Shadows

German bureaucracy

For a endless second the room was absolutely quiet. Then noise came back as congratulations sound. Happiness filled the room. Everybody felt how the case was ending. The victory seemed so close. You almost could touch it. Columbia, the land of drugs. What could have been clearer. Only Müller remained silent and her face was deadly serious.

"Be quiet!", she ordered and everybody turned around. "There is no reason to be happy. We have found something suspicious but there is no evidence yet... Nothing to go to court with. Even worse. The lawyer will know how to defend himself correctly. We got another problem."

Silence returned and the hard reality fell on the heads of the police. All cheerfulness was blown away.

"So what do we do now?", Weber broke the silence.

"I want everything about Schablonsky. I'll call the secret service. I thing nom we'll have enough evidence to ask to hear his phone calls."

Ask planned Müller send a request to the secret service. But the V-People, as we call them, never respond too quickly... Days became weeks. More and more chats turned up but none contained new information. All were about sunlight and rain... Some contained names of places. One of the names got identified so it was left with a so called Sascha Domrosofsky and Theo. As time passed by more and more evidence against the small dealers turned up meanwhile their king remained untouchable.

The chats linked them together but was it a crime to know criminals? There were talking about something serious but wouldn't the layver say that there is no code and the chat is as absurd as it looks? Schablonsky called Columbia but wouldn't he say that it's because his sister in law is Columbian and he made friends with her family?

Müller was struggling as time passed by. She could have easily arrested the small ones. But they would have been replaced so drugs would be still sold. And it only would have alarmed Schneider and Schablonsky. They where the trophy she was fighting for. Without the head the body would fall apart. Who could have replaced it?

Everybody desperately was waiting for the V-People to allow the police to access Schablonsky's phone calls. Weeks later an answered finally got mailed to Müller. Happiness welcomed it in the whole police department. Müller was excited when she opened the envelope. But it passed fast. The answer was no.

"The laws in existents providing every citizen of the Republic of Germany with the same laws guaranteeing every citizen freedom of speech and postal secret (view GG1§2 and GG 1§13) don't allow the constitution protection of the Republic of Germany to accept the request handed in by advocate Elizabeth Müller on Thursday the 20.10.2016 to give the police access to the phone calls of Mr. Peter Schablonsky. We are sorry to inform you that..." Müller read the answer to the police department. The disappointment was written on everybody's face.

"This stupid German bureaucracy is killing it. We could have done it... Just easy and there would be plenty of evidence just lying there and ... WE CAN'T ACCESS IT!!!", Schulze threw his glass on the counter. It broke into thousand pieces.

"This makes 5€," the barkeeper answered without any emotions.

"Shut up and get me some more Whisky!"

This night Schulze took a taxi home. He already knew that his wife wouldn't open so the wanted to stay at his friends place. But drunk as he was he said "To Hallelujah" without any explanations, so the driver dropped him in front of a church. Not much later the pastor was woken up by a drunk voice singing so he called the police.

A ringing at the front door woke Emma Schulze up. Unwillingly she opened and saw the police with her husband.

"Nice!", she grumbled, "Now they are sending you here so I have no choice but let you in."

As she talked she removed the shirt she had quickly put on and went back to bed wearing only pants. Schulze looked as his wife and his eyes showed a special excitement.

"Do you know what I want?", he asked and his voice revealed his wish. A kind of smile was on his face.

"Forget it!"

"Come on...", without asking twice he pushed his wife under himself not giving her a chance to stop him...

In the morning Schulze had a hangover. Still sleepy he turned on the other side. Then he remembered that he had to work and slowly started getting up.

"So you're awake!", his wife shouted at him.

His hands covered his ears as his eyes opened to give his wife an angry view.

"You know what you did? No, you won't. You're just some kind of alcoholic! Listen you ripped me yesterday. You don't even remember. Now hear me out. I'm sick of you! You spend the whole money on drinks and now you start getting violent!" She threw a suitcase on the bed. "Get packed and disappear! If not I'm throwing your stuff out of the window as soon you leave for work. Do not ever think of coming back!"

Frustrated and annoyed Schulze packed his belongings. He wasn't in the mood for an argument and deep in his heart he knew that she was right. So he left the house he called his own to go to work. Nobody wondered that he was very late. But his thoughts were busy finding a place to sleep.

Hallelujah was very surprised when Schulze entered the lab caring a small suitcase.

"My wife sacked me from the house," he answered the question in Hallelujah's eyes.

"Hmmm I need to ask Mary-Elisabeth... Maybe you could stay at my place."

"You're reading my thoughts. Mary-Elizabeth and Sebastian Jonathan Jacob. Sounds like you found a good match," Schulze said with a grin.

Hallelujah didn't answer. His mind was fixed to the phone call. After a minute he cut the call.

"You can stay at my house. But there are some rules. Good thing you don't smoke. But I don't want to see any alcohol and you shouldn't come home drunk."

"You sound like my wife... Seems that I won't miss her anger. Are you also going to lock me out?"

"This is not a joke. Please don't let it go this far."

"Well I understand why you're strict... Thanks for all."

When Schulze was back in the office Larissa welcomed him with some bad news. "The police has arrested Luna Kowalsky and Sebastian Holzhausen."

Schulze shook his head. The arrest of both dealers was a act of desperateness. It could easily alarm Schneider. But questioning his employers was the last available source of information. Schulze sighed.

"So whom should we question first?"