Vienna Blood (2019) s03e02 Episode Script
The God of Shadows
GROANS
CHEERING AND LAUGHTER
We are the sum of our experiences,
uniquely defined by our memories.
Sometimes a simple object
can summon up a recollection.
It can be the door to a
secret, forgotten past.
We spend a lifetime gathering
a collection of treasured objects
and symbols, each of them holding
a tiny fragment of our identity -
a key to our emotions.
CLATTERING
Who is it?
Who's there?!
There's someone there.
I can hear you!
Come on!
Come on!
Hmm. Nasty business.
When did this happen?
Sometime after midnight.
Victim is recovering in hospital.
Burglary?
Hmm. Not really my department.
Why don't you let one of the juniors
handle it?
The victim
..is an important man.
Ex-minister of finance.
And he was assaulted.
I want an experienced officer.
Someone good.
Sorry. What?
What was that word?
I didn't catch it.
Out.
WHISTLES
Do we have an inventory
of what's missing?
Oh, yes.
Here.
That's it?
Yes. One item?
DOOR OPENS
SIGHS
How valuable?
That's what's curious.
Not valuable at all.
The owner says it was
a reproduction.
Mm.
It must have happened
during the scuffle.
The fight took place over there.
It doesn't make sense.
Right.
Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues,
fellow clinicians,
following the retirement of our
distinguished Professor Gruner,
we are pleased to announce
the appointment
of a new head of neurology.
Professor Neumann
from the University of Strasbourg.
THEY APPLAUD
Professor Neumann, allow me to
introduce myself.
I know who you are.
You're Max Liebermann.
You were a candidate for this job.
Yes. I hope it isn't going to come
between us.
You were having great success in the
field of criminal psychopathy.
I read your book.
Fascinating.
Thank you. Your predecessor wasn't
quite so enamoured with my research.
Well, I hope you'll find me
a more willing collaborator.
I'm Dr Hellig. Enchantee.
Dr Liebermann.
I'm sorry to disturb you at work.
No, It's a pleasure to see you.
Please, come.
Now, how can I be of service?
I need your assistance.
Someone I know is suffering.
He needs a doctor. A neurologist.
His name is Captain Georg Steiner.
He was a very distinguished
soldier in his day.
This is him? Yes.
A friend of my father's.
Georg is in a military home
for invalids.
I visit him out of
..well
..duty.
Hmm. This is your father?
He died some years ago.
He made a good living in China.
That is,
right up until the time when
What happened, Fraulein?
He was in Peking eight years ago
when the rebels attacked the fort.
The Boxer Rebellion.
Exactly.
Their army lay siege to the city.
Thousands of armed militia.
Nobody could get in or out.
The captain saved my father's life
defending the Legation Quarter.
So, since
..my father died, I
You've felt an obligation to him.
And how can I help?
He claims that
..he's cursed.
Please, Dr Liebermann,
solve the riddle
of whatever it is that
is tormenting him.
Dr Liebermann? Yes.
Follow me, please.
Ah. Good of you to see me,
Doctor?
Wiesinger. Wiesinger.
You're the clinical director here?
Yes.
30 patients, all ex-military,
most of them wounded in service.
What sort of cases?
Amputees.
Shrapnel victims.
Some just fading away with age.
Can you tell me about
Georg Steiner?
What's your interest in him?
We have a mutual friend.
And theyasked you to visit him?
Yes.
The captain's suffering from
delirium and psychosis.
His behaviour is highly erratic.
Well, I'd like to see him, if I may.
Nurse Aigner.
Follow me.
Captain Steiner.
He fought in Peking,
his last campaign.
He was broken when he came to us.
KNOCKS DOOR
Captain Steiner?
KNOCKS DOOR
Captain Steiner,
someone is here to see you.
He pushed something
against the door.
I can't get it open.
Would you, please?
Of course.
He's got a knife.
Captain Steiner!
Get away from this door!
Captain Steiner!
RINGS BELL
Get away from me!
He's here! He's coming!
It's Steiner. He's locked himself
inside.
I see him!
His vengeful face!
I'm coming in. He knows I've sinned!
Captain, what have you done to
yourself?
Captain, put the knife down.
He's cursed us,
both of us!
He has cast a shadow
over our hearts!
GROANS
GRUNTS
The panther is on the water.
The panther is on the water.
And its belly is full.
The panther is on the water.
Doctor.
We've given him morphine
to ease his pain.
Morphine will blunt his senses.
He won't be able to talk.
Perhaps it would be better
if you came another day.
I'm eager to speak with him
more than ever.
Perhaps you'll permit me to wait,
just until the sedative wears off.
How was your day? Oh
Don't want to discuss it?
I don't usually bring my work
to the dinner table.
But how about you two?
How was your day? Hmm?
What have you been reading, Hannah?
It's just an old fairy story.
Oh, I recognise the book.
I think I read it before.
You read children's books?
But you're old.
Hannah, don't be rude.
No, I read it to my daughter.
You have a daughter?
I would like to meet her.
Oh, I
When can I meet her? Please. Please.
Hannah, stop pestering poor Oskar.
Let's eat.
Before the meat gets cold.
Goodnight.
Oskar, you are not going?
I have to work early tomorrow.
You can stay the night if you want.
Perhaps another time.
I'm sorry.
DOOR CLOSES
GRUNTS
I don't know you.
Are his messenger?
My name is Dr Liebermann.
I'm a friend of Fraulein Linder.
The girl with the sad face.
LAUGHS MANICALLY
They think I'm dangerous.
A rabid dog that must be chained.
Have some water.
EXHALES SHARPLY
Why am I tied up?
It was done to protect you.
Do you remember anything
that happened today?
I can see him coming.
Every night. Such torment him.
Him?
Eyes filled with blood.
Tell me about it. Who is he?
And whispering,
there in the shadows.
Do you believe in curses, doctor?
I believe in their power.
Yes.
Once evil has been
released into the world,
it cannot rest until
it has claimed its victim.
You should rest.
I'll visit you again soon.
I would say he's in
an advanced psychotic state.
His condition is getting worse.
I was fascinated
by what he was saying.
Something about a curse.
We don't encourage these delusions.
Better not to engage with him.
Then how do you plan to help him?
I'll increase his dosage.
The drugs should be sufficient
to ease his pain.
Drugs will not cure him,
Dr Wiesinger.
Whatever it is that torments him,
the root cause must be explored.
Perhaps you would consider
letting me take his kit.
I can have him transferred.
I know your reputation.
You're the Jew who wrote that book.
The disciple of Freud.
These men are broken.
It's our job to lessen their
suffering by any method that we can.
Yes. Thank you, doctor, but we
won't be needing your assistance.
He doesn't need to be sedated.
He needs to talk and be listened to.
That's my professional opinion.
He never leaves the house.
He's getting worse and worse.
Has something frightened you?
Can you tell me about it?
Can you talk?
Answer the gentleman, Leopold.
He's always like this.
We moved into a new apartment
and he refuses to climb
the stairs, doctor.
Any stairs at all.
Stands at the bottom,
trembling, weeping.
But we're on the second floor here.
I had to drag him to your door.
Hmm.
For you.
You see
..a staircase is a symbol.
It represents transition.
Perhaps to something that we fear.
Often that transition
is connected to sex.
A staircase is a
rudimentary phallus.
That's enough.
Of course, symbols are not
always what they appear to be.
I take it this one won't be paying?
What did you expect, Max?
You think the whole of Vienna is
going to embrace your crazy ideas?
You think everything is
a symbol of something.
This cigar, that decanter.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
I bet you'll never look at
the staircase the same way again.
Yeah, probably.
Actually, there's something else
I wanted to discuss with you.
You're an ex-military man.
I need your advice.
It might interest you as well.
I think they called themselves
the militia of Righteous
and Harmonious Fists.
China was struck by drought.
Farmers' land was destroyed.
Livelihoods gone.
Then the militia rose up
against the European settlers,
marching into the Christian
ghettos of Peking,
burning down churches,
killing worshippers.
So apparently, this Captain Steiner
still bears the scars.
Do you think you can help him, Max?
Or is he beyond your healing now?
The doctor says
I can take these off,
but we don't want any misbehaviour.
Now, get some rest, Captain.
I'll be in with your
breakfast tray early.
He's the stealer of souls.
Now, don't go talking
nonsense again.
He comes in the night.
Bringing shadows.
Best try not to think of it.
WHISPERING VOICE: I know your sin.
I know your sin.
I know your sin. I know your sin.
I know your sin.
I know your sin.
I know your sin. I know your sin.
HE SCREAMS
To London? It's so long
since I've seen my family.
Little Sasha was just a baby.
It's his Bar Mitzvah next month.
We must go.
You're invited, too, so I don't
suppose you'll want to come.
Well, I can't just
leave my patients.
Leah will look after
the business for us.
Right.
Well, give Whitechapel my love.
Perhaps you could have Leah
to stay with you.
So she's not lonely
whilst we're away.
