Hidden Depths (17 page)

Chapter Twenty-F
our: Out of the Depths

A
TEAM OF EXPERIENCED
police scuba divers arrived at the crack of dawn to brave the cold of the Muggelsee water. With the exception of the ferry services from the centre of Kopenick to Berlin, the boating lanes around the rest of the lake were closed and the police divers had a few clear days to make safe and extensive underwater searches. They divided into four teams of four divers, with two divers in the water and two on the banks awaiting their turn. The most obvious place that a car could enter the water and stay hidden at depth was the area immediately beyond the jetty. The divers plotted an estimated triangle of the projected distance a car could travel at speed, and went a little further and wider just to be sure.

The east team divers waded into the murky water and kept in close proximity with their dive buddy, especially as the visibility was less than two metres. The torches attached to their heads beamed powerful lights to illuminate their paths as they descended to around 15 metres – the deepest part of the lake. It wasn't long before they found a car, partly hidden amongst the mud and weeds on the riverbed. Inside this watery grave, camouflaged by the roots of a tree, were the remains of a body with its feet tied together. The police and forensic officers arrived in droves soon after and quickly cordoned off the area around the jetty. A haulage firm duly arrived with a truck and mini crane to pull the car to the surface.

When Kruger, Glockner and Hanne Drais got to the east banks of Muggelsee they were given the usual protective clothing of rubber gloves, plastic overalls and paper masks by Rutger Korfsmeier, the forensic team leader. A portly man of 50, he was a well-liked colleague whom they often worked with, and they followed him to the car.

Rutger showed them the body in the back of the car. ‘We had to prise open the back doors as they'd been locked. The victim was entombed by branches of a tree blocking the exit in the front and his feet were tied so there was no chance of the corpse floating to the surface. This male, aged around 40, has nothing to identify him so we'll check dental records. I've already given the car registration details over to Vehicle Licensing.'

Glockner then noticed something shiny on the floor of the car and picked up a silver crucifix. ‘Could this have been some kind of weapon?' he asked.

‘Quite possibly,' Rutger replied, popping the evidence into a clear, plastic DNA bag.

‘His feet are tied together but not his hands. There must have been a struggle but he didn't have time to free his legs and swim to the surface,' Glockner surmised.

‘That and a fucking great branch through the front window,' Kruger remarked.

‘But someone was swimming,' Rutger began and showed them an aqua shoe in a forensic bag. ‘A size nine, whereas the victim looks more like a size 11.'

Kruger and Glockner looked at one another, reading each others' thoughts.

‘Marine Boy!' Glockner exclaimed.

Rutger was bemused. ‘Marine Boy?'

Kruger took a call on his mobile phone.

‘Our name for the assailant,' Glockner enlightened Rutger. ‘He left a boat knife at the scene of the crime when he attacked Lotte Holler, told her he'd killed three of her ex-colleagues here at the lake, and it looks like he wasn't lying.'

Hanne had remained quiet throughout, studying the body and the scene of the crime, lost in her thoughts. ‘Rutger, have you checked in the boot?' she said, suddenly.

Rutger nodded. ‘We had to force the car boot open because it had rusted and we found a few shredded clothes in a sports bag, nothing else.'

‘Goddammit!' Kruger bellowed. ‘The divers at the north and south jetties have discovered two more cars in the lake with bodies in them!'

Glockner clapped his hands. ‘Bingo!'

Kruger received another call and listened intently then suddenly punched the air.

‘That was HQ, Vehicle Licensing checked the registration records of all three vehicles and the cars belonged to Gwisdek, Schukrafft and Plaumann!'

‘Just like Lotte said. Marine Boy buried them in a watery grave,' stated Hanne.

The police released the minimum amount of detail to the prowling press but they quickly picked up on the story. The news spread throughout Kopenick and journalists and cameramen from local and Berlin television companies began turning up at the lake, hoping for an exclusive on the breaking story. The police team at Muggelsee were under strict instructions not to reveal the names of the three bodies pulled from the lake. Television networks were allowed to film briefly and Kruger was interviewed but that was it.

