Episode list

Chief inspector Van In and his right hand Inspector Versavel thought it absurd to follow up on the hospital's chief doctor's report about major headaches caused by drinking the dark regional beer Brugse Bruine, but take a serious interest the next morning, when the brewery's manager Thierry Verbeke is found floating dead in the city's Minnewater, as neither widow nor father or foreman Piet Plovy, whose daughter always works there, believe Thierry could be suicidal. Commissioner De Kee has read chiefs don't know enough about their staff's lives, so he wants to be kept up to date- a task Van In delegates to Mitch and Neels, yet is envious when he learns they enjoy it in a good restaurant. Now Verbeke's mistress says he asked her to inform the police if anything happened to him, the heartless widow Christine gets anonymous photographs of the adulterous couple and has no alibi. The beer mysteriously contained tenfold sulfite. The commissioner suggests his friend, brewer Decaluwé, has a motive because father Verbeke stole the recipe for Brugse Bruin from Decaluwé, helped by Piet, a classmate like Christine, and there are more links... Meanwhile Hannelore accepts to dine with former attorney Geert Danneels, now a headhunter, who gets her interested in a more then triple paying position: heading an international firm's legal service, but in its Brussels HQ.

Masked intruders shoot countess Helene Veldmans de Valet in her Zeebrugge second residence. Her husband, attorney Nico Veldmans, is an old friend of Pieter Van In, he won't consider him the prime subject although the couple was involved in a nasty divorce, so she moved out to Zeebrugge, although Helena's brother, count Simon De Valet, claims the low-born plead lawyer is a gold-digging womanizer and suggests he has the murder staged. Van In rather checks the arms collection of the count, who inherits her half of their late parents' vast estate, including a castle. The killers turn out to be petty home-jackers, who are found, and were hired, but by whom and why? Nico's love life is also investigated...

Erik Maertens, co-founder of the firm Offset who never rose higher then accountant, dies from aconithum (the flower monkshood)-poisoned tea during a visit from Roger Maes, a day after senior partner Gerrit Kerremans received a blackmail letter about financial fraud, most probably from Erik. His pregnant widow Marijke Delanoye suspects Kerremans, but is surprised tame Erik might have been committing any crime or bravery. Forensics find Erik was infertile, and probably knew about her lover; as she admits that's colleague Dirk Devroe, in whose garden aconithum was recently pruned, Van In thinks there must be more... Meanwhile Peter Dops eagerly signs on Hannelore as his successor as head of the multinational's Benelux legal division in Brussels, at very generous terms, and immediately charges her with a long, nasty litigation matter. She passes on all her court cases to fellow magistrate Lansier.

When nine year-old schoolboy Stephen isn't collected at school for hours, Mitch checks at his home- and finds single mother Maggie Meisman, shot dead. It soon becomes clear landlord Walter Pletinck didn't just babysit Stephen, he also shared Maggie's bed; and Maggy regularly traded in heroin with ex-con junk Freddy... Stephen's bleak future makes Guido convince his guy partner Frank consider adoption. Meanwhile Hannelore is exhausted, tried to get worked in at her new firm before her predecessor Peter Dops leaves, so Pieter is left caring for their two young kids, only now she finds out the dirty trick behind the patent case she's to handle but can't possibly win...

Rich souvenir manufacturer Bertin De Ridder is found, shot dead in the park. His widow wines she should have known, he had been kidnapped and she paid a 100,000 Euro ransom without contacting the police, but getting that sum cash from the bank wasn't easy. Van In digs for motives in the victim's family, firm and license holders -who got a bad exclusivity deal- and the part of the unemployed neighbor Gilbert Maremans, who spent 7,000 in a whorehouse the night after the killing, not on his wife and their newborn kid... Meanwhile Mitch gets a somewhat embarrassed visit from relatives to celebrate his birthday in the precinct, Pieter wonders if Hannellore enjoys cooking and spending time with their two children too much to take another job, and Guido is furious his partner Frank seems de facto uninterested in adoption.

