The Killing Moon

by Michael Robinson

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Rob had been in Hull prison for less than three hours when he was involved with his first fight. He hadn't even been assigned a wing or a cell at this point, and was still locked up in holding along with the other lags. A short but stocky prisoner came in convicted for supplying Class A cocaine. He wanted to take out his frustrations for being incarcerated out on Rob, although Rob was almost placid initially.

  The prisoner initially tried conversation to belittle Rob, which he ignored. This, in turn, frustrated the prisoner more. When he grabbed Rob by the top of his overalls, Rob struck out within a second. Using a karate move, he brought his right hand up to get hold of the prisoner's arm. Then, with full aggression, he threw his left arm towards the prisoner's neck, disabling him within an instant. Rob wasn't done there. When the prisoner was on the floor, Rob grabbed the drug dealer's arm and twisted it to break the humerus. As if that wasn't enough, he then continued to use the heel of his foot to smash into the drug dealer's face.

  Although the guards could hear the scuffle from inside the holding cell, they couldn't be bothered to deal with it, and prudence demanded it was best to let them get on with it. It was only three quarters of an hour later when holding was opened up, when they found the drug dealer in a sorry state on the floor. This was Rob's introduction to prison. It wouldn't be the last time Rob had fights either on the wing or along one of the many corridors in Hull Prison.

  Over the period of three weeks, Laura Allison was deeply concerned about her client. She heard that Rob had been in several scuffles, and this was not going to do her client any favours when it came to a court appearance. Also, she was increasingly frustrated with the lack of input from the CATS team. Although, when she finally managed to get through, they did promise a referral, however they could not give a date.

  All the time, Foster and his mental state was not being addressed. At the same time, Rob had lost count of the amount of times he'd been back-and-forth to appear in front of the Crown Court. Sometimes it was a physical appearance at court, and on other occasions it was just via a video link from within the cells at the bottom of Hull Prison. Rob was tired and weary, but at the same time, angry and aggressive.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  It was just another day staring at the cell walls when his door was opened. Three guards stood there. "Foster, you've got a visitor."

  Rob was escorted through the gothic Victorian prison to a different form of holding and was given an orange bib with the number thirteen on it.

  "Who's my visitor?" Rob asked the clerk.

  "Annie Foster," was the reply.

  Rob almost felt like crying, but held it together. As he walked into the visitor's area, which was a large room with tables and chairs nailed to the floor. He looked around and saw Annie there. His heart was in his mouth. He wanted to run up to her. Annie was as beautiful as she'd always been, but there was no sign of his son, Noel.

  When Annie saw Rob, there was almost a look of disappointment on her face. Rob held out his arms to hold Annie and although she accepted his embrace, it was almost a pleasantry, as if it were a handshake.

  "How you doing, babe?" Rob asked.

  "Me and the baby are okay, what the hell's happened to you? People are saying you killed somebody? What's going on, Rob?"

  "I'm not sure myself, Annie. I don't know why I killed that man. I don't even know who he is. At first I thought he was some sort of government agent out to get me."

  "So, you did do it?" Annie said, and she began to cry. Rob tried to hold her hand from across the table, but she withdrew it. "Six years of marriage, and this is what we've got?"

  Rob replied, "I didn't ask for this."

  Annie got angry. "You didn't ask for this? Is that all you've got to say? All you've ever wanted was the next mission, I didn't even come a close second."

  Rob protested. "Oh, come on, don't be like this."

  "Don't be like this, Rob! I thought if you got your SAS selection out of the way we could be a family, but apparently that's not good enough for you. And now, you're going to be locked up in here for God knows how long, for killing some poor sod who was just jogging through the park. Can you imagine the gossip? And what about Noel? What type of life is he going to have, when he's in the playground, knowing full-well his dad's a murderer? Well I've had enough, Rob, I'm filing for divorce."

  Rob felt his heart sink upon hearing Annie's words and tried to say something but Annie continued. "I'm filing for divorce; I can't cope with this life anymore. My solicitor will be in touch."

  "Annie, wait!" Rob pleaded.

  "It's no good, Rob, I can't do this anymore." She stood and turned for the exit, tears rolling down her cheeks as she headed towards the door. Rob tried to follow, but the guards quickly realised what was happening, and ushered Rob back to holding.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Laura Allison sat at her office and was increasingly frustrated with her workload regarding Rob Foster. The CATS team did little or nothing to support Foster in his darkest hour and to Laura this was a travesty. Not only had this man served his country doing God only knows what in the name of freedom, but the fact was, nothing was in place within the system to support service personnel like Rob.

