brought along the other two.” He looked around the room. Thoughtful faces everywhere.
“It all hinges on the question of how likely this Ansmann &
Son bankruptcy is,” Max finally said. “If that’s not happening, Katja Ansmann wouldn’t have a reason to wish Birkner dead. She’d have
enough dough.”
“Maybe she was just mad at him,” Alex said. “He cheated on her,
with this Tanja, for example; maybe he wanted to leave her, or some-
thing like that.”
Lina shook her head. “That’s unlikely. According to Katja Ansmann,
she and Philip Birkner had an open relationship. She knew that he had the occasional girlfriend. Besides, she wasn’t faithful herself.”
“But that doesn’t count as much,” Sebastian mumbled.
Max tilted his head. “Why not?”
“Well, she was only with another woman. If she’d been with a
man, well then . . . But maybe she was just a little chummy with her girlfriend.”
Max and Lina looked at each other. Max raised an eyebrow and
shrugged; Lina rolled her eyes. “As a matter of fact, Birkner had more reason to be jealous,” she said. “The two women were already an item when Katja Ansmann met him. And then there’s the study in the
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apartment, which could have served as a second bedroom. Maybe the
two didn’t sleep together.”
“A strange relationship,” Alex said, shaking his head. “I couldn’t
imagine being in such a relationship.” Hanno and Sebastian nodded,
but neither said anything.
Lina took a deep breath. “We’ve got to look more closely at Katja
Ansmann.” She knew Hanno wasn’t going to like that, but it was worth a try. “What’s her father’s financial situation really like? Did she make any recent payments to Jensen?” She looked directly at Hanno. “For
me, she’s still the main suspect.”
“Not for me,” Hanno said. His face was slightly red, as if her per-
sistence had provoked him. “We’ll just cast a wide net in our investigation. Who’s the unknown woman? What’s the relationship between
Tanja Fischer and Philip Birkner? Max, have you heard anything from
the forest rangers? Maybe one of them saw something. Follow up with
them.”
Max nodded. “Will do. I’m also still trying to reach someone at the
Ministry of Urban Development and the Environment. I want to find
out who mapped the Niendorfer Gehege.”
Hanno straightened in his chair and emitted leadership quality.
“Sebastian, you deal with the boys from the subway station. Lina, you try to get hold of this Tanja Fischer. She must be somewhere, after all.”
He looked at his notes. “Also try to find some other acquaintances
and friends of Birkner. Alex, as soon as the records in the Julia Munz murder case arrive, go over them. Maybe you’ll find something interesting. Also, interrogate the brother once more. Maybe he can name
some names. Maybe more people were mad at Birkner, not just Frank
Jensen.”
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Chapter 10
Max had just entered his office with a cup of tea in his hand when the phone rang. The switchboard told him that a Herr Behnke had called
and wanted him to please call back.
The forest ranger of the Niendorfer Gehege picked up right away.
He told Max that he had talked with his people about the murder and
one of them, a man called Barsfeld, had mentioned an odd guy who
was constantly roaming the woods.
“I’ve often seen him myself,” said Herr Behnke. “He’s an elderly
man and probably a little backward. And he is around here quite a bit.
Maybe he noticed something.”
“Do you know where I could find this man?” Max asked. He heard
Tobias Behnke pose the question to someone, and after a moment he
was back.
“Are you still on? Herr Barsfeld just saw the man and could keep an
eye on him until you get here—if you’d like to come here now.”
Max wanted to do that. After the long session in Hanno’s office, he
needed exercise and fresh air. An outing to the woods sounded perfect.
Tobias Behnke was waiting for him when Max arrived. A tall
elderly man was standing next to him. He had a gray mustache and
Maria C. Poets
close-cropped hair. “Herr Barsfeld has been with the forest ranger’s office the longest,” Behnke said.
Barsfeld nodded. “The man you’re looking for is called Niels
Hinrichsen. I knew his grandfather. He was the ranger here after the war. Niels is harmless, but a little slow.”
“Do you know where he is right now?”
Barsfeld nodded. “He’s behind the game enclosure, in the area
where we’re clearing the underbrush.” He pointed across the fenced-
in area where fallow deer were kept. “He’s hiding behind a tree and
watching.”
Max looked at Tobias Behnke and asked, “Could you spare your
coworker for a little while?” When Behnke nodded, he asked the old
forestry worker to bring him to Niels Hinrichsen. Five minutes