"IRIS HOEGAARDE portraits" "Great photos." "WiIIem Steenhouwer, lawyer." "When can I get out?" " Why insist on defending the guy?" "I didn't want him to fall over the rail." "I wanted to save him." "The prosecutor was here." "He'II let Bjorn go, in exchange for willem." "I found papers in my dad's study." "I thought I'II just go to the police, and tell them everything then it's all over." "Can't I do a job for you?" " Befriend them then find out who the real squatters are." "Your son has been stabbed several times in his stomach." "What did they say?" " That it doesn't look good." "You're never going to tell me anything." " Because I can't." "shall we go home?" "I'd Iike to try again." "Those fingerprints on that bottle of champagne could well be his." "We have prints, we have a motive, he's a top mafia pal." "I want him locked up before 12 o'cIock." " Mr Steenhouwer?" "BETRAYAL" "MURDER" "Dear neighbours..." "I'd Iike to bring to your attention on the evening of the 16th of May." "It's vital for witnesses to come forward." "will you grab that side?" "What's up?" " Nothing." "I wondered if..." "What?" " If you already knew." "Knew what?" "Have you seen the news lately?" " No, not always." "Why?" "It's awkward talking to you about it." " What is it, Pepijn?" "WiIIem Steenhouwer has been charged." "well, you had to know." "With murder, I mean." "It's not my case." "De Ruiter's handling it." "There's evidence against him." "He's charged with killing a whore." "Gangsters." "I told you, eh?" "I'm so glad that you're no Ionger..." "Let me be, for a while." "I have provider data here, and Couwenberg did phone you at 20.30." "In my office." " alone?" "Shame your GSM triangulation can't prove it." "The crime scene is too close to your office." "Maybe someone near the office saw me." "My secretary's working on it." "This Couwenberg, how should I assess him?" "Bjorn?" "Look." "Brasschaat." "Brasschaat?" " It looks great, eh?" "Where is it then?" " In belgium." "It's a beautiful house." "No question." "Right?" "I wasn't thinking clearly by then." "I was confused Bjorn had done something stupid." "I only remember WiIIem saying:" "I'II deal with it." "Bjorn's never been there." "I had to give him 150,000 euros cash so it didn't go through the books." "And I did." "It was for my wife." " For the restaurant?" "EIsie won't accept money from her dad, it was an emergency." "I didn't know where else to get it." "We agreed to do it in cash." "I made a fake invoice to cover him in some way." "In all the fuss, I'm not sure I even gave it to him." "They searched your house, right?" "It's not in the file." "Let's keep it that way." "But how can he remember you invented an alibi, if you didn't?" "There are two possibilities:" "either he's confused or he's lying." "He's lying." "Good afternoon." " EIsie Couwenberg for Mr Steenhouwer." "will you fill this in, please?" "Thank you." "Here you are." "There's a steel pin in my hip, from a skiing accident." "the metal in the body of the card holder may cause an electronic malfunction" "well?" " He's coming home tomorrow." "He still can't do much." "They've put a bed downstairs." "And we're getting homecare." "Heard anything about the house where the stabbing took place?" "Marit heard something." " Marit?" "She's been so weird lately." "She doesn't say a word and she keeps looking at me as if she'd Iike to kill me." "Bachman?" "Joost Bachman?" " A fellow student." "He's not stupid." "Have you read all the wire-tap reports?" " No, not yet." "Bjorn admitted being on the bridge that evening?" "Good morning." " Good morning." "But it's still being dropped due to lack of evidence." "It's clear he was there, but not that he killed the guy." "There are no witnesses, no signs of strangulation, no bruises it's impossible to prove." " I mean, the judge isn't likely to be impressed by a statement from the likes of Couwenberg." "If he doesn't buy it, we'II have a problem with Steenhouwer's motive." "Hey, have you heard?" "Bachman has requested that Couwenberg is heard by the examining judge, and Steenhouwer will be there." "well, I'd Iike to be there." "It's one of your dad's properties?" " That's all I know but it sounded shady." "And he keeps calling to ask if he