanted to leave him.

And the cheating,
that's just what he alleged.

He just didn't like me. That's why
he flunked me in the furrier exam.

Whatever.

Water under the bridge.
I've made my peace with him.

Later, he invited me
to the test dinner for the furriers' ball.

He wouldn't have done that
if I'd really cheated.

Irmie wanted to leave him.

She couldn't bear it any longer.
I always had to comfort her.

She cried. She said,

"He's never home,
he's always working, he bullies me."

It was no marriage. Do you see?

No. I don't understand.

You m*rder*d her, sawed her up,
put her in an acid barrel.

My good man.

I didn't m*rder her.
I wanted to give her hope.

She just came into my shop…

Hello, Raik.

…and burst into tears.

She sobbed.

Boy, did she sob.

And I comforted her.

I told her she should
teach her old man a lesson,

take a stand against him.

So he'd finally understand
she was serious.

And then she left him
and stayed with a girlfriend.

- What was her name?
- I've forgotten.

But because space was limited,
she stored her things with me.

A week later, she wanted to return to him,

so she came to see me with her dog.

I didn't notice
I'd left the front door open.

And Donald ran out onto the street.

A truck must have hit the little guy.

I was shocked.

But Irmgard went completely crazy.

She was hysterical
and wanted to try to save Donald.

I had a metal tub
for cleaning furs in the cellar.

Irmgard wanted to clean Donald in it
and I called out,

Careful, the stairs are slippery!

But she was in shock.
She didn't even hear me.

And when I went down the stairs…

She was lying there.

She was all twisted.

And I had a bad feeling.

And when the blood ran out
her ears and nose, I knew…

That was it.

What should I do? I was scared.

Who would have believed me?

And for business… It was unthinkable.

A scandal.

And my mother…

My mother would have disinherited me.
I'd be left with nothing.

Everything I'd worked so hard for.

And I didn't want to lose everything.

HYDROCHLORIC ACID

That's what happened.

The nonsense wears you down.

The interrogations, like fighting
our way through a dense jungle.

It's astonishing how someone can keep
coming up with new stories so quickly,

managing to stall for time by forcing
us to constantly refute his nonsense.

- I didn't k*ll her.
- Good. How did Cornelia die then?

It was an accident.

It happened during oral sex
with Pablo Fernandez.

We were all in the sauna.

I think Cornelia passed out
because of the drugs.

- Who's Pablo Fernandez?
- What drugs?

Pablo Fernandez
is a doctor from South America.

He once enabled me
to participate in a voodoo ritual.

He'd always wanted
to get to know a blonde German woman

and when he visited Hamburg,
I introduced him to Cornelia.

The two of them hit it off immediately
and met up again and again

when Pablo was in Europe on business.

He was in Zurich too,
when we opened the accounts.

We took a steamboat over the lake
and ate at the Kronenhalle. And Pablo…

He was so in love with Cornelia,

he didn't want to let her go.

And so he secretly gave her
a herbal drug, okay?

Something that makes women
completely submissive.

What was it called again?

Burundanga. Exactly.

Burundanga.

And Cornelia wanted to go
to South America with Pablo.

And she stored her things in my garage.

She'd ship them over later.

And then we wrote the postcards.

Because Cornelia didn't want
to see her mother again.

Anyway, we met up again afterwards.

I think Pablo had been given Conny

burundanga the whole time.

The three of us were
in the sauna in Basedow and we had sex.

And Pablo…

Is really well endowed

and likes to talk dirty in Spanish.

And Conny liked that as well.

She had us tie her hands behind her back

and Pablo had
his massive schlong in her mouth.

I was licking her.

I orally pleasured her
and she came really hard.

It was amazing.

During the orgasm, she started to shake

and then she slumped sideways.

I wanted to help, obviously,
but somehow…

I just totally panicked.

And then Pablo gave me
a sedative or something.

And I don't know anything
from that point on.

Quite something, eh?

