(wind whistling)
(crow cawing in distance)
(chickens clucking, squawking)
(grunting)
( Die Fledermaus playing in distance)
♪ ♪
(music stops)
(chickens clucking)
(crow cawing)
(hinges squeak)
MAILMAN: Hello! Mail!
♪ ♪
(door closes in distance)
♪ ♪
(low, indistinct chatter)
(engine stops)
What the hell?
Detective Reingruber? From Munich?
Obviously.
I'm Officer Johann Anneser.
Good. Now I know the name of the man
who has allowed these peasants to ruin my crime scene.
Your crime scene?
This is my village. It should be my case.
Should be, maybe.
But they gave me orders, and you and I, well...
we do what they say, right?
Gentlemen.
Please secure the scene like professionals.
ANNESER: I'm sorry, but when the villagers found out
- about the murders... - What is a mattock?
Our murder weapon.
- Allegedly. - A common farming implement.
Everyone from around here would know that.
But according to the case file, you haven't found it yet.
ANNESER: The former housekeeper, Frau Rieger,
- said they had one here. - So the killer took it with him.
And why do you think Frau Rieger left?
Because of footsteps in the attic.
Ghost stories, Anneser.
Men before ghosts.
Maybe in Munich.
But there are ghosts out here, Detective Reingruber,
and you'd be smart to remember that.
And you'll kindly remember that everyone is a suspect
until they're not,
even if it's your neighbor or your friend.
♪ ♪
ANNESER: She was killed in her night clothes.
The people dressed her,
for her modesty.
So your theory is that someone
was hiding in the attic,
waiting, watching?
Yes, sir.
Waiting.
Haunting the family like a ghost.
Ghosts.
( Die Fledermaus playing in distance)
Could we listen to something else, Father?
What about the record Karl sent from Reims?
He wasted his money.
Just like he wasted his life.
(girl screaming in distance)
(screaming continues)
(whispering): Cilly, Cilly, shh.
He's back, he's back, he's back.
- Who is back? - The ghost.
He was under the bed.
And then I heard him moving.
And I hid under the sheets so he wouldn't see me.
And he didn't see me,
- but he went into the closet, - Shh...
- and now he's hiding in the clos... - Shh, shh, shh.
Daughter. How many times have we discussed this?
- I heard him, I swear. - Shh.
All right.
He's in the closet?
In this closet?
You see? There is nothing.
And no one.
He's behind the clothes.
You see?
- (door slams) - (Cilly screams)
I'm fine.
Everything is fine.
(wind whistling)
But there is a draft in this room,
because someone has left the window open.
(quiet breathing)
So...
that was the noise you heard.
It's just the wind.
Playing inside your room.
Now you see.
There is no ghost in the closet.
There is nothing to fear.
And... it's time for little girls to sleep.
Will you read me a story?
Much better.
Make room.
(chopping)
(grunts)
(clang)
(pigs oinking, snorting)
(wind blowing)
(quiet breathing)
(soft clang)
(clattering)
(speaks German)
(Cilly singing in distance)
(Cilly singing in German)
(jangling)
(singing continues)
(door creaks)
(singing continues)
My keys are missing.
The keys to my shed.
You were playing there again and lost them.
- CILLY: But I didn't take the keys. - Eh.
Then why aren't they where I left them?
CILLY: Maybe the ghost took them.
ANDREAS: The ghost.
That's enough.
If she says she didn't take your keys,
then she didn't take your keys.
Of course not.
So it must have been the ghost.
Think I'm stupid?
No. But I think you're old and forgetful,
and it's a very simple thing to punish a little girl for it.
- Hmm? - You think I'm old?
Let me show you how old I am.
CAZILIA: Here!
(jangling)
(knocking)
CILLY: I'll get it!
Leave them all be.
- (door opens) - Please.
Mind your daughter.
I'm Cilly. And who are you?
I'm Maria.
Fraulein Baumgartner.
Frau Gabriel.
