Last Stop: Pyongyang

Huge disappointments

"Tak doesn't mean any harm," Yu-ja explained to Angelika. "He's very worried about Monika, and incredibly upset." She gave her brother a warning look.

Min-ju, who had just returned from the vending machine, handed everyone a small bottle of water. "Let's sit down. This will probably take a while."

After several weeks of absence, which Monika had spent in this pit in the forest, she was extremely emaciated and dehydrated. Even though her condition was now stable, she had suffered considerable injuries. Some of the scars were likely to remain visible.

In addition to her disfigured body, there was the mental torment. She had been locked up in this underground hole like an animal. Tak did not want to imagine the fears she must have endured!

The next day, Tak's world collapsed a second time. After all the examinations were completed, he learned from a terribly distraught Angelika that her still unconscious sister had been severely abused and r***d multiple times during her imprisonment.

Monika had only just escaped with her life. Her tormentor had left her to die and trusted that she would not be found until it was too late... or not at all.

Tak was shaken to the core. He felt a hatred for the unknown perpetrator that he had never known before. Who had harmed his girlfriend like this? These three good-for-nothings were to be ruled out - Armin was in custody and Markus had been dead for months. Frederik couldn‘t have committed this crime on his own. Or could he?

Sang-wan, who Tak confided in, was also of the opinion that several perpetrators must have been at work. "I doubt that one person could have done it alone. It would have taken him forever to dig out a cavity of this size. And Frederik can’t drive. How would he have transported the equipment?" Tak was not convinced. "What if that chamber in the forest was already there?"

"First of all, you have to take care of Monika. Now, she needs you more than ever." Min-ju, who had just arrived, interrupted her son and patted his shoulder. Speculation was pointless. Tak should concentrate on the essentials.

And he would! Tak wanted to help Monika get her life back with all his strength. He was so happy that his girlfriend had survived! Every day he sat by her bedside and hoped that she would regain consciousness soon.

***

After four long days, Monika finally opened her eyes. Overjoyed, Tak jumped up from his chair and hugged his girlfriend, but her moan made him pause. "Sorry," he mumbled and backed away.

Something changed in Monika's expression. She seemed to realize where she was and cried bitter tears. Tak awkwardly sat down next to her on the bed and took her hand.

"No," Monika shouted. She turned away and shook him off. A frightened expression showed on her face. "No!"

The nurse who rushed into the room explained to Tak calmly but firmly that he should leave now. "It's all too much for your girlfriend right now. She's experienced terrible things. Give her some time," she explained, looking at the desperate Monika, who was basically hiding under her bed covers.

Tak was reluctant at first, but left the hospital in the end. He wanted so much to be there for Monika. He had never felt such frustration!

With his shoulders slumped, Tak strolled to the parking lot. A warm wind blew through the leaves of the large chestnut tree above him. Summer was no longer appealing to him. How was he supposed to enjoy the warm days without Monika?

***

Even more horrific details came to light. Monika did not remember her k********g, but she managed to recall many details of her captivity. n***d, tied up and gagged, she woke up in complete darkness, where she remained in panic and despair.

After what seemed like an eternity, her kidnapper appeared for the first time. He did not say a word and only showed up sporadically. Monika, who had lost all sense of time in her underground prison, suspected that there were intervals of several days between his visits.

The perpetrator seemed to enjoy Monika's helplessness. He constantly blinded her with his flashlight and pulled the bonds even tighter after each r**e, which left deep, b****y wounds on Monika's wrists and ankles. But the worst thing was the fire... The pain the gag caused her was nothing compared to the red-hot iron on her skin.

She was given food only now and then. Half-starved, she drank rainwater whenever she could because the few bottles of drinking water were nowhere near enough to quench her thirst. In the end, there was nothing left for a long time – after a few visits, the criminal never showed up again.

And her tormentor... she couldn't see his face because he always wore a mask. However, Monika swore that it was Frederik. "His ice-cold, dirty laugh. His evil aura. And his smell. I noticed that at Amelie's funeral."

