Dirk Lützelberger

Secret doors

Secret doors

Crime

Dirk Lützelberger

© 2020 Dirk Lützelberger

By the same author have also been published:

Hintertüren (German Edition)

Mord im ersten Leben (German Edition)

Murder in the first life (English edition)

Roadtrip in Australien (German edition)

Road trip Australia (English edition)

Printed in Germany

The work, including its parts, is protected by copyright. Any use is prohibited without the consent of the publisher and the author. This applies in particular to electronic or other reproduction, translation, distribution and making available to the public.

Imprint

Texts:               © Copyright by Dirk Lützelberger

Cover:              © Copyright by Dirk Lützelberger

Translation:      www.deepl.com, manual proofreading

Publisher:         Dirk Lützelberger

Am Sorgfeld 14
22587 Hamburg
dirk.luetzelberger+Secret-doors@gmail.com

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Berlin

Chief Inspector Gwen Fisher is caught up in the grief of her husband’s death and tries to clear her mind by taking a vacation. But already in the first days of her vacation she is drawn into a new case. A dead man without a perpetrator gives Gwen sleepless nights at first, especially when a lead is found in her hometown. Together with her friend and partner, Superintendent Stefan Schick, she takes up the challenge and travels home to continue working on the case. But before they can do so, their credit cards, which have just been reissued at the LKA, are blocked again, because a large-scale fraud is suspected. In cooperation with the department of white-collar crime, they conduct initial investigations. They first take them to management consultants, who promise absolute security. In the further course of the investigation, however, the team is then confronted with a theft without a trace. Are the body at the holiday resort and the burglary connected? Which security measures are to prevent misuse of electronic means of payment? Is there absolute security? The investigators are faced with many riddles and learn a lot about latest technologies in this case again. To everyone’s surprise, Gwen’s 15-year-old son already has an idea of how to solve the cases. They go on a dangerous search for clues in darknet and want to set a trap.

For all factory guards

Chapter 1

The first sunrays of the day shone through the window of his holiday apartment. They flashed playfully between the mountains and cast a golden shimmer on his breakfast table. That’s the way to live, he thought as he gleefully shoved the last bite of his breakfast into his mouth. As was typical for him, it had been a very healthy breakfast. Lots of fruit, yoghurt, a little honey and a strong, freshly brewed coffee. He swallowed the last bite of his morning meal and enjoyed a sip of coffee while looking at the mountains. This is where he liked to be and where he could relax better than anywhere else. It had been a good decision to just put work aside for a few weeks and relax. He had enough interested people who would hire him when he was back home. In today’s age, security is very important, and only few people had enough idea what exactly this meant. He felt comfortable in his job and knew how to satisfy his customers efficiently. The consulting activity was the financial foundation of his life. Moreover, secondary earnings were not excluded, he remembered with a smile.

He pushed the chair back and got up to get ready. His mood was not at its best when he brushed his teeth and put on his jogging clothes. Now came the most difficult part of the morning, he knew that, and even the breath-taking view of the Austrian Alps couldn’t change that, when he stepped outside his apartment door into the cool morning air.

Don’t act so coyly, he spurred himself on and started moving grumpy. The first steps are always the hardest and now move, you old geezer. He didn’t mince matters when it came to his own fitness. At forty-eight, he was no longer the youngest and his belly began to go a bit out of shape when he wasn’t paying attention. As much as he took care of his diet, it didn’t help him to stay fit in the long run if he just sat in front of the TV and relaxed with a glass of red wine. He had to face the fact and admit that he had to work on his figure. A visit to a fitness studio was beyond all question for him. All those well-trained athletes with their hardened bodies would only take away his motivation in the long run. He did not want to join a club either, because he did not like the whole club rules with its regular meetings and events. He was a loner and tried repeatedly to motivate himself to run.

Every year on New Year’s Eve, it was the same game. The good intentions were made and also quickly knocked on the head. But not this year. 2013 was a special challenge, which he was only too happy to face, he thought as he slowly picked up speed and found his rhythm. He had celebrated the New Year with several friends. A young lady he had never seen before had also been there. Her name was Lena. She was about his age and had beautiful, blonde, long hair. They had found each other very sympathetic at first sight, and at the party they talked very intimately the whole evening. Time flew by and they were the last to go to bed early in the morning. In retrospect, they both suspected that this meeting had been arranged by their friends, but everyone vehemently denied this. Whether this meeting was arranged or rather coincidental, lost its importance, because it was the most beautiful evening in the past years, which he gladly remembered. As midnight approached, they had made a promise to each other. They would finally put a resolution into action they had already made in the past years, but never finished it alone. Lena wanted to quit smoking and he wanted to run twice a week to improve his physical fitness. They swore to support each other so that the other would not back out of the deal. In the first months of the new year this went very well until in April Lena received an offer from her company to go abroad. To follow her was beyond question for him, as he loved his job and he still expected many orders here in Germany. They therefore wanted to try a long-distance relationship. After some time of separation, Lena realized what she had to do without in the past weeks. She separated from him after only five months of friendship.

Meanwhile he trotted at his optimal speed through nature and his thoughts circled around Lena. She was the best that ever happened to him. Even though the relationship had not lasted, she had given him the decisive impulse to persevere with his plan. By now it had become almost routine that he put on his running shoes twice a week and ran distances of varying lengths. It was almost fun for him once he had reached the apex of his running route. Furthermore, his success could be measured by his weight and his fitness. It improved from month to month. Although he was still a long way from running a marathon, he enjoyed the small successes when he noticed that another kilo on his scale had permanently left.

He enjoyed the landscape that passed by and he breathed the fresh air. He smelled the pine needles, which gave off their unmistakable scent. The moss that covered the forest floor and was still wet from the cold night glittered in the early morning sun. He heard the birds chirping to greet the morning. The air was much better up here than in his hometown, he thought and breathed all the more deeply, as a stinging stopped him a bit. He rubbed his side and tried to breathe in and out consciously. That damned spleen, he sneered, as a slight pang in his chest was added. He stopped running and continued walking slowly until the discomfort subsided.

The sun was now a little higher in the sky and flashed through the trees. The rays gently warmed his cheek. So early in the morning it was still relatively fresh in the mountains and the sun needed some hours to warm the air.

When the discomfort subsided, he started to walk slowly again. First slowly up the hill and then faster and faster until he finally reached the clearing completely out of breath. Here he paused for a moment to enjoy the beauty of the mountains once again, the cool atmosphere of the early morning and with every breath he took, he sucked the oxygen-saturated air into his lungs. Oh, how nice it was to finally be on the way to a better fitness, he thought. The slight cold he had had in the past few days had gone as quickly as it had come. It didn’t even come to the usual discomfort he usually gets from it. Usually there was a sore throat for a few days, then a coryza and finally a little cough. This time he only noticed a slight scratching in his throat and for two days his nose was a bit congested so he couldn’t breathe properly. But a little nasal spray brought relief and he didn’t even think about going to bed and lazing around. He wanted to hang on and it wouldn’t kill him.

As if in a trance, he continued to run. Expecting the endorphins, he ran faster and faster, but the state of inebriation did not set in today. He had heard that during endurance sports the body always released endorphins at some point and the long-distance runners could run on euphorically. He had never experienced this situation before. Again and again, he had to push himself to get up from the couch and not just stand still afterwards. So, he kept on running at a slow pace, crossing the clearing and following the path further up into the forest. He looked at his watch and noticed that his time had been better before, but those damn stitch had spoiled his time today.

His holiday was coming to an end and the last three weeks were characterized by sports, recreation, long walks and wellness in the spa adjacent to his hotel. He was also looking forward to returning home and to his work. It had been more than necessary to relax again, he thought as he left the forest and turned back onto the country road leading to his holiday home. He wanted to repeat this at all costs. The holiday had been worth it, and he felt how he was looking forward to his work again.

His legs gave way for a moment when he felt that pain in his chest again. This time higher, not so far to the side. Was his spleen out of place? Rubbish, he countered and walked a few steps slower again. He probably just overdid himself and should have left it at the Viennese Schnitzel last night. But his eyes were obviously bigger than his mouth had been, because he absolutely had to have the plum butter dumplings for dessert – with cinnamon crumbs and vanilla sauce. Now he regretted his decision. This dessert was probably still so heavy in his stomach that he had the problems jogging this morning. He should pay even more attention to his diet; he blew his nose again and started to walk slowly. The pain subsided.

Chapter 2

Chief Inspector Gwen Fisher thought back to her last birthday with mixed feelings. Only a few months earlier, she had lost her husband on his own birthday. They had tried to save him and get him to hospital in time, but fate was not kind to them. He died the same night. In the weeks that followed, she got to work, not to be caught by her grief. With success, as Gwen initially believed, and together with her colleague Superintendent Stefan Schick, she solved the tricky case of a serial killer. After the successful conclusion of the case, Gwen and Stefan had formed a delicate bond and now spent more time together. She smiled as she remembered her last birthday.

It was 01 February 2013, when they all met in Gwen’s family home in Felm to toast. Gwen, the kingpin, successively toasted her son Phil, her partner Stefan, the forensic scientist and long-time friend Dr. Michael Peters and last but not least her mother Beth. The group was small, but they were her favorite people, whom Gwen liked to be with. She closed her eyes and relived in her mind the most beautiful moment of the celebration.

"But Mom, you have to explain one thing to me" said Phil, looking at Gwen expectantly at the time.

"Well, what is it, sweetheart?" Gwen asked.

"You’ve always promised to spend more time with me Why would it work out this time?" Phil followed up.

Gwen thought for a moment and then said very seriously, "First you have to part occasionally with your computer and have time for me. Can you do that?"

Phil nodded affirmatively after a short break.

"And then someone will help me to carry out my plan" Gwen heard herself say and still tasted the kiss she exchanged with Stefan at that time.

Dreaming, Gwen lingered in her thoughts until the present caught up with her and Phil came home rumbling.

By now it was Sunday, 07 July 2013, and summer found ways into the hearts of the people of Kiel and the summer holidays were in full swing. Phil enjoyed the days off and had met his school friend Benoît for the first time this year for a swim. They had cycled to the Falckenstein lido, which could be reached in just under forty minutes. It had become warmer these days and the boys had the feeling to enjoy their freedom.

"Hi, Mom, I’m back!"

"You can’t miss it" mumbled Gwen.

"Benoît and I have thought about something. Since the weather is supposed to stay the same for the next days, we have great plans for the coming weekend. You’ll never guess. Guess what?"

Gwen sat up and thought. On the weekends, as it was customary among the Fishers for generations, at least one day should be dedicated to the family. They had always done so, even when Paul was alive. Gwen painfully remembered the time with her beloved husband and hardly noticed that Phil was standing in front of her and still waiting for an answer.

"Come on, tell me, what’s the great idea?" she asked Phil.

"We wanted to go on a bicycle tour to the high ropes course together to test our head for heights. You and Stefan are coming, right?"

"We should discuss this with Grandma and Stefan first."

"Nah, it’s nothing for grandma, but it would be great if Stefan came along" he replied.

Before Gwen could answer, the front door opened, and Stefan stood in the room. Gwen jumped up joyfully and greeted her colleague and meanwhile, very good friend. She had previously avoided introducing him as 'her' friend, as Paul’s death was less than a year ago. She wanted to wait for an appropriate period of mourning, but what was 'appropriate' or 'usual'. She pushed the thought aside and gave Stefan a big kiss on the cheek.

"We were just talking about you, Stefan" Gwen gallantly passed the conversation over.

"Uh-huh, and what was that about? I hope it was something positive."

"Phil already has us booked for next weekend. You know, our family Sundays. He wants us all to go to the high rope course to face our fears of heights." Gwen giggled. "Without Beth, of course, she won’t be able to make it. So? What do you think?"

Stefan only had to think about it for a moment and agreed, "Of course, that’s a great idea!"

As quickly as Phil had come, he nodded and disappeared outside again. "I’ll take Benoît to rove around the neighborhood."

"All right, big boy, but don’t forget dinner later."

The door already fell crashing into the lock and Gwen pulled the still standing Stefan to her on the couch.

"Nice of you to drop by" she smiled at him in love and stroked his ear.

"Yeah, I thought we’d spend Sunday night together and see the murder mystery on TV."

"As if we didn’t have enough detective stories that week" said Gwen and poked him into his side.

"No kidding, but it’s also nice to just consume these totally far-fetched stories."

"Exactly, the murderer is usually the gardener, and in the end, there is always some distant brother-in-law, cousin, or missing brother who happened to have a motive, opportunity, and means to commit the murder. Throughout the whole movie there is always a story told, where the killer never appears in it … and is captured, as in real life." Gwen twisted the corners of her mouth into a gloating smile and rejoiced when Stefan responded to her sarcasm.

"You’re right, almost like our last case."

"The scam?" Gwen wanted to make sure.

"Yeah, sure. Weeks of analysis of accounts, interviews with friends and relatives, research among colleagues, and everything else to later connect the son, who was currently spending a semester abroad for 'work and travel', with the crime."

"Stories of how life writes them. Now come over here, my hero." Gwen grinned boldly, knocked Stefan over on the couch and curled up tight beside him.

Gwen felt Stefan’s warmth on her back and pressed herself against him even more. She let her hips circle and felt how Stefan enjoyed the situation. He wrapped his arm around Gwen and held her tightly. While Gwen felt the emerging excitement behind her back, she closed her eyes to enjoy the situation.

She noticed her eyes becoming moist and a single tear collected in the corner of her eye. She squinted her eyes, swallowed once but could not keep the situation under control. She released herself from the embrace and sat up.

"What’s wrong?" Stefan asked in a soft voice and stroked her back and through her hair.

"Not now, please!" she replied curtly and gently took his hand.

"You know what’s going on, Stefan. It just keeps coming back up. There’s nothing I can do about it." She tried to keep her composure and hold back the tears, but she could feel her resistance getting weaker.

