Original subtitles

CLOCK TICKS

CAMERA CLICKS

BELL CHIMES

WOMAN: Frau Schmollinger. Welcome to the fairy tale.

Please, sit.

MAX (VO): A painter once wrote: "There is nothing in this world

that is not beautiful.

You can take the plainest, most unprepossessing thing

change the light

change the perspective, and voilà

it becomes dazzling."

A hundred years later

a Viennese doctor wrote

that beauty is redundant.

It has no use and yet

it can become the most dangerous thing in the world.

It can become the source of an addiction.

MAX: Who's it for?

It's Jurgens.

Peters. - MAX: Peters.

For Petra.

Who's it for? - MAN: Just your name.

Right.

Ladies, thank you for your excellent work

but it's time to go home.

Aren't you coming, Adele? - No, I just want to finish off here.

Alright.

So, you're going to lock up? - Of course.

You work too hard, Adele.

ADELE: See how beautiful I am?

Come. Touch me.

OSKAR: Can you tell me her name?

Adele...

Zeiler.

How long did she work for the company?

MAN: I don't know, maybe a year.

I... I left her alone last night to lock up.

Any idea what happened here? - No, sorry, Inspector...

Inspector. - Doctor.

No wounds of any kind. No sign of a struggle. No bruising.

Might simply be a heart attack. Hard to say.

Move, out of my way. What's all this about?

What happened to her, Inspector?

Reinhardt, Leopoldstadt Police.

Her underwear was on the floor beside her.

Looks like she had intercourse.

No signs that she was raped.

Well then, Doctor...

how did she die?

Very fine weapon. Like a needle.

Directly inserted into her brain.

Difficult to achieve but somehow he managed it.

Thank you, Doctor.

BELL RINGS

I'm looking for Doctor Liebermann.

Who shall I say is calling?

Inspector Rheinhardt. A friend.

You'll have to wait. He's with a patient.

Thank you.

Why do you wash them so often?

I scrub and I scrub.

But I never feel truly clean, Doctor.

I want you to consider that perhaps it's not dirt

you're trying to scrub away.

I don't understand your meaning.

Well, perhaps it's something else.

Perhaps it's a memory? - Memory...

See you next week? - Yes.

You tracked me down to my apartment, then?

You can't hide from me, Max.

Please, come in.

HE WHISTLES

A tiny puncture wound received to the back of her neck.

Dr Jaeger tells me her death almost certainly would have been instantaneous.

MAX: Mm, the occipital bone.

When the head is tilted forward

there's a tiny aperture giving access to the brain stem.

Someone who knew what they were doing.

A... a surgeon or a doctor?

Please don't touch that, thank you.

So, they...

were intimate and...

and then he murdered her straight after.

No apparent motive. A senseless crime.

What do you think?

Do you have a different interpretation?

I found it deep inside the wound. Must have broken off.

Some sort of pin. It's a long shaft.

JAEGER: Maybe a hatpin?

What more can you tell us, Max?

What about the dress? - I'm taking fibres for analysis.

It's elegant. Not her size.

Borrowed it off a mannequin.

So she was expecting company.

She... dressed up.

Hold please.

Eager to impress him.

Max, what are you doing?

A re-enactment. You're the victim. I'm the killer.

Would you like me to clear some space on the floor

so you can lie down together?

No, thank you, Doctor.

There were no bruises on the body?

No blood beneath the fingernails

so it means she probably consented to lie with him.

We've already come to the same conclusion, without the theatrics, Dr Liebermann.

Oh, but then why kill her?

Maybe they argued. A crime of passion?

The wound was precise. It wasn't inflicted in a rage, Inspector.

Max? There must be something?

The French call it "La petite mort".

The little death.

I believe she was killed during their communion.

Stabbed at the point of sexual climax.

OSKAR MUTTERS

That was very helpful, thank you.

You're welcome.

Inspector, Max. - Fraulein Weiss.

I didn't expect to see you here.

You're not interested in fashion, are you?

Uh, no, no, um...

We're here on a case, actually.

Really?

What about you?

Are you here for a fitting or...

Of course. Women only have one thing on their minds:

looking glamorous.

Right, yes, sorry. - Actually, I'm here on business.

Oh? What business is that?

My business, and none of yours.

Well... It was lovely to see you again.

You too, good day.

A fine collection you have here.

KRISTINA: Torture instruments, most of them.

The price of beauty.

I keep them to remind myself: it's my mission to free Vienna's women.

Thank you.

Adele had been with a man shortly before she died.

The dress, the way we found her. She was dressing up for their encounter.

She entertained him after everyone had gone.

They had intercourse right where we found her.

Dear God! I had no idea-- - Shh...

How did she die, Inspector?

