Herr und Frau Bulle - Totentanz (2019)

Chief Inspector Yvonne Wills and her husband, criminal profiler Heiko, have invited their friend Piet Bernsdorff to dinner. Bernsdorff’s daughter is gravely ill in the Charité hospital, so they hope to take their friend’s mind off his personal troubles for a while. But Yvonne is called out when the state secretary’s car is blown up. The state secretary himself survives the blast because he was no longer in the car, but his chauffeur, Bertram Schick, who worked for a security company, is killed. The State Security Service takes charge of the investigation, making the detectives’ work more difficult because its people are not very forthcoming. Heiko’s assistant, Diane Springer, is therefore asked to use her charm to obtain important case files. This gives Yvonne a small lead in her investigation. It appears that Görner got his post as state secretary only with the help of a senior politician. The reason may be blackmail: when Yvonne and Kevin look into where Görner left his official car, a taxi driver tells them Görner’s destination. It is a seedy lodging house, where a prostitute is being held captive in a back room and various video recordings are found. To avoid getting themselves or the girl into trouble, the detectives simply call in the fire brigade and are able to “free her without red tape.” One of the videos shows the deputy economics minister raping the young woman at the lodging house. When Görner realizes how far the criminal police have progressed in their investigation, he tries to put pressure on them, but he fails. After looking more closely at the kit used to make the car bomb, Heiko cannot rule out that Görner was not the target of the attack at all, and that the driver himself was. He explains that these kits are like fingerprints: they differ depending on who uses them. This trail points to a perpetrator who may have served in a war in Africa, as Bertram Schick did. Heiko is troubled by what seem to be three “coincidences” coming together: years ago, he himself served in Somalia, protecting food convoys, and Piet Bernsdorff was a comrade from that time. A pilot from their unit was shot dead recently, and with Schick, a second man with a military background is now dead, which gives Heiko pause. He has to wonder whether Piet’s sudden reappearance could be connected to the current case. But he refuses to accept the thought that comrades would kill one another after 20 years. To get to the bottom of it, the detectives summon Piet Bernsdorff to the precinct, and while they are questioning him, an attempt is made on his life. Apparently, a sniper had aimed at him through the window, but the threat is spotted in time and everyone escapes unharmed. However, Heiko and Yvonne discover that the attack was staged. Piet had apparently devised it as a diversion in case he came under suspicion. A search for Piet Bernsdorff is immediately launched, and Heiko is visibly distressed. He gradually realizes that Piet was using him because he has access to the police network and could therefore track down their former comrades whom Piet had been unable to reach. While Bernsdorff is still at large, members of their old unit who may be at risk are placed under protection as a precaution. Heiko and Yvonne also try to find out what could have driven Piet on his rampage. They question Bertram Schick’s widow, who, only after persistent questioning, tells them about “dirty dealings” her husband had been involved in in Somalia. Heiko learns from Piet’s daughter that her father is also gravely ill and blames his unit for it. Heiko recalls that they found a bomb back then containing some radioactive material. If Piet was exposed to the radiation, it would explain both his cancer and his daughter’s genetic defect. It appears that some of the soldiers sold the bomb and used Piet as an unwitting driver. After Piet’s daughter succumbs to her illness, the detectives realize that Heiko’s friend now has nothing left to lose and will carry out his plan without restraint. They decide to set a trap for him to stop him. The trap works, but Piet still shoots a man, who then, with his last strength, fires a fatal shot at Piet.