At 9.30am in the Grande Salle of Paris's historic Palais de Justice, a story worthy of a bestselling thriller will begin to unfold; a tale of a mysterious death, international kidnapping, a struck-off doctor, cover-ups, legal loopholes and a grief-stricken father's promise to his dead daughter.

It is the story of Kalinka Bamberski, a pretty, sporty 14-year-old French girl who was found dead in bed one morning in July 1982 while spending the summer with her mother and stepfather in Germany.

The stepfather was Dr Dieter Krombach, a German GP, who admitted giving the teenager an injection of iron compound to help her tan more easily, and who was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced in his absence to 15 years in jail in France – but remained at liberty in Germany.

It is also the story of André Bamberski and his 29-year quest to bring to justice the man he is convinced raped and killed his daughter, and fulfil the posthumous vow he made her.

For nearly three decades, Bamberski, now 73, has waited for the day when he would see Krombach, now 75, in the dock to answer the many unanswered questions he has over Kalinka's death.

The 16-page German autopsy report told of an injury to her genitals, blood on her leg and a "white substance" in her vagina. There were also injection marks on her arms, right leg and thorax. However, Krombach was not questioned about the findings.

Three years later when Bamberski demanded an autopsy in France, it was found Kalinka's genitals, kidneys and rectum had been removed, ruling out further tests. The organs have never been found.

By the time Bamberski received the autopsy report, the German authorities had closed the case and concluded there was no foul play.

Bamberski concluded otherwise; he became convinced his daughter had been raped and murdered.

Since then he has waged a relentless campaign to have Krombach brought to court. By 1995 he had amassed enough evidence to persuade the French courts to try Krombach in his absence. Despite conviction and sentence, the German authorities refused to extradite him.

So Bamberski continued his campaign. Using private detectives, sympathetic locals and supporters of his campaign "Justice for Kalinka" he made sure he knew where Krombach was living and working – and that the doctor knew.

In 1997 Krombach pleaded guilty in a German court to sexually abusing a 16-year-old patient after sedating her, and was sentenced to two years in jail. He was banned from practising, but after his release continued until jailed for 18 months in 2006 for operating without a medical licence.

It seemed as if Bamberski's quest would fail. In 2012 the case would have reached the date of "prescription" as it is known in French law; the date beyond which no legal action could be brought in France and, worse, the date when Krombach could sue Bamberski for defamation.

Krombach had already successfully sued Bamberski in Germany and been awarded about £150,000 by a judge.

But in October 2009, Krombach was abducted from his home in Bavaria, bound, gagged, driven across the border and left in the street outside a courthouse in Mulhouse, eastern France. Bamberski was arrested and charged, but he has strenuously denied any involvement in the kidnapping.

However, the French case against Krombach was reopened. For the past 18 months French investigators have been re-examining the evidence and on Tuesday the findings will be heard in Paris, with new witnesses.

Even though Krombach has reportedly refused to answer the French investigators' questions, Bamberski is optimistic that justice will finally be done. "The relief will only come when the verdict is given," he told his local newspaper. "Waiting is a time of great tension, but I have long got used to that and before there wasn't hope, but now there is."