PALATINATE FOREST GERMANY
- Then where did you go? - To a restaurant.
- Hello. - Hello.
It was discovered by hikers. They're just signing a statement.
It's Ludwig, the Countess' cousin.
What were hikers doing on von Geyersberg land?
They didn't realise.
There's no fence. At least it meant we found the body early.
What have we got?
Exactly the same method. Decapitated, gutted, organs buried.
It's like someone's taking out all the family heirs.
Jürgen was Kurt's son,
Ludwig is Dieter's, and the dog was sent for Laura.
As for Max, his days may be numbered.
I don't understand why Laura is different.
Maybe because females aren't worthy of the Pirsch.
What? I didn't make the rules.
Pirsch hunters only target alpha males.
What did Reus say?
He confirms there haven't been any Rötkens here since WWII.
But he knew a story of a Roma girl
who was attacked here by one some years ago.
The von Geyersbergs took in the Black Hunters after the war.
Maybe they adopted their methods, though Laura denies it.
- You saw her again? - Yes. At old Frantz' house.
It didn't go very well.
Forensics say the killer turned the soil and leaves to erase all traces.
Just like last time. When was the attack on the Roma girl?
About 20 years ago.
Can you check your records, Kleinert?
- I guess so. - We also need to locate the Romas.
We'll question them tomorrow.
For now, keep searching the forest and get some eyes on Max.
The killer is clearly after descendants.
- Will that be all? - No. We'll need a hotel for the night.
THE CRIMSON RIVERS
THE LAST HUNT: PART II
FLORANGE INDUSTRIAL ESTATE FRANCE
That's not much for a night of research.
There's no record of the attack.
They must not have reported it. We had to check all hospital records.
It won't be easy to get them to talk.
It seems the main family's name is Nicolich.
- The kumpania. - What?
The Roma call it the kumpania.
It's an extended family, a clan.
We should've brought backup.
Let me do the talking.
All right, buddy?
Sar sal.
Drop the formalities.
I'm Raïko, head of the kumpania.
Cops?
What do you want?
We're here about an accident involving a dog some 20 years ago.
- An accident? - Yes.
Those bastards set their dogs on my daughter.
- Did you know them? - No.
Some scumbags the von Geyersbergs hired to drive us off their land.
Do you have any proof?
Proof is for gadjos.
Was this the type of dog?
Have you seen any dogs like that since?
We never went back into their forests.
And why didn't you report the incident?
Funny.
Why all the dumb questions?
There was an attack on the von Geyersbergs' land
involving the same breed of dog.
Return to sender.
- And you never sought revenge? - They're untouchable.
We had a different idea.
We asked a witch to put a curse on them.
She said there was no need, as they were already cursed.
She said that death was among them. That each generation would lose a son.
I just read that one of the von Geyersberg sons was murdered.
I guess the old lady was right.
That's Levna.
My daughter.
We didn't know she'd survived.
Which version is better?
BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG REGION GERMANY
How can you believe a story like that?
It's a rumour, Kleinert.
We need to check if other sons have died under unusual circumstances.
But let's say this Nazi, Dirlewanger,
hid out at the von Geyersbergs' after the war.
They convert the Black Hunters into their guards,
they hire poachers, they bring back the Rötkens.
Something still doesn't add up.
Why would the Black Hunters set the dogs on their own bosses?
- What do we have on Frantz? - He's in a wheelchair, Niémans!
I couldn't care less! Check his medical records, activities, funds.
- Maybe he hired others to do the job. - OK. But what's his motive?
He has two. Kurt, his brother, put him in a wheelchair during a hunt.
Maybe he's taking revenge on his kids.
- And the second? - Cash.
Frantz says he doesn't want the business,
but soon he'll be the only heir.
Thank you for seeing me, Professor Wunderlich.
- I hope it's not an inconvenience. - Not at all. I rarely have visitors.
Take a seat.
I hear you're the best genealogist in the region.
Not the best, Commissioner.
The only.
I looked through the von Geyersberg files.
Genealogically, it's very interesting. How can I help?
I assume you know about the murder of Jürgen von Geyersberg.
Yes.
And I heard on the radio this morning that another son has been killed.
Yes. In exactly the same way.
Actually,
this may sound strange, but I'm here to investigate a rumour.
It's said that every generation of the family loses a son prematurely.
That's not a rumour. It's a simple fact.
- Can you explain? - In 1988, for example,
Max and Ludwig's father Dieter
mysteriously disappeared at sea in the Grenadines.