She was murdered. A hatpin inserted into the brainstem.

You live here, above the workroom?

Yes.

And last night?

My husband was here with me.

Selma and Valentin have rooms upstairs.

You're saying that she was murdered

whilst the four of us were on the premises?

God!

How many men work here?

Valentin, obviously, and Ludo Rainmayr, our photographer.

Well, your husband, your secretary and your photographer

will all need to present themselves for interview.

This is Aschenputtel?

KRISTINA: Yes.

Cinderella begging for a dress to make her beautiful.

Transformation. That's my job.

I provide the magic.

Frau Vogl.

OSKAR: I've seen bad things

I've seen terrible things on the job, for sure.

We've been to very dark places, but...

this is beyond my comprehension.

It's not the dead that excites him, Oskar. It's death itself.

He has to be there at that precise moment.

It's a kind of... penetration.

There's your motive.

Do you have to speak about it with quite so much relish?

Some boys collect butterflies. - And for you, it's murderers.

What's the matter with you, Max?

All murders are sickening, Oskar. Why do you find this one so repellent?

Why do you find it so fascinating?

Sometimes you actually sound like you...

you're enjoying it.

Murder as a sexual act.

What?

Affection, intimacy are sacred, beautiful things, Max.

What kind of man taints these things with murder?

That's exactly why we need to find him.

Exactly why we need to peer inside his mind.

Mm...

Well, that was interesting, to run into Clara again.

She didn't seem happy to see you.

Yes. Too many things have happened. Too many...

We had a flirtation.

Mm?

The next thing I know, she's called off her engagement.

Oh.

Quite a scandal, huh?

MAX: Mm...

It's like two stars colliding, whenever we come together.

We agreed never to meet again.

Always seems to end in devastation.

To devastation. - To devastation.

Adele was a promising young seamstress.

Did you know much about her private life?

Came to Vienna to find work...

No family.

She was all alone in the world.

OSKAR: Did she ever make any sexual advances?

No.

HE SCOFFS I don't know their names...

the women that toil in the back room.

OSKAR: What is your work at the salon?

I'm the photographer. I work with the models.

I won't be much use to you.

To be honest, I'm quite busy so...

may I go?

What's your field of expertise, Doctor?

I'm in General Practice.

Why?

OSKAR: Adele was killed by a hatpin inserted to the base of her brainstem.

Whoever did it had some skill in anatomy.

My wife and I were together in our apartment.

I'm sure she will vouch for me.

It's back-breaking work.

Look here, my hands are raw.

If you're unhappy here, maybe it's time you left us, Selma.

MENDEL: Ah!

Here's that chambray. Oh, and the new silk poplin is here.

MENDEL CHUCKLES - LEAH: Oh...

Eh? - It's beautiful.

Mm-hm.

Oh, the copen blue is gorgeous. - Mm.

Max!

I'm sorry, am I disturbing you? - No.

Changed your mind, decided to join the family business?

Too late, I'm afraid. Your sister is running things now.

Keeps us all in line!

I just had one question.

Are you telling us that someone was actually murdered when wearing this?

That's not the sort of enquiry we get that often.

It just seemed sort of unusual, the design, I mean

and I wondered if it had some sort of significance.

Very intricate. Looks almost Slavic. - LEAH: Mm.

Who's the designer?

A woman named Kristina Vogl. - Oh.

I know her. She's quite the latest thing.

Loose-fitting, billowing sleeves, no corsets.

Very modern.

Not the sort of thing your mother would wear.

Or anyone's mother, to be honest.

The victim was wearing it?

Dressed in it specifically to entertain her killer.

I don't know much about Frau Vogl, Max, but...

But?

Well, there are rumours.

What rumours?

Well, she's an artist after all!

They say she's not entirely... normal.

Oh, Papa. How can you be such a dreadful old gossip?

Well, you only have to look at the designs, Leah.

Vogl's women look like they've been stuffed into a paper bag.

Like she's disguising their femininity.

It's called fashion.

But I don't suppose that word has any meaning around here, does it?

Sure you don't still want that job after all, Max?

Ha!

Yes, well, thank you, Papa.

Any callers, Elena? - No, sir. Just the mail there.

Thank you. You can leave.

MAX (VO): "If there is beauty in all things, then surely death is among them.

Consider the roses, cut from their stems at the exact moment of blooming.

You are looking for me, I know.

But maybe you have already met me. Maybe I am closer than you think.

I am the man who killed her.

OSKAR: "If there is beauty in all things then surely death is among them."

It's just as I thought, Oskar. He finds death sexually alluring.

I don't understand. What...

Max, what is the connection?

That's why he killed her with the pin, a deliberately tiny wound

so as not to spoil her beauty.

Do you think he's boasting?

You think that's why he wrote this?

