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 IOn 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
On September 29th, 2020, I had a dream. I remember standing in the dark, the only source of light falling directly on me like a spotlight. Then suddenly I heard the rustle of wings and saw scarlet-red feathers flying around me. They sparkled beautifully in the light of that 'spotlight' that fell on me. Then a man emerged from the darkness - first I saw his face, beautiful, perfectly proportioned, looking like carved in ivory. He had shoulder-length blonde hair, was at least two heads taller than me, and behind his back I could see two huge wings, of course with feathers in the color of scarlet. In the end I rose my eyes and met those dark blue eyes without pupils. Guess I paid attention to them last, because from the moment I saw those eyes in Laurens drawing, they scared me a bit. But now, seeing them up close in my dream, I was even more scared. It was as if his eyes were about to turn into black holes and pull me into their depths."Don't be afraid, Esther Moore. I'm no
By October 2nd, Esther and Leo had sorted and sent all the files and evidence to the court. Then they began to prepare for the court hearings, as they received confirmation that the first hearing would be held on October 6. Leo seemed to be way too calm for the person that was about to testify in court soon, but afer all it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone - he knew exactly what to say, so wasn't nervous. Esther, on the other hand, felt a growing nervousness, largely due to her earlier dream and the warning of an angel appearing in it. She looked at Leo with a bit of jealousy that he was so calm in this situation and wondered if Leo would have looked just as relaxed if he too had been visited in his sleep by one of the 'Scarlet Angels'.Unexpectedly, however, Leo also lost some of his peace when a rumor hit the police station about what line of defense Alair Taylor, the 'Mad Dog' public defender, had chosen.- Seriously? Is he going to make him a madman who kills under th
As Esther pulled off her shoes and jacket, leaving them in the hall, she went to the bathroom for a moment to wash her hands and face. Then she stopped in the kitchen, taking a packet of chips from the cupboard. Esther didn't feel like making herself dinner, so that would have to be enough. With a packet of chips in her hand, Esther headed for her bedroom, where she sat on the bed, opening the packet and eating a few handfuls while her eyes focused on the laptop on the desk. Finally, Esther set aside the packet of chips as she slid off the bed, then went to the desk and sat down on the chair next to it. She turned on the laptop, immediately typing in her private e-mail box address, but didn't check it out right away. First, in subsequent browser tabs, Esther opened forums and pages about paranormal phenomena, where in threads she asked others for more info on the legend of the 'Scarlet Angels'. Unfortunately, she was disappointed because the small number of people who replied to her
Upon returning from work, Leo had taken a shower, had dinner, watched a movie, a few entertainment programs, and was just sitting on the couch flipping channels. He felt that even if went into the bedroom and lay down on the bed, he still wouldn't be able to fall sleep even for five minutes. Leo was worried about Esther all the time and cursed himself that the 'Mad Dog' case wasn't quite finished yet. Of course, maybe strictly for them as detectives, yes, after all they closed the case by catching Laurens Vermeulen and proving that he was the murderer, but they still had to face trials. Even if the hearing of both of them could fit in one day, both he and Esther would surely follow the course of events. They put so much effort into this whole investigation, finally caught this psycho personally and wanted him to get the appropriate punishment, so they could testify more if necessary, so that 'Mad Dog' won't be treated indulgently for any reason. Maybe Laurens Vermeulen had a difficu
On October 2nd, me and Leo managed to complete rest of the files and send them to the court. On that day, we also learned that the first hearing will be held on October 6, that we are both likely to be questioned at this hearing, and on top of that we heard a rumor about who became the defender of 'Mad Dog' and what line of defense he chose for his client.Alair Taylor - I knew this name very well and his line of defense made me a little panicked especially after the dream I had before. I knew very well that this lawyer had a somewhat scandalous, at least for the general public, worldview on crimes committed by people who had traumatic experiences in their childhood. In general, the point is that, according to him, people who are driven to crime by suffering in childhood should not be punished as severely as unemotional psychopaths, who commit crimes deliberately, without a specific motive or simply for fun. While partially this guy is kind of right, I don't think