Mord nach Zahlen (2013)

Marina Kröger works for a large insurance company in Hamburg, far removed from its usual customers. She has a doctorate in mathematics and investigates fraud cases for her employer, obsessively searching the available figures for irregularities. People unsettle her, so she is hardly thrilled when her new boss assigns her to investigate in the field. The high-profile businessman Markus Biehler wants his wife’s two-million-euro life insurance payout. He says she was kidnapped and that he paid the ransom, but she is still nowhere to be found. All they have found is a substantial amount of her blood. Inspector Zenker suspects that Markus Biehler is involved in the case himself and also killed the housekeeper who was murdered during the kidnapping. Marina is sent to Biehler’s house to get a clearer picture of the insurance claim. Biehler is greatly irritated by the meticulous insurance employee snooping around his office. There, she meets Biehler’s assistant, Beatrice. Although overqualified for the job, Beatrice is more often flirted with by Biehler than encouraged in her career. By chance, Olga, who works as a caretaker in Marina’s apartment building, learns that Marina is investigating Biehler. Olga mainly reads the tabloids and is therefore very well informed about the businessman’s life. This gives Marina some relevant information. Beatrice joins the two women because she is afraid Biehler might hurt Marina. She is not entirely wrong: a burglar has already ransacked Marina’s apartment. Marina suspects that Biehler’s wife is still alive and that the two of them plan to disappear with the money later. The three women decide to set a trap for Biehler. At a party at his house, Beatrice will flirt with him, and a video of it will be posted online to lure Annegret Biehler out of hiding. By chance, Marina discovers a secret sleeping quarters in the basement, along with the missing woman, but Annegret manages to escape. During the ensuing chase, a scuffle breaks out at the party, and the rough-and-tumble Olga lands some solid blows. By the time Inspector Zenker arrives, there is no trace of the sleeping quarters. The press seizes on the story. Now that Biehler appears to be the victim of a witch hunt, a murder charge seems a long way off. Things are also looking bad for the insurance company, since it will probably have to pay out after all. Marina is therefore fired by her boss. At the party, Beatrice managed to steal a USB stick containing company data, and Marina discovers that the company has been concealing a great deal through falsified accounts. She also deduces that Annegret had blood drawn over an extended period by a nurse friend. To stop the Biehlers from disappearing, the three women follow the businessman to the Hamburg Dungeon. There, the couple lures them into a trap. It now becomes clear that Annegret has been behind everything. She shoots her husband and locks the others in, but they manage to free themselves shortly afterward. Marina calls Annegret from her husband’s cell phone and tells her she will persuade the nurse to give a statement. They alert Zenker and go to the hospital, where Annegret intends to eliminate the last witness. They manage to stop her, however, and Zenker arrests Annegret Biehler. Marina’s boss is overjoyed at the insurance payout the company has saved and promotes her. Since Marina is allowed to choose her colleagues, she decides to work with Olga and Beatrice from then on. The women split the five-percent bonus from the insurance sum among themselves.