Tatort S2015E32 - Blum - 28 - Côte d'Azur

"I'm dead. Reeds at the end of the Winterer Steig. take care of my baby Please hurry." This is the nocturnal text message that takes the police to the banks of the Rhine in Constance. It was probably sent by Vanessa Koch's murderer. Vanessa's body is quickly found - Kai Perlmann has been monitoring forensics with great concentration for hours when Klara Blum joins him at dawn on the icy December day. She recognizes what Perlmann overlooked: the reference to the murdered woman's half-year-old baby, which was left behind in the reeds. It is possible to find the hypothermic infant and to have it taken to a hospital as quickly as possible. Blum sharply reprimands her colleague for his negligence; doctors are unsure if little Alex will survive the aftermath of a winter night outdoors. When examining the background of the murdered, inconsistencies emerge: Vanessa Koch wore expensive new clothes and valuable jewelry, but at the same time was a Hartz IV recipient and regularly drank with a group of homeless people. Blum and Perlmann find out that the nomads have found shelter in a run-down barracks ironically dubbed the "Côte d'Azur". On the fringes of society, the group gets by as best they can - even if that means that the money for the evening tetra pack of wine in Santa Claus costume has to be collected with a ringing donation box "for orangutans". Here, in addition to Franzi, Urs, Lucky and Bill, the investigators also meet former inspector Hagen Bötzow, who was suspended from duty for violent crimes and has since slipped into alcoholism. The residents of the "Côte d'Azur" knew Vanessa well, but they all seem more interested in the baby's well-being than in solving the murder. The trail of an expensive ring, which had passed into Franzi's care before Vanessa's death, leads the commissioners to therich eccentric Jürgen Evers, known as the "Constance hit machine". Evers does not seem to know the murdered woman, although there is evidence that Vanessa was present at his birthday party a year earlier. Meanwhile, Kai Perlmann is struggling with feelings of guilt because he feels responsible for little Alex's hospitalization. The relationship between him and Klara Blum is more tense than ever and heated arguments ensue. While Perlmann endures long hours at the baby's bedside, Blum tries to win the trust of drug addict Franzi, who must have been in closer contact with Vanessa and her son than she initially wants to admit. Both Perlmann and Blum slowly get an insight into the group's network of relationships around the "Côte d'Azur". On the one hand, a deep loyalty has developed between the homeless people and they try to support each other as much as their precarious means and their alcohol and drug addiction allow. On the other hand, Hagen von Bötzow regularly blackmails the former craftsman Urs out of the little money he has at his disposal, and Franzi hides traces of violent violence under her winter jacket. The inspectors suspect that the answer to the question about the baby's father could provide a clue as to who Vanessa's killer is - and at the same time show what prospects are available for little Alex's future should he one day be released from the hospital alive be able. as well as their precarious means and their alcohol and drug addiction allow. On the other hand, Hagen von Bötzow regularly blackmails the former craftsman Urs out of the little money he has at his disposal, and Franzi hides traces of violent violence under her winter jacket. The inspectors suspect that the answer to the question about the baby's father could provide a clue as to who Vanessa's killer is - and at the same time show what prospects are available for little Alex's future should he one day be released from the hospital alive be able. as well as their precarious means and their alcohol and drug addiction allow. On the other hand, Hagen von Bötzow regularly blackmails the former craftsman Urs out of the little money he has at his disposal, and Franzi hides traces of violent violence under her winter jacket. The inspectors suspect that the answer to the question about the baby's father could provide a clue as to who Vanessa's killer is - and at the same time show what prospects are available for little Alex's future should he one day be released from the hospital alive be able.
"Tatort – Côte d'Azur" is the sixth joint work by Wolfgang Stauch and Ed Herzog. They tell of people on the fringes of society who try to make their lives as dignified as possible and who support each other loyally, even if poverty, alcohol and drugs keep stumbling them. Kai Perlmann has to recognize that he too is fallible, and Klara Blum faces the challenge of showing empathy even when her colleague risks the life of a baby through negligence.