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1-127 of 127
- Van In delegates security for a museum visit by the daughter of Spanish prime minister Aznar to Neels, while he and Versavel suspects links between violent crimes and the security breach at that very Gruuthuse museum, where security chief Ferdinand Boedt waves a warning, while his wayward son Olivier is a next victim. Van In's fanciful acquaintance, the Spanish director of Bruges' 'College of Europe' (post-graduate EU studies) next door, is somehow connected with the ETA terrorist cell that plans lucrative and political crimes.
- Hannelore's niece Merel visits Bruges with her Chilean-born US husband Silvio Pavez, who comes direct the Dutch version 'Vagevuur' of his hit play Purgatory, freely inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet. Van In sends Versavel on holiday to make up with his gay partner, feeling he can cope without his right hand in the case of the amputated finger found in the Concertgebouw (theater) subterranean parking. It doesn't belong to Frank Lernout, the petty criminal wrongly assumed to have died in the his home's arson. To chief De Kee's fury, Van In focuses on Shakespearean drama and questions the culture alderman who invited Pavez, but stumbles onto more Chilean and Thespian links.
- Thierry Steen, managing owner of a Belgian advertising company, is murdered at his wedding, lured upstairs in the grand Bruges estate -with a secret passage- of his extremely rich, conservative father Jacob Steen, who forced the fake marriage upon the closet gay. Koen Verhelst, executive of the country's largest, internationally branched media firm Big NV, commits suicide shortly after. Pieter Van In duly mistrusts television presenter Linda Tensen, who was sent to cover the wedding and ignores her editor's veto to try proving herself an investigative reporter. It all fits a grand plot of tycoons to control the 'trias politicas' by taking over and abusing the European media. A municipal politician is drowned in his bath, having got hold and blackmail-demanded a fortune for a document outlining their strategy to control broadcast and written press through advertising, written by Ilse Beerten, right hand of Big NV owner Vincent Carron.
- Bruges chief inspector Pieter Van In, grumpy head of detectives, is even less friendly as his bank is about to foreclosure on his house due to systematic mortgage payment delays. New substitute (assistant public prosecutor) Hannelore Martens soon flirts with him, while taking an instant dislike to politically connected, ambitious veteran magistrate Joris Creytens, who invokes his experience to wave routine forensics and close cases without proper investigation. The city is hit by a wave of violent crimes, including an apparent terrorist bomb at a statue, which the mayor orders police chief Roger De Kee to give top priority, especially the theory it may link to a never solved Walloon extremist bomb decades ago. Van In's detectives team, effectively lead by his gay deputy Guido Versavel, and Hannelore, who has access to justice files, team up to look into prostitution, organized crime, shady dealings with city zoning and mob family reckonings, all linked with high level corruption and generating new crimes.
- High court justice Heydens's corpse is found in his Bruges estate, a staged suicide. His son Valentijn starts the investigation by telling his suspicions to ex Hannelore, but jealous Van In can't handle any contact between them, so she moves out a while, leaving him with the twins. Commissoner De Kee only cares for the royal visit and orders Van In to supervise security measures and wants the embarrassing case swept under the carpet, as suggested by haughty, influential notary Broos. Heydens's remarried ex is found hanging too, another apparent suicide.
- A child digs up an old skeleton on the land of a former farm, converted into a bordello, later semi-donated to a shady charitable foundation which sold it to the present owner couple, former whore Linda Aerts and the husband William she reports missing and cleared out a bank account she claims joined and has the banker compensate privately, as price for privacy. Van In soon suspects the key is the link to the murky activities of the foundation and its rich main donor's present 'executive' bordello, formerly managed by William. It turns out he's presiding a committee of notables, one by one being murdered grotesquely, including criminal attorney Provoost. Junior detective Dirk Baert opposes in vain the undercover mission accepted by colleague Carine Neels, whom he has an eye on, as resident in the foundation's smart compound for debt-crushed people, expected to 'get on her feet' by modeling with a twist. Finally it all ties back to a generation back schooldays abuse among ambitious pupils, which a hired killer is ordered to keep covered up.
- A crazy high-profile poison murder recalls the old ritual cases of the Church of Asmodeus, so far believed defunct for a generation. About to be pensioned off forensic chemist Raf Geens arouses Van In's interest, not just for spotting a usually undetected rare poison. The only trail is to the cult's mysterious master, who goes by the Latin pseudonym Venex, the only probably useful witness junkie Jasper Desender, estranged son of a tycoon, whom Pieter takes in at home, but returns on shopping mission for Hanne to his dodgy church contact and dealer Richard Coleyn, equally estranged son of hospital surgeon John Coleyn. Pieter is typically rude to pushy reporter Saartje Maes,whom De Kee imposed on his team, but isn't as irrelevant as she seems, yet way more obnoxious. Hannelore is even more moody as childbirth is nearing, but even the hospital maternity not safe for the fanatics.
