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"One, two" Police. Three, four" Grenadier"
Grinning, I tapped on the call acceptance of my cell phone's hands-free system. A few days ago, Derek had put this ringtone of an ancient hit on the device and assigned it to his own number, so it was clear who was calling.
“Hello darling”
Hi Sascha. Tell me, what are you doing right now
I'm stuck in traffic on the A9 just before the Schkeuditzer Kreuz. Why
Okay, then you probably have a little time for me.
I always have time for you, don't I
Haha, that'd be nice. Listen, I got two theater tickets from a customer for Othello.
Crap, not again. I wasn't a big fan of the theater, unfortunately Derek was quite the opposite. I suppressed the sigh that was already on the tip of my tongue.
“And when”
“That's the problem, it's tonight. Do you have time?”
This was THE opportunity to put in some overtime! On the other hand, Derek was so sweet that I couldn't really say no.
“I think so. When and where?”
“At eight at the theater. Can you make it?”
“I'll manage.” ”Should I dress up?”
“Well, it can be a little more than your usual jeans and T-shirt.”
I had suspected it.
Okay. Shall we meet at the entrance at half past seven?
Yes, great! Thanks, Sascha!
I could literally feel Derek smiling contentedly. What wouldn't I do for the boy.
Okay, then, see you tonight.
We said goodbye and I ended the connection. Theater. Argh! Othello? I had heard of it, but please don't ask me what it was about. Theater things went in one ear and out the other for me. But wait, there was something. I had to grin, a famous Saxon joke crept through my brain: “What's the difference between a kettle and Othello?” “In the Gessl, the tea is boiling, in the Odello, the tea is done!”
Rrrrrrring! Rrrrrrring!
It was like being at a telephone exchange today! This ringtone, however, did not bode well; it sounded official.
Altmann.
Sascha, where are you?
Always the same questions.
At the Schkeuditzer Kreuz.
Get dressed and go to Nürnberger Straße 32.
What's going on there?
? There's a flat on fire and the police found a dead body.?
That's not uncommon. However, it was usually not a job for us, there had to be more to it than that.
?And?
?The cause of death was probably neither the fire nor the smoke inhalation.?
Ah yes, so it was a job for us after all.
?Okay, I'm on my way.?
I rolled down the window next to me and stuck the blue strobe light on the car roof. I also put on the appropriate music, and as if by magic, the road in front of me was cleared. Okay, unfortunately it wasn't quite that smooth, but at least I wasn't stationary anymore.
Maybe this would be a good time to introduce myself. Allow me, Sascha Altmann. Detective Inspector Sascha Altmann, to be precise. Employed at the Leipzig CID in the “crimes against the person” department, also known as the homicide division in everyday German. 25-year-old teenager, tall, slim, blond, gay. Well, after the phone call with Derek, that was probably already clear anyway. We had known each other for half a year, and we were slowly approaching the point where we would start living together.
Damn, that stupid chick! Blind and deaf! She just pulls into the lane in front of me. And with a Smart. If I hadn't slammed on the brakes, my heavy BMW would have pushed this little box so hard that she would have ended up on the new runway at the nearby airport. That would have meant more paperwork!
Luckily, I was now slowly getting out of the traffic jam, and soon I really had a clear run all the way into the center of Leipzig. From a distance, I saw the flashing blue lights of the fire department when I turned into the one-way street leading to the scene of the crime. Shortly thereafter, I parked the car behind a green-white Passat. The house looked like a rather dark hut, so I should probably take my torch with me. As I got out, I spotted the first familiar face and greeted the uniformed colleague who was taking care of the roadblock.
“Hi Berni.”
“Hi Sascha. It took you a long time, your boat's been there for ages.”
I had the longest way, I was already in Weißenfels today, to deliver evidence.
Poor you. Well, have fun in there, everything is destroyed.
Luckily I was wearing black trousers. I marched to the entrance, through which two fire hoses were still winding. One of the firefighters came towards me.
“Where do you think you're going?”
“Altmann, CID. Where do I have to go?”
“Got it. Second floor on the left. You can't miss it, just follow the smell.”
This was getting better and better. I fought my way up the soaking wet stairs and entered the affected apartment shortly thereafter. The colleagues from the fire department had apparently arrived quickly at the scene and were able to limit the fire to the apartment. That was a good thing, otherwise the wooden staircase in this run-down old building would have caused huge problems.
I went deeper into the apartment and spotted my “Big Chief” looking through the third door.
“Hi boss.”
“Hello Sascha, you're finally here.”
I made an offended face.
“Boss, it's not even nine o'clock and I've already been to Weißenfels?”
