Laim und die Tote im Teppich (2021)

Chief Inspector Lukas Laim is investigating the murder of a woman who is presumably Muslim, as indicated by her hijab. Her body is found wrapped in a Persian rug in front of a dumpster on the Theresienwiese. During the investigation, Laim and his colleague Anton Simhandl come across Hans Heinrich “Hinni” Feuer, whose car was seen near the dumpster. Feuer is questioned and says that someone broke into his home: the apartment door was open, and both his Persian rug and his car had been stolen. Laim and Simhandl are very skeptical, however, because nothing else was taken. Evidence also suggests that the woman died in Feuer’s apartment, although there are no traces of the victim’s blood. The suspect also has an alibi, with witnesses from high society to back it up. Initial inquiries suggest that the victim was probably a Syrian woman who had not been in Germany for very long. The last person she had contact with was Gero Willbrand, who wanted to write a report about her and her experiences fleeing to Germany. Feuer and Willbrand were former schoolmates, and the latter has vanished without a trace. The search for him seems to become moot when Feuer suddenly confesses to the murder without any pressure being put on him. He also has a plausible explanation for the missing blood traces. Laim does not know what to make of it, since Feuer’s alibi was airtight. Is he perhaps trying to cover for Willbrand? Is he telling the truth at all? To find out, the case is not closed. Further investigations lead to a neo-Nazi group made up of members of high society. But Laim is not the only one on their trail: undercover activist Isabel Serner is following them too. When Laim gets too close to the men, someone plants a package of drugs on him. This leads to his suspension, but he continues investigating nonetheless. After the murder weapon—a statuette in the shape of a Bavarian lion—is found, the trail leads to the villa of an influential Elversfeld. There, Laim manages to free Isabel Serner, who is being held captive. Willbrand, Serner and the Syrian woman, who was also an activist, had set a trap for the Nazi group and secretly filmed them. The Syrian woman pretended to be a suicide bomber preparing an attack at the Nockherberg, which the Nazi group supported in exchange for money intended for her children, hoping to create a climate favorable to them. After the investigators find the footage, the Nazis are arrested. Feuer had been their lackey, carrying out various dirty jobs. In an effort to gain entry to the group, he had in fact killed the Syrian woman when it became clear that she and Willbrand intended to expose the group’s activities through journalism. He then took Willbrand captive and killed him as well. Feuer is the fencing master of a dueling fraternity. At the end, Laim, a former member of such a fraternity, duels with him and kills him.