Amstel Girl: Playing With Destiny

By Marco Marek

It's a quiet life in the Amsterdam's canals, but Wesley didn't know what to expect, just released from being unfairly locked away at Haan Psychiatric Hospital. He met Megan right after, a beautiful but quirky girl, and high-risk life lover.Together they will be involved in lots of intrigues, will they fall in love? And will Wes succeed in solving all the troubles these criminal have involved him?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marco Marek
• Release date: Nov 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370742103

Marco Marek

Marco Marek was born in Italy. He always had a fervid imagination and a passion for fantasy stories, medieval magicians, ancient history, and unexplained mysteries. While he was visiting a castle in Eastern Europe, he had the idea of writing Hyperearth.Apart from writing, Marco is also a painter and he likes digital artwork on Photoshop. The cover of Hyperearth is his creation. He loves traveling when he has some free time.

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AMSTEL GIRL

Marco Marek

Copyright 2016 © Marco Marek

Cover by © Marco Marek

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author with the subject line Amstel Girl at [e-mail]

All characters are fictional and exist only in the author's imagination. Any resemblance to people living or dead is coincidental.

CONTENTS

Chapter One – Finally Free

Chapter Two – Megan's Meeting

Chapter Three – Flashback

Chapter Four – Spying Edwin

Chapter Five – Briefcase Mystery

Chapter Six – Megan's Kidnapping

Chapter Seven – Revelations

Chapter Eight – Effusions

Chapter Nine – Wim's House

Chapter Ten – Monte Carlo Trip

Chapter Eleven – New Travel Mate

Chapter Twelve – Toilet Plane Affair

Chapter Thirteen – Brittany's Threat

Chapter Fourteen – Money and Diamonds

Chapter Fifteen – Kazakh Encounter

Chapter Sixteen – Astana Meeting

Author's Note

Books by Marco Marek

About the Author

Acknowledgements

CHAPTER ONE

FINALLY FREE

Today was the last day, and I had different feelings, ranging from melancholy to extreme euphoria. At the end I'd won I didn't give up as they wanted. It was hard. The psychiatric hospital was a torture for those who were already sick, so imagine how hard it was for someone as healthy as I am.

Well, they didn't think so, but I had fought with all my strength, and I had it done to get out of here. Now Edwin, the hateful nurse, came up and took me by an arm.

Come on, let's go to the office to sign the files so you can get out of here. Though my adrenaline was at the max, I tried not to react to the further abuse of power, but I did remain calm.

I would be released soon; it was useless to respond to his provocation. I would have been playing his game. I was sitting, the infamous nurse gone away.

I was waiting for Velika, the girl who took care of the intake and outtake of the patients.

She was originally from Bulgaria, and she wasn't so bad. I didn't know her age but was sure she was around forty, though she always wore heavy make-up that made her look older. In addition, she often had a beehive hair style like in the 60s, and at times she seemed to come out of an Addams Family movie.

I heard the creak of the door handle. I had memorized it, like all things here at the hospital for that matter. It was Velika.

Hello, Wes. How are you? Today is the big day. I stood for a moment in silence. I didn't feel like talking. I wasn't nervous but I saw that she was leaning from her desk toward me. I watched her smiling. She began to clap her hands and I stood like I had been electrocuted.

Hi, Velika. Yes, my life will have a good change today, I said with happiness.

Well, I need you to give me few autographs, here where I scored the crosses, do you see? she said with her usual energy. I wanted to retort by saying, Of course I see, I'm not blind! but it wasn't her fault, not fair to blame her.

I signed many times on different sheets, as if I were a music star, so she gave me my medical records. I was tempted to open them now to read all the fantasies they had written, but I stopped myself I wanted to stay calm and just get out immediately from this hell.

So everything is okay, take all of your belongings and you can leave at any time, the secretary said. I still couldn't believe it, but I said goodbye and left the room.

Julia was in the hallway waiting for me with my suitcase in her hand.

Thank you kindly for bringing me the suitcase, I said; she was one of the few nurses with a little humanity remaining. She looked around and greeted me by giving me two kisses on the cheeks, and she quickly left. I picked up my things and walked to the exit, where only a few yards still separated me from freedom.