Going back a generation to 1945,
Wilhelm, Karl's brother and head of the VG Group,
disappeared during the German occupation.
Not long before, his cousin, Thomas,
was reported missing during the American landings in Normandy.
They were 34 and 35 years old respectively.
- Did you look any further back? - Of course.
Battle of the Somme, 1916,
it's Otto's brother Fritz who vanishes.
Shortly after, one of his cousins meets his end in a river near Liège.
And after all these disappearances and deaths at the front,
were the bodies ever found?
In most cases, no. I don't think so.
So the only official version of events is the von Geyersbergs'?
Yes.
And what's truly bizarre the symmetry of the disappearances.
- Why? - You've seen a family tree before?
So, the von Geyersberg's tree looks like this.
Did I miss anything?
Sit down and look at this.
The von Geyersberg curse.
So...
in each generation, a branch disappears:
Fritz, Wilhelm, Thomas, Dieter.
All aged between 30 and 40.
Now it's Jürgen and Ludwig.
- No other bodies were ever found. - You think they were all killed?
There's no proof, but it's likely they were murdered
like Jürgen and Ludwig.
Anything on the dogs?
I talked to a friend from the Neuilly-sur-Marne dog unit.
He says most Rötkens have a genetic disease related to zinc absorption.
- So? - They have to take certain medication.
A supplement only available on prescription.
We'll have to scour the whole region.
No problem.
What about Frantz?
He has solid alibis for both murders.
But, once again, from the confines of his wheelchair.
- Did you get his medical records? - Yes.
He told the truth. Injured by a bullet while out hunting when he was 17.
His spinal cord was hit, paralysing both legs.
And his activities?
Those of a billionaire who prefers forests to factories.
But there was one strange thing.
The Countess told you that her family doesn't practice Pirsch hunting.
Yet Frantz runs a foundation called Black Blood,
solely dedicated to the Pirsch.
The members are committed to buying up woodland
and rearing game for the von Geyersbergs.
It makes sense.
The Pirsch is seen as the most noble and most dangerous hunt.
The only kind this family would deem worthy.
OK. Camille, you look into the zinc supplements.
You look for a link between this foundation and the Black Hunters.
- Where are you going? - To see the Countess.
She's been lying from the start.
What are you doing here?
I was told I could find you here.
You need to learn some respect for the dead, Niémans.
Respect starts with truth and sincerity.
Stop lying, Laura, or you'll be our main suspect.
Why did you tell me all that rubbish about the Pirsch?
- I don't know what you mean. - Yes, you do.
You told me your family doesn't practice that type of hunting.
Times change. My generation doesn't.
And the Black Blood, your uncle's foundation, what is it?
An ecological society.
Rearing game just to slaughter it later, is that ecological?
The forest is your kingdom.
I think it's worth far more to you than your industrial empire.
- Why is this relevant? - The murderer replicates the Pirsch.
And? You're going round in circles.
What about the disappearances that occur in every generation?
They were accidents, wars. That's all.
But never any bodies?
And the Black Hunters, the Rötkens, you know nothing about them?
As I already said, Niémans, those are just legends.
I met some Roma today to whom these legends are very real.
I was young, but I know the culprits were punished.
We compensated the family, and the girl was treated in the best hospital.
That little girl has grown up. And the scars are not a pretty sight.
I think you're afraid.
Why?
I have nothing more to say to you.
I'll come back here once you're off my property.
"Carry out with all your heart your long and heavy task,
"treading the path to which fate has called you.
Then, as do I, say naught, but suffer and die."
Yes, Camille.
OK. I'll be there right away.
What the hell's going on here?
Once a month, this guy buys zinc at a pharmacy without a prescription.
He has no registered dogs.
- Is that all? - No.
He's a gamekeeper for the Black Blood Foundation.
He opened fire when we knocked. He's insane.
So what's the plan now?
We're waiting for the go-ahead from Stuttgart.
For one guy? You have to be kidding me.
Let's go.
- Camille, come with me. - Niémans!
Goddammit!
Meet me behind the house.
He's completely mad.
Niémans!
Don't move!
That was a close call, Niémans.
The prosecutor knows.
It's been decided: you're no longer on the case.
Was anyone hurt? No.
Any damage? No. I don't see the problem.
Yes.
OK, see you soon.
That was Schüller. He wants to see us.
- We'll question this nutcase first. - Are you deaf or what?
You're not going near the suspect. Who the hell do you think you are?
A cop who's trying to do his job.
You have my permission to sit in on the questioning.
But you're not to say a word.
Yes, Dad.
