Batic - 78 - Freies Land

"The two of us beyond the S-Bahn. When was that for me before?" asks Leitmayr Batic, who hesitates about taking the six-hour drive to and from Traitach together. The trail in the case of Florian Berg, who was found dead, leads to what feels like nowhere, a run-down place in the Lower Bavarian border area, where a group of people who have renounced the Federal Republic of Germany and declared their country their own national territory live together on an old farm. Under their leader Ludwig Schneider, the "Freiländer" run a call center where every German who has trouble with the authorities of "the so-called Federal Republic" can get expert advice and support. The freelancers include the single parent Lene with her blind daughter Maria, Roland, Klaus, and Gustl with his sons Luis and Max.
Even the dead Florian belonged to the Freelanders. He was responsible for the bookkeeping until he had a violent argument with Ludwig and went back to his mother in Munich. Soon after, she found her son in the bathtub with his wrists cut open. The murder weapon was not found. The mother accuses Ludwig and his people. But if Florian was in the Freiländer's way and they wanted to make a murder look like suicide, why wasn't the murder weapon deposited at the crime scene? The investigations lead Batic and Leitmayr out of Munich, into a network of strange dependencies and alliances. They meet Ludwig and his people, but the interrogations yield nothing. You don't get a millimeter ahead.
They actually wanted to go back the same day, but then they stayed - as the only guests in the Traitach inn "Zum alten Boar", where the same stuffed one hangs on the wall. In the past, says the owner of the inn, Alois, the boar ate the naughty children in the village. First the feet, so they couldn't run away, and then the rest. He has a business relationship with Ludwig Schneider and a secret that he does not tell the inspectors either. At the end of the day, Batic and Leitmayr end up half-starved at a small gas station that still sells sausages from the vending machine. The next day doesn't get her anywhere either.
The imposing fence with which the Freilanders shield themselves also exists in their minds. The police status of the investigators from Munich is irrelevant. The public prosecutor responsible has long since resigned and the head of the Traitach police department, Mooser, refers to the mountains of files that have already been collected on reports of trespassing, insulting officials, driving with the wrong number plate and various supervisory complaints as well as forged documents. He doesn't want any more trouble! Prefers to stay out and eat his lunchtime roast pork in the "Alten Eber". In the resolution of this case, Batic and Leitmayr find themselves alone in the truest sense of the word.