Thank God you're here.
(footsteps approaching)
(keys jangling)
That's my father.
(creaking)
(gate shuts)
My apologies.
The snow delayed the morning train.
Then you should have come yesterday.
Or the day before.
After six months without help,
I can survive the extra hour.
That's my mother, Cazilia.
Frau Gruber.
- My mother can be... - Yes.
All mothers can be.
Yes.
Please, come in.
- Thank you. - Cilly,
would you like to show Maria to her room?
- Hmm? - Yes.
Thank you.
(quiet breathing)
CILLY: Friday nights we have bread pudding.
Frau Rieger used to make it before she left.
Now Nana makes it, and it's not very good.
(laughs)
(creaking)
- (horse whinnies) - (cow moos)
The horse and the cows need to be locked in before dark.
(cow moos)
There are wolves in the woods.
(mooing)
(train approaching)
(train whistle blows)
(chugging)
(train passing, whistle blows)
- That's close, isn't it? - Hmm?
Transients from the train used to visit,
before Father put up the fence.
Now the barbed wire keeps them out.
(brush crunching)
What was that?
VIKTORIA: Hmm?
Probably just a deer.
(oinking)
We keep the pigs inside all winter.
Cilly thinks there are ghosts.
Said I would see one tonight.
She sees ghosts in every shadow.
(brush crunching)
My father told me
that mystery makes dragons on the edges of maps.
Ah. You need to lock the shutters at night.
Yeah.
Now, indeed.
When Cilly gets older,
she will realize there are no dragons.
Or ghosts.
(heavy breathing)
You're not going to leave like Frau Rieger did,
are you?
I have no plan to.
Certainly not tonight, Liebchen.
She left because of the ghosts.
Cilly, not again.
MARIA: I also heard the haunted house rumors
over in Kaifeck.
I believe none of them.
Our old housekeeper was disturbed.
CILLY: No.
I've heard the footsteps, too.
Frau Rieger was right.
There really is a ghost.
You can tell when it's close
because it gets cold.
And where is this ghost? Hmm?
Under your bed?
In your closet?
I thought we settled this.
He's everywhere.
MARIA: Every house has its secrets.
I've lived in places some even said were haunted.
So, I can tell you from experience
there's nothing to be frightened of here.
This house is empty of spirits.
I saw his footprints outside in the snow.
They went right into the barn.
Yes. I saw them, too. They were just...
I've seen these footprints.
You believe me?
I've seen the footprints.
Sometimes they lead to the barn.
Sometimes to the stables.
Sometimes right up to the house.
But they belong to no monster.
Unless the monster's name is Schlittenbauer.
Would you not agree, Viktoria?
It's our neighbor,
encroaching on my property.
Or are there other men crossing my threshold after I'm in bed?
(Josef crying in distance)
(crying)
(shrieking)
- (fussing) - Mr. Josef,
you're so handsome, boy.
My goodness,
look at those eyes.
Josef has green eyes
like Grandpapa.
I have blue eyes like my papa.
He died in war.
MARIA: Died? But Josef...
- CILLY: Josef has a different papa. - (thump)
(Josef wailing)
Your daughter talks too much.
You should teach the child her place.
(Josef crying)
(shrieks, whimpers)
(crying)
JOSEF (in distance): Daddy? Daddy! Daddy!
Daddy?
(hinges squeak)
(wind whistling softly)
♪ ♪
Will you read me a story?
- (whispers): Of course I will. - (thumping in distance)
It's the wind whipping around the shutters.
I'll check. You go on in.
I'm here.
(window shutters creak)
♪ ♪
(door creaking quietly)
(wind whistling in distance)
I heard the ghost again.
It's in the barn.
These are not your bedclothes.
I can't run in my bedclothes.
No. But you can sleep in them.
I will tell you a secret.
Swear to keep it.
I swear.
(whispers): I...
believe in ghosts.
- You do? - Oh, yes.