Frederik had had the nerve to show up at the cemetary. After all, he was considered innocent and Amelie's parents had allowed him to attend because he felt soooo close to Amelie!

Frederik could hardly believe it. A feeling of glee spread through him. These Traunbergers were real idiots. Entirely unmoved, he ignored the incredulous looks of the other mourners.

However, nothing could be proven, as Dr. Greifer never tired of emphasizing. Upon Frederik’s questioning, his father immediately stated that his son had been seriously ill and not left the house for a couple of weeks. The massive hostility from all sides had affected him so badly that he was severely bedridden.

Against her better judgment, Jessica confirmed her husband's statement. Since Frederik left his parents' property via a secret path that led directly into the forest, no one could claim otherwise. The thick ivy hedge protected him from prying eyes.

The cell phone analysis also yielded nothing - Frederik's phone had never been logged in at the location where Monika was found.

***

"Difficult," one of the investigators whispered to his colleague during a short break. "This Frederik doesn't have a job or a regular daily routine and was not seen by anyone during the period in question. Proving that he was not bedridden will be hard." Annoyed, the officer swatted a fly off his can of Coke.

"We have to keep looking," his counterpart replied. He was convinced of Frederik’s guilt. "I don't like this sleazy, pseudo-friendly behavior. So far, it's just a feeling, but I’d put a full salary on him hiding something. Without his lawyer dad, we would have caught him long ago."

"We've had him in our sights right from the start," his colleague replied, frustrated. "But he, or rather his dad, talked his way out every single time. I'd be surprised if anyone still believed in his innocence."

"Then let's go back to work, shall we?" A colleague - the only woman on the team - joined the two inspectors. She frowned. "I don't believe in this guy's innocence either. But that doesn't count in court, as we know. This case is a really tough nut to c***k. Apart from the victim's statement, we have basically nothing."

The evidence was extremely poor due to the heavy rainfall that had set in less than half an hour after Monika was found. A considerable part of the underground chamber had collapsed. With much difficulty, the forensics team was able to reconstruct the location of the narrow entrance hole in the forest floor that had served as an access.

In addition, neither the canned goods nor the water bottles Monika had mentioned were to be found at the crime scene. Monika's clothing was also missing. It seemed as if the perpetrator had removed everything that could incriminate him.

So, there was no proof that Frederik had ever been in this room, and he vehemently denied all accusations.

Instead, an investigation was launched against unknown persons. The fact that the chamber in the ground where the foresters had found Monika bore a frightening resemblance to the area in the video of Amelie's ordeal did not seem to bother anyone. The police also saw no similarity in the mutilations of the victims - Amelie had been cut, while Monika had been burned. The only possibility that was seriously considered was that of a copycat trying to imitate Amelie’s murder.

Several of the investigating officers were of a different opinion - they did not want to rule out Frederik as the perpetrator. However, according to instructions from above, they had to concentrate on the copycat theory - or on a perpetrator who wanted to deliberately harm the Traunbergers. Many valuable hours were wasted searching for possible enemies of the Traunberger family.

Bernhard Greifer, who had been close friends with the police president and the responsible public prosecutor for a long time, was happy about this development. He took full advantage of his connection to the two officials. He used his outstanding reputation to convince them that Frederik - whom his friends had known since childhood - would never be capable of such a terrible act.

"If Frederik were guilty, there would have to be evidence! The fact that nothing was found points to a seasoned criminal. Instead of pointlessly pursuing Frederik, the real perpetrator must be caught!" he shouted in his deep, booming voice. Bernhard's long-time companions were only too happy to believe him.

Finally, it was decided that Monika was suffering from delusions, due to the trauma of Amelie's death and her own k********g and a***e. It had to be assumed that she could no longer distinguish reality from a fantasy. What a devastating outcome for Monika and the Chos... This level of ignorance was frightening!