Hidden Depths

by Ally Rose

  Hanne had indeed heard of Torgau. Her ex, Claudia, knew of a girl who’d been sent there and the tales of cruelty and abuse inflicted on the children by the adults were horrific. After her release from Torgau Claudia’s friend had suffered many breakdowns and had been in and out of mental institutions for years.

  ‘Yes, I’ve heard of Torgau,’ Hanne replied carefully, beginning to wonder if Lotte Holler could be guilty of cruelty and abuse as a Torgau warden.

  Lotte continued. ‘My attacker knew me at Torgau and had some sort of grudge against me, and I wasn’t the only one! There were others.’

  Hanne was intrigued. ‘What sort of grudge?’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know, I probably told him off a few times. You know kids, they can’t take any discipline.’

  Julia couldn’t agree with such a sweeping statement. ‘Oh, I don’t know. My boys don’t give me much trouble.’

  ‘Julia! Your boys are saints, just like you,’ Lotte said, mockingly. ‘Torgau kids were troublesome, to say the least.’

  Hanne ignored the siblings’ banter and continued with her line of questioning. ‘Lotte, you said there were others?’

  ‘That’s right. He was deranged, he said he’d killed three of my old Torgau colleagues and they were lying dead at the bottom of the lake, and I’d be next.’

  ‘But he didn’t kill you,’ Julia interjected. ‘So, maybe he was lying about the three men and he only told you that to frighten you.’

  ‘I was frightened,’ Lotte admitted. ‘Not just for myself, I was frightened for my baby. He killed my baby.’

  ‘Yes, so I gather. I’m sorry,’ Hanne told her.

  ‘I don’t want to be pitied. I want the Torgau boy caught and I want to meet him again when he’s not hiding his face behind a balaclava and waving his gun. He’ll be wetting himself like I did the next time we meet,’ Lotte insisted.

  ‘We’ll investigate to see if there’s any truth in it, as it might help us find him,’ said Hanne. ‘Did he tell you the names of your colleagues?’

  Lotte nodded. ‘Horst Gwisdek, Gunther Schukrafft and Harald Plaumann.’

  Hanne thought Lotte’s mind must be razor-sharp to reel off these names so quickly after all this time.

  Julia asked, ‘If it’s true and this Torgau boy killed Lotte’s ex-colleagues, could you search the lake?’

  ‘We’ve a team of experienced scuba divers and I’ll inform my colleagues straight away,’ replied Hanne. ‘Ladies, you’ve been a great help, thank you, but I think we’ll leave it there for now.’

  ‘I want to be kept informed,’ Lotte said insistently. ‘You’ve got to tell me what you find out. You’ve got to.’

  Julia frowned. ‘Lotte, don’t get yourself all worked up now.’

  ‘Worked up? I’m glad to be feeling anything after all this time!’ Lotte snapped at her.

  Julia understood. ‘Yes, sorry, of course you are.’

  Hanne stood up to leave. ‘Lotte, I give you my word, you’ll be kept informed of any developments but please understand that it’s going to take time to unravel this case.’

  Lotte nodded. ‘Time is what I’ve got.’

  Jonas Roth was waiting for Hanne in his office.

  ‘She’s all there,’ Hanne told him.

  Jonas smiled. ‘Isn’t she just? Hopefully you’ve got some information to help with your psychological profiling of the case. Any clues to what sort of person would commit such a crime?’

  ‘Yes, I have. Thank you,’ Hanne replied, somewhat non-committal. ‘Crimes tend to be committed by the most likely candidate.’

  Dr Roth didn’t press Hanne further. He knew most of Lotte’s story via Julia and she would inform him of the details of Lotte and Hanne’s meeting later on.

  Chapter Twenty-three: Déjà Vu

  HANNE DRAIS LEFT THE hospital in Tempelhof and cycled back to Unter Den Linden, stopping off at a Starbucks café near the Brandenburg Gate. She bought a blueberry muffin to take home to her daughter as a peace offering. If she couldn’t bake a cake she would buy Audrey one. As she drank her caffe latte at a window seat, trying to clear her thoughts before returning to the station to fill in Kruger on her meeting with Lotte Holler, she watched her fellow citizens pass by.

