Читать книгу Secret doors - Dirk Lützelberger - Страница 11

Chapter 6

The first working day after the holiday is usually the hardest. Gwen, however, was delighted when she returned to the State Office of Criminal Investigations in Kiel, which was abbreviated in German as LKA, and entered her office. Her colleagues greeted her cheerfully. They, too, had noticed the condition Gwen had been in the last weeks and were happy to see her as if she had changed. A holiday could work wonders, they agreed.

No sooner had Gwen dropped into her chair than Stefan was already standing in her office.

"Welcome back, long time no see" he flirted and winked.

"So, what was going on when I was on vacation? The LKA is still intact! It can’t have been that bad" she flattened.

"Let’s have a cup of coffee and talk to our colleagues before we get into the hustle and bustle again."

Gwen followed Stefan to the department’s coffee machine. Other colleagues had already met there to discuss the latest developments. As usual, there were enough employees who always saw only the negative and complained about everything. Others were delighted to see Gwen so happy and healthy again after her holiday. Gwen had no problems talking to these colleagues. She shared her experiences but avoided mentioning her frustrations and lows. She was proud of her son, talking about his geocache findings and how he had joined her and Stefan in what he said was a ’rough up’ of the policeman. Here, everyone felt that Gwen had internalized every detail of the report and was about to start to find out why the jogger had taken so many different unapproved drugs. They agreed that if anyone could answer this question, it was certainly Gwen.

There was not much news in the LKA. There was a restructuring of the management level. This was as certain and regular as eggs is eggs, Gwen said. On the one hand, a longer period of stability in the management team would certainly have been helpful, so that the managers could also take the credit for which they were responsible. On the other hand, of course, the same thing happened, and managers would have to face the music when they got their departments into hot water.

Eventually, regular change was important to get new food for thought. Nothing was worse than continuing in the same way year after year in deadlocked structures. Change was there to break up these structures and introduce more efficient procedures.

The purchasing department of the State Office of Criminal Investigation had also once again launched a change that would affect each of the officers, whether they wanted it or not. However, in this case it was unintelligible to Gwen why they had not simply left everything as it was before.

"I really don’t understand that. The old cards were still valid after all" Gwen expressed her displeasure and incomprehension.

"Maybe they were able to cut costs a little bit with that measure."

"But that doesn’t mean you have to change all the cards!"

"The credit card companies certainly want to introduce new security features again so that the cards are better protected against misuse. There’s no other way to explain it."

"This means we have to store new credit card numbers in all systems again, so that the trips and LKA expenses can be accounted for correctly and automatically." Frustrated, Gwen added, "And I have also received a new PIN!"

"Gwen it doesn’t help to whine here, because the decision has been made. Whatever the trigger for the exchange was, we’ll never know. But it’ll be worth the effort and the security."

"I’m sure you’re right. I’ll get started this afternoon on implementing the changes in the systems. Was anything else going on when we were on vacation?"

"Not that I’ve heard of any major changes. It seems that we can look into the mysterious circumstances of Mr. Schörff’s death What do you think?"

Gwen smiled, picked up her now empty coffee cup, and went back to her office. Stefan followed her.

"I guess we’d better get started."

The German authorities had received a request for residence from Austria for the sister of Andreas Schörff and were working on it. This would only take a few more days, as there were many requests coming in, it was holiday time and the department was understaffed at all. This was all Stefan could find out. At least it had been ensured that the information about the sister’s current whereabouts would go directly to the LKA, so as not to take the detour via the Austrian authorities.

With Andreas Schörff’s place of residence it had been easier. His fingerprints had been clearly assigned to his identity by his passport. The passport had been issued by the authorities in Kiel and his home address was also known here.

Stefan and Gwen discussed the next steps. They would first inspect the house or apartment to find evidence of drug use or abuse. Perhaps this would enable them to complete the investigation quickly. If not, it might give them more clues as to how he got the drugs.

Gwen was already fantasizing about an international smuggling ring for fake drugs, but for Stefan it was a bit far-fetched. After all, they had often started out small and had discovered a larger context through their research. Stefan put up with this but warned Gwen to take small steps. Eventually, the first thing they did was to go to Andreas Schörff’s home address.