  Laura was frustrated at the response of the CATS team whom, when she did get through, promised to call her back only for these calls never to materialise. So instead, Laura took it upon herself to contact the forensic doctor directly, Dr Charlotte Beaumont. Unsurprisingly to Laura, Dr Beaumont knew nothing of Foster's plight, other than what she'd read in the press, which Dr Beaumont made clear to Laura, she viewed with disdain.

  Both lawyer and doctor agreed the way forward was a Section 35. The nature of the section meant Foster could be assessed initially in prison and then moved to the safer environment of a forensic hospital. It would be here that the true needs of someone suffering from deep mental psychosis would be addressed. Laura had a feeling Dr Beaumont would be ideal in assisting Foster to the best possible outcome he could hope for.

  This, in turn, meant she hoped that Foster would be treated in a medium secure hospital with a view to being released after several years. The only other alternative was that Foster would be locked up indefinitely, probably for the rest of his life in a maximum secure hospital. This would probably be Rampton. Even though the lawyer had to remain neutral when it came to her clients, she still felt Rob deserved more than to be locked up for the remainder of his life.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  By now, the local press was well and truly milking the story for all it was worth. Even the national press had got wind of the deranged killer, murdering someone in cold blood. Some of the headlines included, 'Crazed Killer', 'Madman strikes', but the one headline that stuck out the most was, 'Paranoid Schizophrenic' which then went on to mention Rob's name. It was these headlines which infuriated Doctor Charlotte Beaumont.

  Doctor Beaumont was in her mid-thirties and had been married for seven years now although her marriage to Jonathan looked to be drawing to an end very soon due to infidelity on Jonathan's part. Although Charlotte had known Jonathan since her university days, Jonathan who now worked as a senior architect, had always had an eye for the ladies. Initially, when they first met, Charlotte made a point of not listening to the gossip and rumours which seemed to follow Jonathan after every night out.

  She knew before she married him that he was a bit of a player, however by now, Jonathan and Charlotte had a child together, Amelia, who was born just after Charlotte had finished her finals. Although Amelia was not planned, it was the one saving grace of the relationship between Charlotte and Jonathan. However, Jonathan had gone too far when it came to light that he had been sleeping with his PA, Maggie, who had not only befriended Charlotte but also on several occasions been round for meals and even babysat Amelia once. It was a stab in the heart Charlotte did not see coming, and as far as she was concerned, the marriage between her and Jonathan had run its course.

 
; As a result, Jonathan had now moved out and Charlotte consoled herself by throwing herself head-first into her work as a forensic psychiatrist. It was a role she cherished and because of her dedication to her work, Charlotte had risen to a senior position within a short space of time. Her latest client was Rob Foster. She had the file on her lap which told her about the events leading to the death of Simon Grant and given the notes on the autopsy report, it was clear that he had died efficiently at the hands of Rob Foster.

  It was Charlotte's job to assess Foster and give this assessment to the crown court. This in turn meant that if Rob was found to be mentally unstable, he may well be locked up indefinitely, possibly for the rest of his life. As far as she was concerned, what the press failed to grasp was the effect this would have on Foster's life as well as the fact the file said that Rob Foster had also just become a father.

  Charlotte grabbed the remote in her study and turned off the news, annoyed at the way the press was painting the picture of the story. It was the one part of the job, besides the politics, that she could not stand. She sighed as she picked up the glass of red wine she had poured for herself and continued to study Foster's file. As she turned the pages, she began to realise that Foster was certainly very unique. Most of her clients had serious mental disorders for some time before forensics got involved.

  This was not the case for Foster and so automatically she started to think that Foster had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Also, she could not understand how someone who had, by all accounts, a successful military career, would test positive for spice. Charlotte had relatives who had served in the military and knew too well, military personnel were subject to regular drug screenings. She was almost looking forward to meeting Foster, simply from an academic point of view. She had to assess whether Foster was either a very bad man, or a very sick individual that needed the best care she could provide.

  Foster was currently in Hull Prison and she had scheduled a meeting to see him in the next few days. She knew from experience that her first assessment of Foster would more than likely determine the facts. If she could help him, she would.

  Just as Charlotte was drawing to the end of her case file, she turned around and Amelia was standing there in her night clothes. "Mummy, can I have a glass of water?"

  "Of course you can, sweetheart," Charlotte replied, "but then you must go straight back to bed because it's very late and you are seeing your daddy tomorrow."

  "Can you read me a story please, Mummy?"

  "It's a bit late for that now darling, but I will come up and tuck you in."

  "Will you tuck Bo-Bo in as well?"

  "Tell you what, I'll tuck you and