by Giles Ekins
THIRTY-EIGHT
Task Force Salford
Even a DCS screaming down his mobile phone is not going to get the lorry moved out of the way any quicker.
DCS KELLICK’S JOURNEY ACROSS THE PENNINES from Manchester to Whitburn on Sea on the coast of Yorkshire took far longer than expected and he fretted every minute of delay, every mile of the route.
The Task Force were now certain that even if Charles Chilton was not the Headhunter, the killer would be found amongst the forty-seven various performers and crew of the tour. But Kellick desperately hoped it would be Charlie Chilton. Kellick of the Yard arrests the Headhunter, the headline in all the papers should read. Of course, the DC who made the connection would have to transferred out of the task force, Kellick was not going to allow his glory to be diluted by a mere DC, unless of course the lead proved false and then she would carry the can, what else are DCs for, especially female DCs, if not to take the fall for a DCS?
He checked his watch again as the traffic crawled across the M62, an articulated lorry from Bulgaria had skidded and overturned blocking all three lines and hard-standing, spilling its load of heavy industrial machinery all across the highway and hard shoulder. Another lorry had then ploughed into the wreckage causing more blockage, thankfully, although shaken up, neither driver was hurt but even a DCS screaming down his mobile phone is not going to get the wreckage moved out of the way any quicker and the traffic was so far backed up behind the accident that Kellick could not even get to a junction and get off the motorway to take another route. After nearly two hours of seething frustration and impatience, one lane was finally opened and the long tail back of deadlocked traffic slowly inched forward.
Once clear of the blockage the convoy moved at speed along the M62 before turning northbound onto the M1 and then eastwards on the A64, towards York, the coast and an unsuspecting Charlie Chilton.
Meanwhile Nkoya Adebayo continued with her diligent searches and now googled Charles Chilton, surprised at the number of hits that came up, page after page Working through the hits she came up with far more information than she actually needed or wanted; that his middle name was Haydock - Haydock? That his date of birth was 23 May, his place of birth, Collierstown in County Durham, schools attended, his professional career as a stage magician and illusionist under the name of the Great Santini, stupid name, his teenage appearance on Tyne Tees Television, his appearance earlier in the year on the ‘Wonderful World of Magic’ together with all the outraged press his act had generated.
On a hunch she googled ‘Wonderful World of Magic’ and discovered that the show was recorded at the Granada Studios in Manchester. Manchester! She felt a surge of excitement, she knew the date the show was broadcast, but when was the show recorded, that was the issue? She could feel it inside, instinctively Koy knew she had unlocked the mystery and made the connection between the Salford murders and the four others.
A quick call to the studios soon revealed that the show had been recorded on the same day that Sheila Anne Dudley had been murdered. The noose was tightening about Charlie’s neck. Elated she took her discovery to Dave Thornton, again feeling sidelined when he said that he would be the one phoning Kellick.
Thornton phoned Kellick with this latest intelligence, giving the DCS the impression that it was he who had made this final connection rather than Nkoya Adebayo. There could now be little doubt the Charlie Chilton was the killer. Or at the least, somebody on his team, other detectives investigating the Billy Boston tour had established that in addition to Charlie and Selene, he had two road crew known as Keith and Jon, second names unknown, who drove an Iveco van with ‘Charles Chilton with Selene’ logos to the venues. The number of potential suspects was now reduced to four. But Kellick desperately wanted it to be Charlie.
Once again by use of the siren they cleared a traffic jam on the outskirts of York and turned onto the A165, the road to the east coast and sped, ever closer towards Whitburn on Sea.
Kellick of the Yard rides again, triumphant and omnipotent.
THIRTY-NINE
Whitburn on Sea, night.
‘I’m sure it is going to be a good one Charlie, totally memorable.’