These aren't accidents.

Raik Doormann
deliberately creates scenarios

in which people come to harm.

He knows exactly what he's doing.

And I have to contradict
my colleagues' theory.

I know lots of people, including myself,
who had a difficult childhood,

and haven't ended up murderers.

Those kinds of theories
are, in my opinion, unfounded,

even though they would be comforting,

because they give you
a starting point, at least,

something to look for.

He won't get out, will he?

I don't think so.

It's a trial
based on circumstantial evidence,

but the evidence is too overwhelming.

It would have made life
a lot easier if he'd confessed.

That would have been nice.

But I already thought he wouldn't.

After everything he said at the trial.

You can take this away.

You've got something
you want to say, Nela.

- Ludwig?
- Yes.

I'd be interested to know…

Why did you invite him
to the furriers' ball test dinner?

I normally
only invite people I like to my house.

Raik absolutely wasn't invited.

But Elisabeth, Raik's mother,
just brought him along.

Elisabeth.

Thank you for coming.

Elisabeth Doormann was highly respected
in our profession and a good friend.

It was only for her sake
that I had taken Raik on and trained him.

But unfortunately,
he wasn't of her caliber.

I hope it's not a problem.

Raik's invitation for the ball
hasn't arrived either.

Elisabeth was very ambitious, clever.

Today, one would probably call her…

Emancipated?

Yes, yes. Well…

She'd taken over
the furrier business from her mother.

Turned it into one
of the most successful here.

- You want to retire?
- I'm not disappearing entirely, Ludwig.

But it's time for Raik
to carry on my family's good name.

I hosted many of those dinners,

and I can tell you…

They were extravagant affairs
and serious events.

- From Helsinki I flew to Oslo…
- Yes.

But the furs on offer
really weren't great.

Not that great?
But Helsinki is very particular.

How lovely to see you, Elisabeth.

- Here you are.
- Thank you.

And look, what a nice surprise, Raik.

- Hello.
- Hello.

Hello, everyone. It's lovely
that we're all here together.

I hope we have
a great evening ahead of us.

And if anything isn't
as it should be, please let me know.

We want everything
to be perfect next month.

- Here's to a lovely evening.
- To a lovely evening.

- Please take a seat.
- Elisabeth, on my right, please.

Have a seat.

- He can sit in my seat.
- No, I don't want to do that.

I'll take care of it.

You entertain our guests.

It'll be fine. Enjoy yourself.

Welcome once again, dear friends.

Welcome to this year's test dinner
in preparation for the big furriers' ball.

As my dear Irmgard already said,
we're happy to receive

suggestions for improvements
and ideas afterwards, so don't be shy.

Let's get to the cuisine.
You're not here to listen to my speeches,

but to taste the menu

that was created for us this year
by François Vandenblom.

Wonderful.

Sit down.

My goodness.
You've outdone yourself again.

Thank you.

Your amuse-bouche
is tartar and quails eggs

on lightly toasted sourdough bread,

served on a bed of herbs
handpicked in Umbria.

- It looks good.
- Is it good?

A spinach soup
with milk foam and white truffle.

There is gold leaf on the plate,

a tribute to the fur-wearing
gold prospectors back in Alaska.

Thank you.

- Enjoy.
- Well, then, bon appétit, everyone.

- Cheers, Elisabeth.
- Cheers!

What a pleasure.

Next, turbot in sweetheart cabbage
on red wine butter with shallots.

Great.

Yes, really…

Right.

My dear friends, you've survived
the first part of this stressful evening.

But before we turn
to the saddle of rabbit and dessert,

I invite you into the garden to enjoy
a digest if called Green Widow.

After dessert, of course,
there will be lots of proper schnapps.

- Oh, yes?
- Yes, I promise.

Stop making a face like that.

This is a business event,
and if you keep it up,

the others won't accept you as an equal.

So pull yourself together.

Wait over there by the bench.