"I miss Paul so much, but I’m also very happy with you. Please don’t misunderstand me. I like you so much, but I’ve been married to Paul all these years. We have a son together. I thought I could easily overcome the situation by getting back to work and showing successes. But that only worked in the beginning. On my birthday I thought I had made it and overcome the loss. You were there, you were all there. You gave me stability and made me forget the terrible situation, but then it caught up with me again."

She slumped down and the next tears rose in her eyes. Gwen could feel the levees starting to break.

"What can I do for you, my dear. Please tell me!" Stefan tried to calm Gwen down.

"There’s not much you can do. I need time. I don’t know." Her tears began to flow.

"I feel so helpless. I want to be there for you, help you." Stefan left Gwen to her feelings. He was powerless and had never lost anyone close to him before and therefore could not feel what this meant. Gwen sobbed and cried. She let her emotions run free. After what felt like an eternity, Gwen came back to her breath and was able to say a few words between her sobs.

"Just … give me … time." Stefan nodded wordlessly and stroked her back again.

This time, Gwen was able to endure the caresses. She had calmed down a bit and started to think more clearly again.

"I could do with some time off" Gwen expressed her wishes.

"That sounds great" Stefan replied without sounding euphoric. He didn’t feel very comfortable in the situation and didn’t want to strain her unnecessarily by acting wrong.

"What do you suggest?" he asked cautiously. "What would do you good?"

Gwen was thinking. Get away! Far away! But what about Phil? What if her mother got worse? She’s not that young either! You should be able to get home quickly, and not drive so far away. But with a plane you can get home quite quickly from anywhere. But not from New Zealand, you stupid cow! Yeah, but it’d be okay if they go by car. Or we could drive just the two of us. That would be nice too, but Phil would be sad. Why can’t I find a good solution here? Paul would have known what to do. But he’s not here, and … I miss him so much.

Gwen took a deep breath in and out, trying to get the thoughts that were buzzing around in her head like flies into something orderly. Away! Not that far! Three of you! That sounded reasonable!

"I want to get out of here. With you and Phil together, but not that far away. I think a change of scenery would do me good."

"That’s a great idea. We’re on summer vacation and we could take time off over my 40th birthday. I had thought about that, but now that you brought it up, it makes total sense to me. Does it for you?"

Gwen looked at Stefan and tenderly took his cheeks in her hands. Then she pulled his face up to hers. She nodded and kissed him tenderly. She closed her reddened eyes and enjoyed the moment. After a while she released his face again. Stefan would have liked to enjoy the situation even longer and still felt the warmth of her kiss.

Gwen let herself fall to the back rest of the couch and imagined how she would like to spend her vacation.

She dreamed of white beaches, palm trees and warm water. But all the beautiful places that would offer something like that were either too far away or too expensive to spend a holiday there. She categorically ruled out the alternatives around the corner at the North and Baltic Sea. After all, she could have that just about every day. In northern direction there was only Denmark or maybe Sweden. But here there was no sun guarantee. It seemed to amount to a compromise. Instead of going to the sea and lying lazily on the beach, it would of course be a good idea to do something for your fitness and go hiking in the mountains. Maybe in the Austrian Alps. There was no guarantee of sunshine either, but at least the probability of rain was much lower than to the north. Gwen made friends with the idea and tried to put her ideas into words.

"We could render the mountains uncertain. I think some sport would do our fitness good and we could go hiking in Austria. What do you think?"

"Okay" Stefan replied hesitantly. "But will you get enough relaxation and variety there?" he asked back.

"If we choose a nice place and spend a few days just loafing around there, we’ll manage" she replied, partly in Austrian slang, and giggled.

Stefan raised his thumb to signal that he agreed.

"This is how we do it. Next step is to see the travel agency tomorrow and book, so that we don’t change our mind. And we’ll talk to Phil when he gets home."

"You’re right!" Gwen confirmed Stefan’s intentions and relaxed inside. She was happy to have found a way to get some distance and switch off.

♦♦♦

Phil was torn between the joy of the upcoming holiday and frustration that he could no longer realize his plans with Benoît. In the end, however, the prospect of spending some time together with his mother and Stefan prevailed. Phil was very pragmatic about this. Just like his mother. If it was not one solution, it was another. There was always a way. Gwen had always taught him that way, passing on both her sunny disposition and optimism to Phil. Phil had gone straight to Benoît the next day to tell him the news. He didn’t know exactly where the holiday was going or what they were going to do, but it was going to be hiking in the mountains. That much virtually certain.

Gwen and Stefan had to work. After all, it was a normal weekday and even though it was school holidays, Gwen couldn’t watch Phil all day. At times Beth stepped in to check on things and to provide Phil with lunch. Beth had always been a family person and helped out whenever she could. Gwen liked to have her mother by her side, as she was not only a support in the difficult times since Paul’s death, but in her unobtrusive way she was always a welcome guest. In spite of her seventy-three years, Beth was still very fit and agile, which was certainly due to her interested and open nature, which led to her being taken along to all sorts of family activities. However, Beth and her daughter had quickly agreed on the phone last night that it was not a good idea for 'Granny' to be climbing mountains or hiking in the mountains. Beth wished, she should have a good time with Stefan and Phil and report back afterwards.

Gwen and Stefan went to the travel agency of their choice after work to get extensive advice and finally book. The decision was made quickly. The Austrian Alps were already set by Gwen’s ideas and the desire to hike and relax could also be realized there very well. They booked a beautiful wooden cottage in a small holiday resort, which invited to ski in winter and to go hiking in summer. Around the holiday resort there were enough possibilities to explore the mountains and the Altausser lake was just perfect for cycling.

Gwen was comfortable with her decision and the days were numbered before they could leave. It would only be two more weeks to work. Her boss at the LKA had looked a bit critical for a moment when she approached him with the wish to take vacation near-term, but since he had noticed in the last weeks how much Gwen was backed down, he knew that this would be a necessary step to get back the old Gwen, the happy Gwen. Also, the relationship with Stefan had not remained hidden from him and so he was not surprised when a short time later Stefan came to him with the same wish and applied for leave just as quickly.

Back home, both of them settled into Gwen’s living room to toast their holiday plans. Phil returned home a little later and joined the two of them, who immediately reported the news and described the holiday destination. Phil was thrilled and immediately pulled out his cell phone to google the place. He liked what he saw very much, and he also looked at the geocaches that would be hidden at that location. Then he smirked.

"If I would find even one single geocache, I would have one country point for Austria in my statistics! So Benoît has to prepare himself for the worst, if he wants to catch up with me. I would have found the southernmost cache right away, because Benoît had only been in Munich so far and had successfully searched for geocaches there. I have to text him right away." Phil kept babbling to himself as he disappeared into his room on the second floor. Gwen and Stefan just looked at each other speechless and smiled.

"I think we’ve hit the jackpot" said Gwen.

"Yes, I’m happy if Phil is happy there too, but this is primarily about you. So, you can relax and unwind."

"As always, you’re right."

"What is it with these geocaches?" Stefan wondered.

"This started a few years ago. It was the best way to get kids out of the house, if you ask me." She winked at him. "The geocaches are listed in a huge database on the Internet. The exact location is given by GPS coordinates and many of the caches also tell a story or hold secrets. So, a Sunday stroll becomes an interesting undertaking. One looks for a way where the son tries to find his geocaches to get points in the mentioned statistics, and he is motivated to come out into the fresh air. Of course, he has to take his mobile phone with him and stares at it all the time to find the right way to the cache. You can’t expect him to be more communicative, but at least he gets comes out of his room and doesn’t always stick to his computer."

"I understand. And through statistics he compares himself to his friends?"

"Right. At least that’s how I understood it. That’s why he’s so eager to find the southernmost, northernmost, westernmost or easternmost cache. It also keeps track of when he found the most caches in a day, how many different countries he found them in, and how difficult they were." Gwen thought about it, then she went on. "Once he was trying to find an extremely difficult geocache. It was called, 'You can see me!' That should have been warning enough, because when we arrived at the listed location, we were standing in front of a several hundred-year-old oak tree. At a height of at least ten yards you could see a box that was attached to a crotch. Since we were neither equipped with a ladder nor with a climbing harness, Phil wanted to climb the tree just like that. I’m sure you can imagine the discussion that caused."

Stefan nodded understandingly. "I can imagine that very well. Let’s see what caches he wants to visit this time and how dangerous it will be. Don’t worry, I’ll support you in your discussions."

♦♦♦

The last two weeks flew by and finally the big day was there to start the much-needed holiday. In the past time Gwen had to reminisce about Paul and their journeys together. She became very sad and tried to distract herself with her work, but only partly succeeded. Her thoughts went around in circles. Eventually, she told herself that everyone was grieving in their own way and that she was not the type of person to wrap herself in black clothes for a year and refrain from laughing.

Packing had always been a horror for Gwen. Had she thought of everything? What if something was missing, or her clothes didn’t go with the weather? But she wouldn’t let that spoil her holiday. Not before it even started. She laid out her clothes that made the most sense when combined and with which she would be prepared for all weathers. When she looked at the piles of clothes on her bed and the floor, she began to doubt whether she would be able to fit all of them into her suitcase. She took a deep breath and went to her son in his room.

Phil had already finished packing. He was only fifteen years old, but already very advanced in some things, Gwen thought proudly. She had left him his own suitcase to pack, and now all the stuff had already found their place in it. She could hardly believe it.

"Have you finished packing yet, Phil?" Gwen asked incredulously.

"Sure Mom. All in. Shoes, clothes, for hot and cold days. I also remembered to pack the toothbrush, too." Phil smiled at his mother. "Do you need any more help?"

Gwen wondered if she wanted to lower her guard, but she gave way and nodded hesitantly. Without another word, Gwen turned around and disappeared into the bedroom. Phil followed her triumphantly.

"Well, let’s see …" Phil began by inspecting the stacks. "That doesn’t look so bad, considering you’re going away for three months." Gwen just looked at him ashamed but said nothing. "I think if you’ve got half of each pile, that’s enough to put in a suitcase. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do." Phil turned around and disappeared into his room smiling. He could hardly hold back his laughter.

Gwen thought about her smart-aleck son and looked again at the piles of clothes only to realize that he was probably right. She started to sort the stacks again and put at least half of the clothes back in the closet. How she hated that! More and more she began to doubt if she still had enough and if she was prepared for all eventualities. Finally, she fell on the bed and watched the result. There were significantly fewer stacks and she had the feeling that she would be very well prepared with that too. It would fit, she told herself and stuffed everything into the suitcase. Surprisingly, it even closed, which hadn’t always been the case in recent years. How often had she got into a fight with Paul when it came to pack the suitcases? But these were now all just memories that would fade away more and more.

It is the 'here' and 'now', and so she tried to experience every day anew. The doorbell rang. Phil sprinted down the stairs and greeted Stefan, who entered the porch together with the taxi driver.

"Are you guys finished?" he asked Phil, who nodded and turned around to get his suitcase. "Because we’re ready to go."

Groaning, Gwen also came down the stairs and put her suitcase by the apartment door. The taxi driver immediately loaded Gwen’s suitcase and waited for the boys. Two minutes later everything was stowed, and they could leave for Kiel central station. By bus they would be at Hamburg airport in ninety minutes, where the plane would take them directly to Salzburg. Phil and Stefan were already sitting in the taxi when Gwen, still with a feeling of having forgotten something, closed the door and locked it. It was as if it took a load off her mind when she finally sat in the taxi and they took off. Who would have thought that packing a suitcase could be so exhausting?

Chapter 3

The sun was already higher on the horizon today, when he laced his shoes once more to do his workout. By now he had got the hang of motivating himself and had scouted out a nice, about ten-kilometer-long loop where he could really let off steam. He left his holiday flat and stretched out in front of the door. He enjoyed the view of the rugged mountains and the woods that ran up the slopes like ivy looking for the path on a house wall. The weather had not let him down during his entire vacation and he sucked the fresh mountain air deep into his lungs. After a few squats and other loosening-up and stretching exercises, he slowly started to trot off to complete his penultimate round before he would travel back home in the next few days.

He usually took it slow for the first kilometer and today he didn’t intend to change that. Rather he enjoyed the dry paths that meandered through the first part of the forest. Past the ant hill, whose industrious inhabitants apparently always had something to do. He was happy that he was on vacation and not doing his job on the rat race of some company. Although he was self-employed, he did not usually rest until fourteen hours. Not even on the weekends he would have loved to spend with friends. He walked past the raised blind, which stood at the edge of the forest as if waiting for victims and looked out over the clearing. The thought that a hunter was waiting for an animal to shoot it from a distance did bother him a lot. Therefore, he had often planned to do without meat completely, but just as with various other of his intentions, this one could not be realized in the long run. Rather, he told himself that a hunter was after game, whereas his prized steak was bred especially for it. This comparison, however, was misleading, of which he was aware and so he tried to keep his meat consumption at least to a minimum. As he jogged out into the open clearing, he picked up the pace. Today he felt superior to everyone and went to his limits, as he thought. A marathon professional would certainly still have overtaken him running backwards, but he was proud of his speed and snorted threateningly with every step he took.

The pain that he suddenly felt in his chest again did not worry him, as he had already noticed it during the last few days of running. He comforted himself with the thought that it had disappeared again by itself the last time. He felt fit and did not give in, he only paid attention to evenly breathing in and out. In the past it was usually his spleen that did not want to supply the increased needed amount of blood when he exerted himself. That will surely be over in a moment, he encouraged himself.

Behind the next bend the path rose steeply and wound its way back into the forest. It was a good opportunity to increase the speed and effort once again. If only these stabbing pains in his chest had disappeared again, but with every step he took he felt his body resisting the torture further. When he started the ascent, he had not been able to run any faster. He decided to just keep up the speed and hope that the pain did not increase. He staggered to the left and saw the trench coming towards him. He still tried to counter-steer, but his legs were already failing. His eyes were still able to see the trench, but his brain was no longer able to give sufficient impulses to absorb the impending fall. When he tipped forward and fell into the ditch without any resistance, his senses no longer perceived the situation. When his body hit the bottom of the dried-up ditch, he felt no more pain. He was already dead.