Detective Chief Inspector Machlitzke grinned.
“I'm only joking. You were pretty quick from the Schkeuditzer Kreuz to here.”
Well, I wanted to say that too!
“What do we have here?”
Jens (that's my boss's first name) pointed invitingly to the far left corner of the room.
“Take a look for yourself.”
I entered the room and went to where another familiar face was standing next to a slightly charred human body.
“Hello, Doc?”
“Sascha?”
Yikes, that really wasn't a particularly pretty sight. A man, apparently middle-aged, with his clothes partially burned into his skin, was lying on the floor in a contorted position.
“Cause of death?”
“Definitely not the fire, he was already dead.” ”Take a look at his head.”
I could have done without that, but it was all in a day's work, so I squatted down next to the body. Hm. The prompt arrival of the fire brigade had ensured that some things were still clearly visible. For example, the huge dent above the left temple.
“Fall or blow?”
“Blow from a blunt instrument, I'd say. You'd have to fall awkwardly to catch something like that.”
That finally made it clear why my team had been requested. I rose again and went over to Jens.
“Murder with arson to cover up?”
“It certainly looks that way. Murder or manslaughter. Smell it?”
I sniffed. Through the overpowering smell of burning and the stench of burnt flesh, I now detected another faint smell.
“Fire accelerant?”
“Exactly. That blob over there looks like a melted petrol can.”
I looked around the room a little.
“But it can't have been full, otherwise the F wouldn't have had a chance.”
“You're right, big guy, there were probably only a few drops left.”
“He probably only found it here and didn't bring any with him. Unplanned? More like manslaughter, right?”
That's one of the things we need to find out. Take a look around, maybe you'll find something interesting.
That's exactly what I did. I put on gloves, turned on my flashlight and began to examine the surroundings. In the room with the body, presumably the living room, fire and the water used to extinguish the fire had left a trail of destruction. Or was there more?
“Boss, did F live like this?”
“Nah, they say they barely touched anything.”
“Then there must have been a real fight, the way the furniture is lying around.”
Right. Pa? Watch where you're stepping, or you'll step on the murder weapon.
Gosh, I'm not a rookie anymore!
Well, hopefully.
I carefully picked my way through the remains of a dining table and the chairs. Hm. Big dent in the head. A chair leg? But they all still seemed to be attached to the corresponding chairs. I continued picking. Wait a minute. What was that? Carefully, I uncovered a larger piece of wood in the field of debris. Wow. It looked like I had struck gold! The thing had apparently been somewhat protected from the fire by the debris above it, at least it looked quite intact, and it wasn't even slightly charred. Those dark spots weren't burnt, they looked like blood!
“Jens!”
KHK Machlitzke was next to me in a flash.
“Did you find something?”
“Yes, it looks like it. Could it be the murder weapon?”
Jens stared at my find in amazement.
“A rolling pin?”
Despite the macabre situation, I had to laugh.
“With this, we have narrowed down the potential circle of perpetrators to mother-in-law and wife.”
Now my boss was laughing too.
“It would be nice if it were that simple. But good work, Sascha.”
Doc, who had joined us in the meantime, confirmed this.
“Yes, that could well be the case. The size fits the head injury in any case. But I won't be able to say anything more precise until later.”
Sure thing, Doc. Time of death?
The man addressed frowned.
I'm sorry, Jens, it's hard to say at this stage. The sooner I have the body on the table, the sooner you'll get more precise information.
All right, Doc. I'll make sure he's delivered to you as quickly as possible.
Thanks. I'll get out of your way then, there's nothing more for me to do here. Have fun, you two.
With these words, the coroner disappeared, and Jens looked at me.
Call the cold hand, they can come and clear up.
I did as I was told and called the hearse on my cell phone. The poor bastards would also enjoy their customer. Then I joined Jens, who was still looking around the apartment. Unfortunately, we didn't find anything that would have given us a quick lead on the possible culprit. However, my boss did discover a laptop behind an overturned chair.
“Let's see if it still works.”
He made a move to press the power button.
“Don't, Jens!”
He looked at me in astonishment.
“Why not? I just want to see if it still works. Maybe we'll find some information that will help us.”
I looked at the device doubtfully. It looked pretty worn out. The casing was splintered around the monitor, slightly charred in another place, and the extinguishing water had also contributed to the destruction.
“If you try to turn it on, it could give it a final blow.”
Shit, you're probably right. But if I send it to the LKA lab, I won't get the results until sometime between Christmas and New Year's. And I'm deliberately not saying when.?
