Pagan Peak (Der Pass)

PAGAN PEAK

- Hello. I'm Thalheim. State police. - Hello. Stocker.

It's a man. Body's been up here a while. At least one or two weeks.

The forest ranger there found him and phoned the Austrian police.

Yes, I heard. That complicates matters.

- I'm Pirker, alpine police, Salzburg. - Ellie Stocker.

I heard about your rescue mission on Hochkönig.

It's great what your department does.

Thanks.

The Salzburg criminal investigation team is on its way.

- Good morning. - Morning, Ellie.

- You've photographed everything, Max? - Yes.

- Sarah, DNA will be tricky here, right? - No chance. He's been here a while.

- How long? - Two, three weeks.

Deep stab wounds in the neck.

I need a closer look, but barely any blood, so he probably didn't die here.

OK.

I know it's snowed, but have the area checked for traces.

Behind the pass on the Austrian side too. We need as many people as we can get.

Got it.

Not yet.

They'll come for us.

Let me do that, please.

- Hello. - Hi.

He's Graf. I'm Pirker. Alpine police.

Winter. Where's the body? On our side or theirs?

Right on the border.

The situation is a bit complicated.

It's best you talk to the lady yourself.

- Lady? - The Germans are already here.

Lipkowski, do me a favor. Please take your cap off.

BOCHUM MIGRATION OFFICE

Syrian.

- Ellie. The Austrians. - Yep.

STATE BORDER

Morning.

Ellie Stocker. Traunstein criminal investigation unit.

- Winter. - Nice to meet you.

Hello.

- Pretty chilly up here, isn’t it? - Yeah. It's OK. So?

One male dead body. Laid across a border stone.

To be precise, his upper body in Austria, legs in Germany.

OK.

The case is under my jurisdiction.

They found papers in his clothes. He's registered with us.

Let's be very German about this and do it properly:

One of us gets the head, the other the ass.

They're sawing the body out of the ice. Do you want to come in?

Mr. Winter?

Mr. Winter?

Are you OK?

German passport? German problem, I'd say, then.

- Sorry? - The case is yours.

Ellie? You need to see this. He's got something in his hand.

- You can still come along if you like. - No, I'd rather not.

Bye. Nice to meet you.

Short and sweet, your report.

The position of the body is very unusual, right?

Yes.

And do the Germans have a theory yet?

- I don't know. - Did you speak to them up at the pass?

It's not our concern, is it?

Yes. Probably for the best.

Mr. Winter.

We don't know each other that well yet.

I know what happened in Vienna.

That's probably why you transferred here.

No, I'm here for the fresh air.

I just wanted to say that no one, not me or your team, will prejudge you.

Thanks.

And if you want to talk to me about it, my door's always open.

OK.

A few of us are going for a quick drink later if you fancy it.

Thanks. That's nice of you, but I don't drink.

I can barely see that!

Thank you.

Do you need a light?

Falke?

How come you dress so smartly, but live in such a shithole?

You look like a pimp...

but live like an office worker.

Yeah...

- Well, I am a police officer. - Yes.

And what a cop you are.

What is it?

No one knows where you are, what you're doing, where you live.

- I was worried. - You or him?

Everyone. You're one of the family.

I've got a mother. That's enough family for me.

What's wrong?

We work well together, right? And we need someone in Salzburg.

You'll get everything you need from us.

We'll do everything for you, Falke.

I'll think about it.

Mate.

Let's drink to that.

Mr. Winter?

You've got a visitor.

Hello.

We meet again.

I tried to call you yesterday evening, but you didn't answer.

I brought walnut pastries. You've got the best ones here in Salzburg.

I love them.

You remember, right? Ellie Stocker, the inspector from the pass.

German passport? German problem, I'd say, then.

Ellie? You need to see this. He's got something in his hand.

- You can still come along if you like. - No, I'd rather not.

Goodbye. Nice to meet you.

Ellie?

- Thanks. Just what I need. - No problem.

- What about the hair? - It's in the lab, but it'll take a while.

Nothing unusual in the thermal images from the helicopter.

- The Austrians will send theirs. - The autopsy?

- They're on it. - Gruber rang. You can go over whenever.

OK. Did the search team find anything?

The tracks indicate he was brought to the pass by one person on a snowmobile.

The tracks peter out. It's snowed too much.

We're checking what model it might be.

And we'll check farms, cable car stations. See if one's been stolen recently.

Great. Thanks.

Remember the checks on the access roads. Who drives through regularly?

- Ellie? The report on the wallet. - Thanks.

What about the vehicle these keys are for?

Mercedes Vito.

Ask hunters, hotel owners. Maybe someone saw it.

We've already started questioning people in the area, but thanks for the tip...

I like to help, Thomas, not just in curling.

- Do you need anything else? - Yes.

- More people. - Difficult right now.

He's not German, no one misses him. Heigel wants to keep costs down.

Because so much happens here, right?

The Syrian on the registration certificate was five. That doesn't match our body.

Yeah, he's a wee bit older, I'd say.

The finger prints were in the database. Bulgarian. Previous.

Member of the Slowejko family.

Bad Radkersburg. Last summer. The refugees in the truck.

- Yes, I remember. - The body is laid across a border stone.

Hair in his hands. Two stab wounds in the neck.

Why go to the trouble of carrying him up the pass road?

I find a rucksack too heavy when I go up in the mountains.

- You go into the mountains? - You don't think I could?

The mountains and I. Three days rock climbing.

Three days? And then they have to air-lift you out?

Something like that.

I'll give Heigel another call. See what I can do.

DEAD REFUGEES IN BAD RADKERSBURG

THE DEAD INCLUDED WOMEN AND CHILDREN

TRUCK DRIVER

PROBABLE BOSS OF SMUGGLING RING

This is Gedeon Winter. I'll call back.

I tried to call you yesterday evening, but you didn't answer.

You remember, right? Ellie Stocker, the inspector from the pass.

I certainly do remember you.

Have a seat.

I met your boss. A very nice woman.

And what else did you two ladies discuss?

Nothing. Just that you are the liaison officer responsible.

Someone has gone to a crazy amount of effort.

The man was killed somewhere else, then taken to the pass on a snowmobile.

The blood test revealed he had Rohypnol in his system.

Restricts movement, renders people powerless.

That could be why there are no signs of a struggle.

Just the two stab wounds...

in his neck.

That's what he had in his hands.

Test results show it was horse hair.

A bit studied, these photos.

Have you got an artist in Forensics?

I take them myself.

- Don't you want breakfast? - No, thanks. Not hungry.

What am I meant to do now?

The dead man is Stojan Slowejko. Bulgarian. He got two years on parole.

The refugees in Bad Radkersburg?

I did some research last night.

The driver was the only one they nailed.

He got a long prison sentence in Austria. Petko Slowejko.