Dirk Lützelberger - Secret doors

Gwen replied nodding, "Yes, that’s how we would handle it in Kiel, but obviously these alpine policemen have a different approach."

"The colleagues take the dead man with them and take him to the forensic department in Salzburg to determine the cause of death. We still need their contact information and a statement on how you found the dead man. Then the matter is settled, and you can continue your vacation."

Phil, Stefan and Gwen made all their statements to the District Inspector and he made a cursory note of a few key words. He finally wanted to call it a day, and the dead man had spoiled his evening sufficiently. He didn’t want to bother with the smart alecks from Germany any longer. The body had been transported away in the meantime, and when the three had finished their statements, Wedelmaier asked as kindly as he could whether he could take the three down into the valley with him or take them somewhere else. Since it was already dawning and the way back would otherwise drag on into the darkness, they accepted gratefully. Wedelmaier dropped the family off at their hut in the settlement at the bottom of the 'Loser', thanked them formally but not heartily for their cooperation and disappeared into the darkness.

"What was that performance?" Gwen asked incredulously.

"Other countries, other mores" Stefan returned with a smile.

Phil looked at them both with amusement, because he too had understood that in Germany, due to the many regulations, there would certainly have been a different procedure to deal with the situation. But this would now be a problem for the Austrian authorities.

♦♦♦

The District Inspector was sitting in his small office and playing a game on his mobile phone when it rang. He interrupted the game, recognized the number and took the call.

"Wedelmaier. What have you figured out?"

"Mr. District Inspector. This is Luisa Steiner from the Salzburg Forensic Department. I have the results of the investigation for you."

Luisa Steiner was in her early thirties, petite with short blonde hair. It was her first job after her graduation and as a newcomer to forensic medicine she was given the honor of passing on examination results by telephone. Her superiors wrote the reports or signed them but delegated the phone calls to her younger team members. In this case it hit Luisa, who nervously played with her tongue on her small gap in her teeth while waiting for the reaction.

"Report!"

The District Inspector was obviously already impatient and no longer wanted to be tortured, or he was simply a rude and unpleasant contemporary. Luisa had so much knowledge of human nature that she was able to assess the mood without a doubt even on the phone. She came straight to the point.

"First, I can report that we have been able to determine the identity of the deceased. We ran his fingerprints against international databases and got a hit because he had a new passport. After all, biometric features have been stored for several years as additional means of identification. We were able to match his face and fingerprints very quickly and we got his name. It is Andreas Schörff. He spent his holidays here with us in Austria. He was an independent security consultant from Germany. Schörff had a sister. Perhaps in the meantime you could locate her contact information?"

"Later! Very good so far …" she was interrupted by Wedelmaier, who wanted to close this case as quickly as possible, "… any injuries, or was it a natural death?

"I was just coming to that, District Inspector. Apart from some abrasions and cuts on his face, palms of his hands and knees, we found no signs of external violence. It appears he was jogging when he fell. He may had been dizzy or had a stroke or heart attack. However, without further investigation, we won’t be able to decide here. But I wanted to inform you as soon as possible so that you have some initial clues for your report. I will get back to you as soon as we have completed our investigations. Maybe the autopsy will give us more clues about how he died."

Wedelmaier noticed that the conversation was over and replied, "Do that, Miss!" He disconnected the call.

Now came the part he hated the most. He had to write his report. Why was he always on duty when there was such an extraordinary occurrence? His boss wouldn’t let him rest until the report was written and the case closed. He was always so meticulous and close on his heels because he didn’t like things being left open for a long time or being put off.

Wedelmaier typed on his old typewriter. His two index fingers searched letter by letter and hit the respective keys. His superiors were of the opinion that so few cases occurred here that neither a connection to the data network of the police and gendarmerie nor the purchase of a computer was worthwhile. For the three or four reports a year it was reasonable to use the good old typewriter.

After filling out the accident form, which he thought was the most appropriate, with the information available, he pulled out the piece of paper between the rollers and examined the paper and its two copies. Wedelmaier put it aside and picked up his mobile phone to continue his game. He would have to wait until the forensic department from Salzburg would contact him again to report on the circumstances of the death. Until then, he would not have to worry about any investigations and even in the case of a natural death, the case would be filed away very quickly.

The day was drawing to a close and the District Inspector was about to clear up when the telephone rang again. Hastily Wedelmaier picked up the phone and barked into the receiver.

"What can you tell me?"

"Pardon? Wedelmaier, how dare you? Can’t you speak properly?"

The Chief Inspector! That’s all he needed. Karl Oberstohner was happy to inquire about the status of the investigations, as far as he knew. Apart from that, he left this branch of the police force, where very seldom something exciting happened, to one side. Wedelmaier wondered how his superior could have gotten wind of it so quickly. He had planned to inform him the next day about the new and immediately closed incident, but somehow, he already knew about it. Wedelmaier decided to be ingenuous, because Oberstohner did not like a game of hide-and-seek at all. Hopefully his end of work would not suffer from it. The Chief Inspector was a small, stocky man, in his early fifties with dark hair. No one could fool him so easily and he was very demanding.

"Chief Inspector Oberstohner, good to hear from you. I would have contacted you first thing tomorrow."

"Stop the pleasantries and tell me about the dead jogger! Why didn’t you want to tell me about it until tomorrow?"

"Well, the point is. I’m still waiting for more test results and I thought that these would be given to me now. I didn’t expect you one the line."

"I already know most of it. A young lady from forensic medicine in Salzburg has already brought me up to speed. A lively girl. Knows how to behave!"

Wedelmaier left this remark uncommented. There was no point in contradicting his superior. Anyway, he was always right and had the predominance. Until his retirement, Wedelmaier did not want to let anything scorch.

"That’s good, Chief Inspector, then you already know. Investigations are still underway to determine the cause of death."

"Right. What have you found out about the sister so far?"

Oh dear, the sister! He forgot all about her while he was playing on his smart phone.

"Yes, the sister. Well, when we know the circumstances of the death, I’ll inform her."

"Have you contacted German authorities to locate the sister?"

Wedelmaier realized that this would not have a happy ending. A structure made up of even more small fibs would certainly collapse very soon. He decided to stay close to the truth.