Chapter 4

From Salzburg airport to Altaussee they drove only one and a half hours in their rental car. The scenery was beautiful, and Gwen, Stefan and Phil enjoyed the drive through the mountain and hilly landscape. They were looking forward to the days off and the activities that the three of them wanted to undertake. Phil sat in the back seat and was absorbed in his mobile phone. Gwen often wondered what he had to read and do with it all the time, but she had given up asking in the first place a long time ago. The answers had always been the same. "Anything!" or "This is too complicated for you, mum" and finally "I’m chatting with my friends, please leave me alone". When she was young, the only way to get in touch with her friends was by phone or letter, or to meet them directly. But for this she needed a date, and this was mostly planned by phone. Today, however, the youngsters arranged to meet casually via chat programs on their mobile phones and adjusted the time and place of the meeting until the last minute. For Gwen this was not acceptable. She needed stability and planning reliability, so she could enjoy her life. And the plan now was to reach their holiday accommodation.

To see the wooden huts with the adjacent ski lifts in the summer was a bit peculiar, Gwen and Stefan agreed. Phil had already disappeared in the hut, had taken his luggage and his mobile phone with him and wanted to inform Benoît immediately of their domicile. Gwen and Stefan explored the facility. It consisted of about forty huts, which were covered with wood. The registration and restaurant were located in the center, while the individual houses in the surrounding area adapted to the ups and downs of the ground. The individual houses had room for four people or for larger groups. The sturdy furnishings certainly created a homely atmosphere in winter with the fireplace, Gwen pondered as they returned to their accommodation and took care of unpacking. So, this was to be the place of rest and relaxation for the next fortnight, she pondered, when Phil suddenly appeared.

"Mom, can I go out and look for the first geocache?"

"Sure, but don’t run too far away. We’re going to dinner soon." The door closed and it was almost quiet in the house. She only heard the occasional creaking floorboards upstairs and knew that Stefan was already unpacking.

She embraced him from behind and pressed him firmly against her. "It was a great idea to come here. I have a good feeling about it."

Stefan turned around in the hug and grabbed Gwen tightly at her waist. "I’m glad you’re happy. I hope you can relax here." He gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Phil had found his first geocache right on the day of arrival. It was a small cache, with an easy difficulty level. It was hidden at the edge of the settlement and Phil had already caught a first nice view of the 'Loser' – the mountain they wanted to explore more intensively in the next days. The name of the mountain came from the Middle Ages, when the inhabitants of the village climbed to the top of the mountain to 'lose'. In their dialect, this meant ’to listen' or ’to hear' whether they could hear the noise of battle from the Enns Valley. Phil was looking forward to the other caches that would be hidden on the way to the summit.

The first days spun away. This was not least due to Stefan’s fortieth birthday. Gwen had thought of something very special to celebrate the day properly. She had woken Stefan up early in the morning and had organized a breakfast package the evening before. Then she had gone with Stefan and Phil to a nearby hill. Stefan couldn’t believe his eyes when a van with the inscription 'Balloon Cruises' was waiting for them. Stefan hugged Gwen and lifted her up into the air, because he immediately realized that an exciting balloon ride in a hot-air balloon lay ahead of them. They helped to prepare the balloon and get it ready for take-off. It should be an experience only for the three of them and the pilot.

As the balloon floated weightlessly into the air and the trees beneath it grew smaller and smaller, Gwen shuddered to realize how small man was in this world. How helpless and vulnerable. She painfully remembered the good times she had experienced with Paul. The trips they had taken together and the warmth he radiated when he looked at her and took her in his arms. All this would never happen again, because Paul was no longer with her. Gwen stared at the horizon and let her thoughts run free. She pressed her lips together and became very sad.

Stefan watched Gwen from the corners of his eyes while he and Phil enjoyed the silent ascent of the balloon and the wonderful view. Only the burner interrupts the silence from time to time with a rumbling ’schuuuuuuuuub'. Up here in the balloon, they didn’t feel any draft because the balloon moved with the wind at the same speed. Phil spotted an ibex and pointed it out to Stefan. Excited, he pointed again and again to the edge of a clearing until Stefan saw the magnificent animal with its two long horns. "This must be a male animal" remarked Stefan, adding, "the females, have only smaller curved horns." Phil just nodded, impressed, and continued to search the ground for animals, while Stefan grabbed Gwen around the waist.

"This is the best birthday present I’ve ever had."

"I’m glad! Then I have met my target." Gwen smiled in agony.

"Are you all right? You’re so quiet while ballooning. Are you not feeling well?"

"Yes, yes, everything’s fine." She leaned over to Stefan and whispered in his ear, "I’m just thinking about the past, but we can discuss it later."

After the very gentle landing, they helped to pack the balloon back into a handy, but murderous package and hoist it onto the trailer. After that, the three balloonists were baptized as they should be. While the pilot recited the dictum, the three balloonists were raised to nobility one after the other and received their certificates. Back in their apartment, they finished the day with a bottle of champagne, which Gwen had put in the fridge of her accommodation. Phil was tired and already in bed when Stefan looked at Gwen with a pleading look. She understood immediately.

"You’re probably wondering why I was a little quieter than usual when we did the ballooning." Stefan nodded in agreement.

"I was lost in my thoughts about Paul, as you can imagine. I just can’t turn it off overnight, even though I thought I could handle the situation easily. But that is not the case. Whenever I come to rest and we do something nice, I have to think back to the good times with Paul. Today, when we silently ascended into the sky, was another such moment. All the memories of my time with Paul were suddenly there again and I had such a helpless feeling when I saw the earth from above."

"I was hoping the peace and quiet would blow away the cobwebs, but it seems to have backfired."

"Well, I wouldn’t say that. Sure, the work helps me to free my mind, but also the time here with you distracts me. I just need more time. You understand that, right?" She looked at him pleading.

"But of course, my darling. Please don’t worry. I’ll be with you and help you in any way I can." He moved closer to her and handed her the glass of champagne. "And now, toast again, and look forward to the next few days. The variety will let you forget the past."

Gwen raised her glass and they clink glasses.

"You’re right. I am looking forward to the next days and the ziplining. Phil doesn’t know about it yet and it should be a surprise for him too. I had imagined it would be harder to get him out into the fresh air, but with geocaching he has found a new field of activity, which automatically leads him into nature."

Gwen looked at the clock and was startled at the advanced hour. The day had literally spun away. They drank up and Gwen pulled Stefan promisingly upstairs into the bedroom.

The sunrise the next morning unfortunately happened without any of the three taking notice. They slept late, because the ballooning had been quite exhausting in the end. After an extensive breakfast, they made their way to the top of the 'Loser', to look for geocaches and hopefully find them, as Phil said. Gwen gave Stefan a conspiratorial look behind Phil’s back as they set off. Phil also found the first cache right by the side of the road. It hadn’t been a challenge for him anymore, since he already knew the most obvious hiding places. It took him only a few seconds to imagine the most suitable hiding place at the given GPS position. And mostly he was right! Stefan and Gwen applauded and motivated him to keep going while they kept an eye on the time. At a parting of the ways they would have actually gone further uphill to reach the summit, but Gwen and Stefan agreed that they would try the rest of the way on another day, as some fog came up. So, they would better go back towards the valley. They looked at Phil to see if he bought their story. Phil looked at the summit, and also noticed the clouds approaching. With some muttering, and disappointed that he couldn’t find the other geocaches at the clearing and in the forest behind it, he joined the two adults who had already walked a few yards. Immediately Phil started to locate new geocaches along the alternative path. His eyes were fixed on his mobile phone, so he didn’t notice when they reached the entrance of the ziplining park. He looked up when the adults suddenly paused. After he realized where they had led him, he acclaimed them.

"You did that on purpose!" came the reproach from his mouth with a grin.

"Sure" Gwen replied, "we can still get the other geocaches tomorrow, but here we have a surprise planned for the time being. But don’t think that this is going to go on all day, my friend."

Phil put his cell phone in his pocket and while Gwen and Stefan were paying, he was already greeted by the leader of their small group. Ziplining was new territory for the three of them, which they now wanted to experience the first time. Their leader’s name was Ben and he was twenty-five at most, as Gwen assessed him from the gut. He had shoulder-length blond hair, which he had tied up in a braid. He would have made a good surf instructor, Gwen thought as she caught herself staring at his muscular body. Ben did a good job explaining the harness with all the straps very professionally. He then helped everyone in and fastened the straps. Last but not least everybody got a helmet, because they should play it safe, as he said.

The first descent was only about 50 yards long and they could already see the end between the trees, but at first nobody dared to start. But that was usual, Ben said, and Stefan decided to be the first to face the downhill. Stefan looked a bit cramped when he was pushed out by Ben and started the descent to the end point hanging only on a carabiner on a rope. There a helper was already waiting to receive him. When Stefan lifted his thumb to signal that everything was okay, Phil came in second. He also completed the first distance masterfully and was proud of his courage. Gwen was suddenly not so sure whether all this was a good idea but didn’t let on when she was nudged down the first downhill. She held on tight to the rope and tried to look down as little as possible. Was she afraid of heights? No, it wasn’t a fear of heights, but why couldn’t she enjoy the ride? The helper Jenny picked her up and she concentrated on getting solid ground under her feet again.

"That was great, Mom! How many more departures?"

"We’ve booked the tour with six departures, so there’ll be five more" Gwen heard herself say.

"Well, move on to the next one. I’d like to go first!"

Stefan took Phil by the hand and together with Jenny, who must have been about the same age as Ben, they went on to the next starting point. Behind Gwen something rumbled. Ben had arrived and unlocked the carabiner.

"Come on, lady, let’s not keep the others waiting!"

Was she supposed to take that as a compliment or was he alluding to her age? You are really snippy today, there is nothing to please you, Gwen had slapped herself in mind. Well, maybe the fun will come with the further descents, she told herself and started moving.

The fun never came. Also, the further departures she was rather grumpy, and Gwen did not want to give up. What was wrong with her, she asked herself several times. Usually you were always up for fun of this kind and had gotten involved in new adventures, but in the last weeks everything was different. The reason seemed to be very obvious to her. She could turn it around as she wanted, but she had finally arrived in the deep mourning for Paul.

After a delicious dinner they sat together at the counter of the restaurant and discussed how to proceed.

"That’s not how I’d visualized things. I’m so sorry, but I don’t want to ruin your vacation either."

"Mom, I miss Dad too, but we have to stick together now. You still have me and Stefan, and we all need each other."

Gwen smiled at Phil’s words. Much like an adult, she noticed again and took him in her arms.

"I just need to pull myself together and I’ll be fine."

Stefan also tried to contribute something to improve the mood. "Or we could cut our vacation short and you could rush back to work. Maybe this will help to clear your mind. But we just broke off of that daily routine to clear your mind."

Gwen shook her head vigorously. "You can’t be serious, can you? I don’t want to cut short my holiday, it’d be a pity for the good time and the money. I’ll find a way to cope with it here. I’ll talk to our family doctor as soon as we get home. I’m sure he’ll have a good idea. Okay, let’s go do something fun and plan our next few days so I have something to do and distract myself."

Stefan backed off when he noticed that he had probably stung a vespiary here. He and Phil could only agree with Gwen’s words, as they both wanted to experience more on this holiday and left it at that.

Chapter 5

The plans for the next days were quickly put together last evening.

Gwen was looking forward to a wellness day at the nearby Vital Resort. The reception of her accommodation helped with the reservation and they compiled an all-round carefree package for Gwen. It was planned to explore the sauna landscape with its five saunas and the hot springs resort extensively. In addition, a wellness package consisting of body peeling and a massage was also included. The men joined the visit to the thermal baths but left the wellness treatment exclusively to Gwen. This was not for men, they said and reaped only a shake of the head from Gwen.

Stefan organized the boat tour on the Altausseer lake for the next day. With a picnic basket, which he had organized through their reception, they set off to explore the Altausseer lake by solar boat. The weather played along and the twenty-seven degrees Celsius were easily bearable with a little breeze on the lake. On the opposite bank of the lake they finished their trip and had a picnic at the hunting lodge on the meadows. Nobody really wanted to think about the way back, when they were all lying on the blankets with fat bellies, looking up at the sky and the water. Stefan watched Gwen very closely and he thought she had relaxed a bit. Either it was the spa day or today’s trip that made her think of something else. But he also knew that it would take some time until she had overcome her nadir.

Stefan gave them the choice of returning to their car by boat or on foot, to go back to their accommodation. In the meantime, Phil had already figured out another geocache which was supposed to be hidden at the lakeside. So, he took the adults’ choice off and they got up to walk. About midway to their parking lot, Phil found what he had been looking for.

Spurred on by his success, he had set his mind on making the next day a geocache hike.

"This is where we turned the other day, to get to the ziplining. This time we have to continue towards the clearing" Phil shouted excitedly, jumped up from the bench and ran ahead.

"We’ve been on the road for several hours now, and maybe we should start thinking about the way back" Gwen interjected and massaged her thighs and calves.

"Now let’s go to the clearing so Phil can retrieve his Travelbug, which is said to be hidden there. He had already planned this for the other day when we turned off for the ziplining. After that, I suggest we head back."

Gwen nodded in agreement and moaned as she rose from the bench and started moving. With every step she took, she felt the sore muscles in her calves. With all that desk work, she was no longer used to the physical exertion.

Phil had already run ahead a bit excitedly, but then stopped to wait for them.

"Come on, I still want to find the Travelbug" Phil yelled to them.

"What is this, anyway?" Gwen admitted to having no idea what he and Stefan were actually talking about.