- Rich investment adviser Patrick Claes is strangely reserved and uncooperative after the robbery of his expensive antique guns collection. The workaholic cares little about his wife Judith Claes-Noordervliet's open promiscuity, all the more about exclusive clients, as their 'privacy' is compromised by the real loot inside the gun cabinet: a CD with his secret accounts if illegal dealings. Later author client Olaf Asselberghs is murdered, Russian mob super client Serov posts his henchman Diego Cardoen who poses as Claes's butler. Judith is missing, actually locked in the atomic shelter, but not as short as his usual punishment for her infidelities. Van In is plagued not only by the noisy twin babies but also by his wife Hannelore, just promoted to supervising magistrate, insisting to stick her nose in at field work, which proves far too dangerous as he warned, not just obnoxious.
- Jeweller Ludovic Degroof is held up. Nothing is stolen, but a note is left behind, a letter with a mysterious square.
- Jeanine, the wife of Kamiel Persijn, is found dead, hanging by the feet bare-butt, after drowning in the Bruges canal system which is the scene of prestigious touristic boat tours for which the competing Persijn, Goeminne and Yperman family firms rival, aiming at mergers and/or a take-over of all three by a Dutch consortium. Van In soon finds members of the three families lie about meeting and motives to support or oppose the Dutch deal, for which CEO Arie Stolk had visited the Goeminne home, and a secret affair... Meanwhile Pieter is running out of time to get divorced now Hannelore has set a date for their legal marriage, so he hounds Guido to track her down...
- Ice skater Virginie Patou is found killed with a skate-wound on the head in the hall where she was training late for an international competition which owner Lodewijk Verdonck, a cousin of commissioner De Kee, managed to host in Bruges for the first time. Neels incurs a double leg fracture while rudely denying access to Virginie's fiancé Andreas Duthoo, who wanted to ride in the ambulance but is stopped for an interview by Van In and tells they were about to marry. Andreas is a former champion himself, who has a career-killing accident, became Virginie's private coach and lives with his devoted mother in a grand mansion. Virginie had consensual sex shortly before her death, but DNA shows it was with Willem Lindemans, the notorious coach of haughty Dutch champion Sylvia Arnold. Yet after Willem's arrest, Van In focuses on another... Meanwhile Van In tells only to Guido he's legally still not divorced from his ex Ann, while Hannelore is planning a fancy wedding...
- Denise Vercruyft falls to her death from the roof of her fancy boarding school where her father, wealthy former hotel magnate Gaston, is on the board. XTC is found on her, she probably sneaked out to see her boyfriend, DJ and diplomat brat Didier Verbeeck. While trying to meet his would be-ex An and get officially divorced without Hannellore finding out, Van In finds Denise's tooth on the roof: she was murdered. Actually Didier was her ex since months, but proof is found he also supplied her with XTC, which she sold on to to other pupils and even school drugs coordinator Maarten Wellens, an ex-junkie. Denise's poor room-mate Tania Janssens admits her tuition was paid by Gaston to keep an eye on Denise, who took ma Julia's side in their nasty divorce and even lied to be sexually abused and stalked by pa. Then another crime is set in motion, but Van In returns to the school itself...
- In the night of the annual police ball, a nightmare for Pieter Van In, a tango feast for his younger, impatient bride-to-be magistrate Hannelore, wealthy antiques dealer Felix Vermandere is found dead in his grand home, stabbed in the chest with a knife while reading in a comfy chair by the fireplace, by his daughter in law, Yvette, who has her own house key. She claims it must have been Nine Schwartz, his thirty year younger francophone wife since six months, who must be expecting a hefty inheritance. According to Yvette, Felix urgently expected her that night, in her mind to talk about gold-digger Nine. Van In instantly mistrusts Yvette...
- Student Debbie Wostyn (20), who was elected to play the Holy Virgin in Bruges's high-profile Holy Blood Procession, is found naked and murdered by strangulation in tycoon Armand Desmedt's Zeebruges penthouse, for Van In obviously a call-girl at work but Armand has neither motive nor alibi and denies any knowledge of Debbie, whose devout parents Theo, accountant in a Desmedt firm, and Gaby who feels stifled, seem to ignore her nocturnal business, however she was six weeks pregnant. Meanwhile commissioner Dekee insists all external communication must henceforth go trough him and Pieter's bride Hannelore has chosen a wedding date and invited her parents. Desmedt's business empire seems squeaky clean, he's married with society lady Diane and has two children. Debbie's college friend Lies claims she hid her one and only true boy-friend because of her old-fashioned parents. Next Diane is found suicided by hanging in St. Gillis parish church, where Theo is verger. Van In thinks Armand sired Debbie, he replies Diane was the adulterer, but her lover was also Debbie's- St.Gilles's popular parish priest Raf Bastiaens, which he confesses, not the murder nor asking her to commit abortion, and he does have an alibi; only Diane's protégé, procession director Adriaan, knew about the celibacy violations...