I'm sure she can look after herself.
LAUGHTER
Ah, the famous reporter.
Not so famous. Not yet.
Congratulations, darling.
Mendel showed me the piece you wrote
about that chap in the newspaper.
What was his name again?
Gerstl! That's him, Gerstl.
And what does he do again? Oh, Mama!
He's a famous artist, a painter.
She read it avidly,
devoured every word.
Your biggest fan.
It was brilliant, just brilliant.
Thank you. Such talent.
Goodbye, darling. Goodbye.
Goodbye, everyone.
ALL: Goodbye.
I'll see you out, I'm just leaving.
Well, what did you want
to say to me?
You're interviewing
famous artists now.
I write whatever they ask me to.
What I'd love is
another crime story.
See what I can rustle up.
Why did you want
to walk out with me?
Max!
There's a doctor on the telephone
trying to track you down.
Kierling Haus,
I think he said he was from?
Something about a patient.
Excuse me.
Max Liebermann.
Dr Liebermann.
HE SIGHS
I'm so sorry.
They contacted you?
Telephoned this morning.
Did they say what happened?
Looks like
..suicide.
But we won't know until
the postmortem.
Thank you, Dr Liebermann,
for what you tried to do for him.
This isn't over, Fraulein.
My work on this case
is just beginning.
The minister telephoned
this morning.
Herr Wagner has some very
influential friends,
and they are eager for some
progress in this burglary.
So I'mrelying on you, Reinhardt.
I already told you,
it's a simple case.
Let one of the juniors handle it.
We need a successful outcome.
All our reputations hang on this.
Now, do as I ask!
We both know what's going on here.
What? Let's not kid ourselves.
It's your reputation on
the line here, not mine.
Now, wait a moment.
Too many slip-ups, too many errors.
Now, look, Reinhardt
No, YOU look!
You're ordering me around,
playing the big detective.
I'm telling you
I'll only put up with so much.
Do you understand me, Bulow?
Von Bulow.
It's von Bulow! Von Bulow!
I did as you asked, I looked at
other similar burglaries.
And?
Another break-in.
Hietzing. Exact same circumstances.
Hmm.
There you are.
Thank you, Fraulein Linder.
Well done.
When did the burglary occur?
Two weeks ago.
I was asleep upstairs.
Broke in through the kitchen window,
into the parlour here.
There was a cabinet,
another piece of mine.
It was damaged by the burglar.
I sent it to a restorer.
I have the piece here, yes.
The panel was removed.
Barely scratched.
Someone tried to open it - clumsily.
We're just working on it now,
Inspector.
Just a moment.
Haussmann.
So, the thief conducts
two separate burglaries. Yes.
Steals nothing of any value
from either. Yes.
But takes the trouble to stop
and break apart two identical
lacquer cabinets.
Yes. But why?
Dr Wiesinger, at the military home,
said he was acting
under your advice.
He said the captain was a danger
to himself, but you told them
he shouldn't be sedated?
He was badly treated in that
hospital, tied down with restraints,
injected with morphine
to keep him docile.
What I told them was that
they should try
to understand his delusions.
What delusions?
He told me
..he was cursed.
What?
He believed some ancient god
had marked him for death.
Poor man, his fantasy must
have been so potent,
he enacted the fatal curse himself.
You applied for this job,
and you were turned down.
Did they give you a reason?
They suggested that my research,
my methods were, erm
Freudian analysis is still viewed
with somesuspicion.
Indeed. And yet, here you are,
freely giving advice to
Dr Wiesinger and, as a result
I'm not responsible for his death.
I offered to take
the patient on myself,
and my offer was rejected.
Wiesinger made a formal
complaint to me.
What do you suggest
we do about this?
I have to go back there.
There are things about his death
that need further investigation.
I know that look.
You've made a mess,
and now, you need
my help cleaning it up.
Hmm.
Something like that.
A man has died,
and I feel I'm responsible.
I have to find out what happened,
and I need you beside me.
You really think that this matter
is worthy of a police investigation?
Captain Steiner is dead,
Dr Wiesinger.
Yes, but the cause of death
is plain to everyone.
He killed himself!
He was suffering from
violent delusions.
If the doctor here
had not intervened
I asked you to let me take
his case, and you refused.
You recommended that
sedation be withdrawn!
In order that he might begin
some psychological treatment!
It was reckless just to abandon him.
Who were the last people
to have seen him?
When did you last interact with him?
The night before he died.
I gave him his bath and
wished him goodnight.
That would have been around nine.
Was there anything unusual
about his behaviour?
HE SCOFFS
You'd do better to ask,
was there ever an occasion
when he behaved normally?
What do you mean?
You saw the entrails?
Yes.
He stole a hen from
the kitchen, gutted it,
and scattered the blood
around his room.
And a week ago, there was
the business with a glass house.
And what exactly would that involve?
Steiner marched out there
early one morning and
smashed his way inside it.
He broke the door down and cut
down one of the specimens,
and dragged it into his room.
Hardly the actions
of a rational man.
Wouldn't you agree, Inspector?
Every day, three meals a day, I
..I took them in to him.
Helped dress him.
I'm sorry.
This must be difficult
for you, Fraulein.
Was there anything about
the manner of his death that
seemed significant to you?
What do you mean, exactly?
It's an unusual way to kill oneself.
Burning vapours. Intense heat.
Oh, dear God.
The poor captain.
QUIET SOBBING
I'm not an expert, Max,
but it does seem like
the man had gone insane.
Insane is not a catch-all, Oskar.
It doesn't explain everything away.
The gutted animal,
scattering the entrails,
dragging the tree into the building.
There's meaning in it somewhere.
We just haven't found it yet.
I can't work it out.
So eager to kill himself, why drag
himself down to the boiler room
when he could end it
swiftly with this?
Careful.
Maybe it was decommissioned.
Hold on.
There's something hidden.
"The panther is on the water."
Actually, the Panther is a ship.
I found it in the Maritime Library.
An Austrian steamer, made
regular voyages from the East.
Shipping goods back to Vienna,
Tianjin to Trieste.
Would have been docked in China
at the same time
that the captain was there.
So, the Panther left China
And his belly was full.
With what?
Steiner had something
stashed on board.
The severity of these burns would
have been enough to kill anyone.
His heart was already weak.
He would never have been
able to survive this.
Thank you, Doctor. Wait.
There's more, Inspector.
Cuts to his feet.
Lacerations, like someone
had driven knives into them.
Recently? Maybe a month old.
You can clearly see the scar tissue.
Self-inflicted?
Possible, but unlikely.
Steiner was tortured, Oskar.
Someone may have driven him
to kill himself.
Not everything in here is for sale,
Lieutenant!
Mama, Papa, I
didn't know you were coming.
Would you like to stay for supper?
Er, no, I'm afraid not, Max,
we haven't got that long.
What's the matter?
What's happened?
We need to ask you something,
and we want an honest answer.
All right.
It's about Clara.
What about her? She was seen.
Here. Entering this apartment
late at night.
You have your little spies
scattered around the city, do you?
Frau Schmidt was driving past
on her way home.
Oh, well, Frau Schmidt.
Perfect, how reliable.
Max, I can't abide for you
to lie to us.
I won't forgive you if you do.
Mama, please.
We're just asking you
to think carefully about it.
Think what's best for Clara -
think what's best for you.
Clara is a professional writer now,
and she comes to me for information.
I don't want to see
either of you get hurt.
Be careful, my son.
That's what had to be said. Rachel.
Don't make it hard for us
to be proud of you.
Would you like a drink, sir?
Yes.
I fail to understand,
why exactly is this necessary?
They weren't simply delusions.
Someone tortured Captain Steiner.
That's
That's preposterous, Inspector.
We need to interview everyone.
These men need peace and quiet.
And we need the truth.
These men are war heroes,
and you allowed one of them
to be brutalised.
Inspector Maybe more of
them are being abused.
Step aside.
So, you were acquainted with
Captain Steiner, erm?
Second Lieutenant Hammer.
Second Lieutenant Hammer.
Can he hear me?
He's very weak.
He hasn't spoken for
a long time, Inspector.
Hmm.
Are you aware that Captain Steiner
was hurt by someone?
Do you know who might have done it?
Well?
Thank you.
Bring in the next, please.
Something bad is
happening here, Max.
We need to get someone to talk.
So, if he was right,
someone came in here to
torture Steiner.
Maybe another patient.
Or one of the staff.
Why are there no witnesses?
It's like we're dealing
with a ghost.
Someone who can slip
between the shadows.
Or someone who had hidden access
to this room we don't know about.
Something about this room
bothers me.
Mm, what are you doing, Oskar?
Six, seven, eight.
THUNDER CLAPS
What are you counting?
This blacked-out window.
It's not in the corridor,
and it's obviously not
in Steiner's room.
I noticed it when we arrived.
And also, the measurements
don't add up.
So, Steiner's room is smaller
than it should be.
Go to the stables.
We're staying for the night.
