Stray Bullet (3 page)

He stood at the garden fence violently vomiting for several minutes.
Gotta pull myself together
, he thought as he tried to regain his composure whilst ripping off the surgical gloves that were covered in blood from contact with the decapitated body some moments ago. He recalled the PC at the front door and was relieved he hadn’t made a smart remark at the time as to his predicament.
What kind of animal are we dealing with for God’s sake,
he.  He jumped as he felt a hand touched his shoulder. Greg stood behind him holding out a handkerchief.

Still hunched over he sheepishly held out his hand in acceptance, feeling embarrassed at his reactions in the house.

“You okay, Harv?” asked Greg sympathetically.

“Yeah, just wasn’t ready for that. Messy isn’t the description I’d use to describe that scene,”
he continued
.
“Complete carnage might be more accurate. I didn’t get as far as the kitchen. Anything there?” he asked, wiping his face with the handkerchief.

“Yeah, there’s another body, female, with same sort of injuries,” replied Greg. “Forensics have just gone up there now and the photographer is busy clicking away. You’ll have to explain the lay out as you found it once we get the pictures back, okay?”

“Okay. I wonder if any pubs are open this early in the morning, I need a stiff drink!” said Harvey, still looking awestruck.

“C’mon, we’ll get something for you back at the hotel,” Greg said, helping his friend and colleague away from the scene.

Jack Shaw sat in the lounge of his countryside home. He felt he had exorcised his ghosts and for the first time that he could remember
, he felt at peace. His debt of honour to Lucio complete, he owed nothing to anyone. He felt free, free of the demons that haunted him since the death of his parents and free of his self-imposed moral obligations to Lucio.

He listened to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons on his Hi-fi and streams of emotion tore through his body like bolts of lightning. But one thing eluded him; what would he do now?

He thought of the massacre he had carried out.
It hadn’t been easy
, he thought. He recalled the rush of adrenaline that he couldn’t possibly match with the narcotics available to him. Unable to operate the handgun, he had been forced to improvise, fighting his way past Swifty to the kitchen where he used the first available knife to fight off and stab both his victims repeatedly. He was about to leave the bodies for dead when Swifty gasped for air. Jack, confused and possessed with adrenaline fuelled anger, went back into the kitchen where he found a meat cleaver. With several savage hacks to the victims’ bodies, he amputated their heads, this time leaving himself in no doubt they were both dead.

Whilst deviating from the plan, he nevertheless had completed the job. He sat and wondered what repercussions there might be from Lucio. But he felt a strange urge to do this again, a similar urge to that of taking his first hit of drugs, wanting to chase the dragon for that unrepeatable first high. He wondered how long someone could get away with similar crimes undetected. He felt sure that no one had really managed it many times without detection in the past, apart from maybe The Yorkshire Ripper…
but he was a pervert
, thought Jack with disgust.

His mind’s eye was interrupted from this droned and psychotic state by the ringing of the phone. Jack sprung to his feet to turn the music down.
I’m not expecting any calls,
he thought…
surely it wouldn’t be the police
. His mind started filling with self-doubt as he crossed the room to answer the telephone.

“Jack?” cried the voice with enthusiasm.

“Lucio. Is that you?” he replied tentatively.

“Jack, you old dog. Have you seen the paper today? You’re a genius, they’re pinning the whole thing on the crazy milkman! Why didn’t you tell me what you were planning?” laughed Lucio, obviously delighted with the result.

“Err
…
I thought it was best kept until later,” said Jack “…show you what I’m made of,” he added boldly, having no wish to reveal his incompetence at operating the handgun.

“Well you certainly did that… even Big Benny’s quaking in his boots. You earned yourself a lot of respect with my people. I need to meet with you, and soon, okay?”

“Okay, you know where I am… anytime, Lucio.”

“I’ll catch up with you tomorrow, eleven a.m. then?” asked Lucio.

“Okay, see you at ten fifty,” Jack sarcastically retorted.

Rather surprised Lucio replied

“You old dog. Don
’t miss a thing do you! Until tomorrow then; Ciao!”

