Die Chefin — Season 4

Murder and robbery in Munich local transport - for Vera Lanz and her colleagues Trompeter and Böhmer it seems to be an uncomplicated case. Using a video recording, Böhmer can clearly identify the fugitive. But when the colleagues visit his apartment, the dimension of the case suddenly changes. Till Sammer, ex-pimp and junkie sits tied up in his own apartment, threatened by a stranger. In a dramatic exchange of fire, Trompeter shoots the man in self-defense. The victim's car is registered to an old friend: Stefan Hartig. For years, Vera Lanz has been trying to prove that the slippery businessman is doing his shady business - so far without success. The stolen briefcase has another surprise in store: two million in cash. Vera Lanz confronts Stefan Hartig about the money.Is he being blackmailed? The investigators quickly agree that it must be a kidnapping and that Till Sammer prevented the money from being handed over. But who is the abductee? Hartig's only relative, his luxury son Jakob, is hungover but safe in his penthouse apartment. But Jakob gives the key clue as to who the kidnapping victim is: Johanna Ehrlicher, housekeeper and Stefan Hartig's closest confidante since childhood. To the astonishment of her colleagues, Vera decides to cooperate with Hartig: he gets the money that was secured for the kidnappers, while Vera hopes the housekeeper will give her the crucial information she needs to finally pin Hartig down.

Vera is brutally beaten up by two junkies. At first it looks like robbery and murder, in which Vera's gun is also stolen. But then it turns out that Vera's service weapon was used in an assassination attempt on Heinrich Meindl, a seemingly harmless pensioner - even before the chief inspector was attacked. What is the connection between Vera and Meindl? Vera has to be given a leave of absence, at least officially, although no one believes Vera was involved. When finally an old connection between Meindl and Vera's father-in-law and ex-cop Georg Lanz comes to light, the question seems to have been answered and the suspicion of murder against Georg justified. But then a dark secret emerges in Meindl's past that turns the case around 180 degrees.

The murder of the teacher Bruno Lohmann leads Vera Lanz and her team to a Munich high school. There, the inspectors had to find out that Lohmann was not exactly the popular type of teacher – neither among the students nor among their colleagues and parents. The investigators are confronted with ongoing Abitur exams on site, which put the students under extreme pressure to perform. The investigations focus on the students Julian Schröder, who was caught cheating on the last exam and who is again threatened with being accused of cheating, and the best of the year, Peter Behnke, who was the first at the scene of the crime and whose father Jürgen asked his son to question him want to prevent.Finally, it turns out that the secretary and mother of the bad student Vanessa Willski had an affair with Lohmann, which ended shortly before. What did the students already have to do to pass the all-important exams? How far does the love of the parents or possibly the pressure of the educational system go?

The brewery owner Ernst Kolbe is found dead in his house. His body was discovered by the real estate agent Sabine Brand and the Schabinsky couple, interested buyers of Kolbe's house. The investigators find it strange that Kolbe had the house secured with locks shortly beforehand, even though it was supposed to be sold. During Vera Lanz' conversations with Kolbe's daughter Julia and further rummaging through the victim's past, inconsistencies arise that make Vera doubt Kolbe's identity. In addition, the victim's brewery was close to bankruptcy. Unlike her father, Julia Kolbe wanted to sell the brewery to the businessman Max Freisinger, who has a not inconsiderable interest in the brewery's property and was forced to come to a conclusion quickly.When Vera finally uncovers Ernst Kolbe's connections to the BND and even to the Schabinsky couple, she and her team are suddenly confronted with the political past of their murder victim, which they gradually have to shed to solve the case.

Vera Lanz and her team have every reason to celebrate: in a spectacular solo effort, they arrested the long-sought Ingo Blume, godfather of the south-west drug cartel. But after the fall is before the fall: The next mission blows up the victory celebrations just as Vera and Trumpeter are getting closer. Musician Theo Gottlieb was stabbed to death with a pitchfork on his farm. Vera is quickly convinced that Marcus Schüttler, Gottlieb's girlfriend's ex, is the culprit. However, in the course of the investigation, other suspects join Shaker. The victim's brother, Christoph Gottlieb, was only able to sell their farm after his death in order to finance the reopening of his architecture office.Gottlieb's girlfriend also had a "valid" motive for killing her lover: her 15-year-old daughter Alexandra claims to have had a sexual relationship with the murdered bohemian. In addition to investigating rural machinations, Vera Lanz also has to fight on her own front: Dominik Schneider, head of the internal department, is investigating Vera in connection with Blume's arrest.

Munich city center at the best shopping time. Crowds stream through the department store doors. The scenery freezes as a bloodied young woman staggers out of the elevator. Vera Lanz and her colleagues are sure a little later: the victim Sabine Heuchert narrowly escaped a serial killer. Details point to similarities in three other unsolved murder cases. Coincidence drives the investigators into Toni Marschaber's arms. Sabine Heuchert believes that he can identify him as the culprit by his smell. But Marschaber's boss Eberhard Hallhuber can also be linked to one of the victims. And another interesting similarity connects the two suspects: Both are represented by celebrity lawyer Xaver Baumgartner. The investigations come to a standstill when another woman's body is found. Does Vera Lanz have to do with a footboard offender? Or was the previous method of investigation a big mistake?

Vera Lanz had imagined this reunion with an old colleague differently – Mario Fechter, an undercover agent in a previously sensational case, is shot by an unknown perpetrator. His ex-colleague Bodo Ecker did not survive the attack. Vera and her team are able to identify the culprit via street surveillance: Piet van Meeren. His trail leads directly to his former client, the gambling king Joseph Berlinger. Thanks to Fechter and Ecker, Berlinger was imprisoned until his death. The murder of the undercover agent and colleague Fechters Anja Schramm was the charge of the then public prosecutor Gero Hoffmann. Berlinger had denied the crime until his death.Vera is skeptical about the situation in the files: was the gambling king actually framed for murder? Did his son Andy take late revenge for his father? When the badly injured van Meeren tries to hit Fechter's son Aaron, Vera decides to go into hiding with father and son. Last episode of the season. From Friday, October 24, 2014, four new episodes of "Der Kriminalist" will be broadcast.