DCS DAVIDSON KELLICK WAS NOW only 7 miles away and travelling fast, for once the A171 north from Scarborough was relatively clear of traffic, and he urged Pc Bill Cleverley, his driver , to speed up and try to make up lost time, near Malton there had been road works which slowed traffic down to a single lane and then they had hit another long crawling tail back of holiday traffic, cars towing caravans all heading to the coast for the weekend. A journey that should have taken no more than 3½ hours had stretched to almost 7 hours and Kellick’s simmering frustration had erupted into a torrent of abuse aimed at all and sundry. He was not in a good mood.
‘I’m sorry, Selene, truly I am. Sorry.’ Charlie said contritely, wanting to take her hands in his but she kept them to held tight to her flanks. There was nothing in her eyes or face to judge her temper, nothing to gauge her state of mind.
They were in the dressing room in the Seville Theatre getting ready for the nights show. Where she had been since leaving the hotel she did not say and Charlie did not ask. She just appeared at the dressing room in good time to make up and dress for the show. She was distant but then she always was somewhat remote and Charlie could see no discernible change to her demeanor; no anger, no hate, no revulsion. Nothing.
‘No, no forget it,’ Selene answered, ‘Mr. Tchort has said nothing about it, what happened, happened, no need to say sorry.’ But you will be sorry, Charlie, believe me, you will be.
‘But the act, Selene, the illusion, the guillotine, will the trick still work, he said it wouldn’t work if …if?’ he asked anxiously, it was all very well for Tchort to say he would re-assess matters at the end of the tour but what if the trick did not work?
‘Don’t worry, Charlie, everything will go exactly as planned.’ Exactly as planned. ‘Now finish getting ready, we’ll be on soon.’
Selene was as usual wearing only her G-string, but Charlie felt no desire or lust for her, he could not even bring himself look at her. His shame and self-disgust hung round his neck like a dead albatross, made worse by Selene’s apparent indifference to her rape, he’d rather she swore angrily, attacked him, slapped his face, vilified him, spat at and cursed him – no, perhaps not curse him, bad idea, no idea what she might turn him into – throw things at him, kick him in the balls, something, anything, any sign of emotion, but no, nothing, she carried on as before, as though nothing had happened. She finishes applying her make-up and lifts her long dress over her head and it slithers down her body in a cascade of white Shantung silk. Charlie takes a quick drink from his bottle of JD and so does not see the anticipatory gleam in Selene’s eye as she turns away from him to finally adjust her hair.
DCS Kellick finally arrives at the Whitburn on Sea main police station. He had phoned ahead to Superintendent George Glaisby and arranged for a team of detectives to be available, as much as he would have wanted to, he could not simply waltz into Whitburn, arrest Charlie Chilton and the others and drive away again, he had to work in conjunction with the local police. He would need their cooperation, an interview room for an initial interrogation of the suspect, or suspects, an incident room, and most important of all, a briefing room so he could announce his triumph to the press. He had already tipped the wink to a tame journalist and the press would here by the dozen the following morning, TV crews alerted so that they would film Kellick leading his prisoner out to the police cars to be taken back to Manchester to be charged with the five Headhunter murders.
Kellick could almost taste his success and it tasted very sweet. Very sweet indeed.
The theatre was full, eager and anticipating. Benny Marsden could not remember the last time the Seville Theatre had had a full house, probably never, although he had seen an old play bill that showed that Gracie Fields had once played there, maybe she had pulled them in, but never in Benny’s time had there
been such a house, even the de Vale sisters ought to be pleased. But then no, he doubted it; they would only point to this night and demand a full house every night in future. Some hope, sisters.
‘Gentlemen,’ DCS Kellick announced to the assembled Whitburn officers, a hastily convened mix of a dozen or so plain clothes and uniforms, Whitburn was not a large station. ‘I am DCS Kellick from Scotland Yard, the head of Task Force Salford, investigating what are somewhat distastefully known as the Headhunter killings.’
Typically Kellick does not introduce the other members of the Task Force who had accompanied him, nor does he ask the names of any of the assembled officers. This is the Davidson Kellick Show.
