Eventually, there was no movement at all. Melissa gasped, ‘Is that it, Jimmy? Is he dead?’
Observing this pathetic struggle for life, Jimmy Wade was now laughing maniacally.
As Fred Barnes crawled slowly back across the dirt floor, away from Jack Williams’s body, Wade turned to face Melissa and said triumphantly, ‘There you are, Mel. Didn’t I tell you one of them would do it?’
He laughed and continued, ‘I’ve got to say, though, I always thought it would be fat Fred who died.’
Melissa said nothing and just nodded quietly.
The two of them had been coming out to the stone building at frequent intervals throughout the night. As soon as Wade noticed Williams had dropped into a fitful sleep, he’d fetched Braithwaite. He knew Barnes would attempt to make the most of the opportunity.
Wade turned to Braithwaite and said, ‘It’s your turn now.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I want you to experience that special moment for yourself.’
‘What moment?’
‘That moment you only get when you see someone’s life force leave their body. It’s so beautiful. I want you to experience it at least once in your life. Come on.’
It was the moment she’d been dreading.
She had always known that sooner or later, Wade would insist on her taking an active role in killing. Inside, she shuddered at the prospect, but she also knew there was no choice.
She knew if she didn’t carry out Wade’s instructions immediately, without argument, it would mean her own death at the hands of the psychopath.
Barnes would be killed anyway, and she would have died for nothing.
Meekly, she followed Wade to the door of the outbuilding.
Wade unlocked the padlock, and they both stepped inside the small, cramped space.
As soon as they walked in, Barnes said triumphantly, ‘I’ve done it, Jimmy. He’s dead.’
‘Good for you. I knew you had it in you. I don’t think it’s fair that Jack’s alone on the other side, though. I think you should join him.’
Before the injured man had a chance to speak, Wade grabbed him and pinned him down on the ground. He sat astride Barnes, facing the open door, and said, ‘Come on, Mel, it’s time. Kneel down facing me and put your hands around his throat, like I told you.’
Almost trancelike, Melissa Braithwaite did as she was instructed.
Kneeling, she faced Wade. Her knees were almost touching the back of Barnes’s head. Reaching down, she slid her small hands around the fat neck of the struggling man.
‘My hands are too small, Jimmy!’
‘Just squeeze his windpipe! You don’t need to put them right around his neck. Do it now!’
Stunned by the anger and urgency in Wade’s voice, she instantly adjusted her grip. Her small hands began to squeeze the windpipe of Barnes.
Immediately, Barnes began to struggle harder, as his airway was blocked, and he couldn’t breathe. His eyes bulged, and he began to make strange gurgling sounds as he was slowly throttled.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and Wade was knocked forward into Braithwaite. She fell back, losing her grip on Barnes’s throat. The fat nurse remained on his back, gasping for air.
Jack Williams had punched Wade on the back of the head and was now trying to follow up the attack. He shouted, ‘Come on, Fred! You’ve got to help me!’
Barnes still lay on his back, desperately trying to draw air into his lungs through his crushed windpipe. He could barely breathe and was in no position to help Williams.
Initially shocked and stunned by the attack, Wade quickly realised that the two men had tricked him. Williams was still alive. Regaining his composure, he turned and punched Williams hard in the face.
Barnes remained on his back, gasping for breath.
Wade easily overpowered the man whom he had wrongly assumed was dead. He landed a flurry of heavy blows to Williams’s face.
In desperation, Williams made one more frantic plea to Barnes: ‘Come on, Fred! I can’t do this on my own. You’ve got to help me!’
It was no use. Barnes couldn’t move.
Williams had waited too long to launch the initial attack.
The damage already done to Barnes’s windpipe prevented him from joining in the planned attack on Wade.
In their desperation, the two injured men had concocted a plan overnight to fake Williams’s death. They had hoped it would give them one last opportunity to try to escape.
The plan had failed miserably.