I think he wants company on his journey.

I think his madness is a lonely place to live.

OSKAR SIGHS

It was forwarded from the hospital. So, he doesn't know where I live. Not yet.

He followed the cases we've done together.

He thinks I'm a connoisseur of murderers.

I alone can appreciate his "gift".

The price of fame!

Mm...

Hold on... forwarded from the hospital?

And delivered by hand this morning.

Did you look at the post-mark?

It's from a week ago.

That was before Adele Zeiler was murdered.

That doesn't make any sense.

"I am the man who killed her." Killed.

He says it like it's already happened.

He's not talking about Adele.

There's another victim, somewhere.

Yes? - How was your meeting at the station?

I'm sorry.

This has been difficult for you.

For us all.

Would you mind?

Dr Vogl said--

You work for me, not my husband.

Now do as I ask.

RAINMAYR: Sending the little doggie to run your errands.

And off he goes, wagging his little tail.

He's loyal. Always has been.

But loyalty is something you will never appreciate.

HE SCOFFS

You know what I think?

I think secretly he wants to dress up in one of your gowns.

That's why he hangs around here, sniffing at your heels.

HE KISSES

INDISTINCT STREET CHATTER - DOG BARKS

DISTANT ORGAN MUSIC PLAYS

CAMERA CLATTERS

LISA: Inspector? - Fraulein Linder.

Dr Liebermann.

How can I help you? - We are looking for unexplained deaths.

Women, young women, who died under mysterious circumstances.

The wound would have been very small, back of the neck

and it may not have been recorded.

Also evidence of sexual congress just prior to death--

Gentlemen...

do you have any idea how many women are murdered in Vienna?

Well, if anyone can find her, Fraulein...

Of course. - Just cases from the last few weeks.

Here's one. She...

worked in the flower market.

Flower market?

"Consider the roses, cut from their stems..."

"...at the exact moment of blooming."

That's what he meant. Do we have a name?

Mathilda Brunner.

When did she die?

The case is relatively new. Reported a week ago.

And the officer on duty?

Detective Taube. - Inspector Rheinhardt.

What can I do for you? - Mathilda Brunner. You recall the case?

Didn't pay the rent on time.

Landlord broke into her apartment. Found her dead. Nothing more to it.

May I have a look at the file a moment?

Thank you.

It doesn't mention a cause of death. - Nothing that we could find.

You didn't order a post-mortem? - For a slum death?

Happens all the time. - And so you closed the case on her?

Poor girl was ragged

thin, barely skin and bone.

We need to see that body.

What?

Dr Liebermann consults with us on these matters.

Pauper's grave.

You may be lucky. They might not have sealed it.

There. That one. The white shroud.

Put her in a couple of days ago.

Sure you want to see her?

Won't be pretty. - Just help me get her out, would you?

HE GROANS

That her?

There it is.

Barely noticeable.

Puncture wound to the back of the head.

Could be post-mortem.

Could have happened in the grave site. - Don't be ridiculous!

She was murdered and you failed to spot it.

No. Now, wait a minute...

She was the first.

Adele Zeiler was next. There'll be more, Oskar.

This is just beginning.

Thank you, Doctor. Fraulein.

Identical methods. We're looking at a multiple murderer.

Hmm...

He's just beginning his... work.

And then there's this.

Ah...

Interesting.

Dr Liebermann has an admirer?

It's common among psychotic killers.

They feel the need to share their plans. They want an audience.

So...

Taube...

You didn't identify the wound?

No, sir... I...

Rather sloppy bit of work.

You can go.

You're no longer needed here.

So...

Reinhardt...

you've done well.

I guess...

you should take the reins... on both murders.

What's the matter with him? - What do you mean?

I've never seen him smile before.

LANDLORD: This way, Inspector.

It's a real tragedy that she died. - Is it?

Yes, of course, she was behind with the rent, two months.

It's just through here.

Fraulein Brunner's apartment. Where I found her.

Hey! Out of my way, girl! Come on! Go home! Go!

This way, Inspector.

Who are these men, Haas? What are they doing here?

Police. Get into your apartment.

Ha! I hope they've come to arrest you.

For making us live in this pigsty!

I said get back in your apartment!

Damned trouble-maker.

DOOR CLATTERS

"She will never fade. Not like the dead blooms."

He was describing her death scene...

Death, you horror of nature

ever moving runs your clock.

Poor girl. She was so sweet-natured.

But also lonely.

Did you ever see a man with her?

There were always men. Never the same one twice.

You think you'd recognise a face?

I doubt it.

Mm...

Just in case...

you think of anything else.

Inspector?

You really want to arrest some criminals?

That bastard who owns this place.

We pay him rent and he does nothing for us.