Yes, sir.
You want to what?
The rain has set in.
The roads are bound to be flooded.
Our driver thinks it would be
much safer if we stayed the night.
I hope you'll both be
comfortable in here.
Locked up with that cheerless woman
would be enough to
drive anyone insane.
We need to wait until
everyone's asleep.
Then we can discover how
he got into Steiner's room.
It's No, I prefer the top bunk.
THUNDER RUMBLES
Are you ever going to tell me?
I'd be a pretty poor analyst
if I couldn't tell when something
was troubling my friend.
Therese?
Don't know what it is, Max.
I like her so much.
And I like Hannah, her daughter.
But?
But it just doesn't feel right.
It feels like
Like
Like you're betraying
your own family.
You're a good man, Oskar.
I have no doubt you were
a very good father.
Whatever happens,
there will always be room
for your daughter in your heart.
We both know that.
If she catches us,
this was your idea.
When they turned the house
into an institution,
they must have divided the rooms.
Yeah.
Max.
You first.
HE GROWLS
Should've gone easy on the cake.
It was good cake.
A vengeful god that
visited his dreams.
There is no curse here, Oskar.
They tortured a frightened man
into believing this was real.
Mm.
WHISPERS: You want to
know about Georg.
What?
Did you hear that?
You asked about Steiner before.
You are a little more lucid
than you were last time.
I don't talk in front of
the nurses and doctors.
Look at what they did to
my poor friend, the captain.
Tied him to his bed and injected him
with their filthy medicines.
There are two of them.
Him, and one other soldier.
What are you talking about?
Smuggled some treasure out of China,
on board a ship bound for Vienna.
Yes, the Panther.
Stole the treasure in Peking,
when they were stationed there,
during the rebellion.
People were terrified,
fleeing from the militia.
Sound of drums in the night.
Sound of chanting.
Some Chinese merchant.
He escaped into the quarter
to find sanctuary.
He brought the treasure
along with him.
Steiner and his comrade,
they stole it from him.
Murdered him.
You're saying Steiner was a killer?
No. The other soldier did the deed.
Steiner was just an accessory.
Admitted everything.
Dark times, they were.
Men behaving no better than beasts.
They shipped the treasure back
to Austria in secret.
Hidden on a steamship.
What was it, the treasure?
Wouldn't tell me any more.
Said it was too dangerous
to speak of it.
There's a bar where all
the soldiers used to meet.
All the ones who served
out there in China.
Someone there, they warned him
about an ancient curse,
told him that curse would haunt him
because of what he'd stolen.
Who was this other man? The killer?
Some soldier in the regiment.
He came here. Steiner told me.
What? When?
Just weeks ago.
Wanted to see his old comrade.
He came here to visit him?
Thank you, Lieutenant. Yes.
His name must be here somewhere.
Here.
Signature's illegible.
A month ago, Oskar.
That's when his madness
truly took hold.
When this colleague
came to visit him.
But which one is the
killer from the past?
Yan Wang.
One of the oldest Buddhist deities.
The Vengeful God,
the God of Shadows.
Makes us answer for our sins.
Where did you find this?
Hidden in the military home.
Fraulein.
Someone tortured Georg into
believing he was cursed.
What? How terrible.
Poor Georg.
Think how easy it must have been.
Someone who already
doubts his sanity,
how easy to drive him into madness.
I always remember the legend.
He comes to make us answer
for our sins.
Makes the wicked walk on knives.
Someone tortured him in his bed,
cut his feet into ribbons.
Perhaps the other soldier
from his regiment.
The only way to ward
off this evil
..is with a blood sacrifice.
Over the bough of the
prunus persica,
the sacred peach tree.
I remember these stories
from when I was a child.
He ties the wicked down on
red-hot copper pipes,
so their sins are burnt out of them.
But why torture him?
Because someone wanted to frighten
him into giving up a secret.
The location of a priceless
hidden treasure.
Look what else I found, Inspector.
From Georg's regimental records.
Georg was in prison for one year,
in Tianjin.
So, he was delayed from returning.
And unable to collect the treasure.
Please, Fraulein, find the name
of the other soldier.
Keep trawling the military records.
Haussmann.
Haussmann.
Locate the bar where
the soldiers meet.
The veterans.
Of course.
And, Max, we should find out
precisely what was hidden
on that steamer.
I don't understand,
why are you asking me?
Well, I know nothing
about the Orient.
My taste is more avant-garde.
That's one way of putting it.
And you've had several pieces
shipped back from Peking.
Where do you acquire them,
Herr Liebermann?
Well, one auction house,
mainly, Holsinger's.
I have a contact there.
Also, there's a darling little
shop near the flea market.
Would you care to see it?
I can take you there now.
It is lunchtime, Leah, yes?
Come along.
Fraulein.
Chinoiserie is suddenly
all the rage.
Everyone loves the Chinese room in
Schonbrunn.
You can pick it up
these days for prices
that are really quite reasonable.
What would happen if a
shipment arrived from China,
but it was never claimed?
It would sit in a warehouse,
I suppose.
Although after a while,
it would be sold at auction anyway.
What? Why?
Well, they like to cover their
costs when goods are unclaimed.
So, if Steiner was delayed in China,
serving out his time
in a prison cell,
then the treasure could
have been sold.
Max, I'm so stupid.
The answer was staring at me.
Excuse me.
Excuse us.
Oskar, what are we doing here?
A spate of burglaries
I'm investigating. Burglaries?
He's come here to find
the secret treasure.
Who has? The God of Shadows.
It's him behind the break-ins.
What break-ins?
There you are.
It's about lacquered
Chinese cabinets.
The theft of the other items
was just a smokescreen.
He broke into the houses
to find the cabinets.
Steiner's treasure must be
concealed in one of them.
So Max, Steiner came back
to Vienna too late.
He didn't know the precise location
of the treasure. And now
His accomplice is back, and he's
Tracking down all the cabinets
from one particular shipment.
So, you're specialists in
Eastern artefacts.
Antique collections from China.
Indeed, we have quite a reputation.
Furniture and ceramics.
We're interested in items
that were shipped here
from Tianjin, via Trieste.
That's your supply chain,
I understand.
Certainly, it is.
How exquisite.
Such pieces are rare.
We don't see that many of them.
Have you sold some in the past?
There was a shipment, I think.
Some years back.
And can you give us the names of
the people who acquired them?
What's wrong?
We keep good records, of course,
but one of our record books
was actually lost.
Lost? We had a break-in.
Some weeks ago.
I reported it to the police.
Must've been him who stole it.
What's all this about, Inspector?
We have a similar item for sale.
And we'd like to offer it
at auction.
Do we? Yes, we do.
But it's not real.
We don't sell fakes.
I'm sorry.
We're hoping you'll make an
exception for us, Herr Holzinger.
But this is an antique,
200 years old@
I can't simply reproduce one.
It just needs to be convincing
enough for someone to want
to steal it from us. What?
You construct a fake one -
you can use pieces from the
damaged one, if you like, and we
agree to have it sold at auction.
The director at the Holzinger's
has already agreed to help us.
We say it was "mislaid"
from the original shipment
and recently came to light.
Whoever's hunting them will
almost certainly come after it.
That is, of course
once we advertise it.
And how exactly are we
going to do that?
Well, you've certainly
aroused my curiosity.
Hello, Clara.
You said you had a story for me?
Yes.
Sowhat is it?
Don't keep me in suspense
any longer.
There's a sale at Holzinger's.
Chinese cabinet.
It's been lost for years,
but recently rediscovered.
Mm-hm. I thought you might like
to write a feature on it.
Is this why you invited me here?
To write about trinkets?
Max, I'm trying to build
a serious career.
I thought you had
a crime story for me.
Trust me.
There is a crime story hidden
in here somewhere.
We made it similar to the original.
It even has the same
secret compartment.
So, what do we do?
Does one of us dress up as
a collector?
I think we can find someone
rather more convincing.
You want me to what?
Bid on the piece at auction.
Whatever the price,
you will have to match it.
And you expect me to use
my own money?
It's not real. The piece is fake.
Well, presumably the money isn't.
Papa, no-one will actually be
paying anything.
What? Oh, just explain it
to me again.
ALL GROAN
Well, I'm rather baffled!
Oh, Papa, must you be so dense?
Oh, well, forgive me, Leah,
for not fully comprehending
the mind of a criminal.
But it's perfectly simple.
Whoever's hunting this
missing antique
It was presumed lost
when it was unclaimed.
..is trying to track down every
identical cabinet in Vienna!
Because there's something
valuable hidden inside it.
Which means they'll come
after this one. Yes.
After me, in fact!
ALL: Yes!
Chances are,
they'll burgle your home.
Welcome to the case, Father.
That's just something
we usually say round about now.
We've doubled our security,
like you asked.
Gentlemen. Drawn quite a crowd.
Yes, thanks to your article.
Now you have to keep your
side of the bargain.
You told me there was a story here.
I'm waiting.
Just a little longer, Clara.