"Mom, it’s simple. I’ll explain it to you again. In some geocaches there are not only things to swap and a logbook in which you can sign in, but sometimes also small coins or other items with pendants or a minted identifier. You can look them up on the internet and read about the assignments these little guys are supposed to do. Some of them just want to explore the world and are happy if you carry them with you for a long time and just put them back into another cache far away. Others, for example, only want to see churches in Germany and still others want to explore all the castles in the world. The one I expect in the next cache wants to go back to Germany and we can do him that favor, can’t we?

"But then you have to go back to Kiel and find a geocache in which it fits. Some of the ones we had found in the last few days were only very small" Gwen said when they caught up with Phil.

"Yeah, sure, I’ll do that!"

"Same as the other promises you make to clean your room or unload the dishwasher or take out the garbage?"

"What are you so funny all of a sudden, Mom?"

Stefan sensed that the mood was about to change, took Gwen’s hand and pulled her uphill. "You and I will take care of this when we get home. Please don’t worry, Gwen. Now, let’s find the clearing and make the final climb to find this Travelbug. Then we’ll head for the valley. I’m getting awfully hungry, aren’t you?"

Gwen said nothing and tried to put on a face as friendly as possible.

When they reached the clearing, they stopped for a short time to get their bearings. Phil started his geocaching app to find out the exact distance and direction. With a few simple movements and magic circles of his mobile phone, he had calibrated the compass and was now waiting for the exact GPS signal. Stefan looked at Gwen and winked at her. Then Phil walked off slowly and watched the compass needle on his phone very closely. It was only one hundred and eighty-one yards away and they would leave the clearing and turn back into the forest, that was clear as daylight. The needle swayed a bit but kept pointing towards the forest. Ninety-two more yards and Phil slowed down. Gwen and Stefan followed him at some distance and talked about the evening program ahead of them. Forty-three more yards as he came around the bend and looked up from his cell phone. He saw the gradient. And he saw something else that left him standing there rooted to the ground.

Gwen, too, took a deep breath when she saw her son standing there petrified. She quickly grasped the situation and realized that the person in the ditch needed help – if it wasn’t already too late.

She sprinted off and gave Stefan a harsh instruction, "Try to call an ambulance!"

In her head the images of Paul’s birthday party were replayed. How they celebrated, toasted and how Paul collapsed. When Michael Peters, the medical examiner, immediately went to the scene and tried to help Paul. How they called the ambulance and took Paul to the hospital. And finally, how all attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful and Paul died that night. Gwen felt like she was walking in slow motion and the images in her head seemed surreal. As if the images were hovering over her as she walked here in the woods in the mountains to the person in the ditch and she was watching everything as an outsider. She was right in the middle of it. As if in a trance she reached the ditch and knelt down next to the motionless body.

"Hello" she shook it, "can you hear me?" She turned the person on their side. It was cold and stiff. She looked into a disfigured and dirty face but put her ear to its nose and watched the chest. There was no sign of breathing. No sign of life. Gwen sat resignedly beside the dead.

"What about the ambulance? Did you reach anybody? I think all we need is the police and a hearse" she said to Stefan as he approached her. Then she noticed Phil still staring at the scene. She had to give him a task to distract him.

"Phil, can you find out where we are and how far it is to the nearest house?"

Stefan pointed to his mobile phone, "No reception at all, Gwen. We’ll have to find another way to call the police."

"I don’t have cell phone reception either, mom, but I know where we are thanks to GPS. Is he alive?

She shook her head, "No, but let me think about it for a minute."

The images in her head started again. Gwen closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and out. Her thoughts had returned to the here and now.

"Stefan, you stay here and guard the site. I’ll go with Phil to the village and call the police. Phil, can you remember the position from here too, so we can find our way back?"

"Sure, already done!"

Gwen gave Stefan one more kiss and hugged him goodbye. "We’ll hurry and be back soon" she promised.

"You’ve changed" he whispered in Gwen’s ear as they released the hug.

Gwen looked at him with alert eyes. "Yes, I feel I can be useful, too, right now."

"Then go! The quicker you’ll be back!"

She waved at Stefan and took Phil by the hand. Then she let him guide her, because he knew the way with his smartphone.

After a good hour’s walk, they reached the next village. In the meantime, they had telephone reception again and considered calling the police directly. But they rejected this idea, because the dead man would not run away anymore. Stefan guarded the area so that other pedestrians would not cause any damage here either. However, it was very unlikely that other pedestrians would take the same route, because otherwise someone else would have found the dead body earlier. But since he was already cold and stiff by now, Gwen thought, he must have died a few days ago and since then no one had walked this path anymore. Nevertheless, they thought to inform the police, because then they would surely be able to drive back to the place of discovery in the police car. So, they saved themselves a lot of walking and Phil would play an important role, because he knew the coordinates exactly. He could then guide the police officers. It was important for Phil to have a sense of achievement and Gwen also felt like working on the investigation despite her vacation. But she thought that Stefan would not like that and rejected the idea.

They reached the trivial police station. Behind the counter sat a small, pot-bellied older man with grey-white hair. They have to work here quite a long time before they can retire, Gwen quipped inwardly when she addressed the policeman.

"Hello, good man. We need your help, please." The man stood up and looked at Gwen and Phil very closely.

"Young lady, how can we help you? Has your dog run away?" he replied.

Gwen was perplexed and wanted to rebuke him, but then decided to keep her identity and rank to herself for the time being.

"You won’t believe this, but we found a dead man in your beautiful alpine village. My…", Gwen was looking for the proper term to describe her relationship status with Stefan. "My companion waited up at the site and we walked down the valley to inform the police. My son has the exact coordinates stored on his mobile and can lead you to the site." Gwen made eye contact with Phil and hinted him to tell the policeman the location. Phil took his smartphone and opened the navigation system to show the policeman the marked location.

"Hmm, that’s up by the 'Loser'. And you’re sure he’s dead?"

Gwen looked at him in disbelief and just nodded silently. This man didn’t even think she could tell the difference between a dead and a living person.

The policeman turned around leisurely, as if he wanted to say demonstratively that they didn’t have to hurry anymore when a man was killed. He seemed to be looking for something and sorted several sheets into different trays. From time to time he shook his head. Gwen thought only of Stefan and looked at her watch. Meanwhile almost one and a half hours had passed, and the dawn would set in sometime, so she decided to get some more speed in here.

"Good man, my friend is waiting up there, and if we don’t want to get there first in the dark, we’d better take to our heels." Did she just say, 'my friend'? Gwen smiled.

"You’re in a hurry. He’s not going anywhere. I’m just looking for the procedural instructions for such a case, because we haven’t had anything like this in our 'one-horse town' yet, Madame! Gwen reflected on how snappish someone can get, and by now she didn’t care what the guy thought of her. She took out her ID from her pocket and slammed it on the counter.

"My name is Gwen Fisher and I live in Germany. I’m Chief Inspector at the State Office of Criminal Investigations and I know what to do." Phil stared at his mother in disbelief. He had never seen her so angry. At least not outside his youth room, when it came to clean up. "Please call a colleague for help and an ambulance. Grab a walkie-talkie and the car keys and let’s get going!"

The policeman flinched as Gwen started with her instructions and examined her ID. Without rushing, he picked up the phone, dialed a number and informed his colleagues that he would close the police station to pursue a reported incident involving a dead man. He could be reached by radio on the way. He gave the approximate location and said goodbye. He then obviously radioed the nearest hospital and also informed his colleagues about the plan of action and the location. They would meet there.

"Are we going alone?" Gwen asked stunned.

"We are not as abundantly staffed here as they probably are in town. Come on, I’ll drive." With these words, the policeman grabbed the car keys off the counter, and they left the station. By radio he informed his colleagues that they were now on their way.

After what felt like an eternity, they reached the place where the dead man was found. Stefan had made himself comfortable with the corpse, if one could even say so. He sat in the ditch and watched the surroundings. When he saw the patrol car coming up the slope, he stood up and gave them signs to come to him. The pot-bellied policeman got out and came towards Stefan. Gwen and Phil followed him.

"I am District Inspector Wedelmaier. I am the security guard on duty at the police station where your colleague reported this 'incident'. On the way here, she had already told me about her holiday here in Austria and that we are practically colleagues. Did you touch or change anything here? You will understand that I have to ask this as a matter of form?

Stefan nodded and extended his hand to his Austrian colleague. "I am Superintendent Schick of the LKA in Northern Germany. We are happy to be able to help you and 'no', I haven’t changed anything" he said with a smile.

"You won’t have to help us. We have all the means to clear up this case ourselves" Wedelmaier replied coolly, stepping towards the dead man. With his hands in his pockets, he eyed the corpse without coming even one step too close to it.

Stefan looked questioningly at Gwen, who just shrugged her shoulders and pinched her mouth.

Phil first noticed the approaching ambulance and ordered it to stop. Two young, blond, well-trained men got out, took their emergency cases and quickly went to the officer. The three obviously knew each other very well, Gwen noticed, because without introducing themselves, they only shook hands briefly.

After a few minutes the crew of the ambulance had realized the obvious. The man was dead.

Stefan whispered to Gwen, "If the man is dead and the cause of death is not obvious, shouldn’t we be careful and assume the worst?

Gwen replied nodding, "Yes, that’s how we would handle it in Kiel, but obviously these alpine policemen have a different approach."

"The colleagues take the dead man with them and take him to the forensic department in Salzburg to determine the cause of death. We still need their contact information and a statement on how you found the dead man. Then the matter is settled, and you can continue your vacation."

Phil, Stefan and Gwen made all their statements to the District Inspector and he made a cursory note of a few key words. He finally wanted to call it a day, and the dead man had spoiled his evening sufficiently. He didn’t want to bother with the smart alecks from Germany any longer. The body had been transported away in the meantime, and when the three had finished their statements, Wedelmaier asked as kindly as he could whether he could take the three down into the valley with him or take them somewhere else. Since it was already dawning and the way back would otherwise drag on into the darkness, they accepted gratefully. Wedelmaier dropped the family off at their hut in the settlement at the bottom of the 'Loser', thanked them formally but not heartily for their cooperation and disappeared into the darkness.

"What was that performance?" Gwen asked incredulously.

"Other countries, other mores" Stefan returned with a smile.

Phil looked at them both with amusement, because he too had understood that in Germany, due to the many regulations, there would certainly have been a different procedure to deal with the situation. But this would now be a problem for the Austrian authorities.

♦♦♦

The District Inspector was sitting in his small office and playing a game on his mobile phone when it rang. He interrupted the game, recognized the number and took the call.

"Wedelmaier. What have you figured out?"

"Mr. District Inspector. This is Luisa Steiner from the Salzburg Forensic Department. I have the results of the investigation for you."

Luisa Steiner was in her early thirties, petite with short blonde hair. It was her first job after her graduation and as a newcomer to forensic medicine she was given the honor of passing on examination results by telephone. Her superiors wrote the reports or signed them but delegated the phone calls to her younger team members. In this case it hit Luisa, who nervously played with her tongue on her small gap in her teeth while waiting for the reaction.

"Report!"

The District Inspector was obviously already impatient and no longer wanted to be tortured, or he was simply a rude and unpleasant contemporary. Luisa had so much knowledge of human nature that she was able to assess the mood without a doubt even on the phone. She came straight to the point.

"First, I can report that we have been able to determine the identity of the deceased. We ran his fingerprints against international databases and got a hit because he had a new passport. After all, biometric features have been stored for several years as additional means of identification. We were able to match his face and fingerprints very quickly and we got his name. It is Andreas Schörff. He spent his holidays here with us in Austria. He was an independent security consultant from Germany. Schörff had a sister. Perhaps in the meantime you could locate her contact information?"

"Later! Very good so far …" she was interrupted by Wedelmaier, who wanted to close this case as quickly as possible, "… any injuries, or was it a natural death?

"I was just coming to that, District Inspector. Apart from some abrasions and cuts on his face, palms of his hands and knees, we found no signs of external violence. It appears he was jogging when he fell. He may had been dizzy or had a stroke or heart attack. However, without further investigation, we won’t be able to decide here. But I wanted to inform you as soon as possible so that you have some initial clues for your report. I will get back to you as soon as we have completed our investigations. Maybe the autopsy will give us more clues about how he died."

Wedelmaier noticed that the conversation was over and replied, "Do that, Miss!" He disconnected the call.

Now came the part he hated the most. He had to write his report. Why was he always on duty when there was such an extraordinary occurrence? His boss wouldn’t let him rest until the report was written and the case closed. He was always so meticulous and close on his heels because he didn’t like things being left open for a long time or being put off.

Wedelmaier typed on his old typewriter. His two index fingers searched letter by letter and hit the respective keys. His superiors were of the opinion that so few cases occurred here that neither a connection to the data network of the police and gendarmerie nor the purchase of a computer was worthwhile. For the three or four reports a year it was reasonable to use the good old typewriter.

After filling out the accident form, which he thought was the most appropriate, with the information available, he pulled out the piece of paper between the rollers and examined the paper and its two copies. Wedelmaier put it aside and picked up his mobile phone to continue his game. He would have to wait until the forensic department from Salzburg would contact him again to report on the circumstances of the death. Until then, he would not have to worry about any investigations and even in the case of a natural death, the case would be filed away very quickly.

The day was drawing to a close and the District Inspector was about to clear up when the telephone rang again. Hastily Wedelmaier picked up the phone and barked into the receiver.

"What can you tell me?"

"Pardon? Wedelmaier, how dare you? Can’t you speak properly?"

The Chief Inspector! That’s all he needed. Karl Oberstohner was happy to inquire about the status of the investigations, as far as he knew. Apart from that, he left this branch of the police force, where very seldom something exciting happened, to one side. Wedelmaier wondered how his superior could have gotten wind of it so quickly. He had planned to inform him the next day about the new and immediately closed incident, but somehow, he already knew about it. Wedelmaier decided to be ingenuous, because Oberstohner did not like a game of hide-and-seek at all. Hopefully his end of work would not suffer from it. The Chief Inspector was a small, stocky man, in his early fifties with dark hair. No one could fool him so easily and he was very demanding.