All three cars were retrieved from the depths and moved to a confined area at the south jetty – the one furthest away from the town and the most remote part of the lake. Here, the forensics squad, working in a cordoned-off area, would be less likely to be disturbed by the public. The cars with the Musketeers inside were parked in a row on the southern banks of Muggelsee, together again in death as they were in life. ‘One for all and all for one', as they were so fond of saying.

A week later, once the three autopsies were complete and after forensic scientists had studied the evidence in all three cars, Rutger, Kruger, Glockner and Hanne met to discuss their findings.

Rutger liked Hanne. He knew she had a keen interest in forensic science and found her mind as detailed as his own. ‘Hanne. Let me know what I've missed.'

‘You don't miss much, Rutger,' Glockner told him, ‘but you're right, Drais offers us a different perspective.'

‘The dental records positively identified Gwisdek, Schukrafft and Plaumann,' Rutger announced.

‘So, our Marine Boy is a confirmed serial killer,' Kruger announced. That would mean there were only four men that he had failed to catch from the paedophile ring – four men too many who got away. Kruger carried misplaced guilt about the case and in an unusual paradox, found he was feeling grateful to Marine Boy.

Hanne was keen to tap into Rutger's meticulous mind, knowing he was blessed with an exceptional memory. ‘Rutger, I want to understand about homicidal drowning so don't spare me any details,' she said.

Rutger was happy to oblige. ‘All three men suffered several blows to the head, although it could be the constant buffeting of the water which creates head banging, and this commonly produces post-mortem injuries that sometimes make for diagnostic confusion. Horst, for instance, had bruising to the front and the back of the head, sharp incisions close to the scalp, possibly indicating some sort of hair scalping and his ear lobes were hacked with a knife. There were rope marks around the wrists and feet and we believe his eyes were gouged by a sharp object – there was damage to the socket bones.'

Hanne was curious. ‘So, do you know if any of them were alive when they entered the water?'

‘If a body is alive when entering the water, a white froth or foam is usually found in the airways. The lungs over-inflate and become heavy with fluid and the middle ears show haemorrhaging, plus foreign bodies are found in the airways and stomach.'

‘Such as?'

‘Sand, silt or weed, which would suggest rapid death by drowning. Do you know, there's no universal diagnostic lab tests for drowning?'

Hanne looked surprised. ‘You're kidding!'

Rutger shook his head. ‘Fortunately, the autopsy findings are usually consistent with the circumstances of the corroborative evidence, such as why the victim entered the water, why were they unable to survive, etc, etc, which usually gives us the answers. So, to finally answer your question, I believe all three men were alive when they entered the water.'

‘They've been down there 12 years, if Lotte Holler is correct,' noted Hanne. ‘Rutger, how decomposed are the bodies?'

‘Well, the normal changes of decomposition of a body in water are delayed in cold, deep water and here at the lake it's cold most of the year, and around 15 metres is deep and dark enough to keep the bodies from turning too skeletal. If the fish hadn't nibbled them they'd be quite well preserved. Bodies recovered in the water show signs of
anserine cutis
and
adipocere
which protects against decomposition,' Rutger explained.

‘Korfsmeier! Layman's talk please,' Kruger said.

Rutger nodded. ‘Sorry… The bodies have goose skin, skin maceration and the fatty layer beneath the skin has transformed into a soap-like substance. Corpses normally tend to float upwards once the natural gases explode but as two of the bodies were tied to the door handle and the third was entombed by a tree, there was no chance of that.'

Kruger grimaced and said wryly, ‘Is that all?' His flippancy was an attempt to lighten the gruesome sights he had to deal with but Kruger trusted Rutger and was eager to hear the minutiae about the corpse. Rutger was not only a good forensic officer, he also had imagination.

‘Rutger, can I look at the DNA evidence you've collected?'

Rutger showed Hanne the evidence collected in labelled DNA bags. There were three watches: a sports watch, a gold Rolex and a practical watch with a brown leather strap; a size nine aqua shoe; some boat rope, and a silver crucifix on a chain.

‘Well, Marine Boy's no thief!' Stefan jested. ‘He didn't steal the Rolex, which would have been worth 1,000 marks back in 1992.'