Anything else I can help you with, Inspector?

Yes.

The next time I come back here, I want the place to be cleaned up.

There are rats running around.

And there are children playing here.

These people pay next to nothing.

They give you what they can afford.

They are used to living in squalor. This is how they were brought up.

And, I mean, what do you expect? Most of them are immigrants.

Keeping people no better than animals. I'd say that was a crime.

And my business is to punish criminals. In whatever way I choose.

Do you understand?

Yes. - Yes, what?

Yes, Inspector.

Don't disappoint me.

Your hat.

Alright. Well, I'm beginning to see glimpses of him.

Pictures forming.

Mm, alright then.

What do you see?

Some time in his past, perhaps in his youth?

He's witnessed death close at hand.

He's seen someone die and yet...

What?

It only rendered them more beautiful.

OSKAR: That hardly narrows it down, Max.

Everyone, at some time in their life, suffers a bereavement.

It doesn't explain what started this spate of killings.

Something took him back to that moment.

Re-awoke those feelings inside him.

What?

What if we play his game?

Encourage him to keep making contact?

How would you plan to do that?

Well, I could give an interview. In the newspaper.

Some small acknowledgement. A little... flattery.

What if that spurs him into his next act of violence?

Oskar, he's like a child who wants attention from a parent.

If I can show him I understand, then perhaps he'll talk to me.

The psychopathy of this killer is unlike anything I have ever encountered before.

He is obsessed by beauty...

Is that a new suit?

...and he wishes to preserve it, like pinning a butterfly to a board.

Wait!

I'm here, I'm here.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Thank you, gentlemen.

PIANO MUSIC PLAYS

So? What happened?

We're celebrating. My first article for the newspaper.

SHE GASPS

You sold it? - Yes.

Oh, congratulations, darling.

It's a piece about the fashion industry in Vienna.

How exciting!

An interview with Kristina Vogl, and it will be published on Monday.

Is she as odd as they say she is?

My father thinks she's positively scandalous!

What's wrong?

I ran into your brother.

Ah, yes, um...

There was an incident at the Vogl workshop.

Apparently, a girl was killed there.

Yes, I heard. Terrible.

Max is assisting the police.

You know how he likes to make a nuisance of himself.

Mm... - THEY CHUCKLE

Anyway. Let's celebrate! To your new career!

Prost! - Prost!

Are you alright, Kristina?

Can't seem to find the inspiration.

You've had a shock. My poor sweet.

It's only to be expected.

I thought we'd agreed...

I haven't been sleeping, Heinz.

Forgive me.

It's my fault.

I should've never prescribed it.

It's not your fault.

I sent Valentin to get it for me.

What is the matter?

There's something else, something...

Something's wrong.

What is it?

I'm not sure. - Kristina.

The night that Adele died.

I think I might have seen something.

I should go to the police.

Tell them everything.

What if you're mistaken?

You've had episodes before.

This wasn't an hallucination.

Mathilda Brunner.

A flower girl.

Worked at the flower market on Hollandstrasse.

No family.

Not much income.

Living in a slum apartment.

Second victim. Adele Zeiler. Worked as a seamstress. Michaelerplatz.

OSKAR: They were both poor...

rather lonely, needy.

OSKAR: What's the connection?

They were both drawn to beauty.

The borrowed dress, the flowers.

Where would you go?

Hm? - If you were him.

If you were scouting the city for victims.

Where would you hunt for them?

ORGAN MUSIC PLAYS

DOGS BARK

INDISTINCT STREET CHATTER

You like these pictures?

I think she's beautiful.

I wish I could be a model.

Pretty girl like you.

Would you like me to help you?

I could make you into a goddess.

I've thought about it, Heinz. - About what?

I have to talk to the police.

And tell them what?

You saw a shadow? A spectre?

The night that Adele died, you were in no state to be a credible witness.

Maybe I can end this.

Please, for the sake of your reputation, don't get involved.

Alright.

Ready?

I suppose.

But where is the gown?

The gown?

Well? - Well.

So?

Good.

Please.

Keep going.

A man?

I saw him distinctly.

He was inside the house that same evening.

Why didn't you come forward before?

I couldn't recall him at first.

The shock, you understand, Inspector.

I've been ill.

Some medicines can produce an hallucinogenic effect.

You think this man could have been an illusion?

That's why you asked me to come here?

He had no face, Inspector.

He was masked. Featureless.

A black mask stretched across his face. No strings, like it...

like it was fused to his skin.

You understand why I was unwilling, at first, to trust my senses?

You touch my hair, get off me! - Be quiet!

You stink! Let me go! I want to go home now! Let me go!

All the herrings wanted me to eat them. I didn't even swallow!

I just put it in my mouth for a moment! - Get out!

Inspector.