‘As I am sure you know, there have been five such killings to date, in Manchester, Skegness, Llandudno, Buxton and Hull…’
Alison Wonder was on stage, she put on a fair show, she had grown in confidence and her performances had improved considerably over the length of the tour, so much so that the promoter, Hector Ricciardo was trying to set up another record deal on a different label and get her second billing on a continental tour he was putting together, headlined by the band ‘Wages of Sin’.
‘Five minutes, Mr. Chilton.’
‘Thanks, Jack… We’ll be right there. OK. Selene, let’s make it a good one.’
‘I’m sure it is going to be a good one Charlie, totally memorable.’
‘Aye, that’s the spirit, memorable.’
Charlie takes another quick drink, opens the door of the dressing room and ushers Selene out, trying to put an arm around her shoulder as she passed but she shrugs him off, not deigning to look at him, an imperious ice-queen. Fair enough, Charlie thinks. ‘After all, I suppose I did rape you earlier this afternoon’ and so he leads her down the corridor towards the stage, feeling strangely buoyant despite the chill surrounding Selene. He carries an almost full bottle of Jack Daniels.
It’s show time.
FORTY
Whitburn on Sea, later that night
I feel confident that the Headhunters reign of terror is at an end and I want it wrapped up tonight, nailed down tight. Tonight.
‘THERE IS A PATTERN TO THESE KILLINGS, not just in the brutality of the killings and the taking of the heads, but a geographical, logistical pattern. One constant link. At each of the murder locations, with the exception of Salford, which I shall deal with separately, the Billy Boy Boston, whoever he might be, the Billy Boy Boston tour was in town at the time of the murders. I might that this link was blatantly obvious and should have been picked up much earlier, before I was assigned to the task force, in fact. Pretty shoddy work all round in my view and my eventual report will obviously reflect on this. In particular we are interested in…’
Keith was waiting in the wings as usual but he did not speak or even look at Charlie, but he gave it no further thought, he was pumped up like a boxer waiting to enter the ring, feeling nauseous, always a good sign, better still if he vomited before a show, then he knew it would be a good one. Billy Boy Boston was standing by the opposite wing and gave Charlie the finger but he ignored it, he was too hyped on adrenalin to give it any mind. This was going to be the show of shows. He takes another quick drink and passes the bottle to Jack the stage hand. ‘Hold this for me, will you Jack, thanks.’
‘I can’t hold it Charlie, got things to do, I’ll put it down here, OK?’ placing the bottle on a small console table by the wings on which stood other bottles, bottles of water and energy drinks, cans of cola and lemonade and 3 bottles of John Smith’s Bitter in a cool bag.
‘Aye, sure, no problem, thanks Jack, keep an eye on it mind, don’t want it to go walkabout, you know what I mean.’
‘Don’t you worry, Charlie, I’ll make sure you’re the only one as makes it disappear. Have a good one, now.’
‘Aye, thanks, got a good feeling ‘bout this one.’
Eddie Puttock, back as MC stood centre stage, allowing the excited buzz to die down, holding the audience in suspense before announcing Charlie and Selene ‘Ladies and gentlemen, for your surprise and amazement, the act you have all been waiting for…
‘Charles Chilton has been a constant presence on the tour and the victim in Skegness, Sandra Worthington, was seen leaving his dressing room the night of her murder…’
Charlie’s twenty-five minute set consisted of three illusions prior to the Devil’s Guillotine. To open the act he performs the ‘Zig-Zag box illusion, a fairly standard illusion and one that is regularly performed on stage and television and is a good warm up illusion, getting the audience into the mood for magic, providing a steady build up to the ’Devil’s Guillotine. Ah, the guillotine! It is already on stage but hidden behind the shoji screens but an occasional spotlight flash, so quick the brain hardly registers, begins to implant a subliminal image, heightening the sense of expectation and suspense.
