The Body on the Beach

by Anna Johannsen

  ‘That’s perfectly fine, Frau Bohlen. And how is your own relationship with Frau Müller? Did you or do you have any issues?’

  ‘Sometimes she’s a little . . . distant, but no – no real issues.’

  Lena stood up and Johann followed suit.

  ‘That’ll be all for now.’

  17

  Lena leaned forward and made a point of placing the voice recorder on the table. She said the date and time and named the persons present.

  ‘Why did you lie to us?’ she asked without any further preamble. ‘You met Anna Bauer and forced her to give up her job here.’

  Isabel Müller inhaled sharply. ‘Who says that?’

  ‘I’m asking the questions. You answer. Is that clear?’ said Lena harshly, glaring across at the young woman.

  Isabel Müller raised her hands in defence. ‘Look, what’s all this about? Are you trying to pin something on me?’

  ‘Did you know Anna Bauer before you applied for the position at the home?’

  ‘I thought we could avoid all this. Yes, OK, we bumped into each other at a professional development seminar, but really only very briefly – a few of us sharing a drink at the hotel bar. We got talking. Just small talk. Shortly before she finished up here, she called me, told me she wanted out. I must have mentioned at the bar that I’d already applied to several children’s homes, and maybe I even mentioned that I’d love to work in a place where folk go on holiday. Anyway, she called me and . . . you know the rest. She asked me not to tell anyone that we’d met. I kept my promise, that’s all – it honestly didn’t seem that much of a big deal. Sorry if I was wrong.’

  ‘You paid Anna Bauer a considerable sum to give up her job.’

  ‘I did what? Well, that’s not true for a start. Why on earth would I do something like that? I didn’t want the job that badly. It sounded great, that’s true, but to have to pay for it . . . ?’

  ‘We’ll have the court order tomorrow at the latest to check your bank accounts. It’d be far better if you were open with us right now.’

  ‘It’s the God’s honest truth. You’re welcome to check my bank accounts, but you won’t find much in there. You don’t get rich from being a caregiver.’

  ‘What exactly did Anna Bauer tell you? When did she contact you?’

  ‘She called about a week before she handed in her resignation. They’d given out a list with our phone numbers at the seminar, you see.’

  ‘When and where was the seminar?’

  ‘About two years ago? Early August, I think – four days at the uni in Münster. I’d have to check the exact dates.’

  ‘That info should be enough for us to go on,’ Johann said.

  ‘Great, then you’ll soon find out that I’m telling the truth.’

  ‘Just because you met at a seminar it doesn’t mean you didn’t pay Frau Bauer,’ Lena said. ‘Frau Bauer was very clear in her statement. I can only advise you to tell us everything right now.’

  ‘You’re repeating yourself,’ Isabel Müller replied tartly.

  ‘Do you have any medical knowledge?’ asked Johann suddenly.

  ‘What do you mean? You know what I do here.’

  ‘Well, have you ever worked in a hospital?’

  ‘I had an internship as a student, if you can call that work.’

  ‘And how long was this internship?’ asked Johann.

  ‘One semester – about four months.’

  ‘That’s quite long for an internship. Was it linked to a particular course or apprenticeship?’

  ‘Not really. Like I said, I was just an intern.’

  ‘Is that the only professional contact you’ve had with the medical world?’ asked Johann.

  ‘I really don’t know what you want from me.’

  Lena noticed that Isabel Müller steered away from Johann’s questions as much as she could, but she didn’t see the need to pursue the point any further at this stage. ‘I’d like to talk some more about your relationship with Hein Bohlen. We’ve heard statements suggesting that your relationship with him was more intimate than you’ve previously led us to believe.’

  ‘And what exactly is your question?’ Isabel Müller stared at them in defiance.

  Lena continued unperturbed, ‘Would you please describe your relationship with Hein Bohlen for us again?’

  ‘If I must. I already told you yesterday that our relationship was purely professional. I had no problems with him and I don’t think he had any with me. We were on first-name terms in spite of the age difference and we got on well. Is that enough for you?’