Ah, hello again...

Therese Thanhofer.

We met before. Fraulein Brunner's apartment.

Of course. Of course. Please come in, Frau Thanhofer.

Do you have any further information for us?

SHE SIGHS I'm sorry.

Well...

have a seat.

Can I... - Haas. Our landlord.

I don't know what you said to him.

I heard you having an argument.

Forgive me. Sometimes I can be a little... blunt.

I've come here to say...

thank you.

Oh.

The apartments have been swept.

We've had builders in to fix the roof.

We've even had a visit from the rat-catcher.

A gift.

For you.

Mm...

I'd be glad to accept that.

Uh...

Therese. - Therese.

Oskar.

I'll be sure to come and call next time I need someone threatened...

Oskar.

Interesting piece in the newspaper, sir. - Yes, thank you, Elena.

What time's luncheon? I've got back-to-back patients this afternoon.

It's ready now. Oh, and the gentleman, he left, sir.

Gentleman?

He said he had an appointment.

There was no appointment. Who was he?

He didn't give a name.

He knocked at the door. I had my hands full.

What did he look like?

I didn't see his face.

But...

he left something for you.

Thank you.

He's obsessed by beauty

and he wishes to preserve it like pinning a butterfly to a board.

So, he knows where you live, Max?

MAX: Mm...

He's like a hound, a hunting dog, bringing gifts to its master

begging for his approval.

I'll put a police guard on the building. He's bound to come back.

This is exactly what we wanted. We wanted him to let his guard down.

Yes.

So? What's troubling you?

What's troubling me is your excitement.

Do you really have to put that thing up there, on display?

He's really got to you, hasn't he?

Yes. I admit it.

He repels me.

Why don't you feel the same way?

You keep telling me you're eager to get closer to him.

But when that happens, I will be the one who has to protect you.

So, I'm sorry but we are not going to be able to print your article.

Not going to print it?

I'm sorry.

But you said that...

I know and you can keep the money.

But all this scandal at Modesalon Vogl...

Look. People want to know about the crime story not just fashion gossip.

This was my first piece. - And you write very well. I'm sorry.

I know Max Liebermann.

We were close once.

Do you want me to go after the crime story?

Yes. Yes!

So you've come for a story.

He knows that I know you.

He wants details of the case.

Yes, well, I'm sorry, Clara, but I can't help.

You gave an interview to another paper.

Yes. Well, that... was different, it wasn't the same.

I think I can be good at this.

I'm smart. I can write.

The only thing that's missing is good contacts.

Oh, so that's what I've become, is it?

Don't you think that maybe I can be helpful to you?

I know the fashion world.

And you have to admit, it's completely alien to you!

HE SCOFFS

These women, all poor, all lonely.

They willingly let him into their lives.

He gave them something. Fulfilled their dreams.

Seems to me you need a woman's perspective.

Why can't we share information?

I'll tell you what I've learned at the salon

and you let me into your investigation.

What do you think?

I can't be your passport to a new life, Clara.

I wondered...

- What?

I wondered if you'd come in and sleep with me tonight.

It's been such a long time. I thought that you no longer want it.

It's just...

with everything.

With poor Adele dying.

I'd like to feel safe.

Just for one night.

Hm.

Of course.

Well, I must say... I'm impressed.

It's a very comfortable place you have here.

Yes. It'll be nice when it's decorated.

Decorated? What's wrong with it?

Eh, bit sparse. Thank you.

Reminds me of my chiropodist's surgery.

My mother's chinoiserie would look lovely on that sideboard.

Would you like it, Max?

No. Thank you. I don't want clutter.

It's hardly clutter. It's expensive.

Not quite the fashion though, Mama, is it? - Ah!

Of course if Klimt had made it...

Ah, well, that would be another story altogether, eh?

SHE CHUCKLES - TELEPHONE RINGS

RACHEL: Mm...

Who shall I say is calling?

Telephone, sir. - Yes, who is it?

Wouldn't give a name.

RACHEL: This is good. - Mm, delicious.

I wonder if it's a man or a woman? - Mendel...

Or could it be Amelia?

Max Liebermann. - HUSKY VOICE ON PHONE: Dr Liebermann.

I sent you a gift. Did you receive it?

Yes, thank you.

I don't need to ask if you understood its significance.

I did. Yes.

Do you think the apartment comes with the policeman outside?

Should we get one? - RACHEL LAUGHS

Oh, definitely!

You want me to understand you.

That's why you've contacted me.

MAN: You're a connoisseur of minds.

I imagine that mine

would merit detailed examination.

Do you think he'll come back to the table though?

Shh! He's probably working.

What? On the telephone? That's odd isn't it?

MAN: I have read your book.

You said "Beauty can be the source of an addiction."