Hanne spoke her thoughts aloud. ‘We've found no mobile phones. Didn't you tell me Harald Plaumann's wife received a text message on the night he disappeared?'

Kruger's eyes lit up. ‘That's right Drais, she did. A convenient texted confession, so if the mobile wasn't lost in the depths someone must have it, and it's likely that that someone sent the text to Plaumann's wife.'

‘Marine Boy!' Glockner declared.

Hanne spoke again. ‘I noticed the links of the silver chain are not open or broken.'

Rutger was intrigued. ‘Meaning?'

‘Maybe it didn't belong to the victim or the assailant and just happened to be in the car but neither man was wearing it,' Hanne said.

‘You're right, Drais,' Kruger said. ‘It would probably have broken in a struggle.'

‘Doesn't matter if someone wore it or not, is it significant?' Glockner questioned.

Following a gut feeling, Hanne said, ‘Let's go back to thinking about the evidence in the cars.'

For a little while she was lost in her thoughts, digesting all the evidence. Eventually she announced: ‘I think Gwisdek was the first to be murdered.'

‘But does it matter who was killed first? It's the end result that counts and three men are dead,' said Glockner. ‘Anyway, how can you be sure?'

‘I can't, but he was the only one with shreds of clothes on. I think Marine Boy got into his stride later on, repeating patterns with the others, tying them up, making them strip or playing music but at some point Plaumann got free, which would account for the struggle that followed and the gouging of his eyes.'

Rutger liked Hanne's logic and added, ‘Marine Boy had to be in the front of the car and Plaumann had to be in the back from the angle the crucifix went in.' Hanne agreed. ‘I think Marine Boy drove Plaumann's car into the water to drown his dazed or semi-conscious victim as he'd done with the others but Plaumann mounted a surprise attack from behind. The crucifix must have been hanging in the car on the rear view mirror and Marine Boy somehow managed to grab it. So, Plaumann must have been blinded and in agony before he ran out of time to untie his legs and escape. Marine Boy swam to the surface leaving a clue behind: his aqua shoe.'

‘The psychotic kid escaped to strike again – a sodding shame for Lotte Holler that he survived,' Kruger announced.

Hanne thought it best not remind her boss that Marine Boy may well have been psychotic at the time of the killings but could have recovered and be quite normal all these years later.

‘What I find strange is the hair: a few balding patches where there should be hair, with all three victims,' Hanne told them.

‘Maybe Marine Boy wanted a trophy from his victims?' queried Glockner.

Hanne was adamant. ‘No! An abused person does not want a trophy from their abuser, it would repulse them to have any keepsakes or reminders. Marine Boy would have cut his victims' hair for some other reason.'

‘Or just for fun?' Glockner mused.

Hanne found his remarks irritating but held back her opinions.

‘Oh, yeah. It's a fucking funny crime scene,' quipped Kruger.

‘There's something else,' Hanne began. ‘Marine Boy is true to his nickname. The way he tied the rope around all his victims securely in a figure of eight, isn't that the best way to moor a boat?'

Rutger smiled. ‘Yes, Hanne, it's called a Flemish knot, you tie a boat in a figure of eight to secure it to the mooring. Seems your Marine Boy knows about boats.'

‘Yeah, and we're looking for Flemish knots and a Marine Boy in an area of 100 lakes!' Kruger grimaced. ‘OK, let's inform the relatives before the press get hold of the names. I gave an interview earlier and they'll be panting for more.'

‘Drais, now we've tracked them down, go with Glockner to break the news to Plaumann's wife in Schonefeld and onto Leipzig afterwards, to Schukrafft's mother's old place. If I remember rightly she died not long after her son went missing but maybe there are neighbours that remember them. Try to see if there's anyone at Gwisdek's old home too, and let's hope someone will shed some light on the victims.'

‘No problem, boss,' said Glockner. ‘I'll need to liaise with the Schonefeld and Leipzig police, don't want to step on anyone's toes.'

‘We're here at the lake with the co-operation of the Kopenick police, so why should the Schonefeld and Leipzig police be any different?' Kruger stated. ‘Besides, it's good to step on a few toes, it gets the wrong people out of the way!'