Swedish furniture firm Lindtrop's receptionist Stefi Johansen is strangled in her apartment, in fact by a courier who first met her at the reception desk. She had practically no social life in Antwerp, there's no apparent motive, the corps was made-up posthumously while she never used make-up. Meanwhile Mitch is gloomily absent-minded because his mother is cancer-terminal, he's her only child; Guido stresses about the child welfare agency's interview in view of his and Frank's adoption request, his own lateness makes it go badly which makes him doubt the whole project... Shortly after Sandrine Becue, another blond receptionist, suffers the same fate, at a firm near the first, with exactly the same make-up, even the brand. The brass panics and asks federal help, profiler Reggie De Beule. Shortly after a third receptionist, Nadine Mellaerts, identical MO, and a fourth...

The killer-courier makes a fourth victim, same type and MO. After some wrapping paper is found with another, Van In gets the idea a courier could have met all victims professionally, and Mitch's legwork ends up identifying Koen De Bock. Photos of three victims before their death are found on a shrine in his home. Van In is worried that Nadine, who worked in Justice, isn't among them, and soon finds further reasons to doubt she fell victim to the same killer; as there are yet resemblances beyond what was revealed to the press, a second killer would have to be tipped off inside Justice where more secrets have leaked to criminals recently... Meanwhile Mitch's mother is terminal in hospital and Guido has to leave the adoption procedure once more solely to his gay partner Frank, who is told the agency can't commit a child because they have no binding legal partnership, so Frank makes a crucial choice. Hanne is offered her old job back as her successor is promoted to procureur (Belgian equivalent of D.A.), all with suspicious speed...

Nathalie Brouwers, editor in chief of Megazine, a scanty girls weekly, is found in his Die Swaene hotel room, skull smashed in with a candelabra; last seen with him around the time of the murder was model Nadine Verschaert, the magazine's baby of last year. Hotel owner-manager Carl Schoeters explains Roger was entitled to a free suite 'for interviews' in recognition of good PR. Mitch and Guido each take a day personal leave and return reinvigorated. Widow Nathalie Brouwers claims they had an 'open marriage', he was a workaholic receiving loads of often valuable 'goodwill' presents preparing a 'luxury escort' special in collaboration with the exclusive Bruges Business Club and had trouble with his deputy editor Sigurd Verhoef, who claims he just disagreed with Roger's old-fashioned methods and themes and had the Dutch major shareholder's blessing to replace Roger soon, but has no alibi. Nadine faints at the news, admits she gave him sex for media-exposure, according to her standard practice. Current babe of the year Kelly De Bock claims the widow is crazy and killed Roger out of jealousy, she was driving back from Munich; Nathalie admits she was jealous and has no alibi, she was home drunk. Brouwer's laptop contains various suspicions concerning orgiastic and corrupt Bruges Business Club members, especially its president, sports car dealer Gerard Debusseré who is about to be accused of tax corruption. Hannelore orders gay Guido to test the escort agency under an alias, he arrests Kelly who says Nadine makes 40% on the girls- she is found below her balcony and comatose, apparently a suicide attempt at home...

Masked men take bank manager Tony Dekkers, his wife and teenage son Tim hostage in his villa to force the banker to open the vault, but didn't count on a time mechanism forcing them to wait till 9AM. The first customers are also taken hostage, but a police patrol passing by chance when they came out pins them down, cop Peter is shot, terminally, as well as hostage taker Eddy Terryn. Frank objects to Guido turning their marriage into a grander event then they agreed, also gets taken hostage and secretly sends Guido a text message, then leaves his cellphone line open so Van In can hear them. A federal SWAT team surrounds the bank. Robber chief Cel Govaerts demands an escape car or a mother and 5 year-old girl get shot, but Van In manages to convince him to release them as sign of good will instead. Federal police negotiator Serge De Koninck officially takes charge. When the car still doesn't arrive, Cel Govaerts thanks the yuppie hostage who betrays Frank's phone by letting him go- then shoots him in the back. The robbers' escape van allows Mitch to identify Cel and Eddy. Banker's son Tim cleverly passes a hint to a classmate while excusing himself from class, Mitch follows up and discovers the Dekkers family is still held hostage by the third robber in the villa, posing as postman he gets the wife to write down there's only one hostage taker and the spot of his car, the SWAT team moves in and gets him. When the escape car finally arrives, the SWAT commander orders a sniper to shoot the masked man who approaches it- a horrible mistake...

