Death Beneath the Organ

Moritz Eisner’s first assignment as a member of a new special commission within the Ministry of the Interior—tasked with handling specialized criminological cases throughout Austria—takes him to the Arndorf Monastery in Carinthia. An international organ competition is taking place there, and a very special member of the jury is scheduled to receive personal protection. When the arrival of the Bishop—who was scheduled to open the competition—is delayed, the young organist Nikolaus Kutil steps in to fill the void. However, the spectacular opening concert ends in catastrophe: an organ pipe breaks loose from its mountings and crushes the young man to death in front of the assembled audience. Moritz Eisner and his new superior, Section Chief Schremser, are on the scene.