Original subtitles

- Ls that blood? Can we analyse it? - Send it to Hanover.

Gerke thinks Becker is abroad It'll take years to find him.

Now they're pulling out a car.

Juergen, tell me what's in it.

You have to tell me what to do.

Suicide!

Becker killed himself

We don't prosecute dead people. That's the law.

We completely messed up and now it's over?

Anne!

You have to find her.

Promise.

DARK WOODS

1967 ISEFORST

ISEFORS TMURDERS STILL UNSOLVED AFTER 15 YEARS

42 years in police service. 25 years as the Chief of Federal Police

You were even the vice president of police. A perfect career.

A pioneer of new methods to fight crime.

But the prevention of crime and caring for traumatised victims

have always been important to him.

He discovered and promoted the talents of many colleagues.

One, Frank Behringer, now follow in his footsteps.

Thanks, Thomas Bethge.

Would say "Mission accomplished.'

Thank you.

YEARS LATER, HAMBURG

Klaus and Ingrid suggest the Italian where we celebrated your 70th. 70th. Remember?

Ingrid said they have a tip for a wonderful little hotel in Sardinia

I've got a Children's Aid meeting, then I'll meet Ingrid.

She'll give me the hotel brochure

Then I'll visit your mother to water the flowers.

And on Sunday we'll go to the theatre.

No excuses this time.

All right...

When will you finally do something?

I don't know.

It was probably the wrong ointment.

Three different ointments in six months and and every night sweat-soaked pyjamas.

How much longer do you want to wait?

What shall I do?

You've been retired for ten years.

Correct.

Do you have an idea what causes what causes it?

No.

Well...

Nightmares.

You mentioned your sister.

She has never been found?

Do you think she's still alive?

I believe she was killed.

How does your family deal with it?

My family needs closure.

We want to finally be able to bury her

My family think...

My family expect the police...

That I...

- You should do more? - Exactly.

And what do you say when your family asks you?

I'm silent.

Withhold what is, or isn't.

You want to protect your family?

This will help you.

What is this?

A group of people who've had similar experiences.

- But I thought... - You have to face your sadness

Talk about everything openly Also with your family.

Otherwise you'll lose each other.

Don't argue again, okay?

I booked for June 15. Two weeks.

Nice.

Did you hear that, Robert?

- Where to? - A little hotel in Sardinia

- Thomas is looking forward to it. - We've never been there

I asked Theresa if she'd come along. She said she's too busy.

Did she find a job?

She cut ties with us.

Well, Thomas is doing therapy now

The therapist said we should talk to each other.

Openly talk about everything Also about what scares us.

I think it's important, for Theresa too.

Agree.

Robert?

Did she say anything else?

I didn't go back.

I'll go to Weesenburg again.

- Why? - To see how far they've come

- With their claim I killed Barbara? - This isn't about you, Robert.

- Darling, this... - It's been about me for 20 years!

Everything will start all over again.

Prosecutor's Office Weesenburg, Lower Saxony

Hello, Mr Bethge. Mr Leest will be late

He's still in a meeting.

- Thanks for squeezing me in. - Of course. This way, please.

Thanks.

2-2

Stop worrying.

I'm fine again. I'll start living again.

It feels good.

You don't have to take care of me anymore, okay?

Robert Neder, this should make you hand yourself in.

He told me you paid him to bury your wife.

Yes, I'll call it a day.

Yes.

Good evening, Prosecutor.

Mr Bethge.

Are you convinced we repeatedly examined your sister's case over the last 20 years?

- Sadly, much ado about nothing - saw that last month.

Nice. Shakespeare. Shakespeare. Which theatre?

- Did that letter to Robert lead anywhere? - From Becker's former inmate?

- Yes. - No, he was unreliable.

That's why he prosecuted, sadly.

We really did everything we could.

You haven't done anything for 20 years. The files are incomplete and full or errors.

- I'll go through them all. - You're retired.

If you have questions, talk to one of our investigators

- Before you alone.. - I'm not alone.

Can you hear me?

My name is Anne name is Anne Bach.

Now what?

Piss off!

Piss off!

I'll get in the car with him.

You want to get into the car with the guard and just disappear?

Always looking over your shoulder?

I just want to get a away!

Because you didn't want any of this?

Yes.

Snipers, to your positions.

Before we continue

I'd like to have a doctor treat the guard and your friends

- They're dead. - We don't know I that. We'd like to check

- Target acquired. - I'd like to send two unarmed men.

They'll get the guard and your friends out.

But don't move, otherwise they might think..

No! No men.

Want to get away.

You're probably thinking...

Shit, this got out of control.

Snipers in position

- But I know that you... - Awaiting command.

You want it to be over.

Hold your fire.

You don't want it to get worse You're brave enough.

