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

dedicated to appeals, reports, and information to help uncover mysteries that needed solving. The amazing thing for Madeline was the cases and reports were not limited to Amsterdam alone. She was able to pull up and report on cases of interest from across the globe.

In truth, the move from London to Amsterdam turned out to be the best move she’d ever made. So, she decided her stay would become a permanent one, especially since Chris had captured her heart.

It’s not as if I could leave him behind.

No longer fearful that he was a dangerous man, a heartbreaker, or a deadbeat cheat, she allowed herself to open up. And as a result, over the weeks since she and Chris had reconnected, he had treated her like a queen.

She had also moved from the deathtrap of a flat she rented under her ex-landlord’s watch into a new one bedroomed flat in Amsterdam Centraal in tiptop condition. Now, two months since her move, she felt better than ever about life and the direction it took her.

Once the ducks had made it to the other side, she continued her walk around the pond. The wind blew locks of curls from her face.

She pulled her beany hat down farther, so she wouldn’t lose it with another gust of wind.

Overhead, the trees rustled, and she decided to take a seat on a bench opposite the pond. As she did, the Saturday paper—held down by a flat, circular rock by its previous owner—caught her eye.

She picked it up and glanced at the headline.

German Red Light Girls Serial Killer Revokes Guilty Plea.

She opened up the paper, panicked, and began to read the article reported on by one of her rival media sources.

How the hell did they get this?

Her eyes roamed over the article, scanning it for the main details. It turned out, Detective Janssen and her team had carried out a detailed investigation and successfully linked Jonas to eighteen different murder cases, all women living in Amsterdam over a period of a year.

Good job, she thought to herself, then continued to read.

“Oh, my God.” Her attention moved to the next paragraph. “Some were sexually assaulted but survived, while others lost their lives,” she read out loud.

Tears stung eyes and cascaded down her cheeks.

The women who had been assaulted came forward after reading about the case in De Telegraaf. They gave evidence to help build a case against Jonas, which only demonstrated his predatory nature.

His employers were shocked, and totally unaware that he had escaped from Germany three years prior. And news that he had legally changed his name came as a shock to those who knew him, even more so to the people who hired him as a property manager. They fully co-operated with Janssen as part of the case building process.

“Thank God, he’s been caught.” She looked ahead of her and stared out at the empty pond in front of her.

Madeline placed her drink on the bench beside her and wiped her eyes.

Flipping the page, she continued to read and learned Jonas was now on suicide watch. He was held in remand and waiting for his court appearances.

He had revoked his original guilty plea, claiming that he ‘said no such thing, and insisted he hadn’t touched a hair on any woman’s head here—or in Germany.’

Thankfully, the evidence from the discussions with the criminal psychologist Dr. Fountz backed up his original admission to guilt, and his serious mental instability. That knowledge gave her a sense of satisfaction.

The article also confirmed that after just twenty minutes of deliberation, the jury had found Jonas guilty of the murders and kidnappings of the Red Light Girls, as well as guilty of multiple accounts of sexual assaults. DNA also linked him to the unsolved disappearances of women and girls in Berlin, Germany three years prior, which up until now, remained unsolved due to a lack of evidence.

Madeline had given a statement about her attack to help build the case against him but did not want to appear in court to face the monster.

Her gaze moved down to the bottom of the article.

“Under Dutch law, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for his premeditated and intentional crimes, which included kidnapping, sexual assault, and the gruesome murders of several women and girls across Amsterdam and Germany.”

Madeline smiled through her tears. She recalled researching the laws, and how they applied to his case during the time leading up to his trial.

Unlike the rest of Europe, the Netherlands is one of a few countries where life imprisonment sentences, do not allow parole at any point. A sweet smile played upon her lips.

Madeline lowered the paper and felt happier.

Jonas will live out his last days in a maximum-security prison in isolation. That was her only highlight from the news coverage.

She folded the paper and discarded it in the waste bin next to her, then sat for a moment.

Over the weeks, she had used Jonas and his employers as a case study to campaign for stricter regulations for property management applications made, and the recruitment process. She had highlighted, from her personal experience of crossing paths with Jonas and his instability, and argued how better checking and monitoring practices for sex offenders were needed in positions of authority that involved individuals having direct access to residents. Not only facility managers, but for care home managers for the elderly and those vulnerable too.

Her fight was still ongoing. But it was a fight she’d continue, as well as digging deep into the cases of unsolved mysteries around the world.

One wave can make a difference in the fabric of life. With that comforting thought, she rose from the park bench and discarded her finished cup.

Tossing one end of the scarf over her left shoulder, she draped the garment over her chest, shoulders, and back. She shoved her hands into her pockets, then made her way through Amsterdamse Bos to the location where Suzy Chan’s body was found.

As she walked along, she pulled out the letter she had received from Mrs. Chan,