The House of Lost Souls

Escaped inmate of a mental home Franz Moose has been found shot dead in the forest. In the course of their investigation, District Commander Havel and Lieutenant Mareš slowly work their way through the complicated case. Havel learns from the employees' testimonies that Moose was facing trial for war crimes before he was finally sent to the hospital. There he shared his room with Kozdera, spent his time painting, and made several attempts to escape. Sometimes he was visited by a German citizen named Gebauer. Havel wants to interrogate Kozdera but the unfortunate patient gets killed before he can do so. After examining Moose's pictures, police are led to a spot in the forest, the Golden Meadow, where they discover valuable paintings, obviously hidden there by Moose. Havel and his colleagues manage to trace Ute, whose portrait they find in Moose's room. However, Ute has died long ago; her daughter Irena gives the investigators a photograph that also shows Werner, the male nurse from the hospital. It is now obvious that he was Moose's accomplice, and that he got rid of his unwanted partner in crime. When they return to the hospital, however, they find Werner poisoned by adrenaline. It seems that the case is closed but then there is a call from Mr Gebauer, requesting the inheritance left by Moose. He suggests a meeting at the Karlova Studánka spa. Havel lays a trap for the prospective Czech buyer of the paintings and the instigator of the crime. It is Alena Rýdlová, head of the hospital administration, who arrives at the meeting. (official distributor synopsis)