"Chief Inspector Oberstohner, good to hear from you. I would have contacted you first thing tomorrow."

"Stop the pleasantries and tell me about the dead jogger! Why didn’t you want to tell me about it until tomorrow?"

"Well, the point is. I’m still waiting for more test results and I thought that these would be given to me now. I didn’t expect you one the line."

"I already know most of it. A young lady from forensic medicine in Salzburg has already brought me up to speed. A lively girl. Knows how to behave!"

Wedelmaier left this remark uncommented. There was no point in contradicting his superior. Anyway, he was always right and had the predominance. Until his retirement, Wedelmaier did not want to let anything scorch.

"That’s good, Chief Inspector, then you already know. Investigations are still underway to determine the cause of death."

"Right. What have you found out about the sister so far?"

Oh dear, the sister! He forgot all about her while he was playing on his smart phone.

"Yes, the sister. Well, when we know the circumstances of the death, I’ll inform her."

"Have you contacted German authorities to locate the sister?"

Wedelmaier realized that this would not have a happy ending. A structure made up of even more small fibs would certainly collapse very soon. He decided to stay close to the truth.

"Not yet. Ha ha. There was still so much paperwork to be done here. The report and stuff. You know. Right? Hehe." The District Inspector tried to defuse the situation with a little artificial laughter, but it didn’t have the desired effect.

"Wedelmaier! You lazy dog! Don’t tell me that it would have been too much to ask for contact with the German authorities already today and to have the sister’s place of residence determined. That can’t be true. I’ll be with you tomorrow morning at 10:00 am! I expect results then!"

Wedelmaier held the telephone receiver at the outstretched arm away from his ear, as the volume of the Chief Inspector increased with every word. Then the line was dead.

♦♦♦

The evening drew to a close and together they had discussed the exciting events of the day. Gwen, Stefan and Phil sat in their apartment with a bottle of wine and a coke and enjoyed themselves.

"You should have seen his eyes when I told him I was from Germany and a colleague. He finally realized that I’m not the kind of person you can treat roughly."

"The policeman then moved at all" Phil interjected. "Otherwise he was just sitting at his desk. I don’t think he gets out in the fresh air much."

"Not much really seems to happen here" agreed Stefan Phil. "You’d hardly believe it, but after you went off to get help, not a soul passed by up here. They probably wouldn’t have found the body for weeks or even months if no one had bothered to hike up the mountain."

"Surely, the right season has not yet begun" Gwen said to consider.

"Well" replied Stefan, "the travel agency already said that it was actually a beautiful winter sports resort, but that it was also well attended in the summer months. Maybe not every visitor wants to hike the 'Loser', that might be true, but it’s funny that nobody came by during the whole hours."

"What was strange was that they hadn’t secured any traces when the police finally arrived" Gwen changed the subject.

"Well, that’s understandable, Gwen. Think about it, no crime happened. A dead jogger in the woods. No obvious sign of violence. Just a few scrapes from his fall. We wouldn’t have had the full forensic evidence program in Germany.

"You’re probably right. But maybe he was chased and died of exhaustion."

"You really do have a vivid imagination, Mom" Phil interjected, "And who would have chased him?"

"Maybe a wild animal, an attack dog or something similar."

Stefan tried to nip the horror stories in the bud. "Stop it, both of you. We should stick to the facts and they speak a clear language. A dead jogger probably died of overstraining, as there were no external signs of violent death. Period! The local police will confirm that."

"That sounds reasonable, and we should check back with the station tomorrow to see if they need more information from us, or if we can help in any other way."

Stefan looked at Gwen in disbelief. "You want to put your manpower here on your vacation? Gwen, the boys here can manage on their own and there’s nothing for us to help."

"How can you know that? We should at least ask once. Our vacation will be over in a few days and we have to go back to our daily routine. I think a change of pace is in order, don’t you?" Gwen put her head to one side and looked at Stefan with her bright green eyes. She stroked one of her red curls from her face and assessed him seductively.

"I’m glad to see you so euphoric, but we wanted to relax here and not get involved in a criminal case that isn’t one."

Without saying anything, Gwen nestled herself against Stefan’s chest and purred like a cat.

"You can’t just twist me around your finger, Gwen. Let’s be realistic."

Abruptly Gwen pushed away from Stefan and sat upright him again. "You’re always so sensible, so structured, so planned. Can’t you just give in to your heart and do what you feel like doing? Paul always stood by me and we did all sorts of things together." A tear came in the corner of her eye, but Gwen didn’t let on.

"Paul always supported me. He stood by me, even if sometimes it had certainly been nonsensical things. But we stuck together and did things together. I thought I could count on you. As my partner in business and in life?" A tear ran down her cheek. Stefan caught it tenderly with his index finger.

"But of course, you can count on me. I just have no appreciation of getting involved in local law enforcement anymore. But if you think we should try and make you feel better, I’m game." His warm hand gently guided her head to his chest. Gwen let it happen.

"Then the three of us will go back tomorrow to the policeman and rough him up properly?" Phil reassured himself.

"Except to 'rough him up', we will see him again tomorrow" Stefan corrected him.

Phil finished his Coke. "Great, I’m happy and I’m going to bed so that I’m well rested for the ascertainments tomorrow" Phil remarked teasingly.

Gwen looked at Phil and noticed again how similar her son became to her. "Good night, big boy!"

♦♦♦

The District Inspector had left the police station the night before, right after his boss had called. He no longer saw any point in alerting the German authorities the evening before for a case that would be closed the next morning. Returning to Germany and informing the relatives could be arranged by the following authorities. He would not have to worry about that as a small policeman. Alois Wedelmaier was at the police station at 08:00 am as usual and thus had another two hours to write the report for his boss.

The phone rang. It was almost as if it was waiting for him.

"District Inspector Wedelmaier, good morning. How can I help you?"

"Mr. District Inspector. This is Luisa Steiner from the Salzburg Forensic Department. I have the final results of the investigation for you."

"Very good, Mrs. Steiner, what do you have for us?"

Luisa Steiner paused for a moment, because somehow the conversation on the last evening went quite differently, she thought. But maybe he had just had a busy day and therefore sounded much ruder than today. She wiped the thoughts away and summarized the results of the examination.

"As reported yesterday, there were no external signs of extreme violence that could have caused his death. Minor abrasions and cuts to his hands, knees and face were sustained from his fall. We also carried out x-ray and MRI examinations to determine whether there were any internal injuries. Unfortunately, negative. The lividity in the chest area and on the shoulder prove that death occurred, and the body was not moved afterwards. The way the colleagues from the emergency service described the case to me, our investigations coincide with the information that the body was lying in a ditch."

Wedelmaier noticed how he was getting impatient again. Couldn’t the girl get to the point faster? Did she have to confront him with the details that only explained that it was a sports accident? He was about to interrupt her when he bit his tongue. She would probably also inform his superior, and if he became unfriendly now, it would be another reason for the Chief Inspector. With him he was already under observation after the call from yesterday afternoon anyway and didn’t want to get in hot water again.

So Wedelmaier heard himself say, "That’s all very interesting, Mrs. Steiner, what else did you find out?"

"In fact, these were not all investigations. I was saving the most unusual for last.

Wedelmaier vacillated between curiosity and dislike. On the one hand, he naturally wanted to know all the details in order to write his report, and on the other hand it did bode ill if 'unusual' things came up during the investigation. Probably his report would have to be a bit longer.

"Don’t keep me in suspense, Mrs. Steiner. What were the unusual results?", he asked as kindly as possible.

"We have done a series of drug tests and blood work. The man had a whole cocktail of substances in his body. But in order. He had nearly a thousand euros in cash on him. And he had traces of heroin on his hands. But these were only concentrations just above the detection limit. The money found on him, for example, was contaminated. Perhaps we would be able to detect drugs on your hands as well if you had the counterfeit money in your hands."

Wedelmaier kept his temper and let this allusion pass. The young lady certainly did not suspect him of bribery and did not accuse him of anything. It was surely just the talk of a young, aspiring forensic scientist.

"It could happen to any of us, I’m sure you’re right. But you said you found more drugs?"

"I spoke of other substances. No drugs, Mr. Wedelmaier. Just to be on the safe side, we will conduct a hair analysis to detect or rule out drug misuse. You will receive the results in a few days. But the blood tests were much more revealing.

We found Moxifloxacin, Refecoxib, Lumiracoxib and Diclofenac in high doses. Moxifloxacin is a fourth-generation gyrase inhibitor, whereas Refecoxib is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug which belongs to the group of COX-2 inhibitors. Lumiracoxib is actually the same. It is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug used to treat rheumatic diseases. Diclofenac, on the other hand, belongs to the group of non-opioid analgesics, but also inhibits cyclooxygenases, although not selectively.

Wedelmaier had already lost the thread of the conversation some time ago and Mrs. Steiner’s words, which reached him through the telephone, resembled a cloud of sounds that made no sense to him. "If I may interrupt briefly, Mrs. Steiner? What exactly does that mean for our dead man?"

"Excuse me. I’ve gotten too deep into my gobbledygook. This is an antibiotic and several painkillers."

Wedelmaier rolled his eyes and nervously tapped his desk pad with a pencil.

"There are several things unusual about this find. First of all, there are concentrations that are not possible with proper ingestion."

"Maybe he wanted to kill himself" Wedelmaier interjected.

"They won’t kill yourselves so easily. But let me continue to summarize. Already in 2004, the drug Refecoxib was taken off the market after a negative long-term study. In the study, the incidence of heart attacks, angina pectoris and strokes increased. At that time, the company did not want to take any risks and no longer wanted to sell the drug.

The same applies to Lumiracoxib. Lumiracoxib was also withdrawn from the market in 2007 after serious side effects were reported.

Furthermore, due to an unfavorable benefit-risk ratio, Moxifloxacin was only approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2008 for exceptional cases where other antibiotics may or cannot be used.

Diclofenac still exists today. It’s available only on prescription and helps with mild to moderate pain."

"Yes, but where did mister …", Wedelmaier leafed through his notes on the desk, "… Schörff got all those drugs?"

"That is a good question and certainly something for the police" Luisa replied whimsical.

"Maybe, but what did Mr. Schörff die of?"

"He had full-blown myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. His sports activities caused cardiac arrhythmia and eventually led to a heart attack. Death must have occurred some thirty-six hours ago."

"Could it be because of these myo … thingies that he took the antibiotic?"

"Rather unlikely, because cardiac insufficiency is caused by viruses that antibiotics can’t fight."

"And the painkillers?"

"Also unlikely, because such an illness often goes unnoticed because it does not cause pain. If symptoms occur, they are more like a flu-like infection. But it is strange that he had so many different drugs in his body in such high doses. And some drugs were already off the market."

"Very strange indeed" Wedelmaier admitted. "Please send me the full report."

"Gladly. To what e-mail address?"

In such moments he had always cursed his superior. They pinched and scraped, and they didn't grant the internet access. And that in the information age! Wedelmaier was inwardly very agitated, but he didn’t say a word to the young forensic scientist.

With calm and carefully chosen words he answered, "Mrs. Steiner, unfortunately I can’t give you an e-mail address, but I could give you a fax number."

After a short break she replied, "With pleasure, no problem. I’m sure I’ll be able to find one here."

After they exchanged the number, the District Inspector thanked her and hung up. Only a few minutes later the report reached him by fax. Once again, he scanned the pages and noted down some important points. Then he started to add them to his report with a grumpy attitude. It could have been such a clear and simple incident with a small memo, but then a spoke was put is his wheels. He still had a lot to do, so he set to work.

At 10:00 am sharp, the Chief Inspector showed up at the station.

"Good morning, Wedelmaier, what have you brought together?"

"Good morning, Chief Inspector. I can give you my final report."

"Let’s hear it!"

"I have written everything in this paper here for you."

He handed over the three pages of his report, as well as the forensic report to his superior, who quickly skimmed it.

"I’m glad to see you’ve come so far. After all, this now seems to be an incident that we should follow up intensively. Where was he visiting in Austria? Who did he meet? Does he have any relatives here? What was his concern for his stay? Many questions that you should pursue in the next few days. Once you have fully completed the initial investigations, we can pass on the information to the relevant authorities in Germany. And finally take care of the request for information to the German authorities to inform the sister."

"You are absolutely right, Chief Inspector. I shall begin at once to compile the missing answers."

As quickly as the Chief Inspector had appeared, as quickly he had disappeared again. While he was turning on his heel, he said a fleeting, "Thank you, servus" and disappeared.

Wedelmaier let himself sink back into his chair and sighed, "These are going to be long days."

♦♦♦

"I wonder if we can’t help there after all."

Gwen just didn’t give up, Stefan thought, but that’s what he loved about his colleague. Once she got something into her head to do, she would follow the theory, the idea or the conception until it either turned out that she was barking up the wrong tree or she had achieved her goal. Stefan had never seen anyone in his environment show such persistence before. He had accepted his fate the night before, when he had quickly realized that he could not talk Gwen out of her plan. So, he hoped inwardly for a refusal when they entered the police station.

"Hello, Mr. District Inspector" Gwen greeted him.

Wedelmaier looked up in amazement from his typewriter when he heard the familiar voice again. He was stunned for a few seconds and froze when he saw the two colleagues with their son coming in the door. But then he stirred and greeted them.

"The colleagues from Germany. What else can I do for you? I thought you were enjoying your vacation."

Before Stefan could say anything else, Gwen went like a bull at a gate.

"Last night, we were wondering if we could help with the investigation. It looked like you were running this place by yourself, and we wanted to help you out a little."

