Murder in Vienna

Chapter 7 - True crime podcast recommendation

The sun was slowly setting, colouring everything golden. It was almost six pm as i sat down in the tram. I studied the records all afternoon, again and again, and came to the conclusion that there was something wrong with it.

At the evening of the murder, the timestamp made a sudden leap from 10.03 pm to 10.23 pm. Between this short timespan, there were no recordings of the elevator, the staircase and back exit or the entrance.
I wasn't sure if it was only a defect, nothing to worry about - or something that could reveal the murders identitiy and therefore was cut out precisely.
It was the exact time between Alex's and Shireen's murder and some minutes in which the killer probably escaped. Someone had to manipulate the records, right? The cancellation was so sudden and clean that it couldn't really be a coincidence.

The artificial voice of a woman, announcing the next stop, pulled me out of my thoughts and I quickly stood up to not miss the station. A little nervous, I walked through the streets and approached the café. The lights were switched on everywhere and Vienna looked beautiful, even more so than during the day. There were still lots of people out and about, laughing and taking photos.

A warm light was also switched on in the café, which fell through the windows to the outside.
I recognised a young black man and a pretty blonde woman who were probably Tony's colleagues; they were putting the chairs neatly at the empty tables. I stopped for a moment and savoured the silence. A gentle breeze blew and rustled through the leaves of the trees, some of which had already turned a reddish orange colour.

"Joyce!" Tony came out of the shop door and waved. He was no longer wearing work clothes, but simple jeans, a black jacket and a grey shirt. He turned to his colleagues again and said something, to which they both replied and grinned at each other. Tony seemed to roll his eyes in annoyance and closed the door behind him before walking towards me. "I wasn't sure if you were really coming," he confessed.

"Why would I have lied?" I shrugged my shoulders with a grin.

"To not upset a pushy waiter?" A mischievous grin appeared on his full lips. "I know how terribly scary I can be in my work clothes."

That made me laugh. "Oh, especially with this apron."

He nodded seriously and then laughed too. "It's nice of you to come. First of all, we have to see the parliament, it's always lit up in the evening, and then the town hall!"

I followed him curiously through the streets and took a few photos. Tony was a great city guide, he knew an amazing amount about the buildings and when I asked him, he told me that he had once worked for a travel organisation that offered such tours when he was a teenager.

"This is incredible!" I exclaimed when we finally arrived at the Maria-Theresien-Platz, which connects Vienna's art historic museum and the natural history museum.
It had become dark by now and small lamps illuminated the impressive building. In the centre of the square, which was planted with neatly trimmed lawns and hedges, stood a huge statue of the Empress Maria Theresa. She was sitting on a throne, surrounded by important people. It was impressive and at first my mouth fell open.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Tony smiled and looked up at the statue a little proudly. "It was unveiled with a grand parade in 1888, on the day of the ruler's birthday, although she was no longer alive at the time. Caspar von Zumbusch worked on it for a total of thirteen years."

"That's a long time..." I followed him to the other side and took more photos. "It must be really great to live here. Surrounded by such impressive buildings and monuments."

He laughed and looked at me with eyes that gleamed with amusement. "That's what the one from England says?"

I smiled. "It's very different there to how it's shown in the films. Not necessarily better."

"I've never been there." He dropped onto a bench and looked at me questioningly. "What's it like?"

"Phew." I sat down next to him. "It's noisy there. Everyone's rushing around all day, the air smells of exhaust fumes and it's raining day and night."

"Big city," Tony commented, nodding slowly. "Not for me."

"I grew up there, but I'd also prefer to live in a quieter neighbourhood," I confessed, gazing thoughtfully at the cloudless sky. It was already so dark that you could see a few stars.
"Sometimes it's as if you can't breathe because of all the people..."

"That really doesn't sound healthy." You could hear the grin in his voice and I smiled a little embarrassed. "Sorry, I'm talking rubbish. I just have a lot on my mind at the moment."

"Are you a writer?"

I looked at him in surprise. "A journalist. Where did you..."

"You talk like you would in a book and you kind of seem like one." He raised his hands hastily. "In a good way - different, but good."

"Well, I'm relieved." I leant back and glared at him.

"And what exactly brings you to Vienna, where you've never been before?"

"A piece of research..."

"About what exactly?"

I remained silent. "It's about... a murder."

He looked at me perplexed. "A murder?"

"Yes." I turned my gaze back to the statue.

"And... what kind? A recent one? You're not going to tell me that you're in contact with a serial killer who's up to mischief here?"

I had to laugh. "No. It's a closed cold case. A cold case is-"

"A case that hasn't been solved but has been filed by the police." He nodded and now I was the one who looked surprised.

"It may not seem like it, but I like to listen to true crime in my spare time." He winked at me.

"And what's your favourite podcast?"

"A German one, it probably won't tell you much, but it's called Mord auf Ex. Translates to murder on ex."

"Like, ex-boyfriend?"

"No, more like having a drink on ex." He grinned and I shook my head. "Why am I not surprised?"

"It's really good," he said. "I'd say give it a listen, but I don't think you'd understand a word."

"I took German in high school," I protested.

"And do you remember any of it?"

"Not really..."

We were still out until almost ten o'clock. Tony showed me the Volksgarten, the town hall and the Burgtheater and I had to promise to come and visit him in the café again in the next few days. Mainly because he wanted to know more about the murder, as he admitted, but he also assured me that it was about 40% about my company. And that was already a success, Tony declared. When I finally got back on the tram and left the inner city behind me, there was a smile on my lips.