Death excites you, doesn't it?

MAN: Death is a sublime experience.

Tell me about your first taste of it.

I remember... seeing a young girl in a coffin.

She was so peaceful, so beautiful.

Like she had been kissed by angels.

MAX: You want to preserve these women at their moment of greatest splendour.

Fulfil their dreams of beauty...

make the dream go on forever.

Max, the food's getting cold. Why don't you leave that?

MAN: I needed someone to appreciate my work.

You think I admire what you do?

MAN: I'm a true artist. I paint in death.

Soon there will be another work of art.

Tell me how you're choosing them?

Max? Aren't you coming back to the table?

PHONE CLICKS

OSKAR: What did he sound like?

Young. I mean the voice wasn't old. Educated.

You're certain that it was him?

HE SIGHS Yes.

He didn't sound manic. Rather charming, rather reasonable.

So you got what you wanted.

You even started to kindle a relationship.

Let's see if you can write his story before I put some lead in him.

Don't joke about it, Oskar.

I wasn't kidding.

So you have an admirer too?

And a good deal less sinister than yours.

Hmm...

The neighbour from the apartment block.

Apparently, things improved.

And she brought you some...

cake?

Yes, she did. Baked it herself.

Mm...

That's very interesting.

What?

Hm? The jam. It's, uh...

unusually thick.

Don't tell me.

You're making a psychological profile of a cake.

Judging by the sweetness, I'd say she's...

head-over-heels in love with you.

Do let me know if you want any further analysis.

Free of charge, of course.

Go. Get your own cake!

HE GRUNTS

SHE SCREAMS

There's someone there. - What? Where?

Someone was watching me. Through the skylight. I saw him.

Alright. Here.

You wait here. Stay there.

Be careful! Please! - Wait.

The skylight was open.

But whoever was out there, he's gone.

I saw him.

I swear, I swear.

You do believe me, don't you? Please tell me that you believe me.

I'd better check upstairs.

Check if Selma's alright.

Stay!

KNOCK ON DOOR

Selma?

Oh, my God.

My wife said she saw someone, climbing across the skylight.

She's downstairs. She's in shock. I'd better go to her.

Same method. Exact same pattern.

Did she have intercourse before?

Semen stains on her legs. And...

she's been beaten by a blunt instrument.

Maybe this one changed her mind.

Didn't want to go through with it.

Maybe he knocked her out to pacify her?

MAX: It doesn't quite fit, Oskar.

It's not his fantasy.

He wouldn't want to force himself upon her.

He'd want her to submit, willingly.

Well, maybe she fell.

Could the bruising have been post-mortem?

No.

MAX: Why come back here?

What is it about this Modesalon?

Inspector. - Haussmann?

I... I think I saw him, Inspector.

I think I saw her killer.

What?

I woke during the night and I went downstairs to the kitchen.

And in the study, I glimpsed what I assumed was a mannequin.

But maybe... - Go on.

Now I know there was an intruder.

Maybe I saw him. Her killer. But I can't be sure.

What did he look like?

I think he was wearing a mask.

Yeah, no, I'm sure he was wearing a mask.

And you saw him again? - Yes. Through the skylight.

Frau Vogl, I'm a doctor. I can recognise certain symptoms in you.

Constriction of the pupils, dysphoria--

I suffer terrible pains, Dr Liebermann.

My husband, he prescribed-- - Prescribes you laudanum.

You've suffered hallucinations as a result of the quantities you've taken.

Yes.

You understand the pressure of my business?

The constant need to summon up new ideas...

This is why you were initially reluctant to come forward.

Why you doubt yourself?

Heinz, my...

my husband, he explained that there was a chance

a chance that I was mistaken...

Never mind what your husband says.

Valentin saw him exactly the way you described him.

And you saw him twice. - Yes.

Trust yourself.

Did you notice the bed? - Mm-hm.

She sleeps alone.

They have separate bedrooms.

I see. So there goes his alibi.

There's something about this photographer, Rainmayr.

I swear I recognise him from somewhere...

Very nice.

KNOCK ON DOOR

Fraulein? - Inspector. Forgive me.

Is everything alright?

I wondered if I could beg a moment of your time?

Please.

You said you were trying to find some connection between the women.

The first two victims.

Yes. What have you found?

Maybe nothing.

I took this...

off the body of Adele Zeiler.

No relatives so no one's come to claim it.

I ran a few extra tests.

Oh.

It's definitely silver.

Odd, don't you think? A poor girl like that.

Able to afford expensive jewellery. Must be second-hand.

How can you be sure?

There was an inscription inside

but it's been removed.

Ah, forgive me, Fraulein

but how exactly does this help us?

A poor girl buys herself a piece of second-hand jewellery.