As I walked another nurse sent me a kiss, and I returned the greeting, waving my hand. Getting ready to close the door, I noticed a person who came from the left. It was Edwin.

With one of his stupid laughs, he showed me the middle finger, and I turned to the other side, ignoring him. You bastard, yes, have a laugh, you deserve that I break that finger.

I was finally out of that nightmare and come back to life. I hated Amsterdam, my hometown, for the reason that I had been unjustly locked up in this hospital; worse, a psychiatric one.

I realized now my hatred was baseless. As soon as I watched my city, I found it contained an extraordinary beauty, and now I appreciated it so much.

I'll get the barge keys. Let's hope my cousin is at home. My parents were in Italy, where they had bought a house with land, and they spent most of their time between crops and the vineyard.

They were already living in Italy before I was locked in that famous structure, so I gave my barge keys to my cousin, to keep them until I came out.

I walked through Oosterpark. The psychiatric hospital looked out on the park. This was the only nice thing about it.

My cousin Eva is a nice girl and was a prostitute in the red light district, but she stopped before I was locked up.

Well, we're a normal family with issues, no doubt about it, but there are those who are worse than us. My ancestors, the Wooters, had a galleon and traveled the world for business.

I was nearly to Amsteldijk, where Eva lived. I always liked this road.

I grabbed the little golden lion's head on the door, and hit it three times, plus one final hit after a couple of seconds. I used to always do that when I visited her. I was excited and anxious to see her. We were always together since we were kids, and we made a good team.

Wesley, said Eva, jumping over to me.

I'm so glad to see you. She wasn't changed, still the same; oh no, she had purple hair this time. I remember she always wanted to have it, but she had never been able to, well, until now.

Come on, tell me, how are you? she asked me with an indescribable joy.

Well now, I'm finally out, thanks to you and Dr. Burg, I said. Still in disbelief, she looked at me, ecstatic.

I don't even believe that you're here, at home. She hugged me again and took me into the living room, where we sat on the couch.

Dr. Burg went to Friesland. He gets back in a month or so. If you need you can call him, here's the number.

Thank you, Eva, I have yet to feel relief from these two years of nightmare. What condition is my barge in? I asked with a bit of concern even though I knew it was in good hands with her.

Look, I was there just two days ago, I couldn't do anything, it sunk. I felt that I couldn't believe my ears; my eyes widened and instead of blood it seemed that I had fire inside.

How did it sink? It was almost new; did you file a complaint? It was insured. I fired off questions since I was seriously worried. My barge was everything to me.

She watched me and then looked down; it seemed to me that she didn't know what to say and she was ashamed. She was biting her nails, and she also played with a cigarette butt, smashing it out of proportion. At the end, she couldn't keep it in anymore and she had a great laugh.

I was just kidding! Your barge is in perfect condition, she told me. I didn't know what to say; she had fooled me again. My mouth was open. After all these years locked up in there, this could have been a near—fatal blow.

Well done. How cruel; you haven't taken into account where I was until a few hours ago, but you're like this, I had forgotten, I said with a disappointed face.

You're right, it wasn't a nice joke, sorry, but in return I kept your barge clean and tidy.

Oh yes, thanks, could we go there now?

Of course, I'll take the keys and let's go. This afternoon I don't have specific commitments, she replied, searching for the car keys. In a moment, we were already out. Eva never remembered where she had parked the car; her usual carelessness hadn't changed at all. I heard her calling me, she'd found her car. I was standing still, not following her like a dog, and I'd done well.

Um, the car is pretty clean, I pointed out.

Yes, we had rain last night. I didn't wash it, Eva said, grimacing in surprise, and once inside I was stunned.

The interior looks like a dump, my barge is the grand hotel in comparison.

Please don't look at these little things. I never have time for this kind of thing, she replied indifferently.

We always had very different habits, but we had never had big fights, and I didn't want to start a discussion over the conditions in which she kept the car.

I looked in the mirror; it seemed that a white car was following us, but I hoped I was wrong. Eva drove well, although I noticed a few drawbacks: she passed too close to cyclists, and she was indecisive with the clutch pedal, so when the gears changed the car jerked. My barge was anchored at Oudeschans, and we were about to arrive.

