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Justus Schöffler doesn’t say anything anymore. He just shakes his head.
Frustrated, Yasira and Michael leave the house. They walk to the car, waiting for them around the curve.
“Shit,” says Michael. “That could have gone better. The guy’s hiding something.”
“Sure. But do you think he’s involved in Lena’s disappearance?” Yasira asks.
“Possible. In any case, we’ll have to put on the big show now.”
“Yeah.”
Justus Schöffler hasn’t done himself any favors.
They get in the car but don’t drive off. Instead, Yasira calls Jenny. She describes the situation and asks her colleague to get a search warrant and a summons to the police station. In addition, she is to file a request for an automated data disclosure regarding Schöffler’s phone, allowing them to access real-time usage data from his service provider. Then Yasira calls the colleagues in Halberstadt and demands round-the-clock surveillance of Schöffler and his house.
“There was this old joke in the GDR,” says Michael when she hangs up. “How do you know that the Stasi?11is monitoring you?”
“How?” asks Yasira.
“There’s a new transformer box on the street and you’ve got a new built-in wardrobe.”
“What are you getting at?”
“If the sheriffs are watching him, he’s bound to notice. It’s hard to tail someone inconspicuously in a village.”
“When they arrive, I’ll tell them to make an effort.”
Michael just laughs.
Yasira rubs her hands together. It’s getting cold in the parked car, but they have to wait to be relieved. She looks at Schöffler’s house. Everything seems quiet.
“Cold?” asks Michael. “Should I start the engine?”
Yasira shakes her head.
“Too conspicuous.”
She calls Katja Jürgens and tells her about Lena’s hitchhiking trips.
“See if there are any surveillance cameras near the Palmers’,” Yasira asks her colleague. “Gas stations, bank buildings, anything. Get the recordings from Saturday afternoon. If we’re lucky, we’ll see a suspicious car on it. Maybe it was one of the perpetrators who picked up Lena.”
“What’s that supposed to be?” asks Katja Jürgens. “A suspicious car?”
“You’ll know it when you see it,” says Yasira, “I have full confidence in you.”
“Thank you very much,” grumbles Katja Jürgens. “This is going to be the most boring movie night of my life... And I watchedThe Expendables 4!”
Yasira smiles briefly. It’s good that her team hasn’t lost its sense of humor.
“See if you can spot Schöffler’s car,” she says. “Was he on the road on Saturday? Or on Sunday? Where did he go? Also the days after.”
“Of course.”
Yasira says goodbye and hangs up. Then she sends the photo she took of Schöffler’s car to her team.
“You know, I’ve been thinking,” says Michael after a little while. “We tacitly assume that the fourth in the gang, the cameraman, is also a chocolate kiss.”
Yasira rolls her eyes.