To Guido's utter horror, Frank has been fatally shot by a SWAT sniper while dressed as the robber who sent him outdoors to check out the getaway-car, meanwhile Cel Govaerts has escaped. Arrested accomplice 'Zotte' ("crazy") Gene Bertels refuses a deal, but the other gang member, Dirk Bastiaens, offers Guido Govaerts in exchange for fixing his file enough to get off on a technicality. The federal police starts an inquest, to Van In's open anger, but their own negotiator, inspector Serge De Koninck, claims he got orders to use the sniper from the political top. After Mitch finds a picture of Bastiaens with the baker's daughter Suzy Terryn, the team concentrates on them...

During successful Brussels firm GPS Solutions's team building survival weekend paint-ball fight, financial director Willem Massart is stabbed fatally with a hunting knife. Van In behaves even more beastly to colleagues and others then ever now Guido no longer assists him, and the commissioner insists to co-lead the investigation. Suspects in the Bruges hotel which exclusively works with the survival firm are seven colleagues, the survival instructor and the waitress. There was disagreement in the board whether to sell the firm to Germans. Willem had an affair with colleague Nicky Dierckx, married to board member Herman Goossens, which Greet Van Gelder knew about. Willem's last romantic cell-phone message leads to a confession, but while Mitch and Neels get frisky and physical, Van In...

Ex-con Gerard Peeters's corps is dumped on the parking lot of one of the last entertainment establishments where he and his brothers Mon and Lei still has a contract for 'protection' obtained the old, violent way. Grudgingly Van In must admit commissioner De Kee's contacts in Brussels obtain valuable information about the Peeters crime empire crumbling since modern rival Jan Van dam took over most clubs etc. in the region and presumably had Gerard executed and dumped at his brothers' home turf. Hannelore is shocked by the brothers' threats at her person after she denies them, simply following the rules, access to the ongoing investigation. A complication is the brothers' drug dealer friend Kevin Lacoste's teenage daughter, who saw too much. Meanwhile Mitch and Neels fear they must keep their young love secret or they may be broken up...

The surviving brothers Mon and Lei Peeters ran, while Irene and Gerard's ten year-old daughter Brittany- escaped on foot to Van Dam's Latoya club. The police finds Kevin Lacoste's corpse, but Van In -still cranky because of his wife-imposed diet- wonders why he would, if Gerard's killer, have been hiding unarmed; his missing girl-friend Irene De Mesmaeker's car is found abandoned on the parking lot. While the brothers are taken to the precinct, racketeered nightclub owner Didier Mahot, again their only alibi, tells 'according to rumor' Gerard bought for 20,000 Euro a kilo cocaine from ambitious small-fry Kevin, but probably couldn't or just didn't pay, causing Kevin's death to be ordered by his supplier, presumably Van Dam, who indeed orders the brothers to get an alibi while he 'handles things' that night; next morning, Mahot is found shot trough the head. When commissioner Roger De Kee orders the suspects permanently tailed, Van Dam files a police harassment claim, causing reinforcements to be denied. Irene is betrayed at Club Latoya and proposes the brothers a deal, but... Meanwhile lovers Mitch and Carine have a bad quarrel about wanting kids but enjoy making up in bed; sensing the tension, the commissioner plans a team-building dinner.