Wade delivered a thunderous final punch to the side of Williams’s head, which effectively ended any resistance. The younger nurse slumped to the ground, unconscious, falling across the stomach of the still-gasping Barnes.
In a fit of uncontrollable rage, Wade screamed, ‘You devious pair of bastards!’
He grabbed Barnes and dragged him over to the wall. He attached the manacles back onto his wrists.
He then dragged the unconscious Williams to the manacles on the other wall and secured his wrists.
As the two men had made their futile bid for freedom, Melissa Braithwaite had fled out of the open door.
Wade now shouted, ‘Get back in here, Mel! You haven’t finished.’
Melissa did as she was ordered. Slowly, she stepped back inside the makeshift dungeon.
‘Get in here! You need to see this.’
Wade began to slap Williams across the face. Eventually, he came around. The first thing he saw was the face of Jimmy Wade inches from his own.
As he stared into those unblinking blue eyes, Williams knew he was a dead man.
Incandescent with rage, Wade screamed at him, ‘Thought you could outwit Jimmy, did you, Jacky boy? I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’ve got to tell you, my old granny could punch harder than you.’
He glanced over at Braithwaite and noticed the terrified woman now had her eyes tightly closed. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her closer. ‘I’ve just told you that you need to see this. Now open your fucking eyes and watch!’
Her fear of Wade was greater than the horror she felt. She opened her eyes and stared into Williams’s face. Wade placed his hands around the man’s throat.
He began to squeeze and said, in a quiet, almost soft, voice, ‘Watch his eyes, Mel. The beauty is all in the eyes.’
Wade slowly squeezed the life from Williams.
He allowed the dead man to slump from his grip, turned to a horrified Melissa, and said, ‘Your turn.’
He forced the terrified woman over to Barnes, whose breath came in rasping gasps. His windpipe was already damaged beyond repair.
Wade whispered menacingly, ‘Finish him. This is your last chance.’
Once again, she gripped the damaged windpipe with two hands and began to squeeze.
This time, she continued to squeeze long after Barnes had stopped breathing. Her hands throbbed and ached with the effort.
Still, she squeezed.
‘It’s done. You can stop now. Barnes is dead. Did you see it? Wasn’t it beautiful? I knew you could do it, sweetheart. I need to make love with you, right now.’
In a complete state of shock, she moved and spoke like an automaton.
She stepped forward, kissed Wade on the lips, and said, ‘Not here, Jimmy. Not in front of these two. Take me to the lodge. I want you in my bed, not here. This time needs to be special.’
They left the outbuilding door unlocked and walked quickly back to the lodge, hand in hand.
Neither of them spared a thought for the two murdered men, whose lifeless forms remained inside the outbuilding, with frozen, unblinking eyes.
54
29 June 1986
4 Edale Close, Oak Tree Lane Estate, Mansfield
Councillor Lenny Mellor parked his gunmetal grey Range Rover directly outside the block of flats on Edale Close. He glanced up at the first-floor flat now occupied by Caroline and Bill Short. He could see no movement within the flat.
He had hoped that Bill
would be waiting outside for him when he arrived.
When Caroline had called to make the arrangements, he’d insisted that Bill should be ready and waiting for him.
Typically, Bill was nowhere to be seen.
Councillor Mellor hated the Oak Tree Lane estate with a passion. As far as he was concerned, the less time he spent there, the better.
Unbuckling his seat belt, he swore under his breath, ‘For fuck’s sake!’
He hauled his heavy, fat frame out of the car and waddled to the communal door. He pressed the intercom for flat number four.
Caroline answered, ‘Come up.’
As the door lock buzzed to allow him access, he swore for a second time, ‘For fuck’s sake!’
Now he had two flights of stairs to negotiate as well. What was wrong with these people?
Breathless, he reached the top of the stairs and saw that the flat door was open. He tapped on the open door, then walked in.
‘Anyone around?’
Caroline answered, ‘We’re in here, Len.’
