Request for Assistance. A-11/00
Nøddebo Church 10.56, Saturday March 4
Ready, my dear?
- You look beautiful. - I'm shaking.
Why are they all outside?
He mustn't see me. Tell him to go.
- What? - The door's locked.
- And no priest. - Don't look!
- She's not here? - Why not?
- It's bad luck. - The locksmith's here.
Don't look.
- It's open now. - Go!
Come on now.
Our hero!
- Vindfeldt! - What?
The priest... She's lying inside.
I knew it was bad luck.
Everyone please leave the church and the grounds at once.
She's dead.
UNIT ONE
I want to get married.
Nothing big. Just the four of us.
Episode 5
Would it be boring without a party?
- What party? - When we get married.
- Why get married? - In case...
- I get killed or something. - Then it won't matter, eh?
The state gets my pension if I'm single.
So that's it!
I thought it was out of love, but it's a practicality.
- Pure and simple. - Good morning.
Good morning.
It's not 12 yet. You shouldn't be up.
- You two got up too early. - We're planning a wedding.
- Are you getting married? - Yes.
- Far out! - At the town hall.
No. We must do it right. With a big party.
- They're getting married. - Really?
- Yes, your mother says so. - Could we keep it quiet?
It must be in a church with all the trimmings.
No, nothing about "Till death do us part..."
Yes.
Now they're killing priests. A female priest,
lying on the church floor just before a wedding.
I'll have to go to Forensics. It's going to be difficult.
Ulf's on his way up there.
The bride's father is an ex-commissioner.
An old friend of Ulf's.
- Those are my pyjamas. - I know.
Nøddebo 10.10, Sunday March 5
- It's you? You came in person? - Yes.
The others are on their way.
- Enjoying your retirement? - No. But some people
haven't noticed I've retired.
Remember The Murders in the Rue Morgue?
No.
Edgar Allan Poe? The locked room...
The door was locked from the inside
and the key was in it.
I found her here.
No murder weapon,
no other doors and no other way out.
- What about the windows? - They don't open.
I was in charge of the station here for 14 years.
And six months after my retirement
up pops a case to challenge the old grey matter.
That's ironic, isn't it?
- How are things? - So-so.
We haven't talked since you became a feminist.
- What? - Well...
Wasn't Ingrid Dahl's appointment positive discrimination?
Politics!
I wanted more funding
and the chief of police wanted a woman in the job.
- Can she cut it? - Yes, she gets results.
- But she's got a good team. - Hi.
- Welcome. - The officers outside...
are they the total crew on this case?
We had 17 men here yesterday.
The whole town and the wedding party were questioned.
All who'd been in the church in the last 48 hours
were fingerprinted.
Forensics were careful. They also found a dictaphone.
By the way, my wife read in the papers
Kirsten is in a radio play.
- She'll be on tomorrow night. - You're well informed.
Well... Did you know Pastor Eriksen well?
I'd say so.
Was she depressed?
IP... do you remember the prisoner
who committed suicide by smashing his head on the floor?
It can't be suicide.
Autopsy of deceased 12.10, Sunday March 5
Pastor Eriksen was undoubtedly a woman of great willpower.
If she intended suiciding by banging her head on the floor
her lesions don't fit the picture.
What happened, then?
Just a moment.
- Do you like soft-boiled eggs? - What?
What does her cranium look like?
I get it. A cracked eggshell.
Precisely. So-called eggshell fractures.
And the time of death?
Her temperature at the scene was 18.3.
Allowing for the cold room and her clothing
her temperature would have dropped by 1.2 to 1.3 an hour,
meaning she went to her heavenly Father between...
21.00 and 23.00 Friday evening?
The margin of error's greater.
To be safe, let's say between 20.30 and 23.30.
Why did you call her a woman of willpower?
- Did you see her fingers? - No.
She had thickened joints and swollen mucous membranes.
Sj"gren's syndrome...
