Chapter 3 - THE HOUSE THAT WASN’T SAFE
For several seconds, Beate couldn't speak.
The photograph showed her asleep.
Not posed.
Not aware.
Her pregnancy was obvious beneath the blanket.
The date on the back was three weeks earlier.
I looked at Sarah.
“Who took it?”
“We're investigating.”
“Does Gero admit it?”
“He hasn't been interviewed yet.”
Beate stared at the picture.
“I remember that night.”
“What happened?”
“I fell asleep on the couch.”
“Was Gero home?”
She shook her head.
“He said he was working.”
I looked at the photograph again.
If Gero had taken it, he'd been inside while she believed she was alone.
The thought made my stomach turn.
Sarah took the evidence bag.
“We're going to Falkenhof.”
Beate stood.
“I want to come.”
I immediately said no.
She looked at me.
“Papa.”
“You don't have to see this.”
“I do.”
Her voice was soft.
“But this time, I don't want someone else telling me what happened in my house.”
I nodded.
That was the first decision I had seen her make without asking permission.
We drove to Falkenhof with Sarah and another officer.
The property looked peaceful.
Green fields.
Old stone walls.
The little house where Beate's mother had spent her last years.
It had always been Beate's safe place.
Until Gero discovered it could be used against her.
Sarah unlocked the door.
Nothing appeared disturbed.
The nursery was exactly as Beate had left it.
A half-finished crib.
Tiny yellow curtains.
A shelf filled with books.
And the camera.
The red light still blinked.
Sarah examined the device.
“It stores local backup footage too.”
Beate stared.
“So even if he deleted the cloud copy…”
“We may still have everything.”
That was the first good news we'd had.
Then Sarah moved toward the desk.
The brass key fit the drawer.
Inside were documents.
Property records.
Insurance papers.
And a notebook.
Beate picked it up.
It belonged to Gero.
The entries were dated.
Most were business notes.
But one page contained three lines.
Falkenhof.
Value increasing.
Need Beate cooperative.
She stopped breathing.
I took the notebook.
Sarah read over my shoulder.
Then she opened another page.
There were dates.
Arguments.
Payments.
One sentence appeared again and again.
Do not let her involve her father.
Beate's face went pale.
“He was afraid of you.”
“No.”
I looked at her.
“He was afraid I would believe you.”
She looked at me.
“That may be worse.”
Then Sarah found another notebook.
This one was older.
It contained the names of several women.
Dates.
Amounts.
Phone numbers.
I frowned.
“What is this?”
Sarah read the first page.
“These aren't business clients.”
The names belonged to women.
One had a note beside it.
Separated.
Another:
Paid debt.
Another:
Would not cooperate.
Then another.
Left town.
I looked at Beate.
“Did you know any of them?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
Sarah photographed every page.
“This may establish a pattern.”
Beate sat on the edge of the bed.
“Is he hurting other women?”
“We don't know yet.”
She took a breath.
“I thought I was the only one.”
Sarah looked at her gently.
“You were never responsible for what he chose to do.”
Then the nursery monitor flickered.
The local recording had automatically loaded the previous night.
We watched.
Gero entered.
Beate on the kitchen floor.
The belt.
Fifty strikes.
His phone ringing.
His voice changing.
Then something none of us expected.
After Gero left, the camera continued recording.
Beate crawled into the bathroom.
She stayed there for several minutes.
Then she returned to the nursery.
And someone else entered the house.
I froze.
A man appeared in the hallway.
Not Gero.
Not me.
He walked directly to the nursery.
He looked at the camera.
Then he reached toward it.
Sarah stopped the recording.
“Who is that?”
Beate shook her head.
“I don't know.”
I stared at the screen.
The man wore a dark coat.
His face was visible for only two seconds.
Sarah zoomed in.
Then she went very still.
“What?”
She pointed.
The man was wearing a company badge.
The logo belonged to Rüdiger's company.
Sarah called headquarters.
A technician sent over personnel records.
The face matched an employee.
His name was Stefan Keller.
Security consultant.
Former police officer.
I looked at Beate.
“Did you know him?”
“No.”
Sarah looked at the footage again.
“Why would Rüdiger's employee enter your daughter's nursery after an assault?”
We didn't know.
Then Beate noticed something on the screen.
“Wait.”
She pointed at his hand.
“He took something.”
Sarah froze the image.
The man had removed a small envelope from the crib mattress.
Beate whispered:
“There was nothing in there.”
Sarah looked at her.
“There may have been something.”
“What?”
“The camera storage card.”
My blood went cold.
If Stefan had been there before, he may have been checking what Beate had recorded.
But he'd missed the cloud backup.
And now we had him on video.
Sarah stood.
“We have enough for another warrant.”
Beate suddenly grabbed my arm.
“Papa.”
“Yes?”
“I remember something.”
“What?”
She looked terrified.
“Gero once told me if my father ever came looking, Stefan would handle it.”
I felt the room go cold.
“Why would Gero say that?”
“I don't know.”
Sarah's phone rang.
She answered.
Then her expression changed.
“Detective?”
“Yes.”
She listened.
Then looked directly at us.
“Gero has just been arrested.”
Beate exhaled.
I thought that was the end of the immediate danger.
It wasn't.
Sarah lowered the phone.
“They also found Stefan Keller.”
“Where?”
“At Rüdiger's office.”
May you like
“And?”
“He was carrying a second key to Falkenhof.”
