Episode 1 | Deadly Communion Part 1

[instrumental music playing] [glass clinking] [ticking] [music playing] [birds chirping] Frau Schmollinger.

Welcome to the fairy tale.

-Please, sit -Thank you.

[Max] A painter once wrote: There is nothing in this world that is not beautiful you can take the plainest, most unprepossessing thing, change the light, change the perspective and voila!

it becomes dazzling.

A hundred years later a Viennese doctor wrote, that beauty is redundant it has no use and yet it can become the most dangerous thing in the world.

It can become the source of an addiction.

[applause] [Max] Who's it for?

Jurgens.

Peters.

For Petra.

-Who's it for?

-[man] Just your name.

Right.

Ladies, thank you for your excellent work, but it's time to go home.

Aren't you coming, Adele?

No, I just want to finish off here.

Alright.

-[Valentin] So, you're going to lock up?

-Of course.

You work too hard, Adele.

[Adele] See how beautiful I am.

Come.

Touch me.

[intense music playing] [Oskar] Can you tell me her name?

Adele.

Zeiler.

How long did she work for the company?

[Valentin] I don't know, maybe a year.

I, I left her alone last night to lock up.

Any idea what happened here?

No, sorry inspector... -Inspector.

-Doctor.

No wounds of any kind.

No sign of a struggle.

No bruising.

Might simply be a heart attack.

Hard to say.

Move, out of my way.

What's all this about?

What happened to her, Inspector?

Reinhardt, Leopoldstadt Police.

Her underwear was on the floor beside her.

Looks like she had intercourse.

No signs that she was raped.

Right then, doctor, how did she die?

[Jaeger] Very fine weapon.

Like a needle.

Directly inserted into her brain.

Difficult to achieve but somehow he managed it.

[suspenseful music] Thank you, doctor.

[bell rings] I'm looking for Doctor Liebermann.

Who shall I say is calling?

Inspector Rheinhardt.

A friend.

You'll have to wait.

He's with a patient.

Thank you.

And how many times a day, Erstweiler?

Three, maybe four.

Well, perhaps a little more, sometimes.

So I can see, your hands are red raw.

Why do you wash them so often?

I scrub and I scrub.

But I never feel truly clean, Doctor.

I want you to consider that perhaps it's not dirt you are trying to scrub away.

I don't understand your meaning.

Well, perhaps it's something else.

-Perhaps it's a memory?

-Memory... -See you next week?

-[Max] Yes.

You tracked me down to my apartment, then?

You can't hide from me, Max.

Please, come in... [music playing] [whistles] A tiny puncture wound received to the back of her neck.

Dr Jaeger tells me her death almost certainly would have been instantaneous.

[Max] Hmm, the occipital bone.

When the head is tilted forward there's a tiny aperture giving access to the brain stem.

Someone who knew what they were doing.

[Oskar] A, a surgeon or a doctor?

Mm.

Please don't touch that, thank you.

So, they were intimate and... and then he murdered her straight after.

No apparent motive.

A senseless crime.

[Max] Hmm.

What do you think?

Do you have a different interpretation?

I found it deep inside the wound.

Must have broken off.

Some sort of pin.

It's a long shaft.

-[Jaeger] Maybe a hatpin?

-[Max] Hmm.

What more can you tell us, Max?

-What about the dress?

-I'm taking fibers for analysis.

It's elegant.

Not her size.

Borrowed it off a mannequin.

So, she was expecting company.

She dressed up.

Hold please.

Eager to impress him.

Max, what are you doing?

Re-enactment.

You're the victim.

I'm the killer.

Would you like me to clear some space on the floor so you can lie down together?

No thank you, doctor.

There were no bruises on the body?

No blood beneath the fingernails... means she probably consented to lie with him.

We've already come to the same conclusion, without the theatrics, Doctor Liebermann.

Oh, but then why kill her?

Maybe they argued.

A crime of passion.

The wound was precise.

It wasn't inflicted in a rage, Inspector.

Max?

There must be something?

The French call it 'La petite mort'.

'The little death'.

I believe she was killed during their communion.

Stabbed at the point of sexual climax.

That was very helpful, thank you... [Kristina] You're welcome.

-Inspector!

Max!

-Fraulein Weiss.

[Clara] I didn't expect to see you here!?

You're not interested in fashion, are you?

Er, no, no.

no, we're here on a case, actually.

Really?

What about you?

Are you here for a fitting or... Of course.

Women only have one thing on their minds: looking glamorous.

-Right, yes, sorry.

-Actually, I'm here on business.

Oh?

What business is that?

My business.

And none of yours.

Well, it was lovely to see you again.

You too, good day.

A fine collection you have here.

[Kristina] Torture instruments, most of them.

The price of beauty.