- Which is? - Arthritis.
Exhaustion. Eyes and mouth like sandpaper.
You need strength to conduct a service.
Any more talk, join me in the shower.
You shower, I'll leave.
You're sure she died on the spot?
- Shall I show you why again? - No.
No signs of resistance...
The first blow finished her.
The two extra blows were unnecessary.
It's not possible. The locked room?
- Staying the night? - No.
I could cook and we could...
rustle up some clever theories.
That's enough from you, Jan.
Say hello to the boring one.
Lucky for them the wedding's off?
That piece of paper jinxes things.
It could be love.
Loving is different to owning.
What about...
True love?
Yes. Johnny here.
What?
You can't do that.
But when will I see them?
Yes, but... Where are you?
Okay?
That was my ex-wife. She's moving to Manchester.
She's back at the job she had when I was playing there.
She wants to take the boys.
- She wouldn't, would she? - Mette?
She would do anything
to hurt me.
"Though I bestow all my goods, and have not love,
"it profiteth me nothing.
"Love suffereth long and is kind.
- "Love envieth not..." - St Paul...
- You know the Bible? - Not really.
Although he's an atheist, it's Søren's favourite text.
"...faith, hope, love...
"these three, but the greatest of these is love."
Her text for the wedding.
The verger says she came here to tape her sermons.
Listen to this.
- And the faith... - Oops.
...is love... What do you want now?
That's the last thing she recorded.
And probably the last person
she talked to in this earthly life.
What do you want now?
What does it tell us? Other than that she knew the person?
Briefing 14.30, Sunday March 5
- There's no fear! - We've just come from Hillerød Station.
Their report...
They've done a great job.
You all know Vindfeldt.
Ex-assistant commissioner, trying to retire.
We'll put a stop to that.
- Have a look at those photos. - Yes, of course. Hello.
Here's Jørgen, Pastor Eriksen's husband.
They'd been married for ten years. No children.
Jørgen's a teacher at Nøddebo School.
An odd fellow.
- He never fitted in here. - And he's a liar.
He signed a report saying he slept with his wife Friday night.
I hope not. She was dead by then.
The examiner says she died between 20.30 and 23.30.
- Bring Jørgen Eriksen in. - Got a minute?
Just to get this clear. Are you in charge?
No, no. Of course not.
- You are. - So I decide if we get him in?
Or if I have a quiet chat to him. He lost his wife yesterday!
- Who's he? - Him?
That's Christian Lange.
Jørgen's boss.
My wife thinks he'd have been better suited to our young priest.
I forgot I had a meeting. I must run.
Love to your wife.
Please don't get up.
A meeting on a Sunday?
The medical examiner thinks the murder weapon could be a spade.
The toolshed was unlocked.
Forensics will confirm either way
in a couple of days.
- I'll take the school principal. - Okay. Please read this.
I'll go over to the church.
Vindfeldt... Thanks for your help.
- May I call you later? - Certainly.
Deceased's home 15.07, Sunday March 5
Ingrid Dahl. Homicide division.
May I offer my condolences?
Thanks.
May I come in?
Yes. Come inside.
Thanks.
I keep expecting her to come through the door.
What do you think happened?
A maniac after the church silver?
I don't really know.
- Where did you meet your wife? - In a bar.
I was an unemployed loser. Had nothing to keep me going.
I'd be dead had I not met her.
- She restored my faith. - In God?
In another life. Without booze.
- And God? - Ha!
God!
Sometimes...
I'm quite sure He's somewhere out there in the universe
and at other times it's just... darkness.
When did you see her last?
- I've already told them. - Tell me again
about Friday night.
We...
had our dinner.
She went to the church and I sat down to watch TV.
- You didn't go for a walk? - No, I went to bed around...
10 or half past.
She was still over there.
- But she came home to bed? - Sure.
You're sure?
- I'd have known, wouldn't I? - You did sleep together?
