Shades of Guilt (2015–2019): Season 1, Episode 2 - Schnee - full transcript

Clear.

Clear.

- Where are the Arabs?
- What Arabs?

SHADES OF GUILT

SMACK

- Mr Kronberg.
- Mr Lambrecht.

- Good to see you. You have a moment?
- Of course. How can I help?

A man was brought before me today.

The police had his flat
under surveillance.

During a raid they found
200 grams of heroin in his kitchen.

- The man is 72.
- A ripe old age for a dealer.



- Who lives on welfare.
- Did they find any cash?

Not that I know of. Unfortunately
he's refused to make a statement.

I had to issue an arrest warrant.

- So what can I do?
- He needs a duty solicitor.

I'd like you to take the case.

The prosecutor really wants
to nail this guy.

- All right, I'll have a look.
- Thank you.

- I can't pay you.
- Don't worry, the state's paying.

Are you doing OK?

- Did the arresting officers hurt you?
- I'm sure they meant well.

I'll request access to your file
and then we'll talk again.

Fine.

Mr Gronau, you have a visitor.

- My lawyer?
- No, a lady.



It must be a mistake.
No one is coming to visit me.

Yes, this lady is.

Jana Szypiorski.

- Who?
- Jana Szypiorski.

Are you coming or not?

- I'm here to see Mr Gronau.
- Jana Szypiorski?

- Have a seat.
- Thank you.

Hello.

Thank you.

I didn't expect any visitors.

I requested a visiting permit
and they let me come today.

What a coincidence.

- Today's my wedding anniversary.
- Did your wife come by?

No, I haven't seen her
in almost 40 years.

40 years and you still remember
your wedding anniversary?

Call me a fool.

You have nice hands.

- Are you doing well in here?
- Yes.

I don't see you smile.

You wouldn't want to:
I don't have any teeth left.

So?

- Excuse me.
- You don't have to apologise.

No one's looking.

- Who are you?
- Jana.

I don't know you.

But I know you.

How?

- Hassan.
- No whispering or foreign languages.

Gronau, we're done.
We're leaving.

Thank you.

- Not going to count it?
- I'm sure it's correct.

"I'm sure it's correct."
Now it is.

Don't stay cooped up.
Go out, be social.

- When will you be back?
- 2 weeks, I think.

- You have the key?
- Yes.

Thanks again.

Take a shower.
You smell a bit.

What month are you?

My eighth.

May he?

It's his.

- Visiting time is over.
- Thank you.

Yes.

He's a good man.

Karl-Heinz?

- Whose is this?
- It's yours.

No.

Of course it is.
Who else's could it be?

Are you coming?
We have to go.

Did you do it here with him?

Karl-Heinz, it's yours.

Can we go now?

Go by yourself.

FRIEDRICH KRONBERG
LAWYER

- See you tomorrow.
- Thanks.

Where have you been?

He won't talk.

- Who?
- Gronau.

I hope not.

Did you visit him?

Are you crazy? Tomorrow
they'll be at the door.

No!

I registered
as his landlady's daughter.

- They didn't check.
- Cool.

- He smells, doesn't he?
- And he's lonely.

- Loneliness doesn't make you smell.
- Yes, it does.

Your father called again.

- Did you talk to him?
- Answer machine.

- You think he knows about the baby?
- We're not in Lebanon, we're in Berlin.

You've been promised to her since
you were 6. You won't get out of it.

Stop it. What's all this about?

One year at most
and you'll be back in Lebanon.

- Will you promise me something?
- What?

Stay until it's born?

Of course.

This is where I belong,
with you and the baby.

- I can't pay you.
- You said so already.

Let's concentrate on your case.

I don't want to receive any gifts.

Just out of curiosity,
what do you have against gifts?

My first wife...

She was a gift.

But the separation
was part of the bargain.

Do you smoke?

It really threw your life
off track, didn't it?

You could say that.

I've read the investigation file.

As you know, they found
200 grams of heroin at your place.

And forensics found traces
of lidocaine in your kitchen.

It's used to cut heroin.

But the tricky thing is
that at the time of your arrest

they found a knife, in other words
a weapon, in your possession.

That means you'll be charged
with armed drug dealing.

The minimum sentence
for that is 5 years.

Yes, fine.

Mr Gronau, I don't believe

that you're a heroin addict,
nor that you're a dealer.

Furthermore, I doubt
you have enough money

to buy such a quantity of heroin.

If the drugs aren't yours
then you shouldn't be here.

So get me out of here.

Then you'll have to help me.

How?

If I don't believe
the drugs were yours,

the judge probably won't either.

If you say
who the heroin belongs to,

and who cut heroin in your kitchen,
it will count in your favour.

I can't do that.

Are you afraid?
Is someone threatening you?

No.

Then why would you take the fall?
5 years is a long time.

- I've been in prison before.
- 3 weeks.

5 years is a different story
at your age.

Yes.

That may be.

I'll challenge your detention
in the court.

In the meantime,
please think it over.

Goodbye.

Hassan, this is your father. You don't
answer the phone, you don't call back.

What's the matter with you? Do you
want to bring shame on your family?

Your family is waiting for you.
You have to call us, you hear?

Salaam Alaikum.
Everything all right with you?

Yes.

- Too dumb to count to 20?
- Easy, the rest is coming.

What rest?
You come here with 5,000?

I'll pay when I'm out of debt.

We said one year.
How long has it been?

- One and a half.
- Exactly.

4 weeks.
Then you'll get your money.

- 4 weeks?
- I swear.

OK, 4 weeks.

But this here...

is interest.

Only 5,000.