  She couldn’t quite believe what she’d heard or what she was thinking. She didn’t want to be too judgmental this early in the negotiations yet she couldn’t help thinking how tough Lotte was. She hadn’t evoked as much sympathy in Hanne, as she would have expected in the circumstances. After witnessing Lotte’s dismissive and bossy manner with her sister, Lotte had shown herself to be pretty authoritarian. Julia was a far softer character. When Lotte had mentioned the kids at Torgau, Hanne had felt her hackles rise and unusually, a growing sympathy for the boy: Lotte’s assailant, Marine Boy.

  In just one meeting with Lotte, Hanne had discovered some of her preliminary profiling was accurate. The motive was apparently established as revenge and there was a distinct possibility that Marine Boy was a serial killer. If it turned out to be true – and she had the feeling it could be – Hanne wondered how deep the Torgau boy’s suffering must have been to make him turn to murder.

  She wanted her colleagues to consider this newly discovered information and to look at the case from a different perspective. She hoped Kruger and Stefan would find some compassion for Marine Boy but she wasn’t counting on it. Hanne was adamant that it wasn’t just about finding Marine Boy to lock him away for the rest of his life. No, this was now about justice for him as well. Marine Boy might need psychological help after his suffering at Torgau.

  Hanne cycled down Unter Den Linden towards her old university and her thoughts drifted to her happy but arduous time spent as a psychology student in the magnificent and prestigious neo-classical building, the Humboldt, situated across a large courtyard at the back of police headquarters. The Humboldt was Berlin’s oldest and highly regarded university where 29 Nobel prize winners were educated, including the scientist Albert Einstein. Hanne knew she was not in such an esteemed league of alumni but allowed herself to feel a sense of pride and achievement having gained her degree in such hallowed halls. She hoped Audrey would follow in her footsteps and go onto greater things.

  Kruger’s face turned white.

  ‘Oskar? Are you OK?’ Hanne asked.

  ‘Drais, please tell me I’m not hearing things? Did you just say Horst Gwisdek, Gunther Schukrafft and Harald Plaumann?’

  Hanne nodded and looked at Stefan Glockner, who seemed just as concerned.

  Kruger undid his top button on his shirt collar. ‘Fic ! Remember the case I was on back in 1992, when we went after the paedophile ring? Out of roughly 60 names on an anonymous list there were around seven suspects who disappeared into thin air. We never found them, never got to question them, put them away or log them on a sex offenders’ register. I remember all the names by heart that got away and Lotte Holler’s ghost has just walked over my grave because Lotte’s three colleagues at Torgau – Horst Gwisdek, Gunther Schukrafft and Harald Plaumann – were on the paedophile list.’

  Glockner was gobsmacked. ‘No! You mean, the names Lotte gave Hanne were suspects in that paedophile ring?’

  Hanne gasped. ‘Scheisse ! These missing men, they’re likely to be at the bottom of Muggelsee, and Marine Boy really did go after his Torgau abusers.’

  ‘And he was fucking successful by the sounds of it!’ Kruger said. ‘We’ve got to search the lake. Get me the case notes of the paedo ring from 1992.’

  ‘This gives the case an entirely different outlook,’ Stefan ventured. ‘If the Torgau three are at the bottom of Muggelsee we’re looking for a vigilante and a serial killer.’

  Hanne agreed. ‘And a very clever one at that. Do you think Marine Boy was the one who sent you the anonymous tip off and posted you the list?’

  Kruger smiled at Hanne’s insight. ‘Could be, could be. It wasn’t any of the Torgau kids that came forward to identify their abusers, they had no knowledge of any such list.’

/>   Hanne concluded. ‘Marine Boy is not to be underestimated.’

  Kruger quickly gathered all his team, including the junior police officers assigned to assist the case, for a meeting. He wrote the following on the incident board:

  Lotte Holler, Marine Boy, Gunther Schukrafft, Horst Gwisdek, Harald Plaumann, and the year: 1992.

  Kruger turned and addressed his colleagues. ‘Anyone recognise these names?’

  This drew a blank.

  ‘Maybe you’re all too young to remember and anyway, some of you weren’t even here,’ Kruger began. ‘Lotte Holler’s been in the headlines, but Schukrafft, Gwisdek and Plaumann were her ex-colleagues at Torgau and were suspected paedophiles who went missing back in 1992, around the same time that Lotte Holler was attacked. Seems our Marine Boy has outsmarted us all this time because Lotte Holler told Drais all three men are at the bottom of Muggelsee.’