- Didn't you? - Yes, yes.
And you got up together?
How were things between you? All right?
Yes.
Jørgen...
Your wife died between 30 and 23.30 Friday night.
Try again.
When did you see her on Friday night?
- At dinner. - No later?
- No. - What did you do then?
You weren't here or you'd have known she wasn't at home.
Right...
Where were you?
I...
Try telling the truth and save us both time.
- I was with another... - Woman?
- Yes. - When did you leave her?
Saturday morning.
Your wife knew?
Does this woman have a name?
Did you really play for Denmark?
Can I have your autograph?
Look.
- What's your name? - Christoffer. She's my sister.
My son's a Christoffer.
Great name.
- You are? - Line.
- Want one? - No.
Mum!
- That's great. Come on. - He played for Denmark.
Come on.
We knew the dead woman.
Leaving?
Yes.
I found out that my kids are at their grandma's.
She's stupid
taking the boys away without your consent.
I got advice from a lawyer.
If she does that, the courts are likely to award you full custody.
You might want to tell her that.
You know what you are? Lovely...
I might be back tonight.
Nøddebo School 16.11, Sunday March 5
I've known her a long time. We were high school friends.
We both studied theology. I quit it for teaching.
And coincidently the year I became head here
she was appointed parish priest.
So you were very close?
Yes... Absolutely. Barring my wife,
she was the person I valued most.
Maria!
- This is my wife. - Fischer, Homicide.
We're both devastated over what's happened.
I was out of town with the kids when Maria called me.
We thought of cancelling the carnival
but Eva wouldn't have wanted that.
Right, love?
Okay. Yes.
I'll do that. I'll call you. Great.
- Can you come to my office? - Why?
We can talk in front of your husband. I don't care.
- Let's say 10 o'clock? - Yes.
- Bye. - Bye.
What did he want?
They know. The whole town knows.
You must realise this isn't easy for me either.
"...unseemly.
"Seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked.
"Thinketh no evil.
"Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth."
I'm Jens Olesen.
- I'm the verger. - I figured that.
Thomas LaCour, Homicide.
What a voice she had!
The priest.
And then that text of St Paul's...
that she loved more than anything.
- You wanted to see me? - You were in Hillerød Friday?
- Returning by bus at 22.30? - Yes.
- You saw a light on over here. - I assumed she'd forgotten it.
So I switched it off.
- Where's the switch? - In the porch.
- Did you try the church door? - Yes, it was locked.
While she was lying in here...
Jens...
What do you think happened?
That's obvious to anyone. It was his work!
- Could you show me the switch? - Yes.
Did you see anything else Friday evening?
A man left the church.
- You knew him? - He didn't stop.
He didn't see me.
The priest's husband.
Why didn't he say before?
Confusion, he says.
Four witnesses on the 22.34 bus from Hillerød
independently say they saw Jørgen Eriksen
walk from the church to the vicarage.
Excuse me. But this may be important.
My neighbour, who's in insurance, tells me
the Eriksens had mutual life insurance.
Jørgen's rich.
He'll get almost two million
with the death of his wife.
What are we waiting for? He's a liar.
- He needs to explain himself. - Tomorrow.
- He'll tell more lies then. - He's just lost his wife.
- We're not social workers. - We don't have enough on him.
In my day that would have justified a warrant.
I want to talk to his girlfriend.
If he absconds or suicides, who's responsible?
- I am. - You?
Wouldn't it be wise to check with Ulf first?
No. Thanks for now.
Gaby?
- Coming? - I've got some work to do.
I've booked a room at the inn for tonight.
Okay.
Bye-bye.
- Why don't we take him? - Just go home to your wife.
Aren't we in a good mood!
Riddle solved.
Boysen, the genius.
Ingrid and Søren here. Leave a message.
It's me. Where are you all?
Could you get Tobias's skis down from the attic?
- Hi, where were you? - Oh, I was just...