Councillor Mellor followed her voice and walked along the hallway of the flat, emerging into the small living room.
His annoyance rose when he saw Caroline and Bill sitting on the settee, sipping coffee. He said angrily, ‘I thought we agreed that Bill would be ready to go when I got here?’
She pointed at the television and said, ‘Sorry, Lenny. Bill wanted to see his horse run before he went.’
For the third time that morning, the councillor swore: ‘For fuck’s sake, Caroline! I’m not your fucking chauffeur!’
She rounded on him sharply. ‘Bill’s ready now, so stop your whining. Just remember who calls the shots around here.’
Ignoring the barbed remark, Lenny said, ‘Come on, Bill, I haven’t got all fucking day!’
Bill Short stood up and said, ‘I’m coming. The bloody nag finished last anyway. I’ll just grab the cleaning gear.’
He walked into the kitchen and picked up a cardboard box full of cleaning products and cloths. With the box under one arm, he grabbed a mop and bucket set.
As soon as Bill left the room, and without looking away from the television, Caroline said under her breath, ‘Make sure that idiot does a good job. I want the place spotless. We can’t afford to have any trace of that kid left there.’
Lenny replied, ‘I will, I will,’ before shouting impatiently, ‘Come on, Bill! What’s the bloody hold-up now?’
Bill shouted from the kitchen, ‘I can’t find the fucking bleach!’
Glancing at her watch, Caroline shouted angrily, ‘Look under the sink, you moron!’
‘Oh yeah. Got it!’
‘Get a bloody move on. Lenny hasn’t got all day!’
Nervously, she glanced at her watch again.
Grenville Slater was due to arrive in ten minutes. The last thing she needed was for her lover to arrive while her husband was still at the flat.
Getting off the settee, she walked into the kitchen, followed by Lenny. ‘Come on, Bill, get a move on, for Christ’s sake! Make sure you leave that place spotless; do you hear?’
She virtually shooed them out of the flat and closed the door. She then watched nervously from the window as they loaded the cleaning products into Mellor’s vehicle.
Two minutes later, she breathed a sigh of relief as the Range Rover was driven away.
She still had time for a quick freshen-up before Slater arrived.
In her haste to be ready for her lover, Caroline never spotted the dark blue Ford Sierra that pulled out from behind the nursing home opposite. She never saw the car follow the Range Rover as it was driven away from Edale Close.
The surveillance team from the Regional Crime Squad had been on full alert after the Range Rover had pulled up outside the target premises.
Now that the vehicle had left with one of the targets on board, a full team of detectives driving several different vehicles would keep it under constant observation until it returned.
55
29 June 1986
South Lodge, Retford
Jimmy Wade and Melissa Braithwaite had spent the entire morning making love. They were now sitting up in bed, enjoying a post-coital cigarette.
The lovemaking had been frantic and intense.
Braithwaite had been surprised at just how turned on she’d been by witnessing and taking part in the deaths of the two male nurses. It was as though Jimmy had seen a different side to her after she had killed Barnes. He’d reverted to being gentle and caring again. It felt like the lovemaking they had both enjoyed when Wade first escaped from Rampton.
Taking the last drag on her cigarette, she reached over to the ashtray on the bedside cabinet. She pressed down on the stub until it was out.
She looked back over her shoulder at Wade. He had his head back on the headboard, blowing smoke rings towards the ceiling.
‘Would you like something to eat, sweetheart?’
‘Not yet, I’ve got to get rid of those two twats out there first. I wouldn’t mind a fry-up after I’ve buried them.’
‘Of course. That was amazing. We haven’t been that good together for ages.’
‘It was beautiful. It’s such a turn-on, isn’t it?’
Braithwaite continued to play her survival strategy, saying, ‘Isn’t it just. I couldn’t wait to have you after I’d finished off fat Fred.’
‘I knew you’d appreciate it in the end. I’ve always known there was a killer lurking inside you, waiting to break free. I knew it from the very first time I looked into your eyes at Leicester Crown Court.’