When your papa went off to war,
there were nights I swore I could hear his voice
call to me from the stables.
There were times I could not banish the smell
of his soap from my nose.
And he would talk to me.
Mostly in my dreams.
"How's my sweet girl?
How's my Cilly?"
I would never know how to answer him.
Except in those moments, I was never more certain
of how beautiful...
smart...
and brave you are.
And how very much like your father.
I wish you could have known him.
(sighs)
These ghosts of yours, daughter,
they're only real in your mind.
Think instead of the ghosts who love you...
and always will.
(mooing in distance)
Did Papa's ghost let Greta out?
- (mooing) - (creaking)
No. That was the wind.
It's been rattling all the doors.
So, here's what we're gonna do.
You're gonna put on your nightgown.
I'm going to put Greta back into her stall.
Then I will tuck you in.
And then you will sleep.
- I want to come with you. - Oh, no.
Don't leave me alone in the house.
All right.
(whispers): But you have to be quiet.
Shh.
(wind blowing)
(mooing in distance)
(Greta snorts)
(leaves rustling)
(mooing)
Greta, it's time for cows to go to sleep, too.
CILLY: What if he's inside?
There is no one inside.
No cow and no ghost.
Hmm?
I will show you.
(creaking)
♪ ♪
See?
There is no one.
(screams)
♪ ♪
What is it?
Get back to sleep.
(creaking)
- (mooing) - (creaking)
♪ ♪
(soft creaking)
(groans)
(grunting)
(gags)
♪ ♪
(mooing)
Andreas?
(cow mooing)
Andreas?
♪ ♪
(hinges squeak)
(screams)
♪ ♪
What we found
at the scene doesn't make any sense.
Stop!
The bodies are not to be disturbed.
- Who is this man? - ANNESER: The neighbor.
Schlittenbauer. Lorenz. Lorenz!
- Lorenz. - (Lorenz grunts)
My friend. Please. Stop!
Are you mad?!
This is a crime scene!
And I am not your friend.
I'm looking for my son.
I thought you wanted to interview all the suspects.
That man was moving the bodies.
Yes, Anneser!
But I have no information yet.
What lies can I catch a killer with
if I have no truths?
ANNESER: Out of the way.
Out of the way, Lorenz.
Outside, the neighbor... keep an eye on him, but subtle.
The killer chopped himself a cord of wood,
made himself at least four meals,
and cleaned the dishes afterwards.
Left cash on the table, everything in its place.
He was no thief.
(sighs)
If I had killed six people...
I would have run as far as I could.
Our killer made himself at home.
What a god-awful home to pick.
Perhaps it was his home.
♪ ♪
You see?
There is no one.
- (screams) - Karl, no!
You were supposed to be faithful.
What do we know?
Karl Gabriel?
Um... (clears throat)
We know he married Viktoria
before he went off to the Great War.
Killed in action in 1914.
His body, never found. Or, if found, never identified.
Like thousands of others.
Millions.
But if you're Karl Gabriel,
you manage to survive all these horrific battles.
(sighs)
What are you thinking?
(indistinct chatter)
ANNESER: Karl returns home
to find two children that were not there when he left.
REINGRUBER: So you thought his wife and her father...
Andreas and Viktoria went to prison for incest.
Unfaithful could drive a man...
Unfaithful?
With a man like Andreas lording over her?
I doubt very much that Viktoria had any choice in the matter.
Yes. Right.
But I'm just going off the court records, Reingruber.
REINGRUBER: Court records and truth rarely match.
Even you should know that.
You can't always believe the husband did it.
Why not?
99 times out of a hundred, the husband did.
Viktoria Gabriel's husband is dead.
And the only other husband had his head smashed in.
He was an angry man,
raping a daughter who hated him.
The murder weapon was his.
Motive, means, opportunity.
But...
Quite a feat to smash your own face in and drag your body.
Correct.
Okay, so...
If not Andreas, and not Karl Gabriel,
then who else would leave behind a house full of valuables?