can drop by." "But I don't want to see him just yet." "WiIIem?" "I still don't understand." " Me neither." "How on earth can they find your fingerprints on a bottle at that whore's place?" "I know you may not believe a word I say anymore but I've never been there, EIsie." "I must have touched a bottle that somehow ended up there." "That's all I can think of." " Maybe it was stolen from our house." "Why didn't we notice then?" "You used to buy me a rose, remember?" "One rose." "I have the feeling maybe I shouldn't say it." " No, tell me." "When we were at Marco's bedside that things aren't completely over between us." "We'II take everything with us." "It'II be just like here." "Your posters, your games, my things, my record players..." "Why are we going then?" "Bjorn, lots of things have happened." "As you well know." "I planned to call it a day anyway." " I don't know anyone there." "They're FIemish." "They're nice people." "They speak Dutch with a nice accent." "There you are." " Just a minute." "What else can you do?" " Prove I've never been there." "How?" " Joost is doing his best, so am I." "Time." " It's murder, WiIIem." "I know." " What if it doesn't help?" "Time." " Why don't you shut your trap?" "I'm saying goodbye here, OK?" "Give Marco a kiss from me, and Marit too." "Bye." "16 May prostitute" "the dead woman was a Ukrainian prostitute" "May 16" "Let me know what happens at the hearing, eh?" "Pepijn?" "When were you planning to tell me?" "What exactly?" " The suspect and your wife were lovers." "bloody hell, man." "It was just a fling, it's been over for ages, and has nothing to do with this." "really?" "If we're unlucky it will be in the newspapers the judge will love it, and we'II be accused of conflict of interest." "It's not my case, it's yours." " But you compiled the file." "partly, but now it's your responsibility, right?" "You've worked on these guys for four years, I was just a stop-gap." "This is the crowning glory of your work:" "public Prosecutor Pieter de Ruiter topples criminal property syndicate." "It sounds better than a sick official with plastic bags for his hyperventiIation, eh?" "Tuesday" "It hurts." "Hey, mum..." " Yes." "...where's dad?" "Try not to talk." "I'II fetch some water." "Daddy." "How are you, eh?" "So you thought you'd build a whole city?" "I thought I'd come home on time for once." "Nothing yet?" "How come?" "Lots of people are on holiday." "I don't know." "I'II try again tomorrow." "Is there still time?" "Not much." "until tomorrow." " OK, good luck." "Are you upset about it?" "He's not a murderer." "Are you upset about it?" " Lawyer of shady deals, perhaps but not a murderer." " Are you upset about it?" "I know it's weird I know it's really hard for you." "honestly." "Do you know..." " No, De Ruiter's handling it." "But there is evidence, and it was premeditated." "And if he's convicted?" " Twenty years." "I reckon." "It's not just..." "I won't bore you with the forensic evidence." "Stop that." "Iris it will be fine." "We'II get through this." "Mr Couwenberg?" "Mr Meyer, the examining judge." "please sit down." "I'm De Ruiter." "We've already met." " Yes, I believe so." "welcome everyone." "We're here to give Mr Steenhouwer's lawyer, Mr Bachman the opportunity of hearing Mr Couwenberg in the case 1293647:" "The murder or manslaughter of 29-year-oId NataIia Korzachenko on the 16th of May last." "Mr Couwenberg do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?" "Repeat after me:" "I do." " I do." "It is my duty to tell you that you must tell the truth but you do not have to say anything that may harm or incriminate you." "Now I give the word to counsel." " Thank you, your Honour." "Mr Couwenberg, you stated that my client offered to invent an alibi for the possible involvement of your son in Louis KareIse's death on the 2nd of May this year?" "I'm sorry to say this, but it's true." " could you be more specific?" "What can I say?" "Bjorn had been up to something vague I've no idea what, but probably something stupid." "He was quite upset, but I didn't know how to help him." "I think you said:" "I'II deal with it." "I said:" "Must we?" "And you said:" "Yes, or we'II be in trouble." "I said:" "well, you're the legal guy, so you