I had to laugh. Since Machlitzke had convicted a high-ranking LKA official of murdering his lover two or three years ago, the relationship between him and his colleagues there had been more than just a little strained.
“I have a better idea, boss.”
“So?” ”Fire away!”
The thing is too big even for the LKA guys, they pass something like that on to external data recovery experts.
What are you getting at? Wait, isn't your better half a computer guru?
That's right, he works at Data Rescue, and sooner or later the schlepp would end up on his desk anyway.
Jens' face cleared up a bit.
“Hm, you mean we could foist it on him directly?” Some people would get pretty huffy about that, saying it was bypassing the official channels.
Then he laughed.
“Oh, screw the official channels. Hildebrand?”
One of the forensic technicians who had arrived in the meantime rushed over.
“Yes, boss?”
“Take a quick look and see if you can find any tracks on this thing so we can send it to the data recovery lab.”
“You got it.”
The technician took the laptop and disappeared with it in the direction of the mobile lab. Jens turned back to me.
“Can you take this directly to your Devon?”
Derek, not Devon. Yes, I think so. He owes me a big favor anyway.
Machlitzke looked at me curiously.
What for? Or should I, an innocent heterosexual, not ask this question?
I answered him, laughing.
Hehe, it's harmless. He's taking me to the theater tonight, to see Othello.
Sounds good to me, you cultural barbarian. I should do something like that with my wife again sometime.
Sorry, but that's really not my thing. But maybe I'll have to work overtime tonight after all?
I looked hopefully at my superior, but he shook his head and grinned.
“Nothing. Especially now that we have to keep your Dennis happy so that he will help us.”
“Derek!”
“All right, all right. So go on, beat it. As soon as Hildebrand is done with the forensics, you go to your sweetheart and wheedle the thing out of him.”
“All right, boss. Should I come back here afterwards?”
No, go straight to the office, I'll be on my way soon too. There's not much more I can do here, the rest has to be done by the forensic police.
So I left the unpleasant crime scene and walked down to the street, where I got into the forensics van. The technician present was just leaning over the laptop.
“Find anything, Werner?”
“Three pretty messed-up fingerprints and half a handprint. But I can't promise that they'll be usable in the end.”
“But you'll try?”
“Sure, I'll do my best.” ”Well, I'm done, you can take it with you.”
“Great.”
I grabbed the laptop, which had also been cleaned a bit in the meantime. After I had stowed it safely in the car, I set off for my sweetheart's company. Hm. Maybe I should warn him. I tapped the speed dial for his cell phone. After a half rings, he was already on and I heard his cheerful voice.
“Hello Sascha, missing me already?”
I laughed.
“I'm ALWAYS missing you when we're not together.”
“You old flatterer. I hope for your sake that you're not calling to cancel tonight!”
I sighed.
“No, but I'm planning an attack on you.”
Shoot.?
I need your expert help. We have a damaged laptop here, and we urgently need to access the data. If we leave it to the LKA, it will take forever and a day.?
How badly damaged??
Badly, I'd say. Fall, fire and extinguishing water.?
Derek groaned.
You don't do things by halves, do you? And knowing you, should I drop everything else?
I had to grin, he knew me just way too well.
That would be VERY nice!
All right, I can take a look at the thing. When will you be here?
I looked around briefly, the traffic was flowing quite well.
Five to ten minutes, I don't need any longer.?
Okay, I'll clear the table. See you in a moment.?
We finished the call, and about seven minutes later I pulled into the Data Rescue company parking lot. After getting the laptop out of the trunk, I entered the office building and wanted to take the familiar route to Derek's office – but I hadn't reckoned with the dragon behind the reception desk.
“Where do you think you're going?”
I looked around. Oh God, where had Data Rescue found that old hag? Shouldn't a receptionist be welcoming customers in a friendly manner? I decided to answer with a counter question.
“Where is Ms. D?lke?”
She is on vacation, I am the substitute. So, where do you want to go? You can't just walk in here!
So, I can't? That would be a first.
You are the substitute? I see. Tell me, do you know Mr. Prosch by any chance?
Of course, he is one of the managing directors!
Well, at least she knew that much.
“Great. Firstly, I'm his friend, secondly I have an appointment and thirdly, I'm convinced that he wouldn't be particularly thrilled if he knew what kind of tone you use when addressing potential customers!”
The dragon's face grew longer and longer, but no further sounds came, so I turned around again and three minutes later I was in my darling's office/laboratory.
“Hi Derek?”
“Sascha?”
He rushed over to me, carefully took the laptop from me and placed it on a table, and then gave me a not-so-careful hug. Oh God, I had such a crush on this crazy little brown-haired guy! About three hours later, we managed to let go of each other. Well, it wasn't quite three hours. Strictly speaking, it was much too short. But duty called.