The two investigators wanted to get their own picture before perhaps activating forensics or other personnel from the other departments. They reached Schulstraße 27 in Gettorf. North of the center, at the end of a cul-de-sac, they found a large detached house at the address. It was very quiet in the street and not a soul took notice of their arrival. They had parked their police car in the driveway of the property and had got out. As always, they tried to get an impression of the surroundings and took even small things that did not escape their trained eye. Behind the property there were fields, meadows and tree areas. It seemed as if the village had come to an end here and behind it there was nothing but undeveloped land and cultivated fields. The other houses in the street were smaller and older houses from the existing stock, while the family house of Mr. Schörff was of more recent construction date. Probably an old house had given way and a new, larger house with better climate and heat insulation standards had been built. However, the building style fitted in very well with the existing architecture of the other houses in the street, although it had been built with exceptionally valuable materials. The marble steps to the entrance of the house alone must have cost a small fortune. The garden was in an impeccable, well-kept condition and the whole house was equipped with high-quality stainless-steel lamps. Stefan and Gwen soon realized that a certain expensive standard of living was maintained here.

They walked around the house and got scared. They were at least as frightened as the inhabitants of the house, who had made themselves comfortable on the terrace under the awning and drank coffee.

"Who are you and what are you doing on our property?" cried the fat lady without getting up.

Gwen and Stefan froze. They didn’t see that coming. They had assumed that Andreas Schörff was the only inhabitant of this house. After they had digested the first shock, they pulled out their badges and introduced themselves.

"We apologize for this unannounced intrusion. We assumed this house would be empty. My name is Chief Inspector Fisher, and this here is my colleague Superintendent Schick. We both come from the LKA in Kiel."

They showed their badges and handed out their business cards to the two grim-faced, obvious pensioners.

"And why did you think the house would be empty?" asked the fat lady without introducing herself.

Gwen was already afraid that she put her foot in it, if she answered the question, so she followed the rules.

"May I first ask who we have the pleasure of meeting?" Gwen asked politely.

"It’s certainly no pleasure if you just stand here in our garden unannounced" yapped the chubby woman.

"I am Dorothee Schörff and this is my husband, Waldemar." She pointed to her husband. Both remained sitting in their garden chairs, which was certainly better because of their corpulence. Gwen estimated the two at over seventy years, but certainly not yet eighty. They both only knew sports from television and the coffee did not lack large pieces of cream cake, which made Gwen quickly realize what caused their body weight. She remembered the autopsy report of the Salzburg forensic medicine and the age and weight information of Andreas Schörff. Apparently, he could be her son and he had successfully fought against his weight problems, which he had been instilled by his parents. At least he had been on a good path until his death.

The man had still not said anything, and Gwen expected it to stay that way. The two commissioners nodded at the pensioners to welcome them. Gwen was happy to have waited with her explanation, as she could now choose her words carefully so as not to go like a bull at a gate. After all, this was the moment when she had to convey the news of her son’s death to the parents.

They took it surprisingly well. During the conversation, which the officers continued to conduct while standing, it turned out that the mother had a rather bad opinion about her son. She flew into a frenzy and dug up old stories that her environment had surely forgotten for years. But not Dorothee. Gwen just listened intently while Stefan started taking notes. It was no longer possible for him to store all the information in his memory, which he didn’t even know if he would ever use them again. Dorothee told the officials about Andreas’ life at a young age, his education and the career he had made against all expectations.

After the seemingly endless monologue, Gwen had become a few points clearer. Andreas had probably found many peculiarities of his parents not worthy of imitation. Nutrition was only one aspect here. He had tried to stand on his own feet early on, on the one hand to ensure a more conscious nutrition, and on the other hand to get enough time for sports and to become independent from his parents. This also included getting an education to get away from home. He studied IT security and buoyed up with some internships at well-known companies. His mother did not see this as a profession, especially since he did not 'manufacture' anything. Time and again she had probably reproached her son for not having completed a craft education and not being able to repair a tap. Nevertheless, the parents allowed their son to move into the granny flat in the house – under the strict condition that he’d find a proper job! Finally, he dared to take the step into self-employment and acquired his own customers. Thanks to his large network from the university and the various positions as an intern, he had a good foundation for building up a stable clientele. In the beginning the income was meagre and his mother felt confirmed that there was no money in her son’s 'profession'. After the initial drought, however, Andreas was travelling the world and had made a name for himself. He had become a sought-after consultant, offering his expertise to paying clients to protect themselves against the threats from the Internet and real attackers on the ground. Developments in the world have now given intellectual property a significant value that needed to be protected in the same way as money or holdings of gold.