- Wealthy construction contractor Baardemaker is buried alive in one of his building sites' concrete- foundation. Van In, who still hasn't found the courage to tell bride Hannelore he's still legally married, seeks distraction in the case, also after being charged for suspect abuse by socialite pimp Stany Joengbloed, whom he roughed up needlessly during interrogation. The victim's business partner checks out, but a foreman ties the case into an old murder case, where commissioner De Kee obtained a conviction after undue suspect coercion. That can also relate to another murder, on a retired judge, found at home starved in a cage.
- Trucker M. Van Hees is found in fisherman's nets, his boss fired him only two weeks ago for secretly smuggling unspecified stuff for dodgy competitor Robert Janssens -who denies- on his Russia travels. Vladimir Petrov, in hospital badly beaten, demands police protection but can't or won't say against whom exactly; Van In gets André Bruynooghe to guard his sick-bed, but during a short absence an intruder nearly smothers him. The commissioner insists the detectives work on city hall's priority, purse-snatching in the main square, so Guido suggests they round up suspected destitute East European squatters, indeed holding stolen purses; the only one who masters English tells about a dirty business of smuggling illegals, promised passage to England by truck -Van Hees was a humane driver- but dumped near Bruges. Finally the trace of a website called Munus found on the corps leads, after laborious ICt work, to an illegal fist fight club...
- During the press presentation of a dolphin research project at the Bruges dolphins theme park Boudewijnpark, the high-profile super-rich American sponsor Barry O'Reilly collapses, dead from coagulantia- rat poison caused internal bleedings with a delay up to three days. Van In is trying to become a more humane colleague and family man, which everybody finds scarily out of character, and makes him professionally lazy but grumpy and eager to arrest suspects, starting with the park's director Willy Wuyts, who was against selling the dolphins to have the research transferred to Stanford; next contractor Pierre Declercq, who sues the park for suspending the order for a new dolphin research pavilion, and admits having threatened research chief professor Van Buiten, who later saw a man leaving the victim's hotel room by fire-escape, and driving his car off the road while he drove Barry from the airport. Guido takes more initiative then usual, collaborating closely and discretely with Hannelore, briefing her on present case and Pieter's marital past. The commissioner was on the park's board, but still not informed about its crucial plan, nor dolphin handler Jan Overlaet, even checking on the millionaire's visit and donation to the local school turns out inspiring....
- Jan Somers, the newly recruited star player of Bruges's internationally renowned soccer club's youth team, bleeds to death after a nightly hit and run while he cycled home after his former also local club Cercle Brugge's annual party. However Jan's transfer to the premier league, international Club Brugge clearly stirred a lot of frustration providing such motive as jealousy. Manager Anatole Kuypers was passed over, but claims he wasn't against for the money because moving too soon often break a promising boy's career. Motor cop John Blanckers's son Piet lost the captain's spot when Jan arrived at Cercle. Teammate Kurt Wouters fights with him for lacking respect for Jan's memory. The case despairs Van In, who is no good at untangling teenage love troubles, while every other lead runs blind, but Guido's 'gay radar' proves priceless...
- While Guido is absentminded now his gay mate Frank is away for a week to an archeology convention, a girl is found murdered during 'work' as a prostitute; she's identified as Nathalie Berghs, already reported missing by the wayward girls institute in a former Bruges convent, where another girl is soon strangled, Katrien Geerts, again with a mysterious note 'Euridice', a character from the Ancient Greek Orpheus myth. Meanwhile the precinct must share its premises with a Europol branch headed by Van In's old friend Eric Desmet, who investigates a port contraband case with his Dutch deputy Freek Keyzer, whom Van In soon mistrusts as the only realistic suspect for tipping off drug traffics so a bust the Bruges cops participate in goes wrong, and indeed Keyzer informs an accomplice about the 'Euridice killings'.
- At the victim's funeral, van In's Interpol pal Erik Desmet, who admits he's cheating on his wife Sofie with a younger girl, fails to snipe. Witness Chris Wouters, the assumed target, is taken in protection, against Guido's grain at his home now Frank is away, yet the gay gentleman soon turns the ill-mannered tomcat minx into a more amenable, feminine protégé, who even makes a pointless pass at him. Van In guesses Erik's rude Dutch deputy Freek Keyzer's password and prints an e-mail to him, apparently about the next cocaine shipment arriving on the Buenaventura. The bust fails again, to both's and Justice's frustration. The wayward girls' pimp Jacky convinces Van In of his innocence of their murder: both investigations seem stuck, till he manages to link them.
- Father Joris Brugmans, wife Linda Verhaegen, their son Tim and daughter Sarah are found poisoned at the dinner table by cyanide-based insecticide in the pasta sauce. They were known to have conflicts with several neighbors, such as Henriette Dubois who suspected one of her beloved cats to be poisoned by Linda, but close with the neighboring family of Linda's brother Thijs Fimmers, Joris's close colleague. However an announced restructuring in the multinational firm could see Thijs sacked, Joris promoted...
- Van In and his team investigate the murder on an adult web-cam model whose murder was witnessed by several customers. Van In and Hanne have difficulty balancing their busy schedules. Carine discovers that Mitch is De Kee's nephew, and soon everybody knows.