The car behind us, I no longer see it now, she said.

It's true, it's not behind us anymore, good thing, I said, turning around to look behind me. But I sang victory too soon: from a side street a white car came out. The sun lit up the windshield and a blinding glare hit me for a while.

They're back, but what do they want? said my cousin.

I don't know, park and when we get out to the canal, let's see if they follow us by foot, I suggested. The car slowed down, so I had the opportunity to see the two spies. Two bad faces that I would not forget, I had to remember them in case they followed us again.

They went away, she pointed out to me. I had seen they had turned left, which was perfect since they made me feel uncomfortable.

Come on Eva, quick, go straight to my boat! I grabbed her arm. We had to take advantage that they were gone so we didn't show them where we boarded. Maybe it was useless; maybe they already knew my barge location, but I preferred to be safe. My cousin quickly opened the door, and we got in.

Have you seen how I kept it in order? she said with satisfaction.

I must say you did it well, thank you. I was happy, finally at home and along with my things that I really cared about. Especially my equipment video for my work, I'm a film-maker.

I headed for the main hall. There were all my memories. I stopped on a picture of me next to a marlin, from when we fished in Jamaica; it was huge. Another photo, together with Evelyn, my ex girlfriend, reminded a particular time of my life.

Well, should we celebrate your return? Eva suggested.

You have filled the fridge? You're fantastic, I exclaimed with euphoric joy.

Of course, when I knew that you would come out, I bought some food. I imagined that you couldn't wait to come here, to your boat, she said, approaching with two bottles of beer in hand.

We stayed a couple of hours talking, then at dinner time she told me that she had a date, had to go out with a person.

Backlog work? I asked, and she smiled.

He was a client of mine. We were going out recently. However, now that I've stopped working I have more time. He insisted on taking me to the restaurant and after so many times that I've put him off, I said let's go tonight.

Well, have fun, thanks for everything.

You're welcome, I'm glad you're back, see you tomorrow.

Bye.

Eva had gone out. It was good she'd found someone nice—she hadn't much luck so far. Many years ago she was near to getting married, and at the wedding day, that idiot didn't show up. It had been a big blow for her; she took a long time to recover and decided to go to work in the red light district.

While I was in bed, the phone rang. I thought I shouldn't answer it, who could it be? But it occurred to me that it could be Eva so I went to answer it. It wasn't her. I could hear noises in the background. I could distinguish the voices, but the other noises were confused, sounding metallic. Not having an answer, I had to hang up. Well, it must be someone who dialed the wrong number. At this point, going to bed would be the best, and as I said in the good old days, Guys for today, end of transmissions.

How nice to wake up and not find myself locked up in that nightmarish place called a psychiatric hospital. It was a beautiful morning and I could stay in bed however long I wanted to. No one was here to complain to me, oh yes, freedom is priceless.

I wasn't, however, a lazy dude. I always liked to do something instead of sleep late, and what I wanted to do, was go out and meet some friends and restore my contacts.

CHAPTER TWO

MEGAN'S MEETING

I went to meet Piet a friend of mine. He's more older than me, over sixty, but we get along. He is a big man of 6' 2" with white hair, but he's cool, I call him the good giant. He had a small shop that was between a bar and a beer and liquor store—maybe he needed help. I took a walk; the cool, crisp air of spring was very inspiring. It gave me a feeling of euphoria.

Hello Piet, how is it going?

Wesley, what a surprise! It was so long that I didn't see you, he answered me with astonishment.

Yeah, I'm sorry, but I just don't get along with the doctors.

Ha ha, you never change, always with funny answers. That's why I haven't seen you. You had mistaken me for a doctor's office.

I wish all the doctors were like you, Piet.

Who knows how it would be... what can I get you? A beer? he helpfully asked me, but I wasn't happy about his proposal.

At this hour in the morning? No thanks, maybe later,

I declined the offer, but there was someone who didn't think like me, a female one. A beautiful girl was drinking a beer from the bottle. She wore a white skirt with lace inserts like her gloves, and a black leather jacket.

