Die Toten von Salzburg - Vergeltung (2021)

In their eighth case together, Major Peter Palfinger of the Salzburg Division for Crimes of Blood and Violence and Chief Detective Superintendent Hubert Mur from Traunstein investigate the disappearance of Leonie Höfinger, a young girl from Bavaria who attends the Salzburg International School (SIS), an elite secondary school in Salzburg. She may have fallen victim to a violent crime: a photograph of a bloodstained marble table is sent to her parents, Gerda and Ignaz Höfinger. The photograph was taken at the Hellbrunn trick fountains, which were switched on without authorization during the night; the key to the control box is missing. Because the blood type matches, the investigators assume the blood traces are Leonie’s. A ransom demand soon makes it clear that this is a kidnapping, so the daughter of a Bavarian brewer and businessman may still be alive. The investigators receive operational support from Cobra, led by Colonel Wintersteller. The handover is planned for Mönchsberg, but Gerda finds only Leonie’s phone there, with a video plea for help. While brewer Ignaz no longer drinks alcohol—and therefore no longer drinks beer—his wife is an alcoholic. The trail to the kidnapper leads to Leonie’s internship at Comeback, a rehabilitation project at the zoo in Hellbrunn Palace Park. The elite school provides financial support for the project, and its students are also given the opportunity to work on it. One of Leonie’s classmates is Robin Kubka, whose father is a lawyer. Leonie and Robin were usually assigned to work with Jack Dunic, and sometimes with Meli Permoser; both Jack and Meli are clients of Comeback. Meli tells investigator Irene Russmeyer that a few months earlier, Robin first drugged her and then used her access chip to open the cheetah enclosure. She did not report the incident because she thought no one would believe a former junkie. Nothing further happened with the cheetah; Jack and supervisor Claudia Haberl had put everything right. Meli also tells her about a bet between Robin and Jack, which Jack won. They had bet on which of them would get Leonie into bed. The stake was Robin’s motorcycle, worth 20,000 euros. According to online news reports, the Court of Audit is investigating the Comeback association for wasting taxpayers’ money. Thomas Hochleitner, the association’s director, suspects that this is politically motivated by envious rivals. The association receives 500 euros per client each month and, in return, provides full care for its roughly 50 clients. Leonie’s parents receive another video message in a package, and the Seeklause in Schönau am Königssee is agreed upon as the handover point. An employee at the parcel drop-off identifies Jack as the person who handed in a package the previous day. The DNA traces found are Jack’s, and the hairs are from a zebra. Haberl, however, does not believe Jack is capable of kidnapping anyone. She also considers it unlikely that Leonie staged her own kidnapping, since she gets her parents’ money anyway. Jack has disappeared; he left his phone at his accommodation, so he cannot be tracked. Claudia Haberl also reports that the zoo’s emergency rifle is missing. At the handover point, Höfinger encounters Robin, who arrives on his motorcycle and is supposed to pick something up. Robin says he received the assignment through a card-index system at the zoo; the message was typed, and a typewriter like that is found at Jack’s accommodation. Robin says Jack gave him the index card. Palfinger follows Claudia Haberl, who meets up with Jack. She confesses that, because of another bet—to get a woman 17 years older into bed—she kidnapped Leonie and constructed a chain of evidence against Jack, thereby taking revenge on him out of disappointed love over the bet. Claudia first threatens Jack with the emergency rifle, then threatens to take her own life. During the struggle between them, Palfinger fires and hits Jack in the leg. To determine whether Major Palfinger is fit for duty and avoid suspending him, Seywald arranges an MRI appointment. During it, Palfinger remembers that immediately after he fired, he heard Jack say, “It was Claudia!” and heard her reply, “Don’t say anything!” After visiting Leonie again in her prison in a cave, Claudia tells her she does not intend to kill her; instead, cave-cleaning workers will find her in three months during their cave round. All the fingerprints there belong to Jack, so every piece of evidence Claudia manipulated points to Jack as the kidnapper. Robin Kubka shows the investigators a photograph of Claudia and Jack in bed. The photograph was proof that Jack had won the bet, for which he had received Robin’s motorcycle. Claudia finally reveals Leonie’s hiding place, where Palfinger finds her alive. At the same time, Haberl threatens to throw herself from Hellbrunner Berg, but Russmeyer and Mur stop her. In a subplot, Hofrat Seywald and his partner René Kleist set off for their planned honeymoon in Hawaii. At Frankfurt Airport, however, Seywald tells René that he has to return to Salzburg. At Salzburg Airport, he meets state parliament president Zirner, who fears bad press over the shooting involving Palfinger. Palfinger tells his brother Sebastian that he has not been feeling well for some time, can hardly sleep, and has failed at shooting practice. Sebastian has no advice to offer, but tells Peter that the Archbishop wants to rehire him, this time for press relations. Forensic pathologist Simon Wächter asks Irene Russmeyer out, and she agrees because of a misunderstanding. After surprising her from behind, Wächter is overpowered by her, but is injured in the process and needs treatment. He finds new love with his physiotherapist. Seywald and Kleist eventually marry in Salzburg and celebrate their wedding at Mr. Wolfgang’s café.