should know." "You said:" "OK, but it will cost you." "I trust him implicitly, so I said:" "OK." "And I paid him." "You said:" "I think you said." "That means you're not sure." "It's awful that WiIIem is sitting here." "To me, he's still family." " That's not what I asked." "I think that's what you said." "Who else would have said it?" "Mr Couwenberg, my client is positive it did not happen like this." "And as a lawyer, he'd never ever do that." "What was that 150 grand for then, WiIIem?" "You know full well..." " It was for your daughter's restaurant that was in trouble at the time." " well, that's weird." "So why didn't he just say:" "Your daughter's strapped for cash, lend me 100,000?" "Why all the secrecy?" "You were meant to give me an invoice, but I never got that either." "Three years ago, I was voted District Entrepreneur of the Year." "I'm a member of the Society for Property..." " Mr Couwenberg, it's still odd that you and my client disagree totally on events that evening." "My client has never been to the sex club." "He never even knew the victim." "people have stated they spoke to a man who said he worked for you but they couldn't describe my client." "I don't know." "AII I remember is that WiIIem said he'd deal with it all." "I gave him the money then a short time later the whore and his fingerprints were found." "It's terrible he's sitting here now for what happened." "I'd do anything to get him free." "Is it could something have gone wrong in his head?" "Has he been seen by a psychiatrist?" "AII these years I've been loyal to you, Huub." "Aren't you ashamed?" "You can ask questions but you can't..." " Sorry, my client let himself go." "Shame on you." " On me?" "Coming from the man who let my daughter, his own wife..." "gentlemen, gentlemen, enough." " No more questions." "Anton, Iris Hoegaarde here." "will you phone me back ASAP?" "Thanks." "Hi, I'm MarieI Dubois from the Steenhouwer lawyer's office opposite." "You weren't here, so I Ieft a note for you." "No?" "It doesn't matter." "You may know my boss?" "Dark-hair, late thirties, good-Iooking." "WiIIem Steenhouwer." "The lawyer?" " Yes." "It's a weird question but were you here on the 16th of May, in the evening?" "Or do you remember seeing my boss here that evening?" "The 16th of May?" "Yes, I do remember." "There was a party here for a friend of mine." "The crucial time is between 8 and 9." "I stood at the window to welcome everyone, and at some point..." "Why are you here?" "Iris, go home." " You're not a murderer." "Say it." "Say you're not a murderer." "EIsie?" "EIsie, damn it." "Hi, EIsie speaking." " EIsie, I want to see my grand..." "Stop it." "Must I call the police?" " Let me in." "He's asleep." " What?" "He's asleep." " I want to see my grandson." "Sure, why?" "Do you have other properties where they pull knives?" "Do you really think I have anything to do with that?" "Yes." " Who do you think I am?" "AII I know is that my son was almost killed, and my husband's in jail." "And Bjorn's suddenly free." "So how come?" " Sweetie." "Everything, just everything, is about Bjorn." "Bjorn, Bjorn, Bjorn." "Your life revolves around him." "But me and my family..." " EIsie, I'm thinking of leaving." "Of going abroad." "Let me in." "For ten minutes." "Go home, be happy with your husband and kid, and forget everything." "We're done." " No, we're not." "Can I go to my cell?" " You're not a murderer." "AII your fucking in-Iaws are criminals, but you're not one of them." "You're not seriously taking the rap for those damn idiots?" "You turned my whole life upside down." "Did I risk all that for a murderer?" " Iris, go home." "Yes, I will." "And I'II never come back, providing you tell me now." "tell you what?" " Is it because she's your wife?" "Is what?" " You're not Iike that." "You don't belong with them." "You're not a criminal." "What did you do there all that time?" "What's tying you to that bloody family?" "He looks like his grandma." "I Iove you just as much as Bjorn." "And your kids, you know that." "You know that, eh?" "You were at the hairdresser's..." "Sorry?" "I'd just got the new grey Audi." " What are you talking about?" "I decided to go for a spin." "My father-in-Iaw, Bjorn and I." "I'd just started