Wedelmaier was furious, because nobody would make him out to be a small policeman who had to be 'helped'. But then he thought of something better. He could even take pleasure om the situation, if he did it right. The colleagues came from Germany, what if he simply gave them the case? Then he would have very little to do with it and could close the case quickly. This would certainly impress the Chief Inspector.

"In fact, I could use a little help, but you’re on vacation here and I don’t want to burden you with investigations." He didn’t want to bother with prefaces and tried to achieve his goal in small steps.

"It doesn’t matter, Mr. District Inspector. We are happy to help. Right, Stefan?"

Stefan nodded politely, knowing well that the expected turn of events would not come about here.

"Well, if you really want to help?" One more small step.

"Yes, we’d love to. What can we do? What do you already have?"

Stefan resigned. The dam had burst, and Gwen had got her own way. They could weigh in here, not to say, 'have to'. Now there was no turning back.

Alois Wedelmaier brought the colleagues from Germany up to date. He summarized the forensic medicine report in a few words. He mentioned the sister who lived in Germany and also the request for information which he had made to the German authorities a few minutes ago. Finally, he read out the name and address: "Andreas Schörff, Schulstraße 27 in Gettorf." He waited for the reaction.

"Gettorf? It’s around the corner from us!" Gwen was all excited. "The case would probably end up on our desk anyway, since it’s in the catchment area of the State Office of Criminal Investigation in Kiel, where we both work."

"I’m glad to hear that. Should I make them a copy of the file so they can take the information back to Germany? You might as well go straight to the sister. Maybe she lives nearby. At the very least you could then investigate the drug abuse, that’s what I would call it. I would then close the file here in Austria and inform my superior, if that’s okay?"

"Of course, this is okay for us. Stefan, what do you think?"

"The case would come to us anyway, to question the strange circumstances of his death. Then we might as well take it with us, and you can get acquainted with it on the way back."

Gwen and Wedelmaier nodded almost synchronously.

"And remember to inform the Salzburg Forensic Department, so that the hair analysis results can be sent directly to my mother in Kiel" Phil wisely remarked.

Gwen and Stefan couldn’t stop laughing, because Phil wanted to help to 'rough up'. The District Inspector looked at all three of them irritated and joined to laugh.

Back at the resort, Gwen went over the file. It wasn’t much so far. It described how the District Inspector was informed of the incident by Gwen. Her address details were included in the report, as well as the time and place where Mr. Schörff was found. After comparing his fingerprints, his identity was quickly proved. So far, everything pointed to an athlete who may have died from overexertion or other unfortunate circumstances. It was clear that the cause of death could be ruled out as external force. As usual, the forensic report swarmed with technical terms and neither Gwen nor Stefan were able to translate and understand the details. The District Inspector had shared his recollection of the report with them, but Gwen felt uncomfortable relying on the testimony of an amateur. So, it was soon clear that they needed professional help. Gwen didn’t want to wait until they were back in Kiel and at work and had picked up the phone to call her longtime friend and colleague in forensic medicine, Dr. Michael Peters. Dr. Peters was able like no other to describe even complicated matters in simple words.

Gwen activated the hands-free function of her mobile phone so that Stefan and Phil could listen in. Gwen read the medical examiner’s report aloud slowly. With all the foreign words and technical terms, she felt like a beginner trying to read his first words. Michael supported her, because he could deduce the right words from the context. After Gwen finished the full report, the forensic expert summarized the most important findings colloquially.

"Your dead jogger, Mr. Schörff, suffered from heart muscle inflammation. The drugs he had in his body were not suitable to fight this disease. That means, the question arises why he had taken the drugs. It is conceivable that he had a disease and wanted to cure it with the drugs. Normally, 'one' medicine would have been sufficient. It would have worked in a much lower dosage and …", he used a dramatic paused to increase the tension, "… he would have taken drugs that were also approved in Germany."

Stefan and Gwen looked at each other. They were at a loss. What was the meaning of all that? Why was someone taking partially unapproved drugs in high doses? And where did he get them from? Was the overdose perhaps just an accident, or was he pursuing a goal by taking it?

"Michael, Mr. Schörff was a sportsman. Could it be that these drugs had been taken to improve performance" asked Stefan, to give a new direction to the exploration of the options?

"No, Stefan. The substances are completely unsuitable to increase performance or, if necessary, to build up muscles. As an athlete he would have known that. I’d like to go one step further and say that the drugs may even have been responsible for his heart muscle inflammation."

"How?" Phil asked incredulously.

"For example, if you have an infection and need to take antibiotics, you should always refrain from doing sports. Neither strength nor endurance sports! Everything together is too strenuous for the body. To fight an inflammation and to show performance in sports. One effect could indeed be heart muscle inflammation. If you then continue to exercise instead of taking it easy, your heart may eventually conk out and you may suffer a heart attack."

Stefan nodded in agreement and confirmed to Dr. Peters, "I have read about that too."

Gwen kept thinking out loud. "This is all very mysterious. If he really was suffering from an infection and had received the medication from a doctor, wouldn’t the doctor have told him about the risks? But why the painkillers? And why in high doses?"

"Please give me a minute I want to look something up" Michael asked his colleagues for patience.

"None of this makes any sense" Phil started.

"No, you got that right. We can’t figure it out so far either. Or do you have another brilliant idea, Gwen?"

Gwen shook her head thoughtfully as Dr. Peters spoke again.

"I checked for side effects and drug interactions. You won’t believe it."

"Now don’t put us on the rack" Gwen told her boyfriend to get to the point.

"One of the drugs was taken off the market because of cardiac arrhythmia after long-term use. It cannot be ruled out, that the heart also suffers a heart attack. Furthermore, the probability of a heart attack increases when the antibiotic and one of the painkillers are taken at the same time. At the high doses in which he took the medication, I believe that the probability of a heart attack is close to one hundred percent. Of course, it is impossible to say with certainty that this will happen, or even when, but the risk is considerable. The painkillers must have also alleviated the symptoms of heart failure, if he had any at all."

"Maybe he didn’t do the drugs on purpose" Phil interjected, and the adults remained silent.

They looked at each other with irritation and tried to process the new aspect and bring it in line with what they had heard before.

Stefan was the first to grasp the idea and tried to put it into context. "If he didn’t know what he was ingesting, it would explain why he had such a high concentration in his body. It would also be a plausible explanation why he had taken this specific mixture. However, it does not explain why someone wanted to administer this mixture to him and where the unauthorized drugs came from."

Dr. Peters agreed with Stefan. "That is absolutely right. I get the feeling that you’re onto something bigger and Gwen can’t wait to get back to Kiel?"

Stefan looked at Gwen, who was all smiles.

"You seem to be right, Michael" Stefan admitted with a simper.

"Then I’ll see you in a few days. Enjoy the time that remains. I look forward to seeing you." Michael hung up.

Stefan looked at Gwen and noticed that her sadness was gone. "This wasn’t the plan, but it seems to me you’re looking forward to the task." He took her hand and grabbed Phil’s too. "I’m looking forward to working with you." All three laughed.

Anyway, the next day the vacation was over, and Gwen couldn’t wait to get back home to do some initial research. She was already planning the first days after her return from vacation when her phone rang. The phone number was a local number that she didn’t know. It was Chief Inspector Karl Oberstohner. He had phoned Alois Wedelmaier and learned that he had handed over the case to his German colleagues. They would take care of everything else. He could hardly believe that he had actually managed to get the job done again, passing it on from his desk to others. So, he called Gwen to get the confirmation at first hand and to wish her good luck. He promised her to support her if any questions should arise or if further investigations in Austria were necessary. The results of the hair analysis would of course be sent to her as soon as they were available.

Gwen thanked him and hung up. She would still have to pack her bags, but this time she was looking forward to it. She was going home and got a new case.

Chapter 6

The first working day after the holiday is usually the hardest. Gwen, however, was delighted when she returned to the State Office of Criminal Investigations in Kiel, which was abbreviated in German as LKA, and entered her office. Her colleagues greeted her cheerfully. They, too, had noticed the condition Gwen had been in the last weeks and were happy to see her as if she had changed. A holiday could work wonders, they agreed.

No sooner had Gwen dropped into her chair than Stefan was already standing in her office.

"Welcome back, long time no see" he flirted and winked.

"So, what was going on when I was on vacation? The LKA is still intact! It can’t have been that bad" she flattened.

"Let’s have a cup of coffee and talk to our colleagues before we get into the hustle and bustle again."

Gwen followed Stefan to the department’s coffee machine. Other colleagues had already met there to discuss the latest developments. As usual, there were enough employees who always saw only the negative and complained about everything. Others were delighted to see Gwen so happy and healthy again after her holiday. Gwen had no problems talking to these colleagues. She shared her experiences but avoided mentioning her frustrations and lows. She was proud of her son, talking about his geocache findings and how he had joined her and Stefan in what he said was a ’rough up’ of the policeman. Here, everyone felt that Gwen had internalized every detail of the report and was about to start to find out why the jogger had taken so many different unapproved drugs. They agreed that if anyone could answer this question, it was certainly Gwen.

There was not much news in the LKA. There was a restructuring of the management level. This was as certain and regular as eggs is eggs, Gwen said. On the one hand, a longer period of stability in the management team would certainly have been helpful, so that the managers could also take the credit for which they were responsible. On the other hand, of course, the same thing happened, and managers would have to face the music when they got their departments into hot water.

Eventually, regular change was important to get new food for thought. Nothing was worse than continuing in the same way year after year in deadlocked structures. Change was there to break up these structures and introduce more efficient procedures.

The purchasing department of the State Office of Criminal Investigation had also once again launched a change that would affect each of the officers, whether they wanted it or not. However, in this case it was unintelligible to Gwen why they had not simply left everything as it was before.

"I really don’t understand that. The old cards were still valid after all" Gwen expressed her displeasure and incomprehension.

"Maybe they were able to cut costs a little bit with that measure."

"But that doesn’t mean you have to change all the cards!"

"The credit card companies certainly want to introduce new security features again so that the cards are better protected against misuse. There’s no other way to explain it."

"This means we have to store new credit card numbers in all systems again, so that the trips and LKA expenses can be accounted for correctly and automatically." Frustrated, Gwen added, "And I have also received a new PIN!"

"Gwen it doesn’t help to whine here, because the decision has been made. Whatever the trigger for the exchange was, we’ll never know. But it’ll be worth the effort and the security."

"I’m sure you’re right. I’ll get started this afternoon on implementing the changes in the systems. Was anything else going on when we were on vacation?"

"Not that I’ve heard of any major changes. It seems that we can look into the mysterious circumstances of Mr. Schörff’s death What do you think?"

Gwen smiled, picked up her now empty coffee cup, and went back to her office. Stefan followed her.

"I guess we’d better get started."

The German authorities had received a request for residence from Austria for the sister of Andreas Schörff and were working on it. This would only take a few more days, as there were many requests coming in, it was holiday time and the department was understaffed at all. This was all Stefan could find out. At least it had been ensured that the information about the sister’s current whereabouts would go directly to the LKA, so as not to take the detour via the Austrian authorities.

With Andreas Schörff’s place of residence it had been easier. His fingerprints had been clearly assigned to his identity by his passport. The passport had been issued by the authorities in Kiel and his home address was also known here.

Stefan and Gwen discussed the next steps. They would first inspect the house or apartment to find evidence of drug use or abuse. Perhaps this would enable them to complete the investigation quickly. If not, it might give them more clues as to how he got the drugs.

Gwen was already fantasizing about an international smuggling ring for fake drugs, but for Stefan it was a bit far-fetched. After all, they had often started out small and had discovered a larger context through their research. Stefan put up with this but warned Gwen to take small steps. Eventually, the first thing they did was to go to Andreas Schörff’s home address.

The two investigators wanted to get their own picture before perhaps activating forensics or other personnel from the other departments. They reached Schulstraße 27 in Gettorf. North of the center, at the end of a cul-de-sac, they found a large detached house at the address. It was very quiet in the street and not a soul took notice of their arrival. They had parked their police car in the driveway of the property and had got out. As always, they tried to get an impression of the surroundings and took even small things that did not escape their trained eye. Behind the property there were fields, meadows and tree areas. It seemed as if the village had come to an end here and behind it there was nothing but undeveloped land and cultivated fields. The other houses in the street were smaller and older houses from the existing stock, while the family house of Mr. Schörff was of more recent construction date. Probably an old house had given way and a new, larger house with better climate and heat insulation standards had been built. However, the building style fitted in very well with the existing architecture of the other houses in the street, although it had been built with exceptionally valuable materials. The marble steps to the entrance of the house alone must have cost a small fortune. The garden was in an impeccable, well-kept condition and the whole house was equipped with high-quality stainless-steel lamps. Stefan and Gwen soon realized that a certain expensive standard of living was maintained here.

They walked around the house and got scared. They were at least as frightened as the inhabitants of the house, who had made themselves comfortable on the terrace under the awning and drank coffee.

"Who are you and what are you doing on our property?" cried the fat lady without getting up.

Gwen and Stefan froze. They didn’t see that coming. They had assumed that Andreas Schörff was the only inhabitant of this house. After they had digested the first shock, they pulled out their badges and introduced themselves.

"We apologize for this unannounced intrusion. We assumed this house would be empty. My name is Chief Inspector Fisher, and this here is my colleague Superintendent Schick. We both come from the LKA in Kiel."

They showed their badges and handed out their business cards to the two grim-faced, obvious pensioners.

"And why did you think the house would be empty?" asked the fat lady without introducing herself.

Gwen was already afraid that she put her foot in it, if she answered the question, so she followed the rules.

"May I first ask who we have the pleasure of meeting?" Gwen asked politely.

"It’s certainly no pleasure if you just stand here in our garden unannounced" yapped the chubby woman.

