The next day, all the test results from the laboratory came to the police station. As Leo and Esther had predicted, the DNA taken from Laurens Vermeulen matched the samples collected from the victims' bodies, and so did the tooth marks. So it was already certain that this man was the 'Mad Dog', and his testimony with admission to guilt was only a confirmation and a great help. It all also made the success of the 'Amazing Duo' even more visible. There was a lot of congratulations and a substantial bonus of course, besides, the television asked for an interview with detectives who solved the 'Mad Dog' case. However, neither the Chief of Police, nor Esther and Leo had a desire to do it. However, it was written about them on the internet and in newspapers, there was talk on radio and television too. The whole of Cardiff has been talking about the case nonstop for the past several months, so no wonder that catching 'Mad Dog' triggered such a reaction. Even a few foreign media picked up o
The next day, September 23rd, Esther and Leo were preparing files to be sent to the court, the prosecutor's office and the defense attorney attached to the accused Laurens Vermeulen. Preparations for the first court hearing were underway and each party had to familiarize themselves with the evidence. Towards the end of the evening, the police station grew a little calmer, so then Esther decided to do what she had been thinking of for several days - somehow imperceptibly sneak to the cells and talk to Laurens Vermeulen. Tomorrow, he was to be transferred to a pre-trial detention center located closer to the court building, that's why she only had a chance today. She went into the cell room and greeted the two officers who sat at their desks watching over the detainees.- Welcome, detective Moore.- they both replied almost simultaneously. One of them, Esther knew very well, he had been hitting on her once, but she clearly rejected his advances. This time, however, Esther decided
For the rest of the evening, Esther and Leo did the paperwork, closing the 'Mad Dog' case. Of course, there were also court hearings awaiting them, but that was a formality. After being summoned, they will appear in court, answer questions, confirm everything in the investigation files, and that's it. Then they could get ready to accept the next case.However, Esther couldn't concentrate on her work, thinking constantly about what Laurens Vermeulen had told her about the 'Scarlet Angels' and what she had seen in the drawing. While Leo was busy, she took out a piece of paper with a drawing, and on it's back wrote the names of the angels Laurens had mentioned and their supposed positions in the 'squad', if you could call them that. She also made notes about how the female angel, Saraqael, was eager to complete the mission because she didn't believe in human justice, and male angel, Rathanael rushed her so they would disappear before people saw them. It showed that the 'Scarlet An
On September 23, I finally decided to implement my plan to talk to 'Mad Dog' without being noticed by others. I had already checked who was on the shift, guarding the cells at the station, and seeing the familiar name I was glad. On that day, an officer was on duty, with whom I was already working on guarding cells, shortly after I was hired to work at this police station. Thanks to the fact that I started working in this position, I knew very well how the monitoring program works, which showed the image from the cameras. I knew that this program was old and crashed frequently, and according to my information, no one has changed it so far. That's why I already knew what to do so that no one would notice on the recordings that I was talking to 'Mad Dog'. Yes, it was doubtful that anyone would want to check the video from the whole day, if of course there were no reported problems, but I preferred not to risk. The plan was to look into that part of the station and suggest to the
The next day, September 24th, 'Mad Dog' was taken to pre-trial detention, where he would wait for the first hearing, which was scheduled for a next month. Esther and Leo received the summons to it on the same day, afternoon. In the next few days, they were already working on another case, but a much lighter one. It seemed that the Chief had handed it over to them so they would take a break from more serious investigations, maybe it was even another 'award'. In any case, regardless of the Chief's intentions, they both could catch a breath, and especially to relax mentally. Both Esther and Leo had to admit that the 'Mad Dog' case had exhausted them mentally and chilling out a bit would certainly help them.However, Esther was unable to completely relax as she had her little private investigation on mind. First, she called her grandmother and asked if she knew more about the 'Scarlet Angels', but Eloise Moore told her nothing more than what she already did when Esther was a child.
When Leo was in his apartment, sleeping quite deep already, he suddenly heard the phone ringing, then woke up and with his eyes half asleep noticed that it was a call from the pre-trial detention facility that 'Mad Dog' had recently been sent to. The clock showed it was exactly 5 minutes past midnight.- Is that some new 'devil hour' or what?- Leo asked himself, and picked up the call.- Hello, this is detective Leopold Evans, what is it?- he said, putting the phone to his ear.- Good thing that at least you picked up a call, detective Evans.- said a male voice, clearly nervous.- The arrested Laurens Vermeulen, who is staying in our facility, woke up 20 minutes before midnight and started throwing around the cell. When the guards got to him, he talked something about someone attacking him. We checked the cell and nearby area, but no one was there, and he lives alone in the cell.- the man explained a bit calmer.- He asked us to let him talk with detective Moore, but I
On September 24th, 2020, Laurens Vermeulen aka 'Mad Dog' was transported from our police station to the pre-trial detention building, where he was to wait for the first court hearing. I watched with Leo as the officers packed him into the police car, handcuffed on both wrists and ankles, then drove off. However, it was not the end for me. I learned a lot from 'Mad Dog' but had no idea if I could believe him or not. That is why, for the next few days, I spent every spare moment at the Cardiff Central Library. It was a huge place, full of books and publications new and old, also written in Welsh, so I was hoping to find more information on 'Scarlet Angels' somewhere. I was especially interested in the fifth floor, which housed the Cardiff Capital Collection from Books on Cardiff History, the Wales Collection from Books on Wales History and Welsh-language publications. At this point, I was glad that my grandmother put a strong emphasis on learning the Welsh language, because now I
Laurens was lying down on the bunk in the cell, hands clasped across his belly, and was staring at the ceiling. The scratches on his back from yesterday's attack still hurt him, but he was a tough guy and wasn't going to lay on his stomach all the time. Even as a child, he experienced worse torture and pain than this. All in all, the good thing about being here was that he could finally drown calmly in his thoughts. Laurens remembered childhood, then adulthood and wondered how his fate would have turned out if he had a loving mother, a father or met a girl who would really love him. He knew very well that most people would not understand what he was doing. For them, Laurens was a dangerous psychopath who raped his victims, then mutilated and killed them. A 'Mad Dog' who bit off bits of their flesh. It did not matter what sentence the court will decide on, the public have already judged him and demanded the most severe punishment. But was the public so full of hatred in every case of
Laurens was ushered into the meeting room and seated at a table where a fairly young man in a gray suit, white shirt, and black tie was already seated. He was slim, with brown hair and eyes, and his features were delicate, almost feminine. Laurens suspected it must have been some young trainee sent here as a replacement, because he couldn't believe the real attorney could look like that. When the man stood up for a moment to greet him, Laurens noticed that he was also not very tall, and certainly shorter than him for at least half a head.- Hello, Mr. Vermeulen. My name is Alair Taylor and I will be your defense attorney.- the young man said in a surprisingly very masculine, low voice, not matching his appearance at all.- I have photocopies of the most important file documents here...- he continued, opening the leather briefcase, already lying down on the table.- I'm sorry, maybe that's a stupid question... And no offence, Mr. Taylor... - Laurens interrupted.- But how old