  ‘He never wanted more?’ asked Johann.

  ‘I can imagine what you’re thinking. Young, reasonably attractive woman flirts with her boss. A quickie on the desk or maybe in the kids’ toilets. Is that what you want me to say?’

  ‘If that’s what happened,’ Johann said without batting an eyelid. ‘Are you seriously trying to tell us Herr Bohlen didn’t show the slightest interest in you? From what we’ve learned about him, that seems highly unlikely.’

  ‘Whatever! You can think what you like, but do you want me to make up a few hair-raising tales just to keep you happy? You can’t be serious!’

  ‘Why did your brother kill himself?’ asked Lena. She’d fixed on the question because it was proving difficult to catch the imperturbable Isabel Müller off balance.

  ‘That’s none of your bloody business!’ Isabel now snapped at Lena.

  ‘I’m sorry, Frau Müller. We need to explore all avenues in the course of a murder investigation. Did his suicide have anything to do with his time living in children’s homes?’

  ‘Pure cod psychology. Is that what they teach you at police school? I’m not saying another word.’

  ‘Why did you lie to us? You told us you were unemployed when you happened to come across this position.’ Lena decided to change subject again because she realised Isabel Müller would remain silent about her brother until they could produce hard evidence.

  ‘Unemployed? You must have misheard me.’

  Johann cleared his throat and turned back a few pages in his little book. ‘I quote from my notes: you were out of a job, heard about this position by chance, called the home and came for an interview the next day, then started one week later.’

  Isabel Müller seemed rattled for an instant. ‘No, surely I didn’t say that. It wouldn’t have been the truth.’

  ‘Frau Müller,’ Lena said tensely. ‘You are facing two experienced criminal detectives. You can rest assured that your statement was recorded correctly. You lied during your very first interview with us. Now why would that be?’

  ‘I really didn’t. I’ve no idea what happened there. You don’t get interviewed by the police every day – it’s only normal to mix up details here and there. I’ve been out of work several times and had to find a new position. I must have got muddled in all the excitement.’

  ‘You didn’t appear at all excited,’ Johann said. ‘I even made a note of it.’

  ‘That’s ridiculous. Notes! You have no idea.’ Isabel Müller was talking more to herself than to the two detectives.

  ‘Did you know Herr Bohlen before you came here?’ asked Lena. ‘Why did you want to work here so badly that you gave up a steady job? That does not look like a coincidence in my book.’

  Isabel Müller took her time. Lena thought the young woman seemed suddenly far away. ‘There are so many coincidences in life,’ she murmured.

  ‘We can’t see any reason why Anna Bauer wouldn’t be telling the truth. How much did you pay her to quit her job?’

  ‘I already told you. What do you want from me?’ She touched her head. ‘I feel sick. I need to lie down.’

  Lena exchanged a glance with Johann and decided to carry on with the interview in the afternoon. Picking up the voice recorder, she said, ‘Taking a break in the interview with Isabel Müller,’ before switching the machine off. ‘Have a lie-down. We’ll come back around three p.m. this afternoon to continue this conversation
. Do you understand, Frau Müller?’

  Isabel Müller nodded, stood up and left the room without another word.

  Lena and Johann’s phones buzzed almost simultaneously. Lena had new emails from both DSU Warnke and Leon. When she looked up, Johann said, ‘Forensics have the results on Bohlen’s clothes, and we have the intel on the Hamburg licence plate. What about you?’

  ‘Let’s go back to the house. I hate reading emails on the phone.’

  Fifteen minutes later, they were seated with their laptops at the kitchen table with the coffee machine hissing and spluttering in the background.

  Lena opened Warnke’s email, which had two lists attached, one itemising all the phones connected to the local network following the discovery of Hein Bohlen’s corpse, and the other showing Reimers’ phone record from that evening. Lena studied his list of calls, immediately spotting that he had not told the truth regarding the missing twenty minutes. At nine minutes past eleven he’d called Herbert Bergendorf’s number and talked to him for seven minutes.