- Where are Gry and Tobias? - Gry's with her mum
and Tobias is picking up a game from a friend.
I can't remember who.
- You sound strange. - I don't feel good.
- Is it that headache? - I'm fine.
There's a virus going around.
- Sure? - Yes.
I'm off to Forensics.
Boysen's solved our locked room riddle.
Fine, darling.
Bye for now.
So?
An American colleague of mine is in no doubt.
Have you ever chopped off a hen's head?
No, but I've seen them run around headless.
Exactly. Its reflexes say "flight"
long after it's clinically dead.
That's got nothing to do with this. And yet.
You saw her cranium?
Yes.
- The fractures caused a rupture. - Meaning?
No hole, and she'd have died instantly.
The brain's of an exact size. The skull has limited space.
So if the brain swells following a blow, the pressure rises,
the blood supply stops and it's curtains.
But here...
the blood escaped.
- I'll get her and show you. - No, I follow.
It might have given her... 30 seconds.
The killer runs.
Her last thought is to lock the murderer out.
She locks the door, staggers back, collapses...
- And dies. - Okay.
Any ideas?
- Do you know who did it? - No.
Come for a bite and some more ideas.
- You never give up. - So what?
I'm spoken for.
I'm sending Tobias off to Norway tomorrow morning.
How can you leave after all I've done for you?
- One beer? - Okay. One beer.
It's like a magic trick.
Do you know what I mean?
When you know it, you think "Was that really all it was?"
Like with this locked room. A bit like "Oh!"
The question now is, who was she locking out?
Are you asleep?
Nøddebo 07.45, Monday March 6
Good morning.
- Johnny's not back? - Why should he be?
He'll come when I ask him to fetch the office.
Why did I think he'd be back last night?
Who knows?
- Did Tobias get off okay? - Oh...
I could kick myself. The last thing I said was
"No black pistes." That's all he'll think about now.
I won't have a moment's peace.
Morning.
Hillerød Police Station had problems last night.
The chief constable told me.
We've got to manage on our own.
As long as that man...
Vindfeldt...
Good morning.
I've solved the riddle of the locked room.
I spent all last night talking to my good friend Uffe.
He's a consultant physician at the hospital and now...
Yes...
Now! Here comes the shock.
It was the priest herself who locked that door.
"But how can that be?"
- You all ask. Right? - Yes?
How?
Because she had a hole in her skull
through which the blood seeped.
That extended her life by 30 seconds.
Enough time for her to lock the door.
- Of course. - Sure.
The spade in the shed may be the murder weapon.
There are no stains. All tools were carefully cleaned.
That doesn't help us. Anyone can get in there.
Have you... Have you picked Jørgen up?
- No. - No?
Not that I want to interfere.
There's nothing more annoying than an ex-cop, but...
There's a little bell ringing up here.
When I passed the vicarage
the curtains were still closed.
You can say many things about Jørgen
but he's always been a morning person.
Hello.
I'll... I'll pop in a bit later.
This way, please.
Eriksen says he was with you Friday night.
- Is Jørgen a suspect? - No.
Why does it matter where he was?
First he told the police he was with his wife.
But when told she was killed Friday evening
he said he'd been with you.
If you can confirm that
we can clear that one up.
He was with me.
Do you mind telling me what you did?
Guess.
- You're having an affair? - It means nothing.
- "Means nothing"? - It was purely sexual.
- Did Jørgen feel the same way? - Yes.
We agreed.
As long as we didn't hurt anyone it was nobody's business.
How long has it been going on?
What? I've told you he was with me, isn't that enough?
Yes.
- When did he arrive? - Around 8.
- When did he leave? - The next morning... at 9.30.
And you were together all the time?
- I can't quite hear you. - Yes, we were.
So his wife knew of the affair
since he spent all night with you?
Yes.
And your husband?
I told him last night after what had happened.
- How did he take it? - He was upset, of course.