Stefan and Gwen now knew why the house had not been uninhabited and they had met the owners. Andreas Schörff only lived in the granny flat in his parents’ house. The husband, who still hadn’t said anything the whole time, remained sitting in his garden chair when his chubby wife Dorothee rose up sullenly to unlock the door to her son’s apartment for the two investigators. It was secured from the outside by a combination lock beside the door. After Mrs. Schörff had entered and confirmed the correct number, the lock unlocked as if by magic.

His mother did not mention anything about a wife or girlfriend in her monologue, so the investigators were surprised by the size of the apartment when it was only used by one person. Gwen and Stefan asked to be allowed to enter the apartment alone, which was allowed by Mrs. Schörff with a grumble. She disappeared and the two colleagues looked around carefully.

The floor plan of the apartment was kept simple. The entrance to the basement apartment was probably designed later, because one was directly in the living room without a porch, corridor or hallway. A large window with a light well in front of it let enough light into the apartment and was optimally aligned to the west. Through the window they could see Mr. and Mrs. Schörff sitting on the terrace.

The living room was furnished with high quality furniture. Right next to the entrance was a dusty, modern desk with a glass top and a metal frame. The apartment had obviously not been cleaned for a long time. A huge flat screen on one wall, with the leather living area opposite, made for a kind of cinema experience. In between, there was a timeless glass table. On the other side was a dining room. A large oval table of solid beech wood formed the centerpiece, while six leather-covered chairs with steel frames waited for guests. Further inside the apartment was a separate kitchen with the most modern machinery. The dark marble worktop looked huge but fitted very well with the light wooden fronts of the kitchen furniture. Next to it there was a bathroom which made Gwen and Stefan jealous. The light came on automatically as soon as they entered the room. In the corner there was a whirlpool that offered enough space for two people. Next to it was a shower, which was embedded in the floor at ground level and only separated from the rest of the bathroom by panes. The douche fell into the category of a 'wellness shower'. Different nozzles on the sides and a dinner plate sized shower head on the ceiling simulated at least eight different programs, obviously controlled by the control element in the wall. Gwen pinched her lips together and muttered a 'wow'.

She noticed the many different pots and jars with all kinds of creams on the washstand. She took a closer look at some of them. They were mainly substances mixed by a pharmacy, which Andreas had obviously received on prescription. One paste, Gwen could read on the label, was for a kind of skin contamination, not to mention acne at his age. Another with cortisone for inflammation. There were also many opened jars of well-known brands that were used exclusively for skin care. Andreas Schörff probably attached great importance to his appearance, even though he had to struggle with success. Gwen examined the drawers, but apart from the usual things, such as interdental brushes, dental floss, supplies of toothpaste and a manicure set, all she found was a signet ring with an eagle motif on the seal surface. She closed the drawers again.

Next to the bathroom there was a separate room with a toilet, which was brightly tiled. The only unspectacular room so far, Gwen soberly noted. Only the light worked automatically. At the end of the apartment they found a kind of cellar door which was locked. This must be the transition to the living area on the first floor, Stefan speculated. The last room was the bedroom. Gwen had the feeling that she could dance in the room, it was so big, despite the big bed and the built-in closet. As with the rest of the apartment, the impression was strengthened that someone with a lot of taste had had a hand in its decoration.

The entire apartment gave the investigators the impression of a wealthy inhabitant. Someone who chose very carefully what he invested in. The walls were embellished by a few pictures in elegant frames and the floor was covered with parquet flooring throughout the apartment, except in the bathroom and the toilet. What stood out were the few decorative elements in the apartment. No flowers, no objects on shelves that needed dusting. No shampoo bottles in the bathroom and no books on bookshelves. Even in the kitchen there were hardly any other utensils on the walls or on the worktop besides the most modern kitchen appliances. Only a large can of powder for protein shakes was tolerated next to the electric blender. Further tins were in the base cabinet, neatly lined up.