I keep them to remind myself: it's my mission to free Vienna's women.

Thank you.

Adele had been with a man shortly before she died.

The dress, the way we found her.

She was dressing up for their 'encounter'.

She entertained him, after everyone had gone.

They had er, intercourse right where we found her... -Dear God!

I had no idea-- -Shh!

How did she die, Inspector?

She was murdered.

A hatpin inserted into the brainstem.

Oh... You live here, above the workroom?

-Yes.

-And last night?

My husband was here with me.

Selma and Valentin have rooms upstairs.

You're saying that she was murdered whilst the four of us were on the premises?

God!

How many men work here?

Valentin, obviously.

And Ludo Rainmayr.

Our photographer.

Well, your husband, your secretary and your photographer will all need to present themselves for interview.

-This is Aschenputtel?

-[Kristina] Yes.

Cinderella begging for a dress to make her beautiful.

Transformation.

That's my job.

I provide the magic.

Frau Vogl.

I've seen bad things...

I've seen terrible things on the job, for sure.

We've been to very dark places.

But... this is beyond my comprehension.

It's not 'the dead' that excites him, Oskar.

It's death itself.

He has to be there at that precise moment.

It's kind of... penetration.

There's your motive.

Do you have to speak about it with quite so much relish?

Some boys collect butterflies... And for you it's murderers.

What's the matter with you, Max?

All murders are sickening, Oskar.

Why do you find this one so repellent?

Why do you find it so fascinating?

Sometimes you actually sound like you... you're enjoying it!!

Murder is a sexual act?

What?

Affection, intimacy are sacred, beautiful things, Max.

What kind of man taints these things with murder?

It's exactly why we need to find him.

Exactly why we need to peer inside his mind.

Well, that was interesting, to run into Clara again.

She didn't seem happy to see you.

Yes.

Too many things have happened.

Too many... We had a flirtation.

The next thing I know, she's called off her engagement.

Oh.

Quite a scandal, hmm?

It's like two stars colliding, whenever we come together.

We agreed never to meet again.

Always seems to end in devastation.

-To devastation.

-To devastation.

Adele was a promising young seamstress.

Did you know much about her private life?

Came to Vienna to find work.

No family.

She was all alone in the world.

[Oskar] Did she ever make any sexual advances?

No.

I don't know their names, the women that toil in the back room.

[Oskar] What is your work in the salon?

I'm the photographer.

I work with the models.

I won't be much use to you.

To be honest, I'm quite busy so... may I go?

What's your field of expertise, doctor?

I'm in General Practice.

Why?

Adele was killed by a hatpin inserted to the base of the brainstem.

Whoever did it had some skill in anatomy.

My wife and I were together in our apartment.

I'm sure she will vouch for me.

It's back-breaking work.

Look here, my hands are raw.

If you're unhappy here, maybe it's time you left us, Selma.

[Mendel] Ah!

Here's that chambray.

Oh, and the new silk poplin is here, aha!

[Leah] Ah!

-Well... -It's beautiful.

Mm-hmm.

Oh, the "copen blue" is gorgeous.

[Mendel] Max!

-Sorry, am I disturbing you?

-No.

Changed your mind, decided to join the family business?

Too late, I'm afraid.

Your sister is running things now.

Keeps us all in line!

I just had one question... Are you telling us that someone was actually murdered when wearing this?

That's not the sort of inquiry we get that often.

It just seemed sort of unusual: the design, I mean.

I wondered if it had some sort of significance.

Very intricate.

Looks almost Slavic.

Hmm.

Who's the designer?

-A woman named Kristina Vogl.

-Oh?

I know her.

She's quite the latest thing.

Loose-fitting, billowing sleeves, no corsets.

Very modern.

Not the sort of thing your mother would wear.

Or anyone's mother, to be honest.

The victim was wearing it?

Dressed in it specifically to entertain her killer.

I don't know much about Frau Vogl, Max.

But... -But?

-Well, there are rumors... What rumors?

Well, she's an artist after all!

They say she's not entirely... "normal".

Oh, papa.

How can you be such a dreadful old gossip!

[Mendel] Well, you only have to look at the designs, Leah.

Vogl's women look like they've been stuffed into a paper bag.

Like she's disguising their femininity.

It's called fashion.

But I don't suppose that word has any meaning around here, does it?

Sure you don't still want that job after all, Max?

Hah!

Yes, well, thank you, papa.

-Any callers, Elena?

-Erm, no, sir.

Just the mail here.

Thank you.

You can leave.

[Max sighs] If there is beauty in all things, then surely death is among them.

Consider the roses, cut from their stems at the exact moment of blooming.

You are looking for me, I know.

But maybe you have already met me.

Maybe I am closer than you think.