  Lena gestured to Johann and he sat down beside her to look through the data for himself. ‘Wow! You were bang on about that Bergendorf. I doubt Sergeant Reimers called to wish him goodnight. Did he seriously think we weren’t going to find out?’

  Lena opened the other list. More than sixty phones had been connected that evening. They skimmed through the list but could find no one relevant – neither Isabel Müller, Anna Bauer nor Sabine Bohlen.

  ‘Your friend from school isn’t there either,’ Johann said. ‘We’ll have to talk to each one of these callers. That’s going to take ages.’

  Johann returned to his laptop and Lena read her second email. Leon had attached a letter from a doctor detailing the medical history of Isabel Müller’s brother, Florian. Reading through the seven pages, Lena found several sections referring to Florian Müller’s time at various homes. The doctor seemed to think the boy had been exposed to violence as a child, most likely combined with sexual assault. Florian Müller hadn’t fully confided in the doctor and the medical professional made it very clear that he was merely speculating.

  Lena decided to read the letter again in peace that evening – she might glean more from a second read. Right now she wanted to know what homes Florian Müller had stayed in and if there was any chance he’d crossed paths with Hein Bohlen. Lena delegated the task to Johann and focussed on Leon’s other attachment. It was a chatroom transcript. Leon had texted her an explanation earlier – he preferred this split method of communicating when the intel was highly sensitive. His text message read:

  Dark Web chat. Got password and username. Our man is Berg. Be careful! You’re stirring up a real hornets’ nest.

  Lena opened up the transcript. It appeared that five participants – one of them with the username Berg – had met at an agreed time on the Dark Web. She read:

  Beil: Everyone well?

  Rose: Let’s get to the point. I don’t have much time.

  Schwarz: Berg, can you summarise, please.

  Berg: Things are getting out of hand. You already know the CID is on the island. The bitch will get the phone records from our friend in Kiel tomorrow. I couldn’t prevent it. That idiot called me on his work phone. The bitch won’t give up.

  Weiss: I always said that village copper is a risk.

  Schwarz: No point in crying over spilled milk. Berg, how much does he know?

  Berg: Enough to bring me down. The coward will try anything to save his own skin. We should never have contacted him directly.

  Beil: Getting your knickers in a twist and moaning won’t help. Schwarz asked precisely how much the copper’s aware of.

  Berg: Almost nothing. I don’t think he has the brains to see through our business model, but he does know we had an interest in HB. I think we should get rid of him.

  Beil: Get rid of him?

  Schwarz: I agree. He needs to be got out of the picture ASAP. Berg, you’re in charge of that.

  Rose: OK, that’s that sorted. But our investment hasn’t paid off at all. No chance of going into business with the widow, is there?

  Schwarz: No, no chance.

  Beil: We’ll have to write it off.

  Schwarz: Frankly, that’s the least of our concerns. I’m worried about the CID bitch. I’ve asked around about her. She won’t give up once she’s on to something.

  Weiss: Can we contain the risk?

  Schwarz: So far. We’re well secured.

  Weiss: We should have written off HB much sooner. I was always against asking for the money back.

  Beil: It was a majority vote. Stop whingeing.

  Rose: When’s the next shipment due?

  Schwarz: I cancelled everything. We need to lie low for now.

  Berg: The CID bitch needs someone to pin the murder on.

  Weiss: How are we going to manage that?

  Schwarz: Not every case gets solved and she has limited time on the island. I’ll see if I can speed things up.

  Weiss: Good. I don’t like what’s been happening lately.

  Berg: No one does, but we couldn’t predict everything. The back payments were supposed to pile on the pressure. Who’d have thought the idiot would actually pay the first instalments? Everything would have turned out fine if he hadn’t suddenly dropped dead.

  Weiss: Would have, if – that’s no good to us now.

  Schwarz: Oh, stop bickering, all of you. We’re well secured. This little glitch can’t touch us.

  Weiss: Let’s hope to God you’re right . . .

  Rose: Is the shipment stored appropriately in the meantime?

  Berg: All sorted.