He must be here somewhere, Max.
God of Shadows.
He's coming.
So now, ladies and gentlemen,
our last item for today.
An exquisite pear wood
lacquered cabinet from Peking.
LEAH: This is us.
This piece is in
particularly fine condition.
So, let us begin.
Who will start the bidding?
I have 800.
Can we say 850?
And 50, sir?
Do I hear 900?
900. Thank you, sir.
1,000.
CROWD MURMURS
Do I hear 1,100?
No?
Any bids? Papa, aren't you
supposed to be bidding?
I don't want to make it
look too obvious.
1,000. You don't start now,
you might lose it.
1,100.
Thank you, sir.
Any advance on 1,100?
Do I hear more?
All yours at 1,100, sir.
1,200.
Oh, blast.
Do I hear 13?
Papa, it's your turn, quick.
Not so hasty,
I don't want to look too eager.
No?
1,300. Thank you, madame.
Leah, what are you doing?
What does it matter?
It's not real money.
Oh 1,400.
Thank you, sir.
My family seems to be
bidding against each other.
I have 1,400.
Sit still. Don't move a muscle.
At 1,400
..all done.
SHE SIGHS
Well, that wasstressful.
APPLAUSE
Try to look happy, Papa,
you just won.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, sir.
Be careful of the woodwork.
Sowhat do we do now exactly?
Nothing. Max said
the thief will come.
It's like a ticking bomb.
Yes, an outrageously expensive one.
LOUD THUD
Oh, do be careful!
Haussmann, on this table.
All right.
Good, good, good.
Might not even be tonight.
He'll come.
He's already waited too long.
I used to hide at
the bottom of the garden
when I was a little boy, Oskar.
What, playing? Mm-hm.
What were you pretending to be?
You'll laugh.
No, I won't.
A policeman.
STIFLED LAUGH
I'm sorry. Hmm.
Are you quite comfortable there?
Would you like me
to bring you a cushion?
No, nothing. I'm fine, thank you.
Oh, maybe some supper?
Nothing. Thank you.
New experience for all of us.
Darling.
Good night. Good luck.
OWL HOOTS
Careful.
Someone spent a whole day
making that thing.
You're under arrest, by the way.
Ahh!
Ah!
What happened? Did you catch him?
Stop! Still working on it.
Ohh.
Hey, hey, hey!
It's the orderly.
It was him dressed up in that mask.
He would have been at Steiner's side
day and night.
He must have started
to piece the story together.
We can guess who killed him.
We know who else is after
the treasure.
One more victim of the curse.
Did you know?
You must have known
what was going on.
Johann Graf was your lover.
We saw the two of you together.
We also found the hidden space
in Captain Steiner's room.
The mask. The costumes.
Someone had been visiting him
at night, torturing him.
That was Johann, hmm?
I'm so sorry.
I tried to stop him.
Please believe me, I swear to you.
The captain, he
He would ramble on, day and night.
Most days, no-one would pay
attention, but then
What?
What?!
He had a visitor.
Johann overheard some of
what they were saying.
Who?
An old acquaintance
from his army days.
Just returned from Tianjin.
Would you recognise him
from this picture?
II barely saw him.
Johann heard them talking.
The other man was desperate to get
some information from the captain.
Something about a fortune?
Hidden in an old cabinet.
The captain couldn't tell him much.
So, Johann took it upon
himself to find out.
He became obsessed by it.
Great treasure brought back from
China years ago on an old steamship.
He traced the shipment to
an auction house.
Broke in and stole their records.
He had to know who might have it.
And soon after, he started
to break into people's homes.
Fraulein, he was torturing Georg.
And you knew.
I begged him not to.
But he wouldn't listen.
I couldn't stop him.
And then, finally,
the poor captain, he
SHE SOBS
Killed himself.
It was never supposed
to end up like that.
The list, Fraulein.
Do you still have it?
The cabinet sold at auction?
Have you seen it?
I remember Johann reading it.
What?
What will happen to me?
Georg Steiner was brutally tortured.
You were an accessory.
You will be charged.
Don't leave the premises.
She could be lying, of course
..when she says
she hasn't seen that list.
We must have missed something,
Oskar.
HE SIGHS
Hammer mentioned the bar frequented
by soldiers who served in China.
It hasn't been located yet.
No.
But we have.
You won't be wanting a drink, then.
Just some information.
We were told some
old soldiers gather here?
No-one here at the moment.
Do you mind if we check in the back?
Sure.
Be my guest.
Step aside.
You know that smell? Opioids.
Many soldiers came back
from China as addicts.
Someone has been in here.
She rattled the keys
to give them a warning.
It's not just alcohol you sell here.
We found opium.
It's not illegal.
No - but it's illegal to
harbour a killer.
I recognise your face.
You were at the auction house.
I buy and sell trinkets.
So what?
Who has been here recently?
Who comes here to buy the drugs
that you sell?
I don't know their names.
I don't even look at
their sorry faces.
An old soldier, named Steiner,
we think he was once here,
boasting about a treasure
of some sort?
All of them come in
boasting about something.
I don't listen.
Someone in here told him a story.
About an ancient curse.
Someone who wanted to frighten him.
Means nothing to me.
Now, do you mind?
I'm busy.
You were a soldier once,
weren't you?
I can always recognise one.
You know what your comrades
did to the East?
It makes me glad when I sell them
black seed and they crawl
on their bellies like vermin.
Second Platoon.
It's taken me a while, but these are
the men who went to liberate Peking.
I've cross-referenced
all of the names.
Of the 32 men in the squadron,
24 died in China, in the fighting.
They were buried in
a war grave in Peking.
And the other eight?
Four died later of natural causes.
Steiner makes five.
Two others are still
living in Vietnam.
Haussmann went to their addresses.
They both have alibis.
That doesn't add up. No.
32 men? Yes.
So, one is unaccounted for? Yes.
And, as far as we know,
he never made it back from China.
Franz Ebner.
Ebner. Mm-hm. A lieutenant.
Stationed in Peking during
the rebellion.
Not a single trace of him now.
You mean, he's just a shadow?
Lieutenant Franz Ebner - arrested
in Peking and court martialled.
What was his crime?
Killed a merchant in the fighting.
Two men were arrested -
Ebner, for carrying out
the illegal killing,
and Steiner, as
an accessory to murder.
So, Steiner put the treasure on
a steamer back to Austria,
but he and Ebner were arrested
soon after? Yes.
By this time, the Panther
had already sailed.
Steiner was released
after just a year.
Makes it back here, but it's
too late, the treasure's gone.
Ebner returns years later,
tries to find it.
But Steiner's too sick to help him.
The orderly overhears them talking,
goes on the trail, and gets killed.
Ebner is somewhere
in this city, Oskar. Mm.
KNOCK ON DOOR
Dr Wiesinger asked me to come down
here and pack away Graf's things.
I want to do it.
Pleaselet me do it.
But the doctor insisted.
But I was the one
who was closest to him.
Could you
..leave me alone here?
I want to say goodbye to him.
Thank you.
SHE GASPS
SHE SCREAMS
She knew.
She must have known.
All right.
Let's assume she knew
the location of the treasure.
Means she must have seen that list.
She asked me to leave her
alone in here.
Gentlemen.
Look, Max.
The last cabinet.
It's here.
Ebner.
Give yourself up.
You know how long I've waited?
How long I was rotting in
a Chinese prison?
Steiner was lucky. Not me.
I-I'm not giving these up
for anything!
Who is it? Who's there?!
Max, down!
Ahh!
Police! Stop shooting!
Stop!
Ebner, stop!
EBNER SCREAMING
Ssh, wait, wait.
FOOTSTEPS
This way.
He's wounded. He won't get far.
I know where he's going.
HE WINCES
PANTING: You have to hide me.
They'll find me.
They're coming.
You are my friend.
You are the only friend in the city,
Xiuying.
Help me.
What's that?
Diamonds? I need something
..for the pain.
Please!
Thank you.
I watched him fall.
I couldn't save him.
Damn it.
No arrest. No killer.
Not even the burglar.
What about the woman?
Disappeared whilst we were
searching the river.
No sign of her since.
Oh, that's a
rather disappointing result.
Still, no, you're not to blame.
Rheinhardt. You've tried.
It's not your fault.
N-No, I'm
I'm grateful.
I'll cover up for you. Don't worry.
I'll smooth everything out.
HE SIGHS
How many people died because
they touched that treasure?
The curse is very real, Oskar.
But it's not some ancient god.
Curse is in all of us.
Simple human greed.
Mm.
Clara. Max.
Well, congratulations.
For what?
Becoming the best crime reporter
in the city.
Thanks to my secret source.
Not so secret, not really.
I wanted to thank you.
For your help.
You could thank me
..by having dinner with me.
We've found a way to coexist.
Better if we don't spoil it.
Wouldn't you agree?
Champagne, please.
For two.
Oskar.
I didn't expect to see you again.
I wonder
..would it be
too presumptuous if?