His real name is Karl Bruch, 43 years of age,
10 spent behind bars for poaching, theft and violence.
A suspect in two murders but cleared.
- Who by? - I don't have details,
- but it seems there was pressure. - From the von Geyersbergs?
I know what you're getting at. The story of the Black Hunters.
And Bruch works for Frantz' foundation, which is also dedicated to the Pirsch.
It's all connected. We need to shake him up.
- Don't forget your promise, Niémans. - Yeah, yeah.
When we knocked at your door, you opened fire. Why?
I don't like strangers turning up.
- What have you got to hide? - Nothing.
I'm an honest gamekeeper, I work for an honourable foundation.
- And the Rötkens? - What Rötkens?
The ones you're treating with your zinc.
I don't know what you're talking about.
2 days ago, one of these dogs was set on the Countess.
You think I was involved?
That's a good one.
We've protected that family for years.
Who is "we"?
Did you and your buddies attack that little Roma girl?
- What's your job at the foundation? - Call them if you want to know.
And ask them to come and pick me up. In an hour I'll be out.
And you'll still have your fingers up your arses.
What did you just say?
What did you say to me, you piece of shit?
Enough! Niémans!
Get out, Niémans!
Get out!
It's late. I hope Schüller's still up.
We're just eating.
Philipp must still be in the lab.
But come and join us afterwards.
You're very welcome.
You know the way from here.
Professor Schüller?
I'll call my guys.
No, first we put the facility on lockdown and question everyone.
- I should've come straight away. - Niémans.
- Yes? - You can't think like that.
- What did he say on the phone? - Something about DNA.
Right, we need to question everyone.
Squeeze every detail out of everyone within these walls, OK?
Maybe he told someone something.
He said he was going to shut himself in the lab to finish an experiment.
That's really all I know.
- We were expecting him at dinner... - Niémans?
Excuse me.
- Yes? - I just interviewed Koen Held.
A geneticist who works on a stem cell programme.
Schüller told him something.
He'd just received Jürgen's karyotype, his DNA.
He tested Laura's a few years back for an insurance policy,
so he compared the two.
Kleinert's tech guy hacked into Schüller's computer.
He found the documents and the geneticist decoded them.
It's in the form of a diagram, but the result is clear.
You again.
Jürgen wasn't your brother.
Why does that matter?
I told you, we were like twins.
My mother couldn't have children.
My father decided to adopt in total secrecy.
They refused to leave our share of the empire to my cousins.
As for me, I arrived later.
Once Jürgen was adopted, my mother fell pregnant. A classic case.
- Did he know he was adopted? - No.
He never knew.
I found out in my teens but didn't look into the details.
It changed nothing for me.
Why didn't you say anything?
Jürgen and I were young when our father died.
We had to fight to keep the business.
If the truth had come out,
it would've cast down on our legitimacy.
But...
I don't see the connection to the murders.
And Ludwig? Was he adopted too?
Certainly not. Why would you ask that?
If he was adopted, someone might be trying to ensure
that each generation's heir to the Group is a pure von Geyersberg.
Each generation? What are you talking about?
You know very well that heirs have disappeared over the years.
Because they were all adopted too?
They sent you from Paris to spout this nonsense?
We just found Schüller murdered in his lab.
- Philipp? - Yes.
Probably because he was about to reveal that Jürgen was adopted.
Who knew this information?
- Who else? - I don't know.
I really don't.
Good evening, Count von Geyersberg.
Sorry to bother you so late.
- What do you want? - I'm Lieutenant Delaunay.
I work with the commissioner you met the other day.
I shall repeat my question: what do you want?
We're here to ask a few questions about your family.
If you mean the murders, that's a strange way of putting it.
I don't mean the murders.
We've discovered that Laura and Jürgen weren't related.
Other tests have shown the same for Max and Ludwig. Can you explain?
Follow me into the lounge.
The von Geyersberg family has always had fertility problems.
Kurt decided to adopt Jürgen.
And Dieter adopted Ludwig.
They then both conceived children of their own.
Laura and Max.
Why didn't you tell the police about this?
Ludwig was only discovered yesterday.
Two children adopted into your family
have been killed in the same way just days apart. Why?
I don't know.
Other members of your family have met violent ends.
Were they adopted too?
I don't know.
I think you're lying, Mr von Geyersberg.
Forgive my colleague, sir. We're under immense pressure.
- That's no excuse. - We'll leave you in peace.
It was already very kind of you to see us under these circumstances.
Do you know Karl Bruch?
I've never heard that name.
He works for one of your foundations.