  Schwarz: I’ll call a meeting in HH if necessary.

  Berg: No problem. I’ll need a day’s notice.

  Schwarz: Great. Any more questions? If not, we can finish up for today.

  When Lena showed the transcript to Johann, he was speechless for a moment. ‘Where did you get that?’

  ‘The Dark Web. Berg is Herbert Bergendorf. I don’t know the rest of their identities.’

  ‘Then how did you identify Bergendorf? If you can do it with him, you—’

  ‘Not possible, unfortunately.’

  ‘No way! You – or whoever – hacked his computer without a court order? Are you insane? This guy has connections – even inside the police force, if I understand this chat correctly.’

  ‘You’re right, but tell me what judge would give us an order without proof? We have to do the groundwork ourselves. Don’t worry, you’ve got nothing to do with this. If I get in trouble, I’ll keep you out of it.’

  ‘Great – well, that’s me feeling perfectly reassured about it now.’

  ‘Let’s focus on the job in hand, OK? What else have you got?’

  For a brief moment, Johann looked as though he was going to carry on arguing, but then he cleared his throat and said, ‘You asked me to look into the alleged rape of a holidaymaker near the home. The case was scrapped because there was no case. The woman admitted later that she’d made it all up – that’s the trouble with rumours. Next, the results came in from Forensics on Hein Bohlen’s clothes: besides the funeral director, they found DNA from another male. I was told it must have been more than a mere handshake.’

  ‘A fight, then? But there were no bruises on Bohlen’s body.’

  ‘Then it was something a little less than a fight. Either way, we have nothing to compare the sample with.’

  ‘Which leads me on to the black hole in the timeline. Just who did Bohlen go to meet down there on the beach? Bearing in mind the chatroom conversation, I’d say it was Bergendorf. I wonder how Bohlen was connected with this shady group and why they gave him the eight hundred thousand euros as a kind of loan?’

  ‘What did he have to offer on his side?’

  ‘Children.’

  ‘You mean . . . ?’

  ‘Seems the most likely scenario to me. A children’s home is hardly a lucrative investment –

  as a money-laundering outfit maybe, but t
hen the tax office would have noticed. All their income comes from public funds, doesn’t it, and there’d be contracts and records.’

  ‘Didn’t the accountant say the home wasn’t running at capacity in the beginning? How does that fit into the picture?’

  ‘Did Bohlen need the space for children from other sources, I wonder?’ Seeing Johann’s expression, Lena added, ‘I know it sounds horrible, but to people like that, children are goods.’

  ‘Is that why you wanted me to find out if Isabel’s brother was ever in a home where Hein Bohlen was working? But what could she have to do with this group?’

  ‘I don’t know. How soon can we find out?’

  ‘I’ve passed it on to Flensburg, but it’ll take a while. I don’t even know if they can access this kind of information without a court order.’

  ‘What else have you come up with?’

  ‘The Hamburg licence plate belongs to a vehicle from a Hamburg import and export company. Do you want me to send someone over there?’

  ‘No, best to let sleeping dogs lie for now, I think. Plus, we don’t even know that Frau Müller wasn’t chucking us a red herring to keep us busy and show her willingness to cooperate. First off, that Sergeant Reimers has some explaining to do and, after that, we’ll pay Herr Bergendorf a visit.’

  ‘So I’m not going to Föhr to check out Anna Bauer’s alibi then?’

  ‘Leave it to our colleagues on Föhr. If we still have any doubts, we’ll just have to go over tomorrow.’

  ‘OK, I’m on to it. I’ll be ready in ten.’

  18

  A young constable opened the door at the police station. Lena held up her pass and asked for Walter Reimers.

  ‘I’m sorry. He called in sick today.’

  ‘In that case, we need his home address.’

  After a brief hesitation, the constable told them the street and number. ‘He’s in the top flat. Do you want me to call and let him know you’re on the way?’

  ‘No thanks, we’ll do that ourselves.’

  Back in the car, Johann said, ‘I bet you anything Sergeant Reimers won’t be home.’