You want to come in
and spend the evening?
CHEERING AND LAUGHTER
We are the sum of our experiences,
uniquely defined by our memories.
Sometimes a simple object
can summon up a recollection.
It can be the door to a
secret, forgotten past.
We spend a lifetime gathering
a collection of treasured objects
and symbols, each of them holding
a tiny fragment of our identity -
a key to our emotions.
CLATTERING
Who is it?
Who's there?!
There's someone there.
I can hear you!
Come on!
Come on!
Hmm. Nasty business.
When did this happen?
Sometime after midnight.
Victim is recovering in hospital.
Burglary?
Hmm. Not really my department.
Why don't you let one of the juniors
handle it?
The victim
..is an important man.
Ex-minister of finance.
And he was assaulted.
I want an experienced officer.
Someone good.
Sorry. What?
What was that word?
I didn't catch it.
Out.
WHISTLES
Do we have an inventory
of what's missing?
Oh, yes.
Here.
That's it?
Yes. One item?
DOOR OPENS
SIGHS
How valuable?
That's what's curious.
Not valuable at all.
The owner says it was
a reproduction.
Mm.
It must have happened
during the scuffle.
The fight took place over there.
It doesn't make sense.
Right.
Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues,
fellow clinicians,
following the retirement of our
distinguished Professor Gruner,
we are pleased to announce
the appointment
of a new head of neurology.
Professor Neumann
from the University of Strasbourg.
THEY APPLAUD
Professor Neumann, allow me to
introduce myself.
I know who you are.
You're Max Liebermann.
You were a candidate for this job.
Yes. I hope it isn't going to come
between us.
You were having great success in the
field of criminal psychopathy.
I read your book.
Fascinating.
Thank you. Your predecessor wasn't
quite so enamoured with my research.
Well, I hope you'll find me
a more willing collaborator.
I'm Dr Hellig. Enchantee.
Dr Liebermann.
I'm sorry to disturb you at work.
No, It's a pleasure to see you.
Please, come.
Now, how can I be of service?
I need your assistance.
Someone I know is suffering.
He needs a doctor. A neurologist.
His name is Captain Georg Steiner.
He was a very distinguished
soldier in his day.
This is him? Yes.
A friend of my father's.
Georg is in a military home
for invalids.
I visit him out of
..well
..duty.
Hmm. This is your father?
He died some years ago.
He made a good living in China.
That is,
right up until the time when
What happened, Fraulein?
He was in Peking eight years ago
when the rebels attacked the fort.
The Boxer Rebellion.
Exactly.
Their army lay siege to the city.
Thousands of armed militia.
Nobody could get in or out.
The captain saved my father's life
defending the Legation Quarter.
So, since
..my father died, I
You've felt an obligation to him.
And how can I help?
He claims that
..he's cursed.
Please, Dr Liebermann,
solve the riddle
of whatever it is that
is tormenting him.
Dr Liebermann? Yes.
Follow me, please.
Ah. Good of you to see me,
Doctor?
Wiesinger. Wiesinger.
You're the clinical director here?
Yes.
30 patients, all ex-military,
most of them wounded in service.
What sort of cases?
Amputees.
Shrapnel victims.
Some just fading away with age.
Can you tell me about
Georg Steiner?
What's your interest in him?
We have a mutual friend.
And theyasked you to visit him?
Yes.
The captain's suffering from
delirium and psychosis.
His behaviour is highly erratic.
Well, I'd like to see him, if I may.
Nurse Aigner.
Follow me.
Captain Steiner.
He fought in Peking,
his last campaign.
He was broken when he came to us.
KNOCKS DOOR
Captain Steiner?
KNOCKS DOOR
Captain Steiner,
someone is here to see you.
He pushed something
against the door.
I can't get it open.
Would you, please?
Of course.
He's got a knife.
Captain Steiner!
Get away from this door!
Captain Steiner!
RINGS BELL
Get away from me!
He's here! He's coming!
It's Steiner. He's locked himself
inside.
I see him!
His vengeful face!
I'm coming in. He knows I've sinned!
Captain, what have you done to
yourself?
Captain, put the knife down.
He's cursed us,
both of us!
He has cast a shadow
over our hearts!
GROANS
GRUNTS
The panther is on the water.
The panther is on the water.
And its belly is full.
The panther is on the water.
Doctor.
We've given him morphine
to ease his pain.
Morphine will blunt his senses.
He won't be able to talk.
Perhaps it would be better
if you came another day.
I'm eager to speak with him
more than ever.
Perhaps you'll permit me to wait,
just until the sedative wears off.
How was your day? Oh
Don't want to discuss it?
I don't usually bring my work
to the dinner table.
But how about you two?
How was your day? Hmm?
What have you been reading, Hannah?
It's just an old fairy story.
Oh, I recognise the book.
I think I read it before.
You read children's books?
But you're old.
Hannah, don't be rude.
No, I read it to my daughter.
You have a daughter?
I would like to meet her.
Oh, I
When can I meet her? Please. Please.
Hannah, stop pestering poor Oskar.
Let's eat.
Before the meat gets cold.
Goodnight.
Oskar, you are not going?
I have to work early tomorrow.
You can stay the night if you want.
Perhaps another time.
I'm sorry.
DOOR CLOSES
GRUNTS
I don't know you.
Are his messenger?
My name is Dr Liebermann.
I'm a friend of Fraulein Linder.
The girl with the sad face.
LAUGHS MANICALLY
They think I'm dangerous.
A rabid dog that must be chained.
Have some water.
EXHALES SHARPLY
Why am I tied up?
It was done to protect you.
Do you remember anything
that happened today?
I can see him coming.
Every night. Such torment him.
Him?
Eyes filled with blood.
Tell me about it. Who is he?
And whispering,
there in the shadows.
Do you believe in curses, doctor?
I believe in their power.
Yes.
Once evil has been
released into the world,
it cannot rest until
it has claimed its victim.
You should rest.
I'll visit you again soon.
I would say he's in
an advanced psychotic state.
His condition is getting worse.
I was fascinated
by what he was saying.
Something about a curse.
We don't encourage these delusions.
Better not to engage with him.
Then how do you plan to help him?
I'll increase his dosage.
The drugs should be sufficient
to ease his pain.
Drugs will not cure him,
Dr Wiesinger.
Whatever it is that torments him,
the root cause must be explored.
Perhaps you would consider
letting me take his kit.
I can have him transferred.
I know your reputation.
You're the Jew who wrote that book.
The disciple of Freud.
These men are broken.
It's our job to lessen their
suffering by any method that we can.
Yes. Thank you, doctor, but we
won't be needing your assistance.
He doesn't need to be sedated.
He needs to talk and be listened to.
That's my professional opinion.
He never leaves the house.
He's getting worse and worse.
Has something frightened you?
Can you tell me about it?
Can you talk?
Answer the gentleman, Leopold.
He's always like this.
We moved into a new apartment
and he refuses to climb
the stairs, doctor.
Any stairs at all.
Stands at the bottom,
trembling, weeping.
But we're on the second floor here.
I had to drag him to your door.
Hmm.
For you.
You see
..a staircase is a symbol.
It represents transition.
Perhaps to something that we fear.
Often that transition
is connected to sex.
A staircase is a
rudimentary phallus.
That's enough.
Of course, symbols are not
always what they appear to be.
I take it this one won't be paying?
What did you expect, Max?
You think the whole of Vienna is
going to embrace your crazy ideas?
You think everything is
a symbol of something.
This cigar, that decanter.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
I bet you'll never look at
the staircase the same way again.
Yeah, probably.
Actually, there's something else
I wanted to discuss with you.
You're an ex-military man.
I need your advice.
It might interest you as well.
I think they called themselves
the militia of Righteous
and Harmonious Fists.
China was struck by drought.
Farmers' land was destroyed.
Livelihoods gone.
Then the militia rose up
against the European settlers,
marching into the Christian
ghettos of Peking,
burning down churches,
killing worshippers.
So apparently, this Captain Steiner
still bears the scars.
Do you think you can help him, Max?
Or is he beyond your healing now?
The doctor says
I can take these off,
but we don't want any misbehaviour.
Now, get some rest, Captain.
I'll be in with your
breakfast tray early.
He's the stealer of souls.
Now, don't go talking
nonsense again.
He comes in the night.
Bringing shadows.
Best try not to think of it.
WHISPERING VOICE: I know your sin.
I know your sin.
I know your sin. I know your sin.
I know your sin.
I know your sin.
I know your sin. I know your sin.
HE SCREAMS
To London? It's so long
since I've seen my family.
Little Sasha was just a baby.
It's his Bar Mitzvah next month.
We must go.
You're invited, too, so I don't
suppose you'll want to come.
Well, I can't just
leave my patients.
Leah will look after
the business for us.
Right.
Well, give Whitechapel my love.
Perhaps you could have Leah
to stay with you.
So she's not lonely
whilst we're away.
I'm sure she can look after herself.