Defence counsel, does
your client want to say anything

about the people behind it?

If he did, the court might consider
absolving him from further detention.

Mr Gronau.

Mr Gronau, if you don't name names
we won't make any progress.

There are more important things
than my freedom.

All right, then I'll have
to remand you in custody.

Hassan, this is your father. You don't
answer the phone, you don't call back.

What's the matter with you? Do you
want to bring shame on your family?

Your family is waiting for you.
You have to call us, you hear?

- Hassan? Is something wrong?
- No. It's too hot.

I can't sleep because of the heat.

- Your father?
- No.

- Are you sure Gronau won't talk?
- He won't.

Don't worry.
Just come back to bed.

I'm going out for a beer.
There's none left.

It's the middle of the night.

Yes, but I'm hot.
I feel like going out.

Shall I open a window?

Jana, I'm going out.
I won't be long.

I told you, I'm coming.

You did it.

He's beautiful.

Thank you.

You have to do
something for Gronau.

What?

- Mr Kronberg.
- Mr Lambrecht, how are you?

Could be better. I keep thinking
about the Gronau case.

I've never seen anyone
voluntarily go to jail for 5 years.

And he's 72.

- I heard the trial is due.
- Yes.

- Who's the judge?
- Judge Benesch.

- Has Gronau changed his mind?
- I don't think he'll talk.

Do you think he's getting
paid to keep quiet?

I don't think someone his age would
go to prison for 5 years for money.

Nor out of fear.
What could they threaten him with?

- Does he have family?
- Not anymore.

What are you doing?

Karl-Heinz?

Thank you,
I was very fond of it.

You can keep the car
and the savings.

I'm leaving the vest,
it's not mine.

But it didn't mean anything.

To me it did.

- Mr Gronau? You have to go.
- One moment.

At his arrest the defendant
was carrying a flick knife

with a blade length of 7.5 cm,
ready to use.

That fulfils the criterion
for armed illicit drug dealing,

according to paragraph 30a,
section 2 of the Drugs Act.

Thank you, Prosecutor.
Mr Gronau, you've heard the charges.

You have the right to respond
to the charges or not to speak.

Above all, you don't have to say
anything that might incriminate you.

- Do you understand?
- Yes.

- Would you like to say anything?
- I have nothing to say.

All right.

So let's turn to the evidence.

The heroin clearly isn't his.
He didn't have the money.

The evidence speaks against him.

It's his flat. If he doesn't name
names, the charge stands.

- Because he let them use his kitchen?
- He was carrying a knife.

What an absurd regulation.

He didn't attack anyone, he didn't
resist arrest. He's 72 years old.

Mr Kronberg,

the regulation is there to protect
officials in the line of duty.

The fact is, he was carrying a knife.

Come up with something.

Mr Gronau,
you make me so unhappy.

- Why won't you stand up for yourself?
- That's my business.

- Where did you get that knife?
- From the prison.

Otherwise I can't eat.

I'll be right back.

- Hassan?
- Yes, hi.

What are you doing?

Looking for cigarettes.

Shall I get you some?
I have to go out again anyway.

No, you've just got in.

- Chill out.
- We're out of nappies. I forgot.

Say bye to Daddy.

Do I get one as well?

See you.

I'll be right back.

Gerber, you shit. You don't
want to talk to me? No problem.

But you still owe me 20,000.
If I see you, you're dead.

Go on, hide, run as far as you can.
I'd better get my 20,000, arsehole.

Gerber, where's my money?

I want my cash.

Let go of me!

So, Malek, are you excited
about your big trip?

You'll like Poland. My aunt
and uncle will love you to bits.

The hearing continues.
Mr Kronberg, go ahead.

Thank you.

According to a federal court ruling
of November 6th 2012,

the criterion for armed illicit
drug dealing is not fulfilled,

if the object is not unequivocally
intended for injuring someone.

I've taken the liberty
of printing it out for you.

Please take a look.

In my client's case, the knife
clearly had a different purpose.

- Namely?
- Mr Gronau has no teeth left.

He's forced to cut
his food into tiny pieces.

He used the knife for that purpose
and that purpose alone.

- Is that true, Mr Gronau?
- Yes, would you like to see?

He was even allowed
to bring a plastic knife into court

to cut his bread.

It's patently clear that the knife
was never meant as a weapon.

- Can I give you a lift home?
- I'm homeless. They evicted me.

- Do you have anywhere to stay?
- No.

We'll go to the prison
and pick up your things.

Then we'll go to a hotel.
What do you say?

- I can't afford it.
- Accept it as a gift from me.

Then you can find a new flat
and start all over.

- At 72?
- At 72.

Well, all right.

- Nice legs.
- Absolutely.

- Let's go after her.
- Quickly.

I have a letter for you here.

It says I should go
to a dental clinic after my release.

Private clinic Medici,
in Charlottenburg.

I haven't been
to a dentist in 20 years.

I have no insurance.
I can't afford a dentist.

Looks like
it's already been paid.

Impossible. It's a mistake.

- Do you know who left this letter?
- A Jana something or other.

She had a baby with her.

- A boy or a girl?
- No idea.

She called him Malek.

That's a boy's name, isn't it?

Goodbye.

MEDICI
DENTAL CLINIC

- Thank you, Mr Kronberg.
- I thank you.

For what?

"There are more important things
than my freedom"?

Mr Gronau.

Your suitcase.

A person's guilt
is hard to measure.

All our lives
we strive for happiness

but sometimes we go astray
and things go awry.

Then only the law
separates us from chaos,

a thin layer of ice, underneath
which it's cold and you die quickly.