"I am Dorothee Schörff and this is my husband, Waldemar." She pointed to her husband. Both remained sitting in their garden chairs, which was certainly better because of their corpulence. Gwen estimated the two at over seventy years, but certainly not yet eighty. They both only knew sports from television and the coffee did not lack large pieces of cream cake, which made Gwen quickly realize what caused their body weight. She remembered the autopsy report of the Salzburg forensic medicine and the age and weight information of Andreas Schörff. Apparently, he could be her son and he had successfully fought against his weight problems, which he had been instilled by his parents. At least he had been on a good path until his death.

The man had still not said anything, and Gwen expected it to stay that way. The two commissioners nodded at the pensioners to welcome them. Gwen was happy to have waited with her explanation, as she could now choose her words carefully so as not to go like a bull at a gate. After all, this was the moment when she had to convey the news of her son’s death to the parents.

They took it surprisingly well. During the conversation, which the officers continued to conduct while standing, it turned out that the mother had a rather bad opinion about her son. She flew into a frenzy and dug up old stories that her environment had surely forgotten for years. But not Dorothee. Gwen just listened intently while Stefan started taking notes. It was no longer possible for him to store all the information in his memory, which he didn’t even know if he would ever use them again. Dorothee told the officials about Andreas’ life at a young age, his education and the career he had made against all expectations.

After the seemingly endless monologue, Gwen had become a few points clearer. Andreas had probably found many peculiarities of his parents not worthy of imitation. Nutrition was only one aspect here. He had tried to stand on his own feet early on, on the one hand to ensure a more conscious nutrition, and on the other hand to get enough time for sports and to become independent from his parents. This also included getting an education to get away from home. He studied IT security and buoyed up with some internships at well-known companies. His mother did not see this as a profession, especially since he did not 'manufacture' anything. Time and again she had probably reproached her son for not having completed a craft education and not being able to repair a tap. Nevertheless, the parents allowed their son to move into the granny flat in the house – under the strict condition that he’d find a proper job! Finally, he dared to take the step into self-employment and acquired his own customers. Thanks to his large network from the university and the various positions as an intern, he had a good foundation for building up a stable clientele. In the beginning the income was meagre and his mother felt confirmed that there was no money in her son’s 'profession'. After the initial drought, however, Andreas was travelling the world and had made a name for himself. He had become a sought-after consultant, offering his expertise to paying clients to protect themselves against the threats from the Internet and real attackers on the ground. Developments in the world have now given intellectual property a significant value that needed to be protected in the same way as money or holdings of gold.

Stefan and Gwen now knew why the house had not been uninhabited and they had met the owners. Andreas Schörff only lived in the granny flat in his parents’ house. The husband, who still hadn’t said anything the whole time, remained sitting in his garden chair when his chubby wife Dorothee rose up sullenly to unlock the door to her son’s apartment for the two investigators. It was secured from the outside by a combination lock beside the door. After Mrs. Schörff had entered and confirmed the correct number, the lock unlocked as if by magic.

His mother did not mention anything about a wife or girlfriend in her monologue, so the investigators were surprised by the size of the apartment when it was only used by one person. Gwen and Stefan asked to be allowed to enter the apartment alone, which was allowed by Mrs. Schörff with a grumble. She disappeared and the two colleagues looked around carefully.

The floor plan of the apartment was kept simple. The entrance to the basement apartment was probably designed later, because one was directly in the living room without a porch, corridor or hallway. A large window with a light well in front of it let enough light into the apartment and was optimally aligned to the west. Through the window they could see Mr. and Mrs. Schörff sitting on the terrace.

The living room was furnished with high quality furniture. Right next to the entrance was a dusty, modern desk with a glass top and a metal frame. The apartment had obviously not been cleaned for a long time. A huge flat screen on one wall, with the leather living area opposite, made for a kind of cinema experience. In between, there was a timeless glass table. On the other side was a dining room. A large oval table of solid beech wood formed the centerpiece, while six leather-covered chairs with steel frames waited for guests. Further inside the apartment was a separate kitchen with the most modern machinery. The dark marble worktop looked huge but fitted very well with the light wooden fronts of the kitchen furniture. Next to it there was a bathroom which made Gwen and Stefan jealous. The light came on automatically as soon as they entered the room. In the corner there was a whirlpool that offered enough space for two people. Next to it was a shower, which was embedded in the floor at ground level and only separated from the rest of the bathroom by panes. The douche fell into the category of a 'wellness shower'. Different nozzles on the sides and a dinner plate sized shower head on the ceiling simulated at least eight different programs, obviously controlled by the control element in the wall. Gwen pinched her lips together and muttered a 'wow'.

She noticed the many different pots and jars with all kinds of creams on the washstand. She took a closer look at some of them. They were mainly substances mixed by a pharmacy, which Andreas had obviously received on prescription. One paste, Gwen could read on the label, was for a kind of skin contamination, not to mention acne at his age. Another with cortisone for inflammation. There were also many opened jars of well-known brands that were used exclusively for skin care. Andreas Schörff probably attached great importance to his appearance, even though he had to struggle with success. Gwen examined the drawers, but apart from the usual things, such as interdental brushes, dental floss, supplies of toothpaste and a manicure set, all she found was a signet ring with an eagle motif on the seal surface. She closed the drawers again.

Next to the bathroom there was a separate room with a toilet, which was brightly tiled. The only unspectacular room so far, Gwen soberly noted. Only the light worked automatically. At the end of the apartment they found a kind of cellar door which was locked. This must be the transition to the living area on the first floor, Stefan speculated. The last room was the bedroom. Gwen had the feeling that she could dance in the room, it was so big, despite the big bed and the built-in closet. As with the rest of the apartment, the impression was strengthened that someone with a lot of taste had had a hand in its decoration.

The entire apartment gave the investigators the impression of a wealthy inhabitant. Someone who chose very carefully what he invested in. The walls were embellished by a few pictures in elegant frames and the floor was covered with parquet flooring throughout the apartment, except in the bathroom and the toilet. What stood out were the few decorative elements in the apartment. No flowers, no objects on shelves that needed dusting. No shampoo bottles in the bathroom and no books on bookshelves. Even in the kitchen there were hardly any other utensils on the walls or on the worktop besides the most modern kitchen appliances. Only a large can of powder for protein shakes was tolerated next to the electric blender. Further tins were in the base cabinet, neatly lined up.

"The apartment looks a bit like an uninhabited show flat that only serves the purpose of the exhibition" Stefan finally stated objectively.

"There is nothing lying or standing around that somehow seems unnecessary. It’s as if he carefully tidied up and stowed away everything before he left."

"I would probably have done the same with my parents" Stefan admitted frankly. "Somehow, he wanted to protect his privacy from his parents, …"

"… or give them no reason for criticism" Gwen finished the sentence.

"In any case, we can rule out the possibility that someone else has been here in his absence. The door was locked … well, with a combination lock. But maybe someone knew the combination."

The investigators looked around the room. "But it doesn’t look like anything was touched or searched."

Stefan noticed it first, "There are no light switches here, although there are lights mounted to the wall." He smiled. "Okay Google, turn on the lights in the living room." Nothing happened. Stefan frowned. "Alexa, turn on the living room light."

The lights turned on as if controlled by magic. Stefan’s face became friendlier again.

"Alexa, turn off the living room light." The lights on the walls went out. Stefan looked around.

"Alexa, lower the shutter in the living room!" The living room darkened.

"Alexa, stop!" The shutters stopped.

"He’s installed one of those automatic assistants that can probably control a lot of things here. I’m impressed."

"Get a grip, Stefan, or can this thing open the front door?"

"Alexa, open the front door!" Stefan tried his luck.

A computer voice replied, "The front door is already open!"

Stefan spotted the round loudspeaker that was positioned next to the door.

"Then let’s try it from the outside. If we’re loud enough, it might work to open the door again."

"But surely you must have some code that we don’t have. Otherwise, anyone who comes by here could open the door."

"That’s right, Gwen, I guess I thought it would be too easy."

"Just working with experts once, that would be great" Gwen murmured to herself and rolled her eyes provocatively.

Stefan already knew the slogan and did not feel offended. On the contrary. He took Gwen in his arms and hugged her.

"Hey, not when we are in service, dear colleague!" she laughed.

"Come on, expert, let’s go. We’ve gotten an impression and we should try to find the sister. Her parents should know where to find her."

As he went out, Stefan pulled the door shut and immediately afterwards shouted a little louder, "Alexa, open the apartment door!"

The computer voice replied, "The code is incorrect."

"You’re incorrigible, my playmate" and Gwen laughed.

Both thanked Mr. and Mrs. Schörff and did not forget to ask them about their daughter. Surprisingly willing they gave all the needed information, like telephone number and an address. Once more they thanked and finally said goodbye. They would get in touch with Andreas Schörff’s sister and see if she could contribute something to the clarification of her brother’s drug abuse.

♦♦♦

The sister could wait until the next day, the investigators decided concerted. Gwen had had enough of the first day and wanted to be at home with her son and mother.

Beth, as she was called by everyone in short form, was a live wire, just like her daughter usually was. The family business and the responsibility she took on in caring for and supervising her grandson Phil made her age slowly. Her own husband Eric died before Gwen was born, so she was used to taking responsibility. However, as her grandson grew older, the responsibilities of caring for him had changed. Where he had someone to play with in the early years after school, today’s activities were limited to cooking only occasionally, when Phil had not even eaten at school. Beth had not accompanied the three on vacation in the Austrian mountains, and so this was the first evening that Gwen had to go into detail about what had happened.

Gwen didn’t know where to start and told the whole story from her point of view in all its details. Beth hung on her lips. Although Phil knew much of the story because he had witnessed it in person, he wanted to hear firsthand what was going on the first day of work. So, he sat down with his grandma and ate some gummy bears.

Gwen told her mother about the journey to Austria, which went without any problems. As well as the move to the accommodations. She described the holiday resort very clearly and they could all imagine how it would look like in winter.

In summer the audience was diverse and the interests of course different from those of the winter holidaymakers. Phil reported about his successes in searching and finding geocaches. Proudly he reported about the Travelbug and the Ziplining, which all three of them had experienced for the first time. Beth was very interested in the details and kept asking about them. Then they got to the most exciting part of the vacation. The discovery of the dead man.

Excitedly, Phil detailed, how he had actually discovered him, but was no longer able to react. Phil left the story about the report of the find in the police station, the experiences with the policeman, and also the recovery of the dead body, to his mother. As usual, she summarized the experiences, but Beth encouraged her to give more detailed explanations through her inquiries. When she reported on her last visit to the police, her mother was just commented, "That was so obvious". All three laughed and Beth was happy to see her daughter happy again. She hoped things would get better from now on and that Gwen would be able to accept the memories better.

Finally, Beth was satisfied with the details she had learned about the vacation and asked about Gwen’s first day at work.

Rolling her eyes, she reported on the new credit cards. One could feel that her remarks were filled with frustration and a lack of understanding for this whole action. It probably cost the LKA, and ultimately the taxpayer, a lot of money. The whole exchange of the cards was nonsensical and unnecessary. While talking Gwen realized that she again flew into a rage. Phil, however, was interested in a very specific aspect.

"Mom, don’t you think that maybe by changing your cards, new security features could be used?"

Gwen had long since stopped wondering about her son’s interests and the extent to which he was already familiar with things that not even an adult knew about.

"What exactly do you mean, big boy, and how do you figure it?"

"It’s very simple, Mom. You can read it everywhere!"

Gwen and Beth looked at each other without understanding. "Why don’t you explain exactly what you mean to your grandmother" Beth challenged her grandson.

"In the old days, credit cards only had a card number and an expiration date. You could pay with them if you had some control over the signature on the back. The entire settlement was only possible manually by means of paper receipts. This was only very insufficient as a security feature, especially when the internet came up and people started to pay by credit card there as well, I read. One could hardly sign any piece of paper. At first, a 'personal identification number', a so-called PIN was used here, which was also necessary outside the Internet if you wanted to pick up money from the ATM. Some time later, they agreed on a code which was printed on the back of the card. After all, you had to have physical access to the card if you wanted to buy something on the Internet without a signature and without a PIN. But there was still too much uncertainty, potential for fraud and also different procedures. It was standardized around the time I was born. Since then, hackers have of course become more and more professional, but credit card companies have also constantly come up with new countermeasures to protect themselves. Much of this is based on the Internet or keeping information secret. It’s a really exciting topic when you look at it and read something."

Gwen and Beth were impressed. They didn’t think Phil had that much background knowledge, but he surprised them again and again. He had grown up with the internet and all the technology and it was not difficult for him to understand the whole picture.

"That’s very impressive, Phil, but my knowledge is limited here and I’m afraid I can’t tell you if the cards are more secure now, and what additional security features have been introduced."

Somewhat disappointed not to be able to expand his knowledge, Phil was satisfied with his mother’s statement. Not everyone could be an expert in every field.

"Okay, Mom, no problem. But why don’t you tell us what you found out about the dead guy today?"

Gwen could not go into the details for understandable reasons, but there was a certain euphoria in her, which obviously had transferred from Stefan to her. She talked about his parents and the basement apartment. Then she told about the equipment and the technical features of the apartment. Finally, she said that Phil would certainly have liked the apartment as well, as many things were automated. Gwen bit her tongue because she knew what was coming.

"That’s what I want for my birthday, Mom. It’s so cool when you don’t even have to get up to turn the lights on."

Gwen couldn’t take pleasure in the argument but didn’t show her aversion to all the technical toys.

"We will discuss this in more detail when the time comes. Your next birthday is still many months away."

"That’s right, Mom, but it’s Christmas before that" Phil noted.

"All right, enough of this subject. Off to bed! Tomorrow morning, the night is over, and the school will not tolerate sleepy students."

Phil said goodbye to his grandma with a hug and a goodnight kiss. His mother got the same. The empty gummy bear bag ended up in the recycling bin and Phil waved down the stairs once more.