Jack replaced the receiver calmly, feeling that for the first time since he’d known Lucio he had retained some control over the conversation. A wry smile replaced his dead pan appearance. He turned up the volume on the hi-fi bringing Vivaldi back to life and strolled through to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Jack was cooking a veritable feast for two that evening in celebration of his success and was running around the kitchen like a teenager conducting final preparations in advance of Lisa’s arrival. Of course Lisa wasn’t her real name, but that did not matter. He craved the company of another person that night.

He had met Lisa, or Lee as he had taken to calling her, at a social bash twelve months previously. He was instantly aware that she wasn’t all she seemed. On the outside she was demure and could easily be mistaken for gentry. However, she was actually a high class lady of the night commanding a high price. It would cost Jack £3000.00 for her to stay the entire night, but he didn’t mind. He could afford it. Besides, she was charismatic, either in love with a lot of people or a very good actress. Jack wasn’t naïve in matters of the heart. He knew she was the latter. But, she was perfect for him, available on demand and rarely unable to call at his bidding. He often wondered how many clients she had but would never ask, wishing to enjoy the time he had with her, pretending that she was his.

She was due to arrive at nine o’clock. He had prepared prawn cocktails, Beef Wellington and, for dessert, avocados lavishly filled with yoghurt. He would offer Bucks Fizz upon her arrival and a spicy bottle of red wine from the Chateauneuf estate to accompany their meal. Jack had enjoyed learning how to cook and much preferred eating in rather than entertaining in restaurants. Although he’d been with many girls, he always felt they expected too much in return. Lee was uncomplicated. She arrived, Jack paid and she did the rest… but he liked to treat her, it was his way of paying the tip or making things run smoothly.

As would be expected for a business meeting, Lee was bang on time.  She arrived in a new sporty car; a black Renault Fuego Turbo. Jack liked the car. It had a strange new style electric sun roof that seemed to extend the entire length of the car. Jack couldn’t work out how they had designed it so that each time the mechanism concertinaed the vinyl precisely at the rear end of the car consistently and without error.

He had seen the car approaching up the drive and had strolled outside to meet Lee. Like a true gentleman, he opened the driver’s door to greet her.

“Jack, darling, you are a dear,” she said in her soft Sloane accent.

“It’s always a pleasure, Lee.”  His grin broadening from ear to ear, he quietly passed her an envelope which she deposited on the passenger’s seat before taking his hand to exit the car.

The envelope containing her fee would go unchecked. She had a strictly vetted clientele, and she knew for the best part her fee was a drop in the ocean.

The only person who had tried to retain her services through trickery had been a Member of Parliament, Mr Graeme Mellit. He had vastly underestimated her resolve and she went straight to the tabloids with the story. Following its inevitable publication, Mrs Mellit kept a stiff upper lip and stood by her man, but time took its toll on the couple and within six months, they were going through a bitter divorce. Lee had not encountered any problems since.

It pleased Jack that Lee was so discreet about payment. It was the one part of the experience that he felt was distasteful. After all, he could melt women with his charm without having to resort to his bank balance for company…

He helped her out of the car as the house security lights began to show her off in her full splendour. She wore a Versace satin valentine red bias cut dress with a decoratively beaded hem held up by two wafer thin shoulder straps. It was an outfit that probably cost more than tonight’s fee and was complemented by a fairly ostentatious display of jewellery. The matching ruby Cartier drooped earrings and necklace were encrusted with diamonds and completed the outfit. No man’s eye line could not be drawn to the strategically placed jewels that hung over her shapely figure. Jack wondered why she continued. After all she reeked of money. Maybe one day he would ask… maybe one day he would propose… maybe.

There was a sparkle in her bulging brown eyes. She swung her head allowing her well-conditioned long black hair to take its place. She looked up at Jack and smiled, her pure white teeth glistening perfectly.

He helped her from the car, swung the door shut and led her by the hand into the house.

“Come on… the drinks are on ice,” Jack whispered in his finest English accent.

“Lead the way, my darling,” she purred in response.

