Van der Valk (Detective Van der Valk)

Hey.

Hi. How are you?

Who is this?

Where?

OK.

You know, you are wasted on him.

And you're just wasted, Herman.

Yes.

Well, I used to, um...

Ric. Mmm.

You look amazing.

I'll be back in a minute, babe.

Hello?

What's so important?

Still not answering. You sure about this?

It's on our way. We have to do something.

No-one's answering.

(SIGHS) Great.

Uh, sorry. We... we tried Lucienne, but...

Yep. I got it.

Let's go.

Try Hendrik.

Of course I'm a traveller.

Like I said, there's two of us on this horse.

Mate.

Quiet night, all in all.

Oh! Wah! Ahh!

Oh!

Hey! (KNOCKS)

Duty calls. Whoa.

OK. Just give me a sec. Alright.

You might want to wake your mate.

Sorry. I can't remember her name.

No, nor can I.

How much did we have? A lot.

Mm-hm.

You alright? Always.

Do you want to take that?

Nope.

You don't want to take that?

Nope. Not just now.

Oh...

Victim is Ric van der Molden. Uh, 31.

Body discovered by his girlfriend, Zoe Waterman.

OK. There was a party, right?

Go upstairs. Talk to the guests. See if anyone knows anything.

Right. Cause of death?

Extensive alcohol consumption

following a night out with you two.

Nah.

Hey.

Interesting woman, your friend, Astrid.

Astrid. Yeah.

Hand model, apparently. Fascinating.

Fascinating.

And this body here, please?

Well, technically, stabbing,

though that doesn't quite do this one justice.

Bruising on the entrance wound suggests

intense thrusting action right up to the hilt.

Ask me about the depth of the wound.

How deep was the wound, Hendrik?

Well, funny you should ask. Hard to be exact.

Depends on how far it came out the other side.

Went through him like a knife through butter.

Is that a technical term?

I don't suppose there's a murder weapon, is there?

Oh, apart from the gaping wound, no.

But I'd hazard a guess - a stab, if you like -

it was withdrawn immediately after impact.

It being...? Well, Christ knows.

I'll tell you what it wasn't.

It wasn't a penknife or a street blade or even a carving knife.

Sword?

Now you're talking my language. That is always a bad sign.

Time of death? Now, that, I CAN help you with.

Between 5:30am and 5:42am.

Good. Impressive. Very, uh, specific.

Well, on the one hand,

pathology is an exact and specific science.

And on the other? Eddie told me.

According to various guests,

5:30 is when the victim was seen going outside to make a phone call.

5:42 is when his girlfriend found him down here.

They could, of course, all be lying through their teeth,

but it is consistent with the body temperature,

the developing rigor mortis and hypostasis.

Right. We'll see what his partner has to say, then, shall we?

Ric took a call,

said it wouldn't be a minute.

Did he say who the call was from?

Nope.

Was there any trouble at the party?

I mean, anyone acting strange? No.

Nothing.

He...

...when he didn't come back, I went looking for him.

He was just lying there.

We'll need to notify next of kin.

Are his family local?

Uh, Rotterdam.

I can give you details.

Whose apartment is it? Mine.

We were celebrating Ric's latest exhibition launch.

He's a...

...curator at the culture museum.

We both work there.

His exhibition just opened.

Exhibition?

Colonialism and Restitution.

Did you see anything suspicious?

Well, the alcohol was running out, if that's what you mean.

It wasn't.

Well, it bloody was. I mean, I started necking empties.

Yeah, I mean it wasn't really the information I was looking for.

Uh...

Alright.

Like I said, as soon as Ric van der Molden took his call,

I chatted with his girlfriend.

And then what?

I mingled, you know?

I'm a social butterfly.

I like to... flit.

With anyone in particular? Nope.

So, no-one can vouch for your exact whereabouts?

No.

Unless they were stalking me.

That would be fun, wouldn't it?

Can I see the body?

I just... I want to pay my respects.

How did he die? Strangled?

No? Gunshot?

Was it sudden?

You do know these are really odd questions, right?

No, not really. No.

I mean, death is fascinating, don't you think?

It's the greatest leveller of them all.

So, how do you know Mr Van der Molden?

We're both in the museum game.

Although Ric likes to think he's a cut above, if you know what I mean.

But, no, I run my own, so...

...free tickets any time you want to...

Oh... ...come on by.

Your loss.

We're taking names and info, but nothing concrete so far.

The basement isn't accessible from the outside,

so it must have been someone from the party.

But, then, what about the phone call?

Unless it was someone

from a different apartment in the same building.

Great.

Phone call implies whoever killed him probably wasn't at the party.

Get Tech on it. See if we can find out who made that call.

Talk to them all again. Check the cameras on the street and entrance.

Let's go to the museum. Alright.

And Zoe, how is she? As you'd expect.

Upset.

It's just... just so...

Ric had such a brilliant mind.

He...

We gather there was a launch.

Our latest exhibition.

Ric's.

Interesting exhibition.

Timely.

I couldn't agree more.

Thankfully, the government has decided to step in

and return objects that this country commandeered

in our colonial past.

Yeah. Theft, some might say.

Not one to mince words, then?

Not his strong point, no.

And are all of these items going back?

Uh, no, not all of them.

In consultation, we're trying to strike a balance between

returning and maintaining them for our educational program.

Is anyone opposed to their return?

Yes.

Ric.

Colonial history was his area.

So, when the board decided on this exhibition, it was his to curate.

He was... less than happy

about seeing the collection being broken up.

Because he didn't agree with restitution?

The way he saw it,

if museums start giving things back that were taken centuries ago,

they'll be empty.

Well, that's not really the point, is it?

I don't think so.

And nor does the museum.

But Ric wasn't one for correcting the sins of the past.

And Miss Waterman?

Totally different.

They hadn't been together long.

And, to be honest, I didn't get them.