  ‘Which is why they’ve never been found,’ Glockner added. ‘They’re most likely dead.’

  Kruger smiled. ‘It’s the likeliest possibility as to why they’ve never been caught,’ he said.

  ‘And Muggelsee is where Marine Boy left Lotte Holler,’ Hanne added and asked her boss. ‘I’m assuming Lotte Holler wasn’t on the paedophile list?’

  Kruger shook his head. ‘No women were on the list. Glockner, what can we get from the cold case notes?’

  Glockner read from the 1992 file. ‘I haven’t checked the others yet but Plaumann was a security guard at Schonefeld Airport back in 1992 when he disappeared out of our clutches leaving a wife and two small children. He was never found, nor was his car.’

  ‘We assumed he’d skipped the country,’ added Kruger.

  Stefan continued. ‘It says here, a bicycle that was hidden in the bushes at his gym was linked to a theft in Kopenick. If Plaumann is in the lake, the bike that is kept at forensics storage can be checked for fingerprints. It’s a long shot, but at least we might have a link to the fingerprints on the knife found the night Lotte Holler was attacked, and a direct link to the lake and Marine Boy.’

  ‘We are looking at a possible serial killer,’ Kruger interjected. ‘We’re going to send a team of scuba divers to Muggelsee tomorrow.’

  ‘All four were wardens at Torgau,’ Hanne explained. ‘In my opinion, it puts a new slant on this case, especially if Lotte Holler is connected to these missing paedophiles.’

  ‘The motive is revenge. Marine Boy is apparently a Torgau kid but on no account is this to be leaked to the press,’ Kruger stated. ‘Is that clear?’

  Everyone in the room nodded.

  ‘It would detract from sympathies towards Lotte Holler if she’s found guilty of any crimes from her time at Torgau,’ Hanne added.

  ‘If Marine Boy hated her enough to attack her we will find out why,’ Glockner said with assurance. ‘Let’s not forget, Marine Boy is guilty of a violent attack which resulted in Lotte Holler losing a baby and spending 12 years of her life in a coma. She is the victim of a terrible crime.’

  ‘And if he’s killed others he’s probably one crazy son of a bitch,’ Kruger stated.

  ‘Not necessarily crazy but possibly suffering from paranoia,’ said Hanne. ‘Remember, deadly logic is a characteristic of acute mania. However, Marine Boy could be living a normal life now after violent episodes in the past.’

  ‘Or he could still be out there, acting like a vigilante, killing the wardens of Torgau who abused him or offended him in some way,’ Glockner replied. ‘Keep an open mind.’

  Hanne thought Glockner sensed her sympathies were leaning towards Marine Boy and chose not to respond. ‘I’ll be meeting with Lotte Holler next week to get more details but this is what we have to go on so far. She described Marine Boy as tall and athletic.’

  ‘That could describe anyone! However, Drais, you’ve made a good start keeping on the good side of Dr Roth and his patient,’ Kruger said. Hanne said nothing. It pleased her that Kruger respected her work and contributions.

  ‘It’s important to establish a definite link between Lotte Holler and her missing Torgau colleagues because it’ll help us find a trail to Marine Boy,’ Glockner insisted.

  ‘Right, we’ve all got a job to do,’ Kruger barked. ‘Let’s get on with it.’

  The team dispersed from the room and only Glockner and Hanne were left behind.

  He patted Hanne on the back. ‘Well done, you’ve truly opened up the case.’

  ‘I’ve only repeated what Lotte Holler told me.’

  ‘I wish I had your modesty,’ Glockner confessed. ‘Well, Drais, don’t forget to dress up warmly tomorrow. It’ll be a long, cold day at Muggelsee.’

  Chapter Twenty-Four: Out of the Depths

  A TEAM OF EXPERIENCED police scuba divers arrived at the crack of dawn to brave the cold of the Muggelsee water. With the exception of the ferry services from the centre of Kopenick to Berlin, the boating lanes around the rest of the lake were closed and the police divers had a few clear days to make safe and extensive underwater searches. They divided into four teams of four divers, with two divers in the water and two on the banks awaiting their turn. The most obvious place that a car could enter the water and stay hidden at depth was the area immediately beyond the jetty. The divers plotted an estimated triangle of the projected distance a car could travel at speed, and went a little further and wider just to be sure.