"Tomorrow we will pay a visit to the sister. Let’s see what she has to report and if she knew about her brother’s drug abuse. If not, then our jogger’s life has just taken an unfortunate turn and we’ll have to accept death as an accident."

Chapter 7

The contact with Isabella Schörff turned out to be easier than expected. Gwen and Stefan went to the address given to them by her parents and rang the bell at the door in Hamburg. Only a few seconds later the buzzer sounded, and the officers entered the old staircase. The old building had seen much better times and lived up to its name. They were happy when they finally reached an open apartment door on the fourth floor.

"Good morning Mrs. Schörff. You are Isabella Schörff, aren’t you?"

Isabella nodded. "My parents had already called me and told me everything. Come in."

The apartment was furnished meagerly. It was nothing like her brother’s. Old furniture, which didn’t match at all, was lined up one after another. The walls were papered in woodchip, not painted. In some corners the wallpaper was already peeling off again. The floor of the hallway and the kitchen had a red linoleum floor. They went into the kitchen. A gas stove and a gas boiler, as well as an old stone ware sink, which was bumped in many places, fitted into the picture of the first impression.

Isabella herself was a very overweight woman with stringy dyed blonde hair. At the hairline you could already see the grey hair again. Her lip and her nose were each decorated with a piercing. In the ears you could see many holes, but they were not decorated with earrings anymore. She wore a faded housewife’s gown with a blue flower pattern like from the sixties. Her skin had aged a lot due to excessive smoking, although she was only forty-two years old, she already looked over fifty. Her fingertips were yellow and there was literally a cloud of smoke in the apartment. The officials agreed that they wanted to spend as little time here as possible.

"Please take a seat" said Isabella and offered the two visitors a plastic garden chair at the kitchen table each.

"We would like to introduce ourselves. This is my colleague Mr. Schick and I am Gwen Fisher from the LKA in Kiel. I am very sorry, Mrs. Schörff, but we are here on a very sad matter."

Gwen looked at Isabella and tried to interpret her body language. She was unable to arrive at a conclusive result. Isabella showed a certain indifference in her eyes, but at the same time she radiated sadness. Her hands clenched in defense, as if she cannot accept the fact.

"I know. He was a good brother. We had a good relationship."

"Please tell us more about it" Stefan asked her to continue. Isabella stood up without a word and took some framed pictures from the adjacent room, which must have been the living room. The officers could only guess at a dark room. Very little light entered the room through a window, and even the open door could not reveal more of it. Isabella returned quickly and put the pictures on the Formica kitchen table.

"This is what we were as children. We played together a lot and were bosom buddies. This picture was taken on the beach at our campsite at the Baltic Sea." Isabella looked dreamy, obviously reminiscing.

"Are your parents on it, too?" Gwen asked.

"No, our father took the picture and our mother must have been in the trailer. These are camping neighbors. She didn’t like being on the beach. The sand …, you might understand."

Gwen didn’t understand. As a child, the greatest thing for her was to romp on the beach and even today she enjoyed the sand between her toes and walking barefoot. But everyone was different and so Isabella’s mother must have had an aversion to the sand, which was probably generously distributed by the children in the caravan. But she didn’t want to fuel to the fire and nodded understandingly.

"And here we are at Andreas’ confirmation." Isabella pointed to a picture that showed four people. Father and mother were seen in fancy clothes next to their children. Andreas Schörff wore a dark blue suit with a tie and Isabella a summery dress. The picture radiated family idyll but had some smack. Gwen did not know what it was.

"Didn’t he look great? To fall in love with!" Isabella commented on the picture. "But he had never had a woman. We thought it would work with Lena, but she had given up too quickly because my brother was on the road a lot. His job required him. He was such a sweet man."

Isabella took a handkerchief from her gown and dabbed a tear from the corner of her eye.

"I could have married him too, but of course that wasn’t possible. When he had moved out and we had completed our qualification, we each stood on our own two feet. I visited him whenever I could."

Isabella showed the third photo. "This one was taken at his housewarming party. He had moved back in with our parents, when he was feeling bad about his job. As you can see, I would also have liked to go back to the 'nest' at my parents’ house, but he was faster. At the housewarming party, we had still gotten into a fight." She sighed and blew her nose in the handkerchief before putting it back in her gown. "I suppose you’ve seen his apartment?"

Gwen and Stefan nodded without saying a word. They sensed Isabella wanted to keep talking.

"But it worked out great for him afterwards. He got back on his feet and built up his existence. What a life of luxury he had. He could afford a lot of things that I hadn’t. His job was going great, and he might as well have moved out and found a place somewhere else, but he preferred to stay with our parents."

"We understand you well, Mrs. Schörff" Gwen began to take back the conversation. "Had her brother supported you financially?"

"Is this what you think it looks like here?"

"Had you seen your brother lately?" Stefan asked.

"We talked on the phone a lot. He wouldn’t come to my apartment, which is understandable if you know his. He was on the road a lot, so we rarely met at his place. I think it was six to eight weeks ago that I last visited him. He was still so strangely ill then."

"What do you mean by 'strangely'?" Stefan followed up.

"He wasn’t feeling well, had a slight fever, and only a mild cold. Somehow something was fighting in his body, but he didn’t even need to take medication. He didn’t feel sick, but he didn’t feel completely healthy either. The good immune system came from his sport, he said, and quickly started training again. It would toughen him up, he said."

Gwen caught Stefan’s look and knew what he meant when he raised his eyebrow slightly. Andreas Schörff had been ill, had taken antibiotics and still had done sports. Dr. Peters had already explained to them impressively that this was not healthy.

"Did he have any other illnesses, or do you know if he was taking antibiotics or other painkillers regularly?"

"No, otherwise he was healthy. He hated drugs. He preferred to suffer from a cold one day longer than to take nasal spray. Where did you get that question?"

Gwen did not want to go into the subject any further and did not want to worry the sister unnecessarily.

"These are just routine questions. Don’t worry."

Gwen looked at Stefan and he nodded back without a word.

"Well, we have no further questions, but would like to take you to your brother’s apartment to see if you notice anything. Is that possible, Mrs. Schörff?"

Isabella pondered for a moment. Then she nodded. "Could you give me a ride?"

Gwen also confirmed this with a short nod.

"I just have to put on something else."

Isabella packed the pictures together again and brought them wordlessly into the living room. One could hear a closet and how the smock was taken off. Only now did the officers notice that the apartment had no other rooms. The living room also served as a bedroom. No wonder she was looking so enviously at her brother’s spacious apartment. And the apartment in the basement at her parents was certainly cheaper than this small flat in Hamburg, that was for sure.

After a good one-and-a-half-hour drive, from Hamburg to Gettorf, they arrived at the apartment. The mother did not spend long with welcoming ceremonies and greeted her daughter only with a short hug. Stefan and Gwen took note of this and followed Dorothee Schörff into the basement. After the door was opened, she disappeared without saying goodbye.

Carefully, the officers entered the apartment while Isabella followed them. "Please take a good look around to see if anything seems odd or noticeable" Gwen told Isabella, who pushed her into the apartment. She took her time to let the room take its effect on her. Stefan and Gwen watched her closely. Again, and again she stopped at individual pieces of furniture and sighed.

"Are you all right?" Stefan asked cautiously.

"I’m fine. Thanks. It’s just an awful lot of memories coming back."

She went on. Room by room, she inspected without touching anything. Finally, she returned to the officers who had been waiting at the entrance.

"And?" Gwen asked expectantly.

"It all looks just as I had known it before. Andreas did not redesign much and as you notice, he did not care about flowers or many pictures on the walls. So, the apartment is just a bit dusty. Even his laptop is still under his bed in the bedroom. I think nothing is missing. His beloved protein shakes are still at the blender, as he always preferred." Isabella faltered in her remarks and went to the desk. She tilted her head and looked over the dusty glass countertop.

"What? Did you notice anything?" Stefan asked and put on his latex gloves. "Please do not touch anything."

If it turned out that the apartment was no longer in the same condition as the sister knew him, Gwen and Stefan agreed to have a further investigation done and send forensics over. But if the sister would not notice any signs of burglary, theft or any other change either, they would close the case. Stefan was now tense inside.

"The dusty desk" Isabella began, "it’s not the same with dust everywhere."

"Hmm, it could be for many reasons. Please don’t touch anything. Let me see the laptop. I think we’ll take it back and examine it, just to be safe."

Isabella and Stefan disappeared into the bedroom, while Gwen took another look at the table. A rectangular area was indeed not as dusty as the rest of the table. Should that be enough to make a case for the story, she wondered? The sister had a motive, albeit a very weak one. Would she get rid of her brother so she could move into his apartment? Absurd! On the other hand, some perpetrators had killed for much less. Gwen wiped the idea aside. With her parents, she thought, everyone would probably move out rather than live here in the cellar with them under the same roof. The mother’s relationship with her daughter was far from intimate.

After the laptop was securely packed in a transparent bag, Stefan and Isabella came back to the front part of the apartment.

"We will now drive her home and then we will make our way to the LKA" Stefan determined the next steps.

They dropped Isabella off in Hamburg at her apartment in the Barmbek district. Then the investigators made their way to the LKA in Kiel and were able to speak openly for the first time in hours.

"What do you think?" Gwen wanted to know.

"Very strange family. The son lived very wealthy in his parents’ basement. But they didn’t accept how he earned his money. The sister was a run-down, vegetating in a tiny flat. She was jealous of her brother’s apartment, but the daughter’s relationship with her parents doesn’t seem to be the best either. To me, the motive of greed is too far-fetched."

"For me too" Gwen confirmed to her colleague.

"But somehow I feel the need to do some more research here. After all, the sister has credibly assured us that her brother was rather averse to medication. Nevertheless, he had more of them in his bloodstream than was healthy. AND … he was an athlete!"

"Yeah? What else?"

"Think about it! He did a lot of sports, had a good diet, was well built and cared about his body. He would never have taken so many drugs and done sports at the same time. I am convinced that he knew this was unhealthy and could even be life-threatening."

"So, we’re going to pursue this further?"

"Now I’m even more in the mood for in-depth research. I notice how I become restless inside and how I wish there was more behind it. Imagine this would be a case that we bring back to Germany from our holiday in Austria. That would be a nice story. I’m sure Phil will be curious, too, and would agree to go on."

"Gwen, get down back to earth! I also think we should do some more research here and I’m glad you’re so full of energy. That’s why I brought the laptop." Stefan winked at her.

"You just want to have fun, don’t you? That’s why you took the computer with you, to put it through its paces." Gwen smiled.

"You caught me, but in this situation, I don’t think we’ll take much. We’re both pulling in the same direction. I’m glad my Gwen is back."

Stefan put his hand on Gwen’s thigh, and she let it happen.

♦♦♦

For Stefan it was already routine. The steps he had to take to preserve evidence had become second nature to him. He didn’t think twice and plugged the forensic interface into the hard drive he had removed from the laptop. This special hardware prevented data from being accidentally written to the hard drive. He then created an exact image of the magnetic disk, which he would then examine in detail. Experience shows that this process took a while. He used this time to store his new credit card data in his employee profile. Schizophrenic, he thought, because after all, the finance department of the LKA had arranged for the exchange of the credit cards and so they could have stored the correct data in the employee profiles right away. There were certainly data protection concerns again, however, and so every single employee had to spend time to rummage through the menus in the confusing software in order to correct the data.

After Stefan had got himself another coffee, he met Gwen for an exchange of ideas. The question arose whether or not to launch a major investigation. Depending on how successful the investigation of the hard disk would be, they could still take further steps. There had been no criminal offence so far and they had no evidence that the jogger’s death was not self-inflicted by his irrational actions. Stefan pondered for a while and then came to the conclusion that they probably would not be able to get many clues out of the hard disk. If Andreas Schörff had done his job as a security consultant correctly, he would also handle his data very carefully in private. This would mean that the hard disk should not hold any particularly big secrets. Gwen agreed with Stefan somewhat discouraged. Nevertheless, they would wait for the result of the hard disk investigations before taking further action.

While Gwen was forced to store the credit card data in the employee software, Stefan started to examine the image of the hard disk. The copy process was complete, and Stefan stowed the cables in his work cabinet. He put the original hard disk back into the laptop and sealed them in the large plastic bag he had already used to transport the computer to the LKA. He started the software that run the automatic analysis of the hard disk data. First of all, it searched for deleted files, which the user had simply dragged to the trash and then deleted the trash. Stefan took advantage of the fact that these files could be restored under certain circumstances by the intelligent software. The rough analysis was regularly done by hand, as he could get valuable information during the time the automatic analysis took.

Stefan searched through the installed programs, the history of the data used, and the mail program of Andreas’ computer. Apparently, Andreas was registered with several dating services on the internet. The mail traffic indicated that he had met many women in the last months. Not only in Kiel and surroundings, but mainly in other cities in Germany. Stefan made notes of the places, as each of the contacts could, in the worst case, also be a supplier for the drugs.

Structured, Stefan dug further through the data and paused when he went to the browser to analyze the last visited internet pages. Apart from the online portals of the dating services, there were no other bookmarks in the internet browser. When Stefan wanted to examine the temporary files, he found out that there were no files on this computer even for the visits to the websites of the dating services. Stefan’s curiosity was aroused. How could it be that Andreas had obviously visited the dating services regularly, so much could be seen from the mail traffic, but there were almost no traces of these visits on his computer? Stefan checked the list of installed programs. Three of them made his heartbeat faster.

One program was designed exclusively to delete all temporary data created during an Internet session or while printing documents, when Windows was closed. However, this was not a normal deletion, but a forensically secure overwriting with random numbers. Stefan immediately thought of his magic program, which examined the hard disk data in the background. It would have little chance of detecting information that had been deliberately and so carefully overwritten with random numbers. This would make any sense of the files disappear, and a subsequent recovery would be impossible.

The second program managed virtual disks and encrypted these containers. All data stored on these virtual disks and finally in such a container were impossible to recover if long and good passwords