Hands up!

Don't move!

Don't touch the weapon.

Don't touch the weapon.

Not bad

- Thanks. - Of course.

- Did he call you as well? - He did.

It sounds important. I told him we could meet today.

It's nice to see you. Especially you, Miss Bach.

I heard you're head of your own department now.

Come on, what is this about?

I went to Weesenburg

Because of your sister? Is there a new lead?

No, but I have to do something

Why you?

Because the Weesenburg police don't do anything

Not since Becker committed suicide.

You're retired.

I can't do it on my own.

Need you both.

Please.

- Hello. - For Thomas Bethge.

Thanks.

Wait.

Thomas?

- How many files are there? - All in all, 15,000 to 16,000.

All of these are about my sister.

And all of those are cases that have to do with Juergen Becker.

His file said

newspaper articles about several crimes were found in his house.

Even the Iseforst murders.

- How did you get these? Warrant from the surviving dependants

Thorough.

All right. We have to find my sister.

The answer might be here.

I'm not a policeman anymore. You can't investigate in Lower Saxony.

So we must build a case so strong

that the prosecutor and those experts in Weesenburg

have to reopen the case.

If they don't want to investigate, we must make them.

Yes?

Bethge used his lawyer to obtain our files.

Pardon?

I don't know his strategy. But if he read them what would he find?

Nothing we didn't find ourselves.

Good.

Let him read the dusty files until he dies

Thanks.

- Say hi to your wife. - And you to Hamburger SV.

In the preliminary proceedings against Robert

there is no reasonable doubt

that Robert Neder killed his wife

on the night of 15 August 1989. In his house in Weesenburg.

He then took her to an unknown location.

- I remember that. - Not even the date is right.

What about that anonymous letter from Juergen Becker's fellow inmate?

- He told him that Robert. - I don't think that's true.

The Chief Prosecutor said he wasn't trustworthy.

We don't exclude anyone, right?

Yes.

But let's start with Becker.

What else is there to do?

We must talk to contemporary witnesses.

See if Becker committed morecrimes

What about the items from his house? Are there results?

Not from back then.

We're trying to get them from Lower Saxony. We might find a clue that leads to Barbara.

And we have to analyse Becker's suicide notes.

Should have worked with you sooner.

Everything in its own time.

I don't like your blood results.

Are you stressed?

You probably had a mini-stroke. That's possible.

- I've always had stress. - Do you still have your firm?

Sold it.

There are those thoughts that keep spinning like cogs than don't fit

100 thoughts, but none fit together.

Something seems to be broken

I thought you could repair that.

The cogs?

Maybe there are pills to make it stop.

We both know why you're depressed.

Pills won't help you long-term.

They'll kill you.

HAMBURG, TWO MONTHS LATER

All right.

That was the last file

Let's review the possible perpetrators.

Let's assume your brother-in-law is the murderer.

Robert Neder acts deliberately and according to plans.

He's ambitious, but not greedy Money doesn't matter.

He has a daughter with Barbara and owns a successful firm.

I can't see a motive.

If we exclude a crime of passion because Barbara threatened him?

I think that's unlikely, but...

Lisa Kimmrich and Andrea Becker are out.

We don't know I about Neder.

That leaves us with...

an unknown perpetrator, Heiner Mertens and...

Juergen Becker

What about that friend, Mertens? What do we know about him?

Heiner Mertens grew up with his grandmother as Becker's neighbour.

No living relatives, but I spoke to his ex-wife

She said Becker and Mertens were close friends since childhood.

Mertens was devoted to him He did everything for him.

Took on loans, did all his work and even imitated him

- When? - During sex.

She mentioned sadistic ideas.

Choking, bondage, stuff like that.

He tried stuff out on her that Juergen Becker told him about.

Mr Mertens?

We spoke on the phone.

Do you remember me?

Yes.

Do you know who I am, Mr Mertens?

Thomas Bethge. I'm Barbara Neder's brother.

Thanks for talking to us

It's about Juergen Becker.

- Juergen is dead - Yes.

We think he was involved with my sister's disappearance.

I know that it's tough to talk about the past, but I need your help.

I need to know what happened to my sister.

My whole family does.

You can tell us.

You're silent because Juergen Becker was involved, right?

Am I right in thinking that?

You don't have to say anything.

Just nod to confirm it.

He said you mustn't let him down.

Like he never let you down. Is that right?

I can't...

I can't help you.

I know. Not yet.

But maybe we can come back, if we have any questions.

See you.

He's almost there, but you have to give him more time

We have a key witness who doesn't speak.

Sorry.

It got late.

- How was your day? - Good. I went jogging again.

- I've been thinking - About what?

Properties in Florida

What do you think about moving to Florida?

For ever.