(train whistle blows)
(train rumbling)
A transient with different motives and a pattern.
In Munich, we study a similar case.
There was a series of similar killings in America.
In America?
- The Villisca Murders. - Yes.
Eight people, six of them children,
slaughtered with an axe.
They found cigarettes in the attic.
He waited until they were all asleep.
And he covered their faces after killing them.
Just like our killer. Paul Mueller.
Andreas?
The same with the Kansas murders.
And the ones in Colorado Springs.
All very close to train tracks.
But ten years ago.
And he was American, so why here, why now?
A wanted man in America,
hiding in Germany after the war.
Is that so hard to believe?
ANNESER: It looks like this American
did his work and left.
Our killer lingered.
What about her?
Frau Rieger, former housekeeper?
(exhales)
Do you know her personally?
She left, comes back...
kills everyone.
Why?
Revenge?
The rumors about Viktoria and Andreas
were not the only rumors to filter to our village.
Lots of rumors,
not a lot of action on your part, Anneser.
We put him in jail. That was justice.
What about Viktoria?
The victim.
Was it justice, too?
But I doubt she could lift a mattock over her head
and smash a man like Andreas,
let alone dragging him
across the whole yard.
The women out here are stronger than the ones in your city.
And anger can make anyone strong.
LORENZ: Let me in! I said
let me in! Let me...
ANNESER: Don't make me arrest you, Lorenz.
- It's all right, let him in! - What is wrong with you,
for God's sake?
Let him in!
Herr Schlittenbauer, correct?
I thought we had seen the last of you at the barn.
I need to go inside. You have to let me in.
Lorenz. (clears throat)
When was the last time you were in the Gruber house?
I don't know.
Two, maybe three weeks ago.
Three weeks is a long time
without seeing your son.
His name is Josef.
And I need to see him.
It must've upset you that Viktoria
wouldn't let you see your own child.
Or perhaps Herr Gruber
forbade you from the house.
Perhaps both.
You think I did this?
I didn't say that.
Well, I would never...
never...
I need to see my boy.
Come.
(Lorenz exhales)
You think he's going to confess?
His son is the best...
- really only defense for him. - (scoffs)
What kind of killer comes back to a murder scene
with police present?
Many of them.
- They love the attention. - (sighs)
Fine, then... what kind of killer
spends a weekend in the same house
after killing an entire family? Especially if he lives nearby?
Did you see his reaction
when he went into Viktoria's room?
You've lost your mind.
So, after Karl died, Lorenz saw a chance
to be with Viktoria.
But her father, Andreas, said no.
Sued him, even.
For child support. They wanted Schlittenbauer
to pay for the boy.
Incest. Lawsuits. The abuse.
If he was still alive,
I'd probably kill the old man myself.
And Lorenz would have known the house better
than anyone not living here.
Now you see. Good.
He knew where all the bodies were.
Moved them around while searching.
Moved the evidence.
- But why stay? - After years of being shunned,
he finally had everything he wanted under one roof.
A fantasy. A break with reality.
♪ ♪
Maybe there was evidence in the hay,
but your men let the prime suspect
clean the crime scene,
leaving us with nothing but a mountain of suspects.
Could be any of these people.
Schlittenbauer, Karl Gabriel, Frau Rieger,
the American, and so many more.
No evidence, dozens of suspects.
(sighs)
At least one victim... Andreas...
who everyone wanted to kill, including myself,
now that I know him.
Now anyone who passed by the house is fair game.
The mailman, the neighbors,
all the villagers.
So, what are our chances to solve this?
Without a confession?
Without a... loose tongue after a night of drinking?
Without guilt overtaking a killer...
who could sit calmly in a house of death,
reading the paper?
♪ ♪
(exhales)
(sighs)
You wanted this case so badly, Anneser.
There is no case, is there?
Either way, it's yours.
I'm going back to Munich.
Good day.
(engine starts)
♪ ♪