WaPo Elbe

Three friends capsize in their canoe on Father's Day, and one of the men drowns. The WaPo initially assumes it was an accident. But then the dead man's cell phone reveals revealing photos of his canoeing buddy's wife.

During training, open water swimmer Tim Lehmann drowns under suspicious circumstances. The WaPo quickly realizes that it is a case of murder. The investigation leads to the training camp run by coach Rowitz.

During the "salmon patrol," the WaPo discovers a dead angler on the shore. The man was obviously stabbed to death. Were animal rights activists behind it, or was it perhaps a crime of passion?

A museum guard is found murdered on the nature-protected Elbe island in front of Pillnitz Castle. Shortly before, the WaPo saw a young boy fleeing the island. Could he have something to do with the victim's death?

A fisherman pulls the mummified body of an elderly man out of the Elbe River. The Washington Post takes on the case. A peculiarity in the wrapping of the body initially leads the officers to street vendor Friedrich "Fischerfritz" Zollner, who supplies his customers with fish specialties. Jana is ambushed and Moritz finds another body, this time in a freezer.

It becomes clear that money was withdrawn from the accounts of both dead men after their deaths. Is this a serial killer who murders old people and then robs their accounts? Or is it simply a disgruntled widow?

A young woman is found dead on the banks of the Elbe River. The autopsy reveals that Lina Hilpert died of an overdose of the new designer drug "White Lightning." She presumably consumed the drug at the trendy club Štestí, just across the Czech border. The WaPo's investigation initially focuses on the members of a drug support group that Lina and her mentally unstable ex-boyfriend Oli belonged to. Is Lina's death the sad end to a relationship drama?

For the group's leader, Marie Liu, the tragedy is primarily further proof of a scandalous failure on the part of the authorities. "White Lightning" is freely available due to a loophole in the law! And then there is Frieder Mertens, a dropout who was apparently in his trailer with Lina before her death. Was she having an affair with him? And why did Lina's ex-boyfriend Oli escape from the psychiatric ward on the day of her death? Little by little, the investigators piece together the mysterious puzzle and ultimately realize that everything was completely different than they thought: perpetrators become victims and victims become perpetrators.

On the Elbe River, 16-year-old Anna Nowak is struck by a motorboat and seriously injured. The WaPo soon realizes that this is not just a hit-and-run accident. Could Anna's father, a well-known scrap dealer, be involved in the incident due to his dubious business dealings? Or could it even be the attractive Bender from the water sports club where Anna trains with her friends? Because he has a score to settle with Anna's father. And why are there references to the local soccer club popping up everywhere? But the deeper the WaPo officers investigate the water sports club, the clearer it becomes that Anna is not entirely innocent. One girl in particular has suffered from Anna's humiliation: the quiet Marlene, daughter of a single mother who works as a ferry operator. But does that make her the perpetrator?

A boat belonging to the Czech water police pursues suspects into German territory—a clear violation of the rules, especially since the Czech officers are keeping the reason for the pursuit a secret. When the WaPo officers finally find the fugitive boat, one of the passengers is seriously injured. Worse still, she is a former colleague who attended police academy with Jana and Moritz. Maike and her team are left with many questions: Did the injured woman join drug smugglers after being kicked out of the German police force?