What does that tell us?

I took this

off the body of Mathilda Brunner.

All the original markings have been filed off as well.

Oh.

There's a second-hand jewellery market, near the Prater.

Oh, my God.

This is our connection.

DOG BARKS

INDISTINCT STREET CHATTER

You recognise these?

The inscriptions have been filed off them.

Like the others on your stall here.

So what? People prefer it.

Leopoldstadt Police.

It's not illegal selling second-hand jewellery.

Do you remember anything about the women who bought them?

Could be any one of a thousand women.

People pick up antiques on the cheap.

Has anyone been hanging around?

Perhaps chatting to the women who come here?

Hey, I mind my own business.

Listen. Three women are dead, brutally murdered.

All we know they have in common is that two of them came here to your stall

and purchased rings from you.

Look, I don't know anything.

Tell us about the rings. How do you come by them?

Someone brings them to me. - OSKAR: Someone?

I don't know his name. We split the money.

And where does he acquire them?

OSKAR: The stall owner told us someone brings them to him to sell.

A man who works for a funeral director, Schopp.

Inspector, this is preposterous! - Not at all. It makes perfect sense.

Someone here has decided to make some money on the side

selling jewellery stolen from corpses.

Look, I refuse to believe that-- - We're not here

to investigate the thefts, Herr Schopp.

That's not our concern.

He started hanging around the jewellery stall.

Meeting women.

Women who then became murder victims.

A man obsessed by the nature of death, the nature of beauty.

He calls himself an artist.

Who paints the corpses here?

Where is Sprenger? These gentlemen need to see him.

I let him go early.

He was dressed up smart. Looked like he had a date.

Hey! What the hell? - When was he last here?

Who? - Don't play games with me!

He hangs around here to meet women, after he's sold you the stolen pieces.

The woman! The last woman he spoke to!

She's a waitress at the Tavern.

The Bacchus Tavern.

They'll have an address for her.

Here you are. My handsome prince.

SHE MOANS

SHE SHRIEKS

Get away from her!

Dr Liebermann.

I've been waiting such a long time to talk to you in person.

A shame it couldn't be under more salubrious circumstances, Herr Sprenger.

You understand, don't you?

I'm no monster. It's a gift I'm giving them.

Those three women aren't beautiful, Sprenger.

They're food for worms now.

You're going to pay for what you've done to them.

Go! Go, go, Max!

SHE SOBS

Markus Sprenger?

Worked as an embalmer. Schopp and Sons.

And how did you track him down?

How...

How did you find him?

He was careless. Making money on the side.

Stealing jewellery from corpses.

Oh, interesting.

Sold the jewellery to a dealer in the marketplace

and then watched the stall.

Some of the girls bought rings from there. That's how he found them.

Well... well, congratulations.

Excellent result.

We shall call a press conference. So, where is he?

Oh, no.

Oh, no.

Please, please don't tell me...

Elena? I need you to run an urgent errand for me.

These need to be delivered to the hospital. Tonight.

And tell the officer on the door he can leave.

Sir, I-- - It's fine. Trust me.

DOORS CLICK SHUT

Doctor.

Herr Sprenger. Good evening.

Did you know that I would visit you?

I thought perhaps you might.

I've...

sent my housekeeper away.

Cleared my schedule.

DOOR CLOSES

So...

when did it begin?

This... compulsion?

I want to understand you.

Tell me everything.

I suppose when I was a boy, 13 years old.

A girl that I loved, she was taken from me suddenly.

And how did that child...

become a killer?

Mathilda.

The first victim?

And you met her at the jewellery stall by the Prater?

Her face, she was so like her.

Like my angel who died...

And then after you killed her...

you got a taste for it?

You said "three victims". When we met before.

It wasn't three.

I came back here to tell you that, doctor.

Mathilda, Adele, Selma.

I don't know her.

Selma. Who is she?

Are you saying you didn't kill her?

No, you have made a mistake.

The method of murder was exactly the same.

Someone is walking in my shadow.

Someone climbing on my shoulders! Using my reputation!

You're quite certain the killer has copied you?

To me, death is art.

I won't have some amateur soiling my name.

I see.

So that's why you've come here tonight.

You are my messenger.

You will proclaim what I have done in your next book.

I want you to tell the world I had nothing to do with this final murder.

Will you do that?

I will not be a part of your plan.

What?

I cannot deny that...

you fascinate me, but...

I will not participate in your game.

But you are the only one who truly understands me.

Those women died, Herr Sprenger.

Their lives cut tragically short by you.

I cannot tell the world you are anything other than a murderer.

There is no glory in what you do.

Do you know what this is?

They use it in a mortuary.

Herr Sprenger...

I imagined meeting you.

I didn't imagine it would go this way.