"The apartment looks a bit like an uninhabited show flat that only serves the purpose of the exhibition" Stefan finally stated objectively.

"There is nothing lying or standing around that somehow seems unnecessary. It’s as if he carefully tidied up and stowed away everything before he left."

"I would probably have done the same with my parents" Stefan admitted frankly. "Somehow, he wanted to protect his privacy from his parents, …"

"… or give them no reason for criticism" Gwen finished the sentence.

"In any case, we can rule out the possibility that someone else has been here in his absence. The door was locked … well, with a combination lock. But maybe someone knew the combination."

The investigators looked around the room. "But it doesn’t look like anything was touched or searched."

Stefan noticed it first, "There are no light switches here, although there are lights mounted to the wall." He smiled. "Okay Google, turn on the lights in the living room." Nothing happened. Stefan frowned. "Alexa, turn on the living room light."

The lights turned on as if controlled by magic. Stefan’s face became friendlier again.

"Alexa, turn off the living room light." The lights on the walls went out. Stefan looked around.

"Alexa, lower the shutter in the living room!" The living room darkened.

"Alexa, stop!" The shutters stopped.

"He’s installed one of those automatic assistants that can probably control a lot of things here. I’m impressed."

"Get a grip, Stefan, or can this thing open the front door?"

"Alexa, open the front door!" Stefan tried his luck.

A computer voice replied, "The front door is already open!"

Stefan spotted the round loudspeaker that was positioned next to the door.

"Then let’s try it from the outside. If we’re loud enough, it might work to open the door again."

"But surely you must have some code that we don’t have. Otherwise, anyone who comes by here could open the door."

"That’s right, Gwen, I guess I thought it would be too easy."

"Just working with experts once, that would be great" Gwen murmured to herself and rolled her eyes provocatively.

Stefan already knew the slogan and did not feel offended. On the contrary. He took Gwen in his arms and hugged her.

"Hey, not when we are in service, dear colleague!" she laughed.

"Come on, expert, let’s go. We’ve gotten an impression and we should try to find the sister. Her parents should know where to find her."

As he went out, Stefan pulled the door shut and immediately afterwards shouted a little louder, "Alexa, open the apartment door!"

The computer voice replied, "The code is incorrect."

"You’re incorrigible, my playmate" and Gwen laughed.

Both thanked Mr. and Mrs. Schörff and did not forget to ask them about their daughter. Surprisingly willing they gave all the needed information, like telephone number and an address. Once more they thanked and finally said goodbye. They would get in touch with Andreas Schörff’s sister and see if she could contribute something to the clarification of her brother’s drug abuse.

♦♦♦

The sister could wait until the next day, the investigators decided concerted. Gwen had had enough of the first day and wanted to be at home with her son and mother.

Beth, as she was called by everyone in short form, was a live wire, just like her daughter usually was. The family business and the responsibility she took on in caring for and supervising her grandson Phil made her age slowly. Her own husband Eric died before Gwen was born, so she was used to taking responsibility. However, as her grandson grew older, the responsibilities of caring for him had changed. Where he had someone to play with in the early years after school, today’s activities were limited to cooking only occasionally, when Phil had not even eaten at school. Beth had not accompanied the three on vacation in the Austrian mountains, and so this was the first evening that Gwen had to go into detail about what had happened.

Gwen didn’t know where to start and told the whole story from her point of view in all its details. Beth hung on her lips. Although Phil knew much of the story because he had witnessed it in person, he wanted to hear firsthand what was going on the first day of work. So, he sat down with his grandma and ate some gummy bears.

Gwen told her mother about the journey to Austria, which went without any problems. As well as the move to the accommodations. She described the holiday resort very clearly and they could all imagine how it would look like in winter.

In summer the audience was diverse and the interests of course different from those of the winter holidaymakers. Phil reported about his successes in searching and finding geocaches. Proudly he reported about the Travelbug and the Ziplining, which all three of them had experienced for the first time. Beth was very interested in the details and kept asking about them. Then they got to the most exciting part of the vacation. The discovery of the dead man.