- We employ hundreds of people. - The Black Blood Foundation.
- Has this man broken the law? - We have proof he's breeding Rötkens.
What do you know about the Black Hunters?
I shall have to call my friend, the prosecutor.
That won't be necessary, sir.
Good night.
You killed Liquorice.
You killed Liquorice!
You killed him!
You killed Liquorice!
- Hello. - Camille.
Where the hell are you, Niémans?
- At the Glass House. - Since last night?
Do we have anything?
The last call Schüller made before he was killed
was to Laura von Geyersberg.
Looks like you've slept with our prime suspect.
- We're on our way. - OK.
Laura?
What the hell is all this, Kleinert?
I have a warrant for her arrest. Let me do my job.
- Where's your countess? - I don't know.
She was gone when I woke up. There's no one here.
I think she fled through the forest. Why the warrant?
She was the last one Schüller called. She must know why he's dead.
- She's been playing us all along. - She told me about Jürgen.
She has nothing more to hide.
Did she tell you Ludwig was adopted too?
Her uncle Frantz told us.
He must be pulling the strings. It all leads to his foundation.
- We need to question Bruch again. - Kleinert won't let you near him.
Whatever, he can do it himself.
Laura's in danger and Bruch can help us save her.
I don't see how Bruch can help if Laura's behind it all.
- No. She's next on the list. - Yeah? Then why did she run?
- Perhaps to take revenge. - On who?
Uncle Frantz.
The family has fertility problems.
They adopted backup kids to prevent the line from dying out.
But then the mother would produce a child. A pure von Geyersberg.
But why are they all killed in their 30s?
I don't know, but the Black Hunters do the dirty work.
- By order of the family? - Yes.
Whenever a mediator like old Frantz decides to eliminate one.
And you think Laura didn't know?
No, she knew Jürgen would be sacrificed.
Watch out!
- Niémans? - Yes.
It's OK.
Kleinert?
Kleinert!
- Is he alive? - Yes.
Are you OK, Camille?
The hunt has begun, Camille.
Laura's in the forest. She's the prey.
There's no signal.
She'll end up like the ethers if I don't find her.
Go and get help, Camille!
- I'm staying with you. - No!
These hunters are dangerous.
- Do what I say, goddammit! - Screw you.
I'll be back for you, Kleinert.
Laura!
Drop your weapon.
The Pirsch, Niémans.
It's the only true hunt.
- You never understood. - Why do you adopt children?
We adopt children to kill them.
The hunter's role is to arm the enemy, to make him strong.
That's what our family has done for centuries.
We give them the best education
and teach them to hunt to make them a worthy adversary.
Until they eventually face the true heir in the forest?
Exactly.
The adopted child becomes our game.
And Pirsch law is the only law in our family.
- This is murder, Laura! - It's a duel.
With every generation, we gamble for our empire.
If the prey wins, they inherit our fortune.
If my brother had been the strongest,
it would've been my head on the forest floor.
Why did you expose the body?
Sinful pride. I wanted others to behold my victory.
So Max killed Ludwig?
It's hunting season.
And Schüller?
Was it because he knew?
You are a well-armed male.
The perfect prey for a Pirsch hunter.
Don't move!
The dogs, Camille!
- They're coming! - It's the dog unit.
It's our backup.
The doctors say I'll be on my feet in 2 weeks.
We're leaving today.
I found out something surprising.
Koen Held, the geneticist at Schüller's facility, did some more research.
Laura was the adopted child.
Uncle Frantz organised the duels and the hunters through his foundation.
- Did he confess? - No.
For now, he's hiding behind his lawyers.
But Max, Ludwig's brother, is locked up along with most of the Black Hunters.
Right.
It pains me to say it, Kleinert,
but you're a good cop.
Thank you.
- Don't forget to submit your reports. - Don't start with that bullshit again!
Right.
Come on.
Let's go.
So, what's your issue with dogs?
I had an older brother. He was schizophrenic.
It was slow to develop,
but I was the only one who knew how bad it was.
No one in my family was willing to accept it.
What's that got to do with dogs?
My parents had the bright idea of buying him a Beauceron dog.
His favourite game was to secretly train this dog to kill me.
That was enough to make me paranoid.
Eventually, the dog mysteriously died.
Everyone believed I had poisoned him.
That was when my brother became really dangerous.
My parents finally had him institutionalised.
But deep down,
I ended up the genuinely crazy one.
I didn't even know you had a brother.
Because he hanged himself at 27.
Any more questions?
Yes.
Just how fast can this car go?
Subtitles by MehrAzar