The Red Light Girls (Unsolved Mysteries Book 2) by Kim Knight (most romantic novels TXT) 📗

Casually, she stepped over the threshold and made her way over to the bar. The working girls were on the tables. They strutted their stuff in see-through heels and with little else on. A few preformed tricks on the poles, sliding up and down with ease.

Madeline felt the stares from the other patrons as she moved across the room.

“Hi there, what can I get for you?” The barmaid asked.

“Just a Coke, please.”

The barmaid raised an eyebrow and slid over a menu showing what the price for cannabis was.

Tempted, Madeline picked it up, but she reminded herself that she needed to keep a clear head—or did she?

What the hell, she thought. I need to blend in, anyway. I can just ask for a Coke, get my little stash, and then leave.

“I’ll take number five.” Madeline pointed at the menu. She decided to take a small amount cannabis and blueberry flavour rolling papers home with her for later use. God knows she needed to chill-out, after the panic of the new case—not to mention the whole pipe and water fiasco.

She didn’t feel safe with this crazy maniac on the loose.

Something must be done. A long sigh left her lips.

Madeline didn’t smoke often, in fact, back home in London, she hadn’t had a joint since her days in university, and now, in her late thirties, that was years ago. Even then, she was not much of a stoner. She wanted to focus on her education.

Landing in Amsterdam, that had all changed. She didn’t have many friends, but on the odd occasion she did go out with her co-workers, they always sent her home stoned as fuck. Madeline laughed at the last team building night she had. Even her boss was pretty out of it.

“Sure. Coming right up.” The barmaid jolted her from her daydream, then snatched up the menu.

Madeline looked around again, unsure exactly what she was looking for, or why her instinct had pushed her to visit one of the local bars.

“Here we go. That’s twenty-five euros, please.” The barmaid placed her drink, smoke, and rolling papers on the bar counter.

“Thanks, keep the change.” Madeline handed over thirty euros.

Madeline felt the barmaid eye her suspiciously as she fingered the notes she handed over. She ignored the woman and decided to roll herself a smoke.

“So, what brings you here?” The barmaid held her gaze. “I’ve not noticed you in this bar before.”

Madeline opened her mouth to speak, hesitated, and then pressed lips together. To bide her some time, she took a sip of her drink.

“I’ve been here before,” she lied. “Maybe you weren’t on shift.”

The barmaid continued to stare. “Hmm.” As she did, she nodded at Madeline. “Maybe, yeah.”

She rung up the order at the till and went to hand Madeline her change.

“No, keep it. It’s cool,” she said.

Again, the barmaid looked her over and nodded. Then placed the tip in the jar on the bar.

“Do you know Suzy?” She got straight to the point.

For a moment, the barmaid doesn’t respond. Instead, she watched Madeline, who was all fingers and thumbs as she tried to roll up her smoke.

The barmaid let out a laugh. “Here, let me.” She took the cannabis and papers from Madeline.

“Thanks.” Madeline blushed and chuckled in response.

The woman made quick work of the joint, then hand it back to her.

Madeline leaned on the bar and lit her smoke. She blew a massive cloud up to the ceiling. The drug rushed through her body, and instantly, she felt more relaxed.

“Suzy who?” the barmaid asked, “there’s few.”

Madeline inhaled on her joint again. She nodded down at the rest of her stash, then asked with a smile, “Will you roll me another one for later.”

The barmaid set to work, and while she did, Madeline leaned further onto the bar and whispered, “She was a Chinese girl—Suzy, you must know her. She worked around the city. Did she work here?”

“Oh,” The barmaid licked the rolling paper and expertly wrapped up the joint. “You mean Crystal, maybe? That’s her stage name.” She handed Madeline her smoke.

Madeline noticed a frown spread across her face as if she were in deep thought.

“Yeah, we have a Chinese girl working here. It must be Crystal.” She paused again, then tapped her chin. “Yep, it has to be. There’s not many exotic girls like her around the city. So, it has to be our Crystal. Why? What’s up?”

“Nothing, I just—”

“No.” The barmaid’s eyes widen, and she covered her mouth.

Her smoke was strong, and it took her a moment to register what the waitress had become engrossed in. She followed the woman’s gaze across the room to the large television mounted on the wall. The volume was on mute, but across the screen, Dutch subtitles showed the breaking news report.

Madeline squinted through the smoke-filled bar, then hit her joint with a deep inhalation again. Her eyes widened at the news as the information scrolled across the screen.

Finally, the police confirmed it, she thought to herself.

“Oh, my word, the dead girl found on Amsterdamse Bos was Suzy Chan,” she heard the waitress whisper.

Madeline turned from the screen back to her. “Yep. I can’t believe this.”

“She’s dead. Jesus, another one!?” The waitress whispered as she gripped her throat.

“Yeah. It’s madness. So, she worked here?”

The barmaid moved her gaze from the screen to Madeline, then she looked her up and down with a frown “Who are you?”

“I was a friend of hers, that’s all.”

“Bullshit, if you were any friend, you wouldn’t be asking me where she worked.” The waitress narrowed her eyes. “Who are you?” She paused a moment. “Are you a cop?”

Madeline panicked, she glanced around her to check no one had heard the accusation. “No, not at all.” She raised her hands to in a hush motion. “Shh. calm down.”

Madeline placed the joint in her mouth, letting it dangle at the corner. She pulled her ID out discreetly from her coat, then held it up. “I’m not here to cause trouble,” she said in a low voice, then