Excitedly, Phil detailed, how he had actually discovered him, but was no longer able to react. Phil left the story about the report of the find in the police station, the experiences with the policeman, and also the recovery of the dead body, to his mother. As usual, she summarized the experiences, but Beth encouraged her to give more detailed explanations through her inquiries. When she reported on her last visit to the police, her mother was just commented, "That was so obvious". All three laughed and Beth was happy to see her daughter happy again. She hoped things would get better from now on and that Gwen would be able to accept the memories better.

Finally, Beth was satisfied with the details she had learned about the vacation and asked about Gwen’s first day at work.

Rolling her eyes, she reported on the new credit cards. One could feel that her remarks were filled with frustration and a lack of understanding for this whole action. It probably cost the LKA, and ultimately the taxpayer, a lot of money. The whole exchange of the cards was nonsensical and unnecessary. While talking Gwen realized that she again flew into a rage. Phil, however, was interested in a very specific aspect.

"Mom, don’t you think that maybe by changing your cards, new security features could be used?"

Gwen had long since stopped wondering about her son’s interests and the extent to which he was already familiar with things that not even an adult knew about.

"What exactly do you mean, big boy, and how do you figure it?"

"It’s very simple, Mom. You can read it everywhere!"

Gwen and Beth looked at each other without understanding. "Why don’t you explain exactly what you mean to your grandmother" Beth challenged her grandson.

"In the old days, credit cards only had a card number and an expiration date. You could pay with them if you had some control over the signature on the back. The entire settlement was only possible manually by means of paper receipts. This was only very insufficient as a security feature, especially when the internet came up and people started to pay by credit card there as well, I read. One could hardly sign any piece of paper. At first, a 'personal identification number', a so-called PIN was used here, which was also necessary outside the Internet if you wanted to pick up money from the ATM. Some time later, they agreed on a code which was printed on the back of the card. After all, you had to have physical access to the card if you wanted to buy something on the Internet without a signature and without a PIN. But there was still too much uncertainty, potential for fraud and also different procedures. It was standardized around the time I was born. Since then, hackers have of course become more and more professional, but credit card companies have also constantly come up with new countermeasures to protect themselves. Much of this is based on the Internet or keeping information secret. It’s a really exciting topic when you look at it and read something."

Gwen and Beth were impressed. They didn’t think Phil had that much background knowledge, but he surprised them again and again. He had grown up with the internet and all the technology and it was not difficult for him to understand the whole picture.

"That’s very impressive, Phil, but my knowledge is limited here and I’m afraid I can’t tell you if the cards are more secure now, and what additional security features have been introduced."

Somewhat disappointed not to be able to expand his knowledge, Phil was satisfied with his mother’s statement. Not everyone could be an expert in every field.

"Okay, Mom, no problem. But why don’t you tell us what you found out about the dead guy today?"

Gwen could not go into the details for understandable reasons, but there was a certain euphoria in her, which obviously had transferred from Stefan to her. She talked about his parents and the basement apartment. Then she told about the equipment and the technical features of the apartment. Finally, she said that Phil would certainly have liked the apartment as well, as many things were automated. Gwen bit her tongue because she knew what was coming.

"That’s what I want for my birthday, Mom. It’s so cool when you don’t even have to get up to turn the lights on."

Gwen couldn’t take pleasure in the argument but didn’t show her aversion to all the technical toys.

"We will discuss this in more detail when the time comes. Your next birthday is still many months away."

"That’s right, Mom, but it’s Christmas before that" Phil noted.

"All right, enough of this subject. Off to bed! Tomorrow morning, the night is over, and the school will not tolerate sleepy students."

Phil said goodbye to his grandma with a hug and a goodnight kiss. His mother got the same. The empty gummy bear bag ended up in the recycling bin and Phil waved down the stairs once more.

"Tomorrow we will pay a visit to the sister. Let’s see what she has to report and if she knew about her brother’s drug abuse. If not, then our jogger’s life has just taken an unfortunate turn and we’ll have to accept death as an accident."