“So this is my new patient?”
“Yes. What do you think, can you fix him?”
Derek looked curiously at the laptop.
“Has anyone already tampered with it?”
No, I just managed to stop Jens from turning it on.
Very good, then there is hope. Where did you get it?
It was found in the room of a murdered man, in which the murderer started a fire to cover up his crime.
I briefly told Derek about my latest case. He sighed.
Nice. How soon do you need a result?
Let me think. Until yesterday?
He looked at me reproachfully.
Okay, until the day before yesterday?
Stupid! All right, I'll get right on it and get back to you when I've found something.
That would be really very nice of you, darling.
I'll do anything for you. But we're still going to Othello tonight, right?
Yes, of course!
I preferred to just think the word 'unfortunately' to myself. I said goodbye to Derek, threw a friendly 'see you' at the reception dragon on my way out, got in the car and drove to the office. I arrived at practically the same time as my boss and together we went upstairs to the office.
'What does David say, can he fix the laptop?
Derek! His name is Derek! And he'll do his best, won't he?”
“Well, hopefully, we didn't find anything useful in the apartment. But maybe Eva already has something?”
Eva Schl?ter, a detective sergeant, was confined to a wheelchair after a serious accident and has since done everything she could from her desk. Sure enough, we found her happily hacking away at her computer keyboard.
“Hi, Eva.”
“Hello, Sascha.”
After the greeting, we sat down on our chairs and looked expectantly at the only female being in the room.
“Well, I've already found out a few things. The tenant of the apartment is called Harald Brauner, 43 years old, with a criminal record. The Organized Crime Department has a thick file on him, covering everything from human smuggling to counterfeiting. But he was always just one of the small fry. Here, there is also a photo.
Eva pointed to the large flat screen on the wall. Hm, well I couldn't say whether that was our burnt corpse. It could be, but it didn't have to be. Jens seemed to feel the same way.
It could be the victim, but I wouldn't want to make any definite statements. Of course, it was his apartment, so there are a few things that point in that direction.
Probably. It would be a pretty big coincidence if someone who looked somewhat similar to the tenant was found beaten to death in a stranger's apartment.
Are there any current investigations against him?
No, boss. Brauner only got out of prison six weeks ago and he hasn't shown up since then.
Hm. Anyway, please check with the OV, maybe they can give us some advice on where we should look.
I'll do that, boss.
Sascha and I are going to the cafeteria first, we both haven't had a decent breakfast yet.
Breakfast? I looked at my watch, it was already just after eleven. How time flies.
Do you want us to get you something?
No, thanks, I'll go to lunch with the girls later.
Machlitzke and I went to the annexe where the cafeteria was located. It was reasonably empty; breakfast was over and lunch was just beginning. We got ourselves something to eat, then sat down at one of the many free tables.
What do you think, Jens? A criminal with a thick police record, a murder, it all fits together, doesn't it?
My boss looked thoughtfully at his plate.
Yes, it seems so. This could be a pretty big deal if there are any gang-related issues involved. It would be really damn important, your Detlef?
Derek!
? whatever, that he finds something on the laptop. I'll have the apartment searched again with the finest comb, maybe something will turn up there after all.
We talked a little more before we headed back to the office around half past twelve. Eva already had news for us there.
Doc called and sent us the victim's fingerprints. There wasn't much left to get, the fingers were pretty charred, but there's an 85 percent probability that it's Brauner. He's also doing a tooth comparison, but that'll take time, he needs the prison doctor's files first.
Well, that's enough to work with the hypothesis that the dead man is actually Harald Brauner. Have you heard anything from the police yet?
No, they were quite surprised that he's out again. Actually, he still had a year and a half to go.
Very funny. At that moment, my cell phone rang with the familiar melody, which made the other two present laugh. I quickly accepted the call.
“Yes?”
“Hello darling. Pay attention, the laptop was not as damaged as it looked from the outside. I was able to read almost the entire hard drive and burned everything onto a DVD. One of our field representatives should arrive in about a quarter of an hour, he has the laptop and the DVD with him.
Wow, you're great! I didn't think it would be so fast.
As I said, the damage wasn't as bad as it could have been. So then, see you tonight.
Thanks a lot, kid!
Grinning, I hung up and looked into the expectant faces of my colleagues.
“The broad grin on your face means that Daniel must have found something.”
“Derek!”
This time my objection to defacing the name of my beloved was supported by Eve in stereo.
“Yes, yes, all right. Come on, what is it now?”