Jack led Lee through the door and to the left past the oil painting which immortalised the Shaw family, a painting his father commissioned when Jack was five. One of his first childhood memories was being made to sit still for hours as the artist wielded the tools of his trade, a veritable task for a child of that age. He looked up at the painting as he passed through the kitchen closely followed by Lee, wondering what his mother would make of her.

The table in the dining room was elegantly laid out with two silver candelabras down its length. It wasn’t really a table to get romantic at due to its vast size. But it might have its uses later he thought. He then took the champagne from the ice bucket to make the drinks and Lee came up close to him, stroking his left arm…

“So, darling, what have you been getting up to?  You look like you’re enjoying a second wind,”
she whispered.

Jack smiled as he felt her breath caress the hair on the back of his neck.

“Well, I’ve laid a few things to rest, Lee. It’s time to put the past to behind me,” he replied glancing over his shoulder into her alluring eyes.

“That’s wonderful, darling. I was getting worried for you.”

“Really?” Jack sounded surprised, unsure whether he was listening to lip service. “You surprise me”.

“Darling, I select my friends because I like to be with them.”

Jack thought for a moment, hanging on her every word. 
Friend?  Not client?
he thought, turning to Lee and kissing her softly on the lips.

He passed her a
glass of bucks fizz “Cheers, here's to tonight. May it never end,” he added.

“Touché,” replied Lee letting her ruby painted lips make contact with the Waterford champagne flute.

During the next hour and a half they sat and fed, sharing anecdotal stories, laughing and flirting with each other. Any onlooker might have mistaken their behaviour as honeymooning newlyweds. They were relaxed in each other’s company and would have appeared inseparable. It was hard to believe Lee was currently Jack’s employee.

Once the avocados had been consumed, Jack rose from his chair and started to clear the table. Lee remained expectantly at the table, a lady of the night she may be, a waitress she certainly was not.  She felt awkward yet complimented by Jack’s unnecessary efforts towards her and sat watching Jack longingly, wondering whether or not he might be the missing piece of her puzzle.

The dress was one thing, but Cartier was only worn for the most trusted of clients, those she held in highest regard, something that Jack would be completely oblivious of. She looked around the marvellous room. The antique furniture looked like heirlooms that had been passed through many generations. In fact, they had taken years to accumulate at vast cost by Jack’s adoring mother. The glass display case was a shrine to Royal Doulton and Wedgwood statuettes, all telling their own small story. The corner cabinet, full of rare antique painted crystal glasses, far too beautiful to attach price tags to, she guessed correctly, they had been Jack’s late father’s contribution to the room…

“Coffee…?” asked Jack, startling Lee out of her perusals.

“Gosh, you startled me.  I was just admiring the room, darling.  It’s simply divine.  So… so homely,” she said with an air of caution. She wouldn’t lose sight of why she was there.

“Yes.  I could not have agreed last week, but yes. I do have some very fond memories of it…”  He looked around proudly. “Let’s retire to the living room,” he suggested, beckoning her with his hand.

Lee rose from the table, her posture that of a princess. She glided seamlessly towards Jack taking his arm and flashing her enigmatic smile at him. She held him tight and they almost merged as they found their way into the next room. The hair on the back of Jack’s neck standing to attention for the second time that evening as, with his arm draped around her shoulder, he felt Lee’s bosom find comfort pressing against his chest.

In the living room Jack released Lee and sank into one of the voluptuously upholstered arm chairs. He reached for the hi-fi remote control and brought his old friend Vivaldi with his Four Seasons into the atmosphere. Lee stood in front of him like a china doll, all twenty six years of her. She was slim, tanned and modestly endowed. She reached up towards her shoulders, her eyes never leaving Jack’s. 
Spring time
was chirping away on the hi-fi, the swirl of the violin strings had them both entranced but
she
had him truly hypnotised. Her perfectly painted nails flicked the straps from her shoulders and her gown effortlessly glided to the floor, revealing her equally exquisite silk and lace undergarments. Jack swallowed hard as
Largo e pianissimo sempre
played away sadly in the background. He reached out to touch and reassure her, his body moving towards her, his head at waist height, his tongue finding her navel.
I’ll be doing the treating tonight,
he thought. Confused, she resisted him at first, but he was firm and would not take no for an answer.