But...
we're adults, aren't we?
Before your husband left with your children,
Friday evening, what did you talk about?
- How's it going? - I don't remember.
Splendid. Three lies so far.
Two witnesses heard arguments and said he left very angry.
Why so angry?
Jørgen didn't leave you
but five people saw him at the church?
Maria! This is serious. It's a murder investigation.
That thing...
about it meaning nothing...
Perhaps it did?
Was that what you argued about?
You told him you wanted a divorce?
Yes.
And Jørgen went to the church to tell his wife the same thing?
Yes.
For how long was he gone?
Half an hour.
How was he when he returned?
Distraught... It had been hard for him to tell her.
It had been a shock for her. She suffered...
from arthritis.
She couldn't have coped on her own.
I woke up that night.
He was crying.
He said it would have been more humane...
To kill her?
Could he have done it? Could he have killed her?
I don't know.
I don't.
I saw the famous play Nøddebo Parsonage every year.
- Have you seen it? - Yes, but once was enough.
"When's Christmas?" It's asked.
"When the students arrive." Well, we're here.
Deceased's home 09.44, Monday March 6
It's the police. Please open the door.
It's the police. Anyone at home?
- IP! - He stinks like hell.
What a binge!
I don't have to talk to the police.
I don't.
But I want to talk to you.
I'd like to tell you the whole thing.
She was not meant to...
She wasn't meant to...
- Allan Fischer. - Jørgen Eriksen.
- And you're okay to talk? - Yes.
Hang your coat up, sit down and there's a pick-me-up.
Interrogation at 14.30 on March 6
of Jørgen Eriksen.
You're not obliged to say anything.
Right.
Where were you Friday night?
With a friend.
That friend, Maria Lange, says you left at 22.00.
Five people saw you at the church at 22.30.
Shall we start from there?
Right so far?
Yes.
What did you do at the church?
- I told Eva. - What did you tell her?
I told her the truth, that I wanted a divorce.
Was she surprised?
Yes.
How did she react?
She became upset. Very upset.
- Did she cry? - Yes.
- Did you comfort her? - Yes.
But she...
- She misunderstood. - How?
She became...
- She became amorous. - And then what?
I...
- I pulled myself away. - And what then?
She became furious.
- She drove me out. - Out of the church?
Yes.
- And that was it? - Yes.
- Two million's a lot of money. - What?
- Two million's a lot of money. - What are you talking about?
I'll make myself clear. Your life insurance!
We don't have any.
We've checked it out.
Look here.
That signature! That's yours, right?
16 March 1999.
I thought it was an ordinary household policy.
That's hard to believe.
Your wife's ill, close to 50 and this is not cheap.
A financial drain.
Eva was in charge of all that.
She took it out for me.
Yes.
Let's hear what really happened in that church.
More reports. How's it going?
He's tough. It's been three hours.
Look at these.
These are dated March 1. You remember?
Five days ago. Paid by you at the post office.
Look at this. Oops!
There's the life insurance.
Eva asked me to pay it.
And the amount didn't surprise you?
No.
Jørgen, this is a lot of money.
Ingrid's phone. Gaby here.
Gry? Just a moment.
It's Gry.
- Yes? - I'm at the hospital.
- It's Dad. - What's up with him?
- He's having brain surgery. - What?
He fainted in the kitchen and...
I called an ambulance.
- He's being operated on. - I'm on my way.
It's Søren. He's in surgery. I'll have to go.
I'll drive.
- I'll drive myself. - Don't argue.
Niels!
He had complications but he'll make it.
- What is this? - He was unconscious.
We found a blood clot.
If we hadn't operated he would have died.
- How long has he had it? - Since the accident.
The blow caused a blood vessel to leak.
Why didn't you find it before?
He refused to stay in for observation.
But we may not have found it anyway.
We can thank Gry for acting so promptly.
- I'll phone later. - Thanks, IP.