I'll talk to Ludwig before he's too drunk
and send him over.

And you'll lay the matter to rest.

It's ridiculous, the two of you,
after all these years.

Ludwig is important.

I don't want you to take over my business

with him as an adversary,
so please sort it out.

Do you understand me?

Yes.

Good.

Thank you for taking the time.

I've always admired you, Mr. Lübke,

the way you cut the furs, your designs.

- And how easy you always made it look…
- Yes, yes, okay.

- I heard you wanted to apologize.
- Yes, exactly.

I wanted to apologize
for the misunderstanding back then.

I hope we can lay this to rest.

You thought it was a misunderstanding?

You foisted a finished piece
on us in the exam!

- Is that a misunderstanding?
- I wanted it to be perfect.

- I didn't want to disappoint you.
- So it's my fault?

- That's not what I mean.
- What do you mean?

How can I put it?

Have a think about that.

I must have been
a really terrible teacher.

Two invitations for the ball.

Saves me the postage.

But I think
you're a disgrace to our profession,

and I'm ashamed that you worked for me.

Be glad you have
such a good mother who supports you.

You don't deserve it.

Sometimes he's just a bit stubborn.

You mustn't take it to heart, Raik.

I just hoped he'd understand
I only did it so as not to disappoint him.

But you know what he's like…

When it comes to his work.

I wish he'd work less too,
and not so doggedly.

But that's just the way he is,
our dear Ludwig.

Maybe that's the price
you have to pay for success.

At the ball, there will be champagne.

- Shall we?
- It'd be my honor.

- Enjoy the rest of the evening.
- Get home safely.

See you next week.

Now Elke's in the kitchen…

You didn't just come here
tonight to treat us to your quiche?

Right.

You identified Irmgard?

May I ask how?

From a dental crown.

It's not much,
but it's as reliable as fingerprints.

I'm so sorry, Ludwig.

I wanted to tell you all evening, but…

Now we can take care of the funeral
and give Irmgard a proper farewell.

That's true.

But I still want to apologize.

- Lately, I've often been weak.
- No, no. Not weak.

Compassionate, and that gives
strength to the people around you.

When you found the second barrel,
I knew you'd found Irmgard.

Yes. I dreamed about her that night.

And together we cleared up any doubts.

You and Elke were there too.

It was the dream of a…

Romantic fool,

but this old fool has decided…

You should listen to beautiful dreams

and should enjoy love
every second of your life.

And celebrate it.

The old as well as the new.

And…

That one should be grateful.

So he did tell you?

- No, not yet.
- Tell me what?

Ludwig asked for my hand
in marriage and I accepted.

- That's wonderful.
- Yes.

- Finally something positive.
- Yes.

And I wanted to ask you, Ms. Langenbeck…

Nela, please.

I wanted to ask if you'd be my witness…

- Our.
- Our witness at the wedding.

We'd never have
gotten through this without you.

What do you say?

Of course.

What?

- What have I done wrong now?
- You have to ask?

Ludwig told me
what actually happened during the exam.

You cheated.

You told me it was
just a misunderstanding.

I told you the old man had it in for me.

If you lie to me one more time,
that's it with the business.

Humiliating me like that!

You're a disgrace.

Elisabeth, no smoking in the living room.

My dear, let an old woman
enjoy her last pleasure in life.

I want to divorce your son.

I can understand that all too well.

Who knows what else will come to light?

I'm sure that the kidnapping of Ms. Berger
won't be the only trouble he's caused.

You know, Elisabeth,
I don't want to know about all of that.

We never had much to do with each other,
but out of respect and because of Mischa,

I wanted to inform you
of my decision, nothing else.

Thanks. I appreciate it.

I thought something
like this would happen.

The cards were very bad for Raik.
I knew something was coming.

I fear it isn't over.

So that's why I'd like
to read Mischa's cards,

to be sure
nothing's going to happen to him.

There's no way I want him
to start believing in this hocus-pocus.

