Chapter Text
PART I ...some long time ago
Wait, what. Has Moser just withdrawn his statement against the man he's been relentlessly chasing until he finally got enough proof – own statement being the key one? Anneliese watched him in disbelief as he assured the judge he had been mistaken to insist on overhearing Karenin's conversation over the phone and explaining there was a lot of noise for him to be sure what was said on the afternoon he arrested the man. Initially, he claimed he heard Karenin clearly report someone about the job, the murder, being done. Now, suddenly, Moser didn’t seem so certain.
Confused and worried, she tried to catch her friend’s eye as he was leaving the courtroom. He succeeded at ignoring her attempt.
What just happened? Why did he call off his testimony? After a moment of hesitation, she decided to sneak out after him and find out. Something was off.
He had to be in hurry, she didn't see him anywhere in the hall. She quickened her pace. Half-running, she dashed into the office on the upper floor he shared with his team.
"What's the matter with you?" She caught being asked by Stockinger, Moser's colleague.
He looked up – first at her, with his piercing blue eyes, and then, slightly shaking his head, faced Stocki to answer him.
"Karenin is being released.”
"What? Is that judge out of his mind? With your statement?" Stocki looked at him, baffled. Höllerer – the third member of Moser's team – stood up from his chair and, alarmed, drew closer to his boss' table. Karenin was a killer prosecuted for various murders.
Anneliese kept staring at Moser, watching him intently, trying to decipher the look on his face. They knew each other for long enough for her to know he wouldn’t let him slip away from justice just like that. Something else was at play.
"I withdrew it," he replied and nervously ran his hand through his hair.
Höllerer tried to make some sense out of it all, "But you heard how Karenin said..."
"Of course I heard it!" Moser snapped at him, momentarily losing his temper. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he took a deep breath. "They've got Rex," he added, more quietly now.
"Who? Who's got Rex?" Anneliese asked softly. Didn’t he say that very morning Rex stayed at home, having a cold?
"I don't know who. Either I withdraw my statement or they'll kill him."
She closed her eyes and turned away. Thoughts whizzing through her brain runaway, she clenched her jaw, seeing two right things to do, both opposite to each other.
“W-what will we do now?” Stocki asked, still open-mouthed.
“You do know what it means to give a false statement to the judge.” Höllerer – unlike Anneliese – didn’t hesitate to state the cold truth. She was glad it didn’t have be her pointing it out.
She looked at Moser who was currently trying to explain to his friend the unexplainable. The loss of a dog who wasn’t a dog, but family. No one from the committee would possibly understand it, he said. He didn’t have other choice.
It didn’t matter what she thought about the whole thing. Because when she looked at him, she saw him drowning.
Anneliese took a deep breath and walked towards the office door. Although aware of her friends’ gazes, she chose not to say a word until she closed the door and then returned to Moser’s table.
She crossed her arms and looked straight into his eyes, “Speak.”
He blinked, thrown off balance. “I'll look for Rex by myself. My dog, my problem,” he said after a moment of hesitation.
“What do you mean your dog? He's our dog too,” Stocki objected.
“Stockinger, if they sack me because of this, I'll keep myself somehow. You've got a family,” he tried to reason with him, but Stocki kept adamant.
“I’m aware. What will we do?”
“Forget it. I don't want to drag you into it. Any of you.” Moser looked at them, pausing for a moment on Anneliese. She didn’t bother to answer, only looked at him daringly – just try to make me leave, not a bloody chance.
“Listen, Richard...” Höllerer sighed, “We're idiots who stick their necks out for others.”
Anneliese sneered, “Exactly. That definitely should be put on a T-Shirt, by the way.”
“Are we to look the other way when one of us has a problem?” Stocki joined.
Moser still seemed to want to argue, so Anneliese cut it, “Besides, two heads are better than one. Or you know... Four. So, any clue where Rex might be?”
I loved you in secret
First sight, yeah, we love without reason