handling his affairs." "Everything was above board." "And Bjorn was a great guy." "Very smart, everyone was crazy about him." "His dad most of all." "He was seventeen and had just got his grammar school diploma." "You did well at school too." "I was as proud of you both as a monkey with seven dicks." "But Bjorn had just graduated from grammar school." "The first one in the family." "The first Couwenberg to go to university." "Guess what they said to me when I was at school?" "No son, university isn't for kids like you." "With a smirk on their faces." "Then Bjorn asked if he could drive." " Let me drive, just a bit." "It was an automatic, it drove like a dream." "A 3-year-oId could have driven it with his little finger." "He was almost eighteen." "I said:" "No, better not." " Oh, come on." "His dad was against it, but I can still hear myself say:" "Oh, Iet him, he's just got his diploma." "Oh, Iet him, he's just got his diploma." "I thought:" "I'm such a stuffy old prick." "The road was empty." "I said:" "For two minutes then." "But... you were driving." "You were driving, right?" "WiIIem started messing about." "We were fooling around." "And I started goading him a bit:" "Can't you go any faster?" "I still don't know how he did it." "No oncoming traffic, no storm or wind." "He was driving sixty, max." "But you were driving, you've always said that." "Come on, man." "WiIIem, come on." "suddenly we were in the water." "I opened my door straightaway, so did Huub." "But your kids, your son, is precious." "So I said he had to wear his seat belt." " Bjorn, damn it." "But it was a new car." "A new system." "He couldn't Ioosen it." "Oh, Jesus." "You didn't drive into the water." "Oh, Iet the boy." "I can still hear it." "Those words are forever in the air, I can almost touch them." "Goodbye university, goodbye future." "He serves coffee now." "After finally passing his driving test, he can now drive his dad around." "well, so now you know." "EIsie may come, so if you go now..." "Must you pay for that for the rest of your life?" "You can't be serious." "please go, and be happy with your child and your husband." "He'II be alright, won't he?" " Yes, probably." "I'm pulling out of everything." "I'II sell the business, and stop completely." " Dad." "I'II go abroad." "Then no more accidents can happen." "I hope." "tell me?" " She had to think, but she thought so." "And would I phone her back?" " well?" "Stupid cow, on second thoughts she couldn't remember." "And not one security camera in the whole fucking street." "What will you do now?" " I'II..." "I'II phone you." "Mum?" "You and dad will it be alright?" "Maybe." " Maybe?" "It's not impossible." "Is he dropping by?" "I don't know." "You must make up." "He's sleeping like a log." "Just like old times." "You came back, Iris." "You wanted to try again." " I still do." "So do I." "I'd Iike nothing better." "But why don't you ever look me straight in the eye?" "My bet is twenty years." "So here that's at Ieast twelve years." "Do you think that will help?" "At least it won't be a temptation anymore." "There isn't a glimmer of a hope to..." "Dad?" "Are we really going to belgium?" "Do you mind that much?" "Hi, Anton." "I phoned to ask you a few questions." "Oh, good." "Hang on, I'II just go upstairs." "You have a big bedroom now." "When is grandpa coming?" "Why?" " Or is he mad at me?" "What for?" " Because I messed up." "Don't tell mum and dad." " No, of course not." "It was a job." "For him." "Hey, are you awake?" "I'm nearly late." "OK, bye honey." " Bye." "Did you sleep well?" "Joachim Lampe?" " Yes." "On Couwenberg's orders." "And you're telling me now?" " I know nothing about it." "That's just it." "I didn't want to know." "I'm a lawyer, damn it." "They killed a whore, so I took off." "How can we prove it for god's sake?" " We can't." "At first I thought he'd stolen the bottle without me noticing." "But?" " firstly, it's impossible and secondly I know exactly what I have, and I'm not missing a bottle." "Then I thought:" "Maybe he changed bottles." "But Joachim knows less about champagne than Couwenberg so he'd have to go to a wine merchants and stuff." "No, that's ridiculous." "Besides that, you worked for these guys." "So why are