  The east team divers waded into the murky water and kept in close proximity with their dive buddy, especially as the visibility was less than two metres. The torches attached to their heads beamed powerful lights to illuminate their paths as they descended to around 15 metres – the deepest part of the lake. It wasn’t long before they found a car, partly hidden amongst the mud and weeds on the riverbed. Inside this watery grave, camouflaged by the roots of a tree, were the remains of a body with its feet tied together. The police and forensic officers arrived in droves soon after and quickly cordoned off the area around the jetty. A haulage firm duly arrived with a truck and mini crane to pull the car to the surface.

  When Kruger, Glockner and Hanne Drais got to the east banks of Muggelsee they were given the usual protective clothing of rubber gloves, plastic overalls and paper masks by Rutger Korfsmeier, the forensic team leader. A portly man of 50, he was a well-liked colleague whom they often worked with, and they followed him to the car.

  Rutger showed them the body in the back of the car. ‘We had to prise open the back doors as they’d been locked. The victim was entombed by branches of a tree blocking the exit in the front and his feet were tied so there was no chance of the corpse floating to the surface. This male, aged around 40, has nothing to identify him so we’ll check dental records. I’ve already given the car registration details over to Vehicle Licensing.’

  Glockner then noticed something shiny on the floor of the car and picked up a silver crucifix. ‘Could this have been some kind of weapon?’ he asked.

  ‘Quite possibly,’ Rutger replied, popping the evidence into a clear, plastic DNA bag.

  ‘His feet are tied together but not his hands. There must have been a struggle but he didn’t have time to free his legs and swim to the surface,’ Glockner surmised.

  ‘That and a fucking great branch through the front window,’ Kruger remarked.

  ‘But someone was swimming,’ Rutger began and showed them an aqua shoe in a forensic bag. ‘A size nine, whereas the victim looks more like a size 11.’

  Kruger and Glockner looked at one another, reading each others’ thoughts.

  ‘Marine Boy!’ Glockner exclaimed.

  Rutger was bemused. ‘Marine Boy?’

  Kruger took a call on his mobile phone.

  ‘Our name for the assailant,’ Glockner enlightened Rutger. ‘He left a boat knife at the scene of the crime when he attacked Lotte Holler, told her he’d killed three of her ex-colleagues here at the lake, and it looks like he wasn’t lying.’

  Hanne had remained quiet throughout, studying the body and the scene of the crime, lost in her thought
s. ‘Rutger, have you checked in the boot?’ she said, suddenly.

  Rutger nodded. ‘We had to force the car boot open because it had rusted and we found a few shredded clothes in a sports bag, nothing else.’

  ‘Goddammit!’ Kruger bellowed. ‘The divers at the north and south jetties have discovered two more cars in the lake with bodies in them!’

  Glockner clapped his hands. ‘Bingo!’

  Kruger received another call and listened intently then suddenly punched the air.

  ‘That was HQ, Vehicle Licensing checked the registration records of all three vehicles and the cars belonged to Gwisdek, Schukrafft and Plaumann!’

  ‘Just like Lotte said. Marine Boy buried them in a watery grave,’ stated Hanne.

  The police released the minimum amount of detail to the prowling press but they quickly picked up on the story. The news spread throughout Kopenick and journalists and cameramen from local and Berlin television companies began turning up at the lake, hoping for an exclusive on the breaking story. The police team at Muggelsee were under strict instructions not to reveal the names of the three bodies pulled from the lake. Television networks were allowed to film briefly and Kruger was interviewed but that was it.

  All three cars were retrieved from the depths and moved to a confined area at the south jetty – the one furthest away from the town and the most remote part of the lake. Here, the forensics squad, working in a cordoned-off area, would be less likely to be disturbed by the public. The cars with the Musketeers inside were parked in a row on the southern banks of Muggelsee, together again in death as they were in life. ‘One for all and all for one’, as they were so fond of saying.

  A week later, once the three autopsies were complete and after forensic scientists had studied the evidence in all three cars, Rutger, Kruger, Glockner and Hanne met to discuss their findings.