Charlie takes Selene by the hand, a cold hand, and places her inside a tall box, like a narrow wardrobe, divided into three sections vertically, each section has a door. He closes the doors and then slides steel blades, blades the same size and depth and width of the cabinet, grunting with the effort as the blades appear to pass through her body, so that she is now apparently cut into three pieces. He opens little windows in the three doors to reveal Selene’s face in the top most section, her navel in the middle section, toes in the lower section. He closes the windows again and then pushes the middle section out sideways so that the cabinet takes on a zig-zag shape.
Charlie then opens the top widow, Selene’s face appears and she gives the audience a beaming smile. Next he opens in the displaced middle section to reveal her navel which he prods with a finger so that she yelps and finally opens the lower windows to reveal her toes with red painted nails. ‘Wiggle’ he says and she wiggles her toes. Charlie than pushes the middle section back into place, withdraws the blades and opens up the cabinet to let out Selene, whole once more.
They get a good round of applause but it is given more in anticipation of what is to come rather than for the trick itself. Charlie is happy with the response and Selene has been as professional as he could have wished for.
Considering.
‘This man Chilton, and his…accomplices,’ Kellick continued, ‘known so far only as Selene, Keith and Jon, were also in Manchester at the time of the murder of Sheila Dudley. Five killings in five different towns. At the time of each killing, Charles Chilton was in that town, a constant presence and the second victim, Sandra Worthington was seen in his dressing room. Consequently, Charles Chilton must be considered the prime suspect.’
‘Obviously we are going to talk with everyone connected with the tour, anyone and everyone, which means that the show will not be moving on to their next venue until we are finished questioning them and are satisfied. Mr. Glaisby will split you into teams of two and you will interview everyone on the list. All interview notes to be collated, scanned and sent to the Task Force in Manchester.
Two members of the tour have already left but will be interviewed by their local CID. I will not deprive the good folk of Whitburn their night’s entertainment at the Seville Theatre, but I do intend to arrest Charles Chilton tonight after he has finished his performance. Thank you gentlemen, a small team, already assigned by Mr. Glaisby will accompany me to the theatre and as I make the arrests… So let us go and meet with Mr. Chilton and his accomplices, I feel confident that the Headhunters reign of terror is at an end and I want it wrapped up tonight, nailed down tight. Tonight.
For the next trick, Charlie and Selene use the fusion box that he found in Michaelmas’ workshop, the one painted in the style of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Charlie places objects in the box and makes them disappear whilst Selene makes them reappear, a simple illusion using mirrors and optical illusion but they work it very quickly, almost as a comedy routine with exaggerated looks of surprise as each try to outdo the other in object appearances and disappearances. They work it very effectively, it is fun as they spin the box around, sparking off each ot
her, it is by far the best they have ever performed it and the audience, in a good expectant mood, give generous applause, appreciative of the slickness of the act.
‘Good stuff, Selene, good stuff. That was just great, well done, fantastic’ he praises her as they take their bows.
‘And the best is yet to come.’
The best is yet to come.
FORTY-ONE
Whitburn on Sea, later
‘Kellick of the Yard arrests Headhunter Killer on stage’ what a headline that would make.
STANDING IN THE WINGS, Benny Marsden was amazed. This new Charles Chilton and Selene was a class act, slick and professional, infinitely better than the shambolic disaster that The Great Santini had ended up as. Give him his due, Charlie knew his stuff and even without the Guillotine climax, had put on a good show, as good a magic act as Benny had ever seen in almost forty years in the business. Charlie was still drinking of course, you could smell it on him but he seemed to have it well under control on stage and he was, what was the word, galvanized, so different from the drunken wreck of old, different even from the sullen Charlie Chilton who had all but ignored Benny when he arrived at the theatre the day before, shaking hands as he waited to go on stage. Good on you Charlie, you might still an arrogant prick, but this is a good show.
But the best is still to come.
As much as Charlie liked the Mis-made Girl cubes, he did not at first consider using them, he did not think that Selene would be flexible enough, but as they began to work together on putting the act together and he saw how flexible she actually was, he decided to try her. And she nailed it immediately and so it became the third of the warm up acts, the penultimate illusion before the finale, the Devil’s Guillotine.