I am the man who killed her... "If there is beauty in all things then surely death is among them..." It's just as I thought, Oskar.

He finds death sexually alluring.

I don't understand.

What, Max, what is the connection?

That's why he killed her with the pin, a deliberately tiny wound so as not to 'spoil' her beauty.

Do you think he's boasting?

You think that's why he wrote this?

I think he wants company on his journey.

I think his madness is a lonely place to live.

It was forwarded from the hospital.

So, he doesn't know where I live.

Not yet.

He followed the cases we've done together.

He thinks I'm a connoisseur of murderers.

I alone can appreciate his 'gift'.

-The price of fame!

-Hmm.

Hold on... forwarded from the hospital?

Hmm, and delivered by hand this morning.

If you look at the post-mark...

It's from a week ago.

That was before Adele Zeiler was murdered.

That doesn't make any sense.

"I am the man who killed her."

"Killed."

He says it like it's already happened.

He's not talking about Adele.

There's another victim somewhere.

-Yes?

-[Kristina] How was your meeting at the station?

I'm sorry.

This has been difficult for you.

For us all.

Would you mind?

Dr Vogl said-- You work for me not my husband.

Now do as I ask.

[Rainmayr] Sending the little doggie to run your errands.

And off he goes, wagging his little tail.

He's loyal.

Always has been.

But 'loyalty' is something you will never appreciate.

You know what I think?

I think secretly he wants to dress up in one of your gowns.

That's why he hangs around here, sniffing at your heels.

-[chattering] -[dog barks] [rat squeaking] [music playing] -Inspector?

-Frau Linder.

Doctor Liebermann.

-How can I help you?

-We are looking for unexplained deaths... Women, young women, who died under mysterious circumstances...

The wound would have been very small, back of the neck and it may not have been recorded... Also evidence of sexual congress just prior to death-- Gentlemen, do you have any idea how many women are murdered in Vienna?

[Max] Well, if anyone can find her, Fraulein... -Of course... -[Max] Just cases from the last few weeks.

Here's one.

She worked in the flower market.

Flower Market?

Consider the roses, cut from their stems... ...at the exact moment of blooming.

That's what he meant.

Do we have a name?

-Mathilda Brunner.

-When did she die?

The case is relatively new.

Reported a week ago.

And the officer on duty?

-Detective Taube.

-Inspector Rheinhardt.

-What can I do for you?

-Mathilda Brunner.

You recall the case?

Didn't pay the rent on time.

Landlord broke into her apartment.

Found her dead.

Nothing more to it.

May I have a look at the file a moment?

Thank you.

It doesn't mention a cause of death.

Nothing that we could find.

-You didn't order a post-mortem?

-For a slum death?

-Happens all the time.

-And so you closed the case on her?

Poor girl was ragged, thin, barely skin and bone.

We need to see that body.

What!?

Dr Liebermann consults with us on these matters.

Pauper's grave.

You may be lucky.

They might not have sealed it.

There.

That one.

The white shroud.

Put her in a couple of days ago.

Sure you want to see her?

-Won't be pretty.

-Just help me get her out, would you?

That her?

There it is.

Barely noticeable.

Puncture wound to the back of the head.

Could be post-mortem.

Could have happened in the grave site.

Don't be ridiculous!

She was murdered.

And you failed to spot it.

No.

Now, wait a minute... She was the first.

Adele Zeiler was next.

There'll be more, Oskar.

This is just beginning.

-Thank you Doctor.

-Welcome.

Identical methods.

We're looking at a multiple murderer.

[Von Buow] Hmm...

He's just beginning his... work.

And then there's this... Ah.

Interesting.

Dr Liebermann has an admirer?

It's common among psychotic killers.

They feel the need to share their plans.

They want an audience.

So, erm, Taube, you didn't identify the wound?

No, sir, I-- Rather sloppy bit of work.

You can go.

You're no longer needed here.

So... Reinhardt, you've done well...

I guess you should take the reins... on both murders.

What's the matter with him?

What do you mean?

I've never seen him smile before.

[landlord] This way, inspector.

-It's a real tragedy that she died.

-[Oskar] Is it?

Yes, of course, she was behind with the rent, two months.

It's just through here.

Fraulein Brunner's apartment.

Where I found her.

Hey!

Out of my way, girl!

Come on!

Go!

Go home!

This way, inspector.

Who are these men, Haas?

What are they doing here?

Police.

Get into your apartment.

Huh!

I hope they've come to arrest you.

For making us live in this pigsty!

I said get back in your apartment!

Damned trouble-maker.

She will never fade.

Not like the dead blooms.

He was describing her death scene.

Death, you horror of nature, ever moving runs your clock.

Poor girl.

She was so sweet-natured.

But also lonely.

Did you ever see a man with her?

There were always men.

Never the same one twice.