Don't you want to know
what his future looks like?

Hopefully you made sure that Raik
signed the houses over to Mischa,

so that you're secure when Raik's away.

I'm going to do that
at the same time as the divorce papers.

- Good, then you need to know what's…
- No, Elisabeth!

No card reading.

Here. You can bring him his cuddly toy.

You can comfort him and be a good grandma.

But the cards…

They're staying here.

Fine.

Then it's your responsibility.

I'm not his mother, after all.

Exactly.

Thanks.

THE EMPRESS

I often used to watch
the stars with your father.

Do you know which his favorite planet was?

- I think it was Jupiter.
- Right. And do you know why?

Because it's the biggest planet
in our solar system.

Its force field holds
over 69 moons around it.

And its huge red eye watches over us.

A planet can't see, Grandma.

No, this one can.

That's what Dad said too.

But Mom says the red spot is a huge storm,

which will disappear one day.

That's what she said, is it?

I often gazed
at the stars with your father.

The energy of the stars and planets
have influenced us for millions of years.

And the largest planets
have the biggest influence.

And which is the biggest, Mom?

Jupiter.

It even has a red eye.

And that alone is one and a half times
bigger than the Earth.

Then it can see us better.

I like that one. It can check
that nothing happens to you.

I'd so love to f*ck you on
the table now. You can't imagine.

We'll make up for that soon.

In our house in Costa Rica,
we'll do it all day, every day.

- As hard as you want.
- Do you promise?

I'll take you at your word,
no matter how long it takes.

You won't have to wait much longer.

They've only got circumstantial evidence.

Not one bit of actual evidence,
because there is no evidence.

They were just accidents.

I hope you're right.

You know their type.
They'll make you a scapegoat.

The stars are aligned.

I consulted my horoscope again yesterday.
It will be fine.

I also have an idea where we can
set up your little tile workshop.

- I've already shipped the grinder…
- Raik, promise me everything will be okay.

Everything will be okay.

I promise you.

God will judge you!
Go to hell, you scumbag!

As long as it's nice and warm and
the weather's not sh*t like here, great.

After a trial lasting over 17 months
and with almost 200 witnesses,

Raik Doormann
was sentenced to life imprisonment

and subsequent preventive detention
for attempted aggravated robbery,

unlawful imprisonment,

abduction for purpose of extortion,
and two murders.

The court declared
the particular severity of guilt.

Raik Doormann remains
in prison to this day.

SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE TEAM 926

Heinz Balbek remained with
the State Criminal Police until he retired

and was on friendly terms
with Nela Langenbeck.

Jens Burmeister
did advanced training with the FBI

and went on to have a textbook career.

He actually produced an educational film
about the Raik Doormann case,

which is still an integral part
of State Criminal Police training.

My mucous membranes
are still burning from the acid.

The stench of that combined
with decomposed tissue…

I won't get that
out my olfactory bulb in a hurry.

I'm so pleased the case
is finally over for us.

I'm looking forward
to a proper T-shaped incision,

and then good, strong muscles and fibers,

and fresh organs
that you can actually touch.

What should we do
with those things, anyway?

Margot Kessler was
finally able to make her peace

and found a place
to lay her daughter to rest.

Ludwig Lübke and Elke Berger were married.

Nela Langenbeck was their witness.

One year after the wedding,
Ludwig Lübke died.

The Doormann case was Nela Langenbeck's
only case in the Homicide division.

She transferred departments

and carried out
internal investigations until she retired.

Nela Langenbeck remained in touch

with Elke Berger, Ludwig Lübke,
and Margot Kessler throughout her life.

Nela Langenbeck died in 2018
after a serious illness.

It's nice you came.

You're welcome any time, Ms. Langenbeck.

Thanks, Dr. Polke. It was a lovely party.

It's nice and peaceful here.

I need to muck out the stables,
or the cows will soon disturb that peace.

But…

Stay as long as you like.