She snuggled into him and said quietly, ‘Can we leave for Ireland today, Jimmy?’
‘As soon as we’ve finished what has to be done here. I’ve been thinking about it this morning, and I’ve thought of a way to get hold of that dopey social worker Stewart bloody Ainsworth.’
‘Do we have to bother with him?’
‘Yes, we bloody do.’
‘What have you got planned?’
‘Do you remember that time he visited you here? When he came to check you out because you were visiting me inside? You told me that while he was here, he couldn’t take his eyes off your tits.’
‘I remember. He gave me the creeps, the lecherous little shit.’
‘I think we can use that to our advantage, sweetheart. I want you to phone Rampton and ask to speak to Ainsworth. Tell him you want to see him out here.’
‘What reason can I give for wanting to see him again?’
‘I don’t know. Tell him you’re feeling a little insecure, as Jimmy Wade still hasn’t been found, and that the last time you visited him in Rampton, he made threats against you because you’d walked out of the visit.’
‘Do you think that’ll work? Would that be enough to get him all the way out here?’
‘You’ll have to embellish it a little. Tell him you’ll open a bottle of wine and cook him some dinner as a thank you. I’m telling you, Mel, he won’t be able to resist. He’ll think he’s being invited on some hot date, with a chance of getting into your knickers.’
‘You know I’d never let that happen, Jimmy.’
‘I know that, but he’s got to believe he’s in with a chance of fucking you. When you talk to him on the phone, you’ve got to really lay it on thick. Do you think you can do that?’
‘If I can get him to come all the way out here, what are you going to do with him?’
‘I think we should both have some fun with him, don’t you?’
‘That would be great, Jimmy. Will you promise me that once we’ve done that, we can leave for Ireland?’
‘Just as soon as we’ve had our fun, and Ainsworth’s dead, then we’ll go to Ireland.’
56
29 June 1986
Bleasby, Nottinghamshire
The last part of the surveillance on the Range Rover had been the trickiest.
There was no way the detectives from the Regional Crime Squad could follow in their vehicles once the Range Rover had turn
ed onto the single-track lane that led into thick woodland.
DC Tony Armstrong and DC Pete Burgin got out of their vehicle and began to jog along the side of the track.
Pete Burgin was clutching a loaded Nikon camera. He carried two more spare films in his jacket pockets. After one hundred yards, the detectives saw the cottage and the Range Rover parked outside.
Immediately, they ducked off the track and approached through the trees. They kept themselves well hidden from the driver and passenger, who were still sitting in the target vehicle.
Having got to within twenty yards of the vehicle, the two detectives squatted down in the thick bracken and watched.
The cottage appeared to be derelict. Most of the windows were boarded up, and the stone building looked ready to fall down.
Tony Armstrong whispered, ‘What the fuck’s all this about? This place looks ready for demolition.’
Pete Burgin shrugged, then said under his breath, ‘Quiet, mate, they’re getting out.’
They watched as Bill Short got out of the passenger seat, and an unknown fat man got out of the driver’s door.
Pete Burgin raised the Nikon and began to take photographs.
As soon as he got out of the driver’s door, the fat man waddled towards the cottage. He was fumbling for something in his jacket pocket. Bill Short went to the boot and retrieved armfuls of cleaning products. He began to struggle as he carried them all towards the cottage.
Once again, the Nikon camera was recording everything.
Finally, the fat man found what he was looking for. From his jacket pocket he produced a small key. He stepped forward and unlocked the padlock that secured the front door of the cottage.
Bill Short shouted after him, ‘Lenny! Get back here and give me a hand with this lot!’
The fat man walked slowly back to the Range Rover. He grabbed the mop and bucket from Short.
As both men disappeared inside the derelict cottage, the detectives outside continued to observe. They contacted the rest of the surveillance team by radio, informing them of what was happening. They issued an instruction to stand by.
A Cold Grave: A DCI Danny Flint Book Page 20