Emma - Der Usedom-Krimi (2024)

While walking her dog on the beach, Karin Lossow sees Gerda Kolping drowning in the Baltic Sea. Karin manages to pull her ashore, but a little later Gerda dies in the hospital. It is a devastating blow for Gerda’s 14-year-old daughter, Emma, who has been bullied for some time by her former friend and neighbor Susanne and other classmates, and has to care for her father, Markus, who has needed care since contracting SARS-CoV-2. Initial clues point to murder: traces of a sedative are found in Gerda’s blood, and threatening letters are found in the car. The investigation reveals that the threats were directed at Emma and that the Kolpings’ marriage was in trouble, with frequent arguments. It was alleged that Gerda had infected her husband with the virus and left him needing care. Gerda had recently been blossoming and was having an affair, which Markus tolerated on the condition that it did not destroy their marriage. The fact that Gerda’s life insurance had been increased a year earlier, and that Markus had been prescribed a sedative after an operation, makes him a suspect to the police. He could also easily have obtained the drug through his Polish caregiver. The man she was having an affair with is identified as someone from the youth welfare office; the two had planned to move in together soon. In a conversation with Emma, Karin discovers that Emma infected her father after going to a coronavirus party, and that Gerda took the blame to protect her daughter. Emma also tells Karin that Susanne’s bullying began after Emma withdrew more and more because of her guilt. If Emma had told Susanne, her father would have found out about it through the neighbors. The investigation establishes that Markus put the drug in Gerda’s thermos, convinced that she had infected him back then, after she wanted to leave him and take Emma with her. Karin speaks with Emma’s neighbors and their daughter Susanne, who then asks Emma if she would like to come over and watch her favorite film.