LAUGHTER
Ah, the famous reporter.
Not so famous. Not yet.
Congratulations, darling.
Mendel showed me the piece you wrote
about that chap in the newspaper.
What was his name again?
Gerstl! That's him, Gerstl.
And what does he do again? Oh, Mama!
He's a famous artist, a painter.
She read it avidly,
devoured every word.
Your biggest fan.
It was brilliant, just brilliant.
Thank you. Such talent.
Goodbye, darling. Goodbye.
Goodbye, everyone.
ALL: Goodbye.
I'll see you out, I'm just leaving.
Well, what did you want
to say to me?
You're interviewing
famous artists now.
I write whatever they ask me to.
What I'd love is
another crime story.
See what I can rustle up.
Why did you want
to walk out with me?
Max!
There's a doctor on the telephone
trying to track you down.
Kierling Haus,
I think he said he was from?
Something about a patient.
Excuse me.
Max Liebermann.
Dr Liebermann.
HE SIGHS
I'm so sorry.
They contacted you?
Telephoned this morning.
Did they say what happened?
Looks like
..suicide.
But we won't know until
the postmortem.
Thank you, Dr Liebermann,
for what you tried to do for him.
This isn't over, Fraulein.
My work on this case
is just beginning.
The minister telephoned
this morning.
Herr Wagner has some very
influential friends,
and they are eager for some
progress in this burglary.
So I'mrelying on you, Reinhardt.
I already told you,
it's a simple case.
Let one of the juniors handle it.
We need a successful outcome.
All our reputations hang on this.
Now, do as I ask!
We both know what's going on here.
What? Let's not kid ourselves.
It's your reputation on
the line here, not mine.
Now, wait a moment.
Too many slip-ups, too many errors.
Now, look, Reinhardt
No, YOU look!
You're ordering me around,
playing the big detective.
I'm telling you
I'll only put up with so much.
Do you understand me, Bulow?
Von Bulow.
It's von Bulow! Von Bulow!
I did as you asked, I looked at
other similar burglaries.
And?
Another break-in.
Hietzing. Exact same circumstances.
Hmm.
There you are.
Thank you, Fraulein Linder.
Well done.
When did the burglary occur?
Two weeks ago.
I was asleep upstairs.
Broke in through the kitchen window,
into the parlour here.
There was a cabinet,
another piece of mine.
It was damaged by the burglar.
I sent it to a restorer.
I have the piece here, yes.
The panel was removed.
Barely scratched.
Someone tried to open it - clumsily.
We're just working on it now,
Inspector.
Just a moment.
Haussmann.
So, the thief conducts
two separate burglaries. Yes.
Steals nothing of any value
from either. Yes.
But takes the trouble to stop
and break apart two identical
lacquer cabinets.
Yes. But why?
Dr Wiesinger, at the military home,
said he was acting
under your advice.
He said the captain was a danger
to himself, but you told them
he shouldn't be sedated?
He was badly treated in that
hospital, tied down with restraints,
injected with morphine
to keep him docile.
What I told them was that
they should try
to understand his delusions.
What delusions?
He told me
..he was cursed.
What?
He believed some ancient god
had marked him for death.
Poor man, his fantasy must
have been so potent,
he enacted the fatal curse himself.
You applied for this job,
and you were turned down.
Did they give you a reason?
They suggested that my research,
my methods were, erm
Freudian analysis is still viewed
with somesuspicion.
Indeed. And yet, here you are,
freely giving advice to
Dr Wiesinger and, as a result
I'm not responsible for his death.
I offered to take
the patient on myself,
and my offer was rejected.
Wiesinger made a formal
complaint to me.
What do you suggest
we do about this?
I have to go back there.
There are things about his death
that need further investigation.
I know that look.
You've made a mess,
and now, you need
my help cleaning it up.
Hmm.
Something like that.
A man has died,
and I feel I'm responsible.
I have to find out what happened,
and I need you beside me.
You really think that this matter
is worthy of a police investigation?
Captain Steiner is dead,
Dr Wiesinger.
Yes, but the cause of death
is plain to everyone.
He killed himself!
He was suffering from
violent delusions.
If the doctor here
had not intervened
I asked you to let me take
his case, and you refused.
You recommended that
sedation be withdrawn!
In order that he might begin
some psychological treatment!
It was reckless just to abandon him.
Who were the last people
to have seen him?
When did you last interact with him?
The night before he died.
I gave him his bath and
wished him goodnight.
That would have been around nine.
Was there anything unusual
about his behaviour?
HE SCOFFS
You'd do better to ask,
was there ever an occasion
when he behaved normally?
What do you mean?
You saw the entrails?
Yes.
He stole a hen from
the kitchen, gutted it,
and scattered the blood
around his room.
And a week ago, there was
the business with a glass house.
And what exactly would that involve?
Steiner marched out there
early one morning and
smashed his way inside it.
He broke the door down and cut
down one of the specimens,
and dragged it into his room.
Hardly the actions
of a rational man.
Wouldn't you agree, Inspector?
Every day, three meals a day, I
..I took them in to him.
Helped dress him.
I'm sorry.
This must be difficult
for you, Fraulein.
Was there anything about
the manner of his death that
seemed significant to you?
What do you mean, exactly?
It's an unusual way to kill oneself.
Burning vapours. Intense heat.
Oh, dear God.
The poor captain.
QUIET SOBBING
I'm not an expert, Max,
but it does seem like
the man had gone insane.
Insane is not a catch-all, Oskar.
It doesn't explain everything away.
The gutted animal,
scattering the entrails,
dragging the tree into the building.
There's meaning in it somewhere.
We just haven't found it yet.
I can't work it out.
So eager to kill himself, why drag
himself down to the boiler room
when he could end it
swiftly with this?
Careful.
Maybe it was decommissioned.
Hold on.
There's something hidden.
"The panther is on the water."
Actually, the Panther is a ship.
I found it in the Maritime Library.
An Austrian steamer, made
regular voyages from the East.
Shipping goods back to Vienna,
Tianjin to Trieste.
Would have been docked in China
at the same time
that the captain was there.
So, the Panther left China
And his belly was full.
With what?
Steiner had something
stashed on board.
The severity of these burns would
have been enough to kill anyone.
His heart was already weak.
He would never have been
able to survive this.
Thank you, Doctor. Wait.
There's more, Inspector.
Cuts to his feet.
Lacerations, like someone
had driven knives into them.
Recently? Maybe a month old.
You can clearly see the scar tissue.
Self-inflicted?
Possible, but unlikely.
Steiner was tortured, Oskar.
Someone may have driven him
to kill himself.
Not everything in here is for sale,
Lieutenant!
Mama, Papa, I
didn't know you were coming.
Would you like to stay for supper?
Er, no, I'm afraid not, Max,
we haven't got that long.
What's the matter?
What's happened?
We need to ask you something,
and we want an honest answer.
All right.
It's about Clara.
What about her? She was seen.
Here. Entering this apartment
late at night.
You have your little spies
scattered around the city, do you?
Frau Schmidt was driving past
on her way home.
Oh, well, Frau Schmidt.
Perfect, how reliable.
Max, I can't abide for you
to lie to us.
I won't forgive you if you do.
Mama, please.
We're just asking you
to think carefully about it.
Think what's best for Clara -
think what's best for you.
Clara is a professional writer now,
and she comes to me for information.
I don't want to see
either of you get hurt.
Be careful, my son.
That's what had to be said. Rachel.
Don't make it hard for us
to be proud of you.
Would you like a drink, sir?
Yes.
I fail to understand,
why exactly is this necessary?
They weren't simply delusions.
Someone tortured Captain Steiner.
That's
That's preposterous, Inspector.
We need to interview everyone.
These men need peace and quiet.
And we need the truth.
These men are war heroes,
and you allowed one of them
to be brutalised.
Inspector Maybe more of
them are being abused.
Step aside.
So, you were acquainted with
Captain Steiner, erm?
Second Lieutenant Hammer.
Second Lieutenant Hammer.
Can he hear me?
He's very weak.
He hasn't spoken for
a long time, Inspector.
Hmm.
Are you aware that Captain Steiner
was hurt by someone?
Do you know who might have done it?
Well?
Thank you.
Bring in the next, please.
Something bad is
happening here, Max.
We need to get someone to talk.
So, if he was right,
someone came in here to
torture Steiner.
Maybe another patient.
Or one of the staff.
Why are there no witnesses?
It's like we're dealing
with a ghost.
Someone who can slip
between the shadows.
Or someone who had hidden access
to this room we don't know about.
Something about this room
bothers me.
Mm, what are you doing, Oskar?
Six, seven, eight.
THUNDER CLAPS
What are you counting?
This blacked-out window.
It's not in the corridor,
and it's obviously not
in Steiner's room.
I noticed it when we arrived.
And also, the measurements
don't add up.
So, Steiner's room is smaller
than it should be.
Go to the stables.
We're staying for the night.
Yes, sir.
You want to what?
The rain has set in.