they out to get you?" "What?" "I cheated on EIsie." "I had an affair." "Any more skeletons in the cupboard?" "Or was this it?" "Is grandpa home?" "Hey, look who's here." "The flavour of the week." "Fancy a drink?" " No, thanks." "With all the fuss about your brother, no one's taking any notice of you." "I'm here to ask something." "Something very simple." "OK, fire away." "Why did you set my brother on those morons?" "Sorry?" " Isn't it bad enough that my dad..." "Hey, wait a a minute." " He had a narrow escape, eh?" "Marco almost died." " No one's more upset about that than me." "But you don't think..." " You destroy everyone." "Everyone." "Everything around you gets destroyed." "Right up to my best friend, right?" "Don't say it's not true." " Honey, go home we'II talk another time." " Shut up." "uncle Louis is dead, Marco almost died." "Dad's in jail, but he probably deserves it." "Don't ever say 'honey' to me again or 'flavour of the week', or shit like that." "Sweetie..." " Bugger off." "You have a visitor." "Who is it?" " A woman." "What woman?" " Mrs Hoegaarde." "tell her I don't want to see her." "What's all this?" " Get out." "Yes, but..." " Get out of here." "I'II be there shortly." "Did Marit do this?" " Marit's a bit confused." "Hey, this is what I mean by:" "lots of things have happened." "A bit confused?" " Yes, a bit confused." "Now get out, I'II be there shortly." "OK, anything else?" "Is it hot in here, or is it me?" " Steenhouwer." "I was at Couwenberg's hearing but his account is still weak." "I read it." "But money was paid, right?" " Yes, 150,000 euros in cash was withdrawn from the bank, but the jerk has nothing in writing." "That's a nuisance." "Where are the decorations?" "And what's on ice?" "We got a phone call and you'II never guess who came in?" "She says it's important." "tell her I'm not interested, send her away." "I did, but she won't go until she's talked to you." "You're joking?" "She's fed up with the family, she said." "And she really wants to testify." "I don't believe it." "It incriminates her grandpa and father." "But why, for god's sake." " Her brother was stabbed, almost killed." "It was all their fault, she says." "Received by willem Steenhouwer from HCC Couwenberg: 150,000 euros." "It's dated two days after Louis KareIse's death." "Where did she get this?" " She pinched it from her dad's study." "For special advice." "special advice." " For inventing and financing an alibi." "Iris, for the Iast time..." " I'm very precise, you know." "I'm also a free-Iancer." "I always ask for a receipt, it's automatic." "Sorry, what do you mean?" " On the evening of the 16th of May I was with you at your office." "I went there by taxi." "I'd forgotten I'd sent the taxi receipt to the bookkeeper, I've just picked it up." "It doesn't state the time." "No." " I don't want it." "Do you know what it means?" "You'II have to testify in court with your husband there." "Do you think he'II like that?" "Everyone will know what happened." "Then you'II lose your husband for good." "And your child." "And worst of all, it won't help." "It's not solid proof: it's your word against theirs." "The judge will think you did it to help me." " There is proof." "That evening someone called you." "Remember who it was?" "A client." "I didn't realise, so I said something." " You did?" "WiIIem, you know I Iove you." "Ten minutes." " Pepijn told me Couwenberg's calls were tapped, so I must be on some recording." "Those recordings are destroyed." "They're considered confidential." "I don't want you involved in this in any way." "They're far too dangerous..." " But you must try." "You mustn't come here anymore." "honestly." "Don't do it." "Bye, Iris." "I'm on the way." " OK." "Hurry up, please." " WiIIem, you know I Iove you." "Ten minutes." "Couwenberg here." "Yes, Brasschaat." "tell them it's going ahead." "Mr Couwenberg, are you or aren't you sure that my client said this?" "I tried to do something." "will you go after my grandpa as well?" "He's just as bad, and not afraid to kill." "Can we talk confidentially?" "The biggest mistake I ever made." " He lied to you." "Did you bring it?" " Do you think I'm mad?" "Your mother is angry at me." "She just wanted to scare someone."