Nothing

I met Marianne

Oh yeah?

- Thomas is finally making progress - Oh yeah?

What is it?

Nothing

They talked to a former friend of that Becker.

He seems to know something.

What?

Just call Thomas.

Pages about Becker are missing from my sister's case files. It's weird.

Not if he was a confidential police informant

and someone cleaned up the files.

We know Becker met your sister shortly before she disappeared.

Two convictions in his youth

for rape and attempted murder.

He fled when his house was was searched.

Later he committed suicide in pretrial detention for a rather harmless charge.

Let's review his suicide notes.

He keeps mentioning that house.

I still think the property and the house are the key.

"I can't think of anything else for the terrace, or conservatory.

“Heiner shall clean the gutter above the basement entrance.

"but carefully, as he isn't a good handyman.

I don't think I have to state my biggest wish after my death.

The house and the land.

Try together, to preserve the house as it is.

Juergen Becker.

Why was the house so important to him even after his death?

Becker's wife won't let us into the house.

Leon Kantor.

He took over the house the mortgage and Becker's widow.

- Maybe we can enter the house via him. - It's risky.

- We have to go via the Weesenburg police. - That could take some time.

We must review the items found in the search Weesenburg didn't analyse everything.

The items from the Becker case were destroyed four years ago.

The files don't instruct that. Who did it?

There was water damage and mould.

So there is no more relevant evidence?

What about the handcuffs with blood on them?

Did you analyse them?

See.

I'll call you.

- See you. - See you.

Bye.

He won't give up.

- We need to know every step they take - We're working on it.

He's looking for a culprit. If he finds mistakes, he'll beat us with them.

They destroyed everything? The handcuffs too?

Yes.

I don't think forensics took everything when they searched the house.

What about the remaining witnesses?

The hitchhiker who sent Becker to prison?

She's changed her name since since then.

- So we're at a dead end? - Not quite.

Kantor urgently needs money.

He'd sell the house for the right price.

How do you know?

- An undercover agent spoke to him. - What? That That wasn't the deal.

- We have to get in there. - It's too risky.

We have to go in with the Weesenburg police

That could take years. I thought we...

Yes, we! Not alone. Not behind my back.

- Your brother-in-law has money - Leave my family out of it.

I saved your arse 100 times because of your solo actions.

You're ruining everything.

That's enough.

Theresa, please

Theresa, please

I'm busy. Come back later.

We're here now.

We haven't seen you for ages. Open the door, please.

No.

Why not?

Because she's dead.

Theresa, we don't know if she's dead.

We do. She ran away and now she's dead.

Like my mother, too. You always say "too", but I know.

You know nothing. You stay in your flat and waste your time.

I'm cutting you off. If you want anything, you'll have to talk to me.

Four years

- We have to take a few shortcuts - Not like this.

As if we could always follow the rules.

We have to take different paths. New paths.

Thomas Bethge works systematically, always within the rules.

Kantor said Becker wanted rich, needy women to finance him.

He always had money problems.

Barbara Neder fits that model.

Bethge will disagree. That's not how he sees his sister.

Give him another chance.

I don't know what I'd do if it was my...

Thanks.

You're right.

I know.

We have no witnesses, no physical evidence

No house. Nothing.

What if it wasn't Becker?

Heiner Mertens knows what Juergen Becker did.

He's suffering from what he's holding back. He will talk.

Where's my wife buried?

Go away.

I know about you. You were always with him.

Where did he bury Barbara?

Juergen is dead.

Do you know what this is?

30,000 euros

30,000 if you tell me where he buried Barbara

want to know.

Think about it

Nobody will find out.

- Leave me alone. Want it to stop, please.

Please.

We had a lot of plans for this year.

True.

Will you promise me something?

I'll try.

Once you feel you're not making progress

you'll stop, okay?

Worry that this will break you.

I'm looking after myself.

I promise.

Those damn moles always come back.

Can we talk?

Did you offer Heiner you offer Heiner Mertens money?

What for?

What do you think?

To solve the case that Weesenburg's cops and you can't.

You're the reason he stopped talking to us.

Right.

Sorry.

- Was that it? - No, I need you.

We can buy Becker's house.

What for?

Want to find Barbara.

It's been 25 25 years.

- What do you want to find there? - I've stalled, Robert.

We need to know what happened to Barbara

Those who suspect you need to know too. Otherwise we've lost.

Can't buy his house.

If you need money, borrow it from a bank.

Frank, thanks for calling.

- I wanted to apologise - Just forget it.

Good news Looks like Kantor will let us into the house.

An undercover agent talked to him and he's willing to help us.

Good. - I'm on my way.

Let's try it.

But not for long. Andrea will be back in an hour.

Thank you.

Come here.

There are some boxes boxes here.

Inspired by true events.