STORY LINE (in english):
Essen police senior commissioner Heinz 'Haferkamp informs Claudia Bernhold and her paralyzed sister Ingeborg that her husband Mr. Paul Bernhold was killed by an unknown perpetrator. Since Haferkamp both the sister Ingebord and the family doctor Dr. Stolp thinks she, Claudia Bernhold is a suspect, he has Claudia shadowed by the police. Little does he know that Mrs. Claudia Bernhold finds a large sum of money when she looks through her husband's papers. Surprised, she kept looking and found another 30,000 DM in a safe deposit box. In her husband Paul Bernhold's files Claudia discovers a logbook and evidence of extortion, from which the money very likely came.

A map shows her a point in an abandoned coal mine. Haferkamp follows her there, but cannot explain what she would want there. He has the place searched and closes a kind of dead mailbox, there. While monitoring the coal mine, he surprises the wealthy Dr. Eckart Waarst the doctor for Claudia, who is currently depositing money in an old furnace. Mr. Waarst is silent and does not want to give any information about it. At the same time, Mrs. Bernhold also finds out that Mr. Waarst is probably being blackmailed. They wonder what her husband Mr. Paul Bernhold could have blackmailed Waarst with..

Dr. Waarst, who himself does not know who is blackmailing him, is directed by Haferkamp to Mrs. Claudia Bernhold's residence.

So, Dr. Waarst visits Mrs. Claudia Bernhold at home and tries to intimidate her, although she asserts that she does not know the reason for the blackmail. Dr. Waarst advises her to simply let the grass grow over the matter. Claudia then faints as Dr. Waarst leaves and he doesn't even know it.

Again, Dr. Waarst visits the Claudia Bernhold and her sister is there. Claudia Bernhold tells Waarst that her husband Mr. Bernhold was the blackmailer of Waarst. And many others. Ingebord her sister, says that they don't want to lose Dr. Waarst's friendship over this.

Claudia and her sister then update Haferkamp on where this blackmail matter is. And Haferkamp asks:"Are you sure he has forgiven you?" "Yes" says Claudia. "That was very clever of him" Haferkamp then says of Dr, Waarst. Claudia then shows him the map of the blackmail money drop-off point in the abandoned coal mine of her husband Mr. Paul Bernhold's that she later found..

Haferkamp then visits Dr. Waarst at a tennis club. They both sit down, order coffee and talk. "Do you play tennis?" Waarst first asks. "Yes, but i'm no match for you ... at least at tennis." Haferkamp says in return. "I am experiencing a lot of stress" says Waarst. "... in relation to the blackmailer?" adds Haferkamp. "Yes" says Waarst in return. Haferkamp is then surprised, lighting up a cigarette. Waarst had said all along that he was not being blackmailed. Dr. Waarst tells commissioner Haferkamp at the tennis club to get all the money back from Claudia and her sister.

The sisters now confide in Haferkamp and he checks her husband Mr. Paul Bernhold's trips with unexplained criminal cases. There, Haferkamp and his police assistant Kreutzer check new bank accounts and deposits every month from Mrs. Claudia Bernhold to see further what else she did to affect the blackmail situation.

The policemen also check other records and they discover a match with the' sexual abuse and 'murder of a girl three years ago. Mr. Bernhold seems to have observed the crime at the time and then blackmailed the perpetrator; Dr. Waarst. As Haferkamp questions a potential witness: a Mr. Trimke who knew Mr. Bernhold and now knows Dr. Waarst, Haferkamp says: "Waarst ... is the one being blackmailed". So, the 'commissioner tries to use a trick to lure Waarst out of the' secrecy of his blackmail to reveal the original crime and the blackmail more clearly.

Haferkamp sends in' this man who knew and worked with Mr. Bernhold, Mr. Trimke. Now, Mr. Trimke goes to where Dr. Waarst works and Trimke is 'supposed to pretend that he would continue the blackmail' that Mr. Paul Bernhold had over Dr. Waarst before Mr. Bernhold died. Therefore, Mr. Trimke sits with Dr. Waarst and through ringing telephones and other messages describes the school girl who was assaulted by Dr. Waarst and then Trimke asks: "Shall I go any further?" "What do you want?" asks Dr. Waarst. Trimke then resumes by saying: "Mr. Paul Bernhold sometimes gave me a little pocket change monthly ... DM 15,000 ... at least once?". Then, there is a slight silence.. Then, Dr. Waarst says that he doesn't have that much cash liquidity now: "Come back in the evening when I've been to the bank." says Dr. Waarst in return. "At your house?" asks Mr. Trimke.

That conversation was being tape-recorded.

Dr. Waarst awaited Mr. Trimke at home to hand over a check for the money to Trimke. Then, Mr. Trimke brings the check for the money to Haferkamp.

At the next money handover, Dr. Waarst is first discussing his school girl killing and the blackmail with his wife and his current feelings. Then, Waarst is surprised that Haferkamp shows up at his house instead of Mr. Trimke. Waarst quickly hides the money. Haferkamp tries to lead Dr. Waarst away to the police station for killing the girl. But, Waarst feels 'convicted and he finds no other way out than to kill himself with poison.'

A prostitute had already 'been convicted as the murderer of Paul Bernhold.'

SOURCE: (updated)-- Wikipedia Germany, Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
https://de.zxc.wiki/wiki/Tatort_(Fernsehreihe)#Liste_der_Tatort-Folgen
(see: 'Main article : List of crime scene episodes')
-- Book by Herbert Lichtenfeld