The roads are bound to be flooded.
Our driver thinks it would be
much safer if we stayed the night.
I hope you'll both be
comfortable in here.
Locked up with that cheerless woman
would be enough to
drive anyone insane.
We need to wait until
everyone's asleep.
Then we can discover how
he got into Steiner's room.
It's No, I prefer the top bunk.
THUNDER RUMBLES
Are you ever going to tell me?
I'd be a pretty poor analyst
if I couldn't tell when something
was troubling my friend.
Therese?
Don't know what it is, Max.
I like her so much.
And I like Hannah, her daughter.
But?
But it just doesn't feel right.
It feels like
Like
Like you're betraying
your own family.
You're a good man, Oskar.
I have no doubt you were
a very good father.
Whatever happens,
there will always be room
for your daughter in your heart.
We both know that.
If she catches us,
this was your idea.
When they turned the house
into an institution,
they must have divided the rooms.
Yeah.
Max.
You first.
HE GROWLS
Should've gone easy on the cake.
It was good cake.
A vengeful god that
visited his dreams.
There is no curse here, Oskar.
They tortured a frightened man
into believing this was real.
Mm.
WHISPERS: You want to
know about Georg.
What?
Did you hear that?
You asked about Steiner before.
You are a little more lucid
than you were last time.
I don't talk in front of
the nurses and doctors.
Look at what they did to
my poor friend, the captain.
Tied him to his bed and injected him
with their filthy medicines.
There are two of them.
Him, and one other soldier.
What are you talking about?
Smuggled some treasure out of China,
on board a ship bound for Vienna.
Yes, the Panther.
Stole the treasure in Peking,
when they were stationed there,
during the rebellion.
People were terrified,
fleeing from the militia.
Sound of drums in the night.
Sound of chanting.
Some Chinese merchant.
He escaped into the quarter
to find sanctuary.
He brought the treasure
along with him.
Steiner and his comrade,
they stole it from him.
Murdered him.
You're saying Steiner was a killer?
No. The other soldier did the deed.
Steiner was just an accessory.
Admitted everything.
Dark times, they were.
Men behaving no better than beasts.
They shipped the treasure back
to Austria in secret.
Hidden on a steamship.
What was it, the treasure?
Wouldn't tell me any more.
Said it was too dangerous
to speak of it.
There's a bar where all
the soldiers used to meet.
All the ones who served
out there in China.
Someone there, they warned him
about an ancient curse,
told him that curse would haunt him
because of what he'd stolen.
Who was this other man? The killer?
Some soldier in the regiment.
He came here. Steiner told me.
What? When?
Just weeks ago.
Wanted to see his old comrade.
He came here to visit him?
Thank you, Lieutenant. Yes.
His name must be here somewhere.
Here.
Signature's illegible.
A month ago, Oskar.
That's when his madness
truly took hold.
When this colleague
came to visit him.
But which one is the
killer from the past?
Yan Wang.
One of the oldest Buddhist deities.
The Vengeful God,
the God of Shadows.
Makes us answer for our sins.
Where did you find this?
Hidden in the military home.
Fraulein.
Someone tortured Georg into
believing he was cursed.
What? How terrible.
Poor Georg.
Think how easy it must have been.
Someone who already
doubts his sanity,
how easy to drive him into madness.
I always remember the legend.
He comes to make us answer
for our sins.
Makes the wicked walk on knives.
Someone tortured him in his bed,
cut his feet into ribbons.
Perhaps the other soldier
from his regiment.
The only way to ward
off this evil
..is with a blood sacrifice.
Over the bough of the
prunus persica,
the sacred peach tree.
I remember these stories
from when I was a child.
He ties the wicked down on
red-hot copper pipes,
so their sins are burnt out of them.
But why torture him?
Because someone wanted to frighten
him into giving up a secret.
The location of a priceless
hidden treasure.
Look what else I found, Inspector.
From Georg's regimental records.
Georg was in prison for one year,
in Tianjin.
So, he was delayed from returning.
And unable to collect the treasure.
Please, Fraulein, find the name
of the other soldier.
Keep trawling the military records.
Haussmann.
Haussmann.
Locate the bar where
the soldiers meet.
The veterans.
Of course.
And, Max, we should find out
precisely what was hidden
on that steamer.
I don't understand,
why are you asking me?
Well, I know nothing
about the Orient.
My taste is more avant-garde.
That's one way of putting it.
And you've had several pieces
shipped back from Peking.
Where do you acquire them,
Herr Liebermann?
Well, one auction house,
mainly, Holsinger's.
I have a contact there.
Also, there's a darling little
shop near the flea market.
Would you care to see it?
I can take you there now.
It is lunchtime, Leah, yes?
Come along.
Fraulein.
Chinoiserie is suddenly
all the rage.
Everyone loves the Chinese room in
Schonbrunn.
You can pick it up
these days for prices
that are really quite reasonable.
What would happen if a
shipment arrived from China,
but it was never claimed?
It would sit in a warehouse,
I suppose.
Although after a while,
it would be sold at auction anyway.
What? Why?
Well, they like to cover their
costs when goods are unclaimed.
So, if Steiner was delayed in China,
serving out his time
in a prison cell,
then the treasure could
have been sold.
Max, I'm so stupid.
The answer was staring at me.
Excuse me.
Excuse us.
Oskar, what are we doing here?
A spate of burglaries
I'm investigating. Burglaries?
He's come here to find
the secret treasure.
Who has? The God of Shadows.
It's him behind the break-ins.
What break-ins?
There you are.
It's about lacquered
Chinese cabinets.
The theft of the other items
was just a smokescreen.
He broke into the houses
to find the cabinets.
Steiner's treasure must be
concealed in one of them.
So Max, Steiner came back
to Vienna too late.
He didn't know the precise location
of the treasure. And now
His accomplice is back, and he's
Tracking down all the cabinets
from one particular shipment.
So, you're specialists in
Eastern artefacts.
Antique collections from China.
Indeed, we have quite a reputation.
Furniture and ceramics.
We're interested in items
that were shipped here
from Tianjin, via Trieste.
That's your supply chain,
I understand.
Certainly, it is.
How exquisite.
Such pieces are rare.
We don't see that many of them.
Have you sold some in the past?
There was a shipment, I think.
Some years back.
And can you give us the names of
the people who acquired them?
What's wrong?
We keep good records, of course,
but one of our record books
was actually lost.
Lost? We had a break-in.
Some weeks ago.
I reported it to the police.
Must've been him who stole it.
What's all this about, Inspector?
We have a similar item for sale.
And we'd like to offer it
at auction.
Do we? Yes, we do.
But it's not real.
We don't sell fakes.
I'm sorry.
We're hoping you'll make an
exception for us, Herr Holzinger.
But this is an antique,
200 years old@
I can't simply reproduce one.
It just needs to be convincing
enough for someone to want
to steal it from us. What?
You construct a fake one -
you can use pieces from the
damaged one, if you like, and we
agree to have it sold at auction.
The director at the Holzinger's
has already agreed to help us.
We say it was "mislaid"
from the original shipment
and recently came to light.
Whoever's hunting them will
almost certainly come after it.
That is, of course
once we advertise it.
And how exactly are we
going to do that?
Well, you've certainly
aroused my curiosity.
Hello, Clara.
You said you had a story for me?
Yes.
Sowhat is it?
Don't keep me in suspense
any longer.
There's a sale at Holzinger's.
Chinese cabinet.
It's been lost for years,
but recently rediscovered.
Mm-hm. I thought you might like
to write a feature on it.
Is this why you invited me here?
To write about trinkets?
Max, I'm trying to build
a serious career.
I thought you had
a crime story for me.
Trust me.
There is a crime story hidden
in here somewhere.
We made it similar to the original.
It even has the same
secret compartment.
So, what do we do?
Does one of us dress up as
a collector?
I think we can find someone
rather more convincing.
You want me to what?
Bid on the piece at auction.
Whatever the price,
you will have to match it.
And you expect me to use
my own money?
It's not real. The piece is fake.
Well, presumably the money isn't.
Papa, no-one will actually be
paying anything.
What? Oh, just explain it
to me again.
ALL GROAN
Well, I'm rather baffled!
Oh, Papa, must you be so dense?
Oh, well, forgive me, Leah,
for not fully comprehending
the mind of a criminal.
But it's perfectly simple.
Whoever's hunting this
missing antique
It was presumed lost
when it was unclaimed.
..is trying to track down every
identical cabinet in Vienna!
Because there's something
valuable hidden inside it.
Which means they'll come
after this one. Yes.
After me, in fact!
ALL: Yes!
Chances are,
they'll burgle your home.
Welcome to the case, Father.
That's just something
we usually say round about now.
We've doubled our security,
like you asked.
Gentlemen. Drawn quite a crowd.
Yes, thanks to your article.
Now you have to keep your
side of the bargain.
You told me there was a story here.
I'm waiting.
Just a little longer, Clara.
He must be here somewhere, Max.