What are you waiting for?

Put down the knife, Herr Sprenger.

You don't think there's any art in what I'm doing?

Then the session's over!

MAX: How long were you planning to wait?

I thought you found him fascinating.

You told me you found peering into his mind captivating.

I was just giving you a chance for further study.

There's not much study I can do, now there's a bullet in his brain.

You heard what he said.

One murder unsolved.

This isn't over.

Selma was beaten senseless, remember? That's what was different about her.

Whoever killed her, they felt the need to pacify her.

Also, there was no ring here.

What is it?

Silver emulsion. Someone burnt a photograph.

The photographer, Rainmayr.

I know where I've seen him before, Max. Come.

INDISTINCT CHATTER

HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

We want to know about Selma.

I didn't know her that well.

I found traces of silver emulsion in her room.

A burnt photograph.

You and me. We've met before. Five years ago.

Thank you. You can go.

Ladies.

You were dealing in pornographic pictures.

You look fancier now, you changed your name, but I know you.

You want me to get a warrant to search your home?

What pictures would we find hidden away there, hm?

So why the burnt photograph?

People pay well for the stuff I provide.

Respectable people. People in business. Even some policemen.

Who was in it? Was it Selma?

Who, then?

Come forward!

I took her picture once.

Long time ago. But... - What?

We...

We were laughing. Selma and me.

We got drunk in her room one night. And that's when I told her.

What?

Someone who posed for me in the past.

I had the old photograph.

I showed it to her. Selma couldn't believe it.

Herr Rainmayr, who was in the image?

Marcus Sprenger was killed last night

whilst we were trying to apprehend him.

So...

it's over.

So it would appear.

We just came here to inform you.

Thank you, Inspector.

But, before we leave, would it be possible

to take one last look at the antique dresses?

You see my family's in the fabric business

and I'd love a chance to examine the collection.

Of course.

Be careful. It's very delicate.

There are no masks in your collection?

I...

I believe they were used.

To provoke sexual desire.

What's all this about, Doctor?

You weren't always quite so successful, were you?

Your life was once a great deal harder.

The painting of Aschenputtel.

The girl in rags who becomes a princess.

That's you, isn't it?

That's your story.

I suppose.

I've worked my way up. Certainly, I've been lucky.

OSKAR: Not all the time.

Ludo Rainmayr photographed you.

You posed naked for him when you were younger

and he kept the image of you.

No! That's absurd.

MAX: What happened after Selma took the photo?

Did she try to sell it back to you?

The Mistress, for whom she'd acted as a drudge?

DR VOGL: Kristina...

what is this all about?

I swear I don't know.

Rainmayr told us.

You gave him a job just to buy his silence.

But he was indiscreet. He told Selma.

He showed her the photograph and she took it.

And that's the reason she's dead now.

You told me it was your mission to emancipate women.

That these dresses were a reminder

of the suffering women endured in the name of fashion.

Where's the mask?

We can tear the place apart to find it.

Women used to paint their faces in lead white

ended up with poison in their bloodstream.

They put drops of Belladonna in their eyes

just to make them sparkle and ended up blind.

This mask is just another one of life's cruel tortures

the painful price of beauty.

Rich women wore it to shield their faces from the sun...

simply to have pale skin.

You claimed you saw Adele's killer wearing the mask.

Later you gave us a description of Selma's killer.

You saw him, through the skylight.

But it was all a sham.

You wore the mask that night. You killed Selma.

And Valentin saw you.

You just wanted us all to believe

that the same person perpetrated all three murders.

She was a disgusting leech.

I should have fired her.

She was useless, lazy.

Tell us what happened.

She got hold of the photograph, yes.

Something I'd done years ago.

Another lifetime.

Before all this.

Before everything.

She taunted me with it.

So, you paid her? But it was never enough.

I thought she would leave me in peace, but...

she hated me so much

she said she was going to leak it to the press, to... destroy me.

How did you fake the sexual liaison?

Kristina, please...

Heinz, my love...

Please tell me what...

what's going on?

Frau Vogl, I'm arresting you for the murder of Selma Wirth.

Fraulein Weiss, sir.

Max. I've brought you something.

Congratulations, Clara. - Thank you.

I hope this is going to be the beginning of a partnership.

KNOCK ON DOOR

I thought you might want this back?

Thank you.

Come in and have some supper.

My daughter, Hannah.

This is Inspector Rheinhardt.

Um, Oskar.

You're not bothered by children, I hope.

No. I'm not bothered by children.

I'm just in the kitchen. Hannah, be good for the gentleman.

She likes stories, if you wanted to make yourself popular?

Well, um...

This is a story about a poor little girl who became a princess.

"Once upon a time...

in a land far, far away

there was a kingdom..."