The amazing thing I noticed was that she wasn't wearing tights and even had sandals.

She's a mad girl, she isn't cold dressed like that? Although today the sun is shining, we are in Amsterdam, not to Ibiza. I have to say, though, that she was terribly sexy, but the people could dress as they wished; it wasn't my business.

She looked like Lindsay Lohan. She had light brown hair with purplish locks, and large blue eyes. I watched her carefully as she stood next to the bench.

Well, what are you looking at? she said in a threatening tone. It wasn't bad as a start. I would say disastrous, but I tried to fix it.

Excuse me, you remind me of someone, so I was watching you.

Ah yes, really? And who? Come on, let's hear it, she replied, annoyed; she looked like a tiger. I thought this was going badly for me.

I was in a crossroads now, and anything I said would have been an error for sure. Piet was looking at me, as if he had seen a ghost. Well, she was a girl, not an alien; I wasn't afraid and I decided to tell her the truth.

Then your tongue is sealed? Tell me who I remind you of, the girl attacked me, opening her eyes wide.

Calm down, I'll tell you, you remind me of Lindsay Lohan, I said with courage, not fearing her reaction. She was puzzled as if she'd never expected it.

Nobody has told me that until now.

Oh, there's always a first time, I said, singing victory.

I like that, I'm similar to her, capricious, rebellious, and a little crazy. To tell the truth from what I'd seen so far of her character, I was right.

You know I hated you ever since I saw you, but not now, I changed my mind, you're cute. I was surprised by her last statement, moving from hatred to sympathy so fast. Huh, she was certainly a very fickle girl.

Thank you, because before you were a little bit angry, I said with relief.

No, well, it's at first, but don't worry, I'm like this. How old are you? I would say thirty-five, forty, and I like your brown hair and green eyes. she asked me. She was a special girl no doubt, but there was something about her that attracted me. I was realizing that she could be a source of trouble—I was just out of that cage of crazy ones and I had immediately found another crazy girl. Congratulations, Wesley.

Thanks, but you exaggerated a bit. I'm thirty, and you? I answered her. She was watching me with half—closed eyes; when she behaved like this, she seemed dangerous.

Never ask a woman her age, do you know that? Okay, I'll pretend I didn't hear it. By the way, hey dude, what are you doing now? she asked me with her pedantic air. Yes, it was a bad move asking her age, but I did it in a good way. I thought her age was about twenty-five. Meanwhile, I looked at her but didn't answer; I wanted to find an excuse, but I couldn't.

So you want to stay here playing the dummy? Or come with me?

she exclaimed insistently.

Of course you don't know what etiquette is, but I have nothing else to do right now, I replied firmly.

Good then, follow me, she ordered me. I asked her to excuse me for a minute, and I went to talk to Piet, for the reason that I came here: work.

He told me to come back the next day. He had to dump a truck and couldn't be there, so I would replace him.

Let's go, but tell me your name. I'm Wesley or Wes if you prefer, I asked, trying to make friendship.

She was looking at me in a mischievous way. Oh no, here we go again.

I was watching your athletic figure, a bit taller than me. I'm 5' 8. Okay, just because I like you, my name is Megan. Come on, I have to go close to Waag, I have to do a thing."

Thanks, but now I'm not very athletic! Yes, I'm 5' 10." I answered to her.

As went out, one girl seemed to be waiting for us. The girl came up to me and handed me a paper.

If you want to know the truth about your hospital, go to this address and ask Boris. She just gave me the paper and left me breathless.

Who was it? You already took the number of another girl... good move, interjected Megan. I didn't know if her statement was ironic, but she gave me a little smile, and my doubts vanished.

No, don't worry, I never met her. She gave me this address and said that I'll find there a solution to a problem I had.

I didn't tell her that I was in a psychiatric hospital. I didn't know her well yet, so I didn't want to confide with her immediately.

So come on, we can go there, I like to play the detective, I'm also good at solving mysteries and crime stories, she replied, jumping. I wasn't surprised that she liked that genre. Well, now I had a helper who was like a mad detective but also very sexy.

I don't know whether to go; it's strange that a person who doesn't know me gave me an address to help my personal problem, I said with