God of Shadows.
He's coming.
So now, ladies and gentlemen,
our last item for today.
An exquisite pear wood
lacquered cabinet from Peking.
LEAH: This is us.
This piece is in
particularly fine condition.
So, let us begin.
Who will start the bidding?
I have 800.
Can we say 850?
And 50, sir?
Do I hear 900?
900. Thank you, sir.
1,000.
CROWD MURMURS
Do I hear 1,100?
No?
Any bids? Papa, aren't you
supposed to be bidding?
I don't want to make it
look too obvious.
1,000. You don't start now,
you might lose it.
1,100.
Thank you, sir.
Any advance on 1,100?
Do I hear more?
All yours at 1,100, sir.
1,200.
Oh, blast.
Do I hear 13?
Papa, it's your turn, quick.
Not so hasty,
I don't want to look too eager.
No?
1,300. Thank you, madame.
Leah, what are you doing?
What does it matter?
It's not real money.
Oh 1,400.
Thank you, sir.
My family seems to be
bidding against each other.
I have 1,400.
Sit still. Don't move a muscle.
At 1,400
..all done.
SHE SIGHS
Well, that wasstressful.
APPLAUSE
Try to look happy, Papa,
you just won.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, sir.
Be careful of the woodwork.
Sowhat do we do now exactly?
Nothing. Max said
the thief will come.
It's like a ticking bomb.
Yes, an outrageously expensive one.
LOUD THUD
Oh, do be careful!
Haussmann, on this table.
All right.
Good, good, good.
Might not even be tonight.
He'll come.
He's already waited too long.
I used to hide at
the bottom of the garden
when I was a little boy, Oskar.
What, playing? Mm-hm.
What were you pretending to be?
You'll laugh.
No, I won't.
A policeman.
STIFLED LAUGH
I'm sorry. Hmm.
Are you quite comfortable there?
Would you like me
to bring you a cushion?
No, nothing. I'm fine, thank you.
Oh, maybe some supper?
Nothing. Thank you.
New experience for all of us.
Darling.
Good night. Good luck.
OWL HOOTS
Careful.
Someone spent a whole day
making that thing.
You're under arrest, by the way.
Ahh!
Ah!
What happened? Did you catch him?
Stop! Still working on it.
Ohh.
Hey, hey, hey!
It's the orderly.
It was him dressed up in that mask.
He would have been at Steiner's side
day and night.
He must have started
to piece the story together.
We can guess who killed him.
We know who else is after
the treasure.
One more victim of the curse.
Did you know?
You must have known
what was going on.
Johann Graf was your lover.
We saw the two of you together.
We also found the hidden space
in Captain Steiner's room.
The mask. The costumes.
Someone had been visiting him
at night, torturing him.
That was Johann, hmm?
I'm so sorry.
I tried to stop him.
Please believe me, I swear to you.
The captain, he
He would ramble on, day and night.
Most days, no-one would pay
attention, but then
What?
What?!
He had a visitor.
Johann overheard some of
what they were saying.
Who?
An old acquaintance
from his army days.
Just returned from Tianjin.
Would you recognise him
from this picture?
II barely saw him.
Johann heard them talking.
The other man was desperate to get
some information from the captain.
Something about a fortune?
Hidden in an old cabinet.
The captain couldn't tell him much.
So, Johann took it upon
himself to find out.
He became obsessed by it.
Great treasure brought back from
China years ago on an old steamship.
He traced the shipment to
an auction house.
Broke in and stole their records.
He had to know who might have it.
And soon after, he started
to break into people's homes.
Fraulein, he was torturing Georg.
And you knew.
I begged him not to.
But he wouldn't listen.
I couldn't stop him.
And then, finally,
the poor captain, he
SHE SOBS
Killed himself.
It was never supposed
to end up like that.
The list, Fraulein.
Do you still have it?
The cabinet sold at auction?
Have you seen it?
I remember Johann reading it.
What?
What will happen to me?
Georg Steiner was brutally tortured.
You were an accessory.
You will be charged.
Don't leave the premises.
She could be lying, of course
..when she says
she hasn't seen that list.
We must have missed something,
Oskar.
HE SIGHS
Hammer mentioned the bar frequented
by soldiers who served in China.
It hasn't been located yet.
No.
But we have.
You won't be wanting a drink, then.
Just some information.
We were told some
old soldiers gather here?
No-one here at the moment.
Do you mind if we check in the back?
Sure.
Be my guest.
Step aside.
You know that smell? Opioids.
Many soldiers came back
from China as addicts.
Someone has been in here.
She rattled the keys
to give them a warning.
It's not just alcohol you sell here.
We found opium.
It's not illegal.
No - but it's illegal to
harbour a killer.
I recognise your face.
You were at the auction house.
I buy and sell trinkets.
So what?
Who has been here recently?
Who comes here to buy the drugs
that you sell?
I don't know their names.
I don't even look at
their sorry faces.
An old soldier, named Steiner,
we think he was once here,
boasting about a treasure
of some sort?
All of them come in
boasting about something.
I don't listen.
Someone in here told him a story.
About an ancient curse.
Someone who wanted to frighten him.
Means nothing to me.
Now, do you mind?
I'm busy.
You were a soldier once,
weren't you?
I can always recognise one.
You know what your comrades
did to the East?
It makes me glad when I sell them
black seed and they crawl
on their bellies like vermin.
Second Platoon.
It's taken me a while, but these are
the men who went to liberate Peking.
I've cross-referenced
all of the names.
Of the 32 men in the squadron,
24 died in China, in the fighting.
They were buried in
a war grave in Peking.
And the other eight?
Four died later of natural causes.
Steiner makes five.
Two others are still
living in Vietnam.
Haussmann went to their addresses.
They both have alibis.
That doesn't add up. No.
32 men? Yes.
So, one is unaccounted for? Yes.
And, as far as we know,
he never made it back from China.
Franz Ebner.
Ebner. Mm-hm. A lieutenant.
Stationed in Peking during
the rebellion.
Not a single trace of him now.
You mean, he's just a shadow?
Lieutenant Franz Ebner - arrested
in Peking and court martialled.
What was his crime?
Killed a merchant in the fighting.
Two men were arrested -
Ebner, for carrying out
the illegal killing,
and Steiner, as
an accessory to murder.
So, Steiner put the treasure on
a steamer back to Austria,
but he and Ebner were arrested
soon after? Yes.
By this time, the Panther
had already sailed.
Steiner was released
after just a year.
Makes it back here, but it's
too late, the treasure's gone.
Ebner returns years later,
tries to find it.
But Steiner's too sick to help him.
The orderly overhears them talking,
goes on the trail, and gets killed.
Ebner is somewhere
in this city, Oskar. Mm.
KNOCK ON DOOR
Dr Wiesinger asked me to come down
here and pack away Graf's things.
I want to do it.
Pleaselet me do it.
But the doctor insisted.
But I was the one
who was closest to him.
Could you
..leave me alone here?
I want to say goodbye to him.
Thank you.
SHE GASPS
SHE SCREAMS
She knew.
She must have known.
All right.
Let's assume she knew
the location of the treasure.
Means she must have seen that list.
She asked me to leave her
alone in here.
Gentlemen.
Look, Max.
The last cabinet.
It's here.
Ebner.
Give yourself up.
You know how long I've waited?
How long I was rotting in
a Chinese prison?
Steiner was lucky. Not me.
I-I'm not giving these up
for anything!
Who is it? Who's there?!
Max, down!
Ahh!
Police! Stop shooting!
Stop!
Ebner, stop!
EBNER SCREAMING
Ssh, wait, wait.
FOOTSTEPS
This way.
He's wounded. He won't get far.
I know where he's going.
HE WINCES
PANTING: You have to hide me.
They'll find me.
They're coming.
You are my friend.
You are the only friend in the city,
Xiuying.
Help me.
What's that?
Diamonds? I need something
..for the pain.
Please!
Thank you.
I watched him fall.
I couldn't save him.
Damn it.
No arrest. No killer.
Not even the burglar.
What about the woman?
Disappeared whilst we were
searching the river.
No sign of her since.
Oh, that's a
rather disappointing result.
Still, no, you're not to blame.
Rheinhardt. You've tried.
It's not your fault.
N-No, I'm
I'm grateful.
I'll cover up for you. Don't worry.
I'll smooth everything out.
HE SIGHS
How many people died because
they touched that treasure?
The curse is very real, Oskar.
But it's not some ancient god.
Curse is in all of us.
Simple human greed.
Mm.
Clara. Max.
Well, congratulations.
For what?
Becoming the best crime reporter
in the city.
Thanks to my secret source.
Not so secret, not really.
I wanted to thank you.
For your help.
You could thank me
..by having dinner with me.
We've found a way to coexist.
Better if we don't spoil it.
Wouldn't you agree?
Champagne, please.
For two.
Oskar.
I didn't expect to see you again.
I wonder
..would it be
too presumptuous if?
You want to come in
and spend the evening?