You think you'd recognize a face?

I doubt it.

Just in case you think of anything else.

Inspector?

You really want to arrest some criminals?

That bastard who owns this place.

We pay him rent and he does nothing for us.

[landlord] Anything else I can help you with, Inspector?

[Oskar] Yes.

The next time I come back here I want the place to be cleaned up.

There are rats running around.

And there are children playing here!

These people pay next to nothing.

They give you what they can afford.

They are used to living in squalor.

This is how they were brought up.

And I mean, what do you expect?

Most of them are immigrants.

Keeping people no better than animals.

I'd say that was a crime.

And my business is to punish criminals.

In whatever way I choose.

Do you understand?

-Yes... -Yes what?

Yes, inspector.

Don't disappoint me.

Your hat.

Alright.

Well, I'm beginning to see glimpses of him.

Pictures forming.

Hmm, alright then.

What do you see?

Some time in his past, perhaps in his youth?

He's witnessed death close at hand.

He's seen someone die and yet... What?

It only rendered them more beautiful.

That hardly narrows it down, Max.

Everyone, at some time in their life, suffers a bereavement.

It doesn't explain what started this spate of killings.

Something took him back to that moment... re-awoke those feelings inside him.

What?

What if we play his game?

Encourage him to keep making contact?

How would you plan to do that?

Well, I could give an interview, in the newspaper.

Some small acknowledgment.

A little... flattery.

What if that spurs him into his next act of violence!?

Oskar, he's like a child who wants attention from a parent.

If I can show him I understand then perhaps he'll talk to me... the psychopathy of the killer is unlike anything I have ever encountered before.

-He is obsessed by beauty... -Is that a new suit?

...and he wishes to preserve it, like pinning a butterfly to a board...

Wait!

Erm, I'm here, I'm here... [photographer] Thank you, gentlemen.

-[chattering] -[music playing] So?

What happened?

We're celebrating.

My first article, for the newspaper.

[gasps] You sold it!?

Oh, congratulations, darling.

It's a piece about the fashion industry in Vienna.

How exciting!

An interview with Kristina Vogl.

And it will be published on Monday.

Is she as odd as they say she is?

My father thinks she's positively scandalous!!

What's wrong?

I ran into your brother.

Yes, I heard.

Terrible.

Ah, yes.

Erm, there was an incident at the Vogl workshop.

Apparently, a girl was killed there.

Yes, I heard.

Terrible.

Max is assisting the police.

You know how he likes to make a nuisance of himself.

Anyway.

Let's celebrate!

To your new career!

-Prost!

-Prost!

[Dr. Vogl] Are you alright, Kristina?

Can't seem to find the inspiration.

You've had a shock.

My poor sweet.

It's only to be expected.

I thought we'd agreed...

I haven't been sleeping, Heinz.

Forgive me.

It's my fault.

I should've never prescribed it...

It's not your fault.

I sent Valentin to get it for me.

What is the matter?

There's something else.

Something... something's wrong.

What is it?

-I'm not sure.

-Kristina...

The night that Adele died.

I think I might have seen something.

I should go to the police.

Tell them everything.

What if you're mistaken?

You've had episodes before.

This wasn't an hallucination.

Mathilda Brunner... A flower girl.

Worked at the flower market on Hollandstrasse.

No family.

Not much income.

Living in a slum apartment.

Second victim.

Adele Zeiler.

Worked as a seamstress.

Michaelerplatz.

[Oskar] They were both poor... rather lonely, needy.

What's the connection?

They were both drawn to beauty!

The Vogl dress, the flowers.

-Where would you go?

-Hmm?

If you were him?

If you were scouting the city for victims... Where would you hunt for them?

You like these pictures?

I think she's beautiful.

I wish I could be a model.

Pretty girl like you.

Would you like me to help you?

I could make you into a goddess.

-[Kristina] I've thought about it, Heinz.

-[Dr. Vogl] About what?

I have to talk to the police.

And tell them what?

You saw a shadow?

A specter?

The night that Adele died you were in no state to be a credible witness!!

Maybe I can end this!

Please, for the sake of your reputation, don't get involved!

[Rainmayr] Alright.

-Ready?

-I suppose.

Where's the gown?

The gown?

-Well?

-Well...

So?

Please.

Keep going.

A man?

I saw him distinctly.

He was inside the house that same evening.

Why didn't you come forward before?

I couldn't recall him at first.

The shock, you understand, Inspector.

I've been ill.

Some medicines can produce an hallucinogenic effect.

You think this man could have been an illusion?

That's why you asked me to come here?

He had no face, inspector.

He was masked.

Featureless.

A black mask stretched across his face.

No strings, like it... like it was fused to his skin.

You understand why I was unwilling, at first, to trust my senses?

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