We needed a new headmistress.
It was a choice between Mrs Møller or Miss Smith.
Mrs Møller was best qualified
and had better connections.
But Miss Smith was someone any school would appreciate.
You remembered?
I'll get you a glass.
I didn't want her to listen on her own.
- She's magnificent. - Søren's in hospital.
- What? - He'll pull through.
There's a sofa if you want to lie down.
Good idea.
I'll call you when he wakes.
- You promise? - Yes.
Ingrid here. The grocer says...
On her way to the church Pastor Eriksen
bought batteries for her dictaphone.
She asked him to change them
but he had a customer so he didn't.
Ask Jørgen Eriksen if he changed the batteries.
You say she got furious.
She must have hit you, eh?
- She didn't. - Think about it, man.
She hit you, you hit back. Too hard...
She fell and you thought "Oh, well...
"I might as well finish her off."
Jørgen?
Did you put new batteries in your wife's dictaphone?
No.
It was the first thing she asked when I got to the church.
If I could help her change the batteries.
But we forgot about it when we started talking.
It's 21.48. Interview terminated.
You may leave. But stay in Nøddebo.
Cheerio.
So what's going on here?
- Ingrid's idea. The batteries. - Yes?
For the dictaphone. She bought them on her way.
- Her hands were arthritic. - So?
Jørgen left the church at 22.30.
By 23.30 she was dead.
Someone else changed the batteries.
I have to leave.
Well...
Jens Olesen, verger. Mean anything?
The verger?
- Get him. - Fischer's on it.
- Out... - Did you hear him?
Yes.
- Is that Ingrid? Let me talk. - Yes.
It's me. He wasn't there.
I checked with Vindfeldt.
He might be with his mum at a nursing home.
His life revolves around the church and his old mum.
Hillerød 02.07, Tuesday March 7
Oh, Jens!
Police!
Jens Olesen. Come with us.
It's 02.07 and you're under arrest.
You're not obliged to say anything.
Jens, don't forget my little gift.
What do you want now?
- Is she talking to you? - No.
When did you leave on Friday?
On the 6 o'clock bus.
How come your fingerprints are on the batteries?
They were bought at 8 p.m.
You went to the church after Hillerød?
Yes.
- And changed the batteries? - She was alive then.
Why didn't you say this before?
You might have suspected me.
Jens...
- That girl... - Pia?
Yes. Pia.
- Do you see her often? - She's my girlfriend.
She's ill. So she needs money.
Have you told your mum about her?
No.
- But she knows. - No, she doesn't!
Yes. She told us we'd find you at Pia's.
Then it was all unnecessary.
Killing Eva?
Was it because of Pia you killed her?
Yes.
Why?
I was on my way to the church to tell the priest something.
I heard the Eriksens arguing.
I waited for him to leave.
Tell her what?
That I'd embezzled money from the church funds.
Pia's very ill, so... she needs a lot of money.
So...
So when the priest...
asked me to change the batteries...
I told her what I'd done and...
that I would pay it back.
I've never seen her so inflexible.
She said she'd tell the whole parish council.
And my mum too.
So you got the spade?
She always talked about...
Iove...
suffering all.
A devil got into me.
I was really angry.
Sorry.
Well done. See you.
We got a full confession.
Ingrid.
- It didn't work. - What didn't work?
There were complications.
What?
His brain has had no blood supply for the last 14 minutes.
Ingrid?
We have to talk about organ donation.
Do you know Søren's wishes?
- How long will his heart beat? - Twelve hours at the most.
Your decision can wait.
If I were to follow Søren's wishes...
He'd want to help others.
We'd like to be alone now.
Oh, no.
Gry.
Is he awake?
No, he's not awake.
And he'll never wake up.
What?
Your father's dead.
No.
There, there. Come here.
Shall I call your mother?
- You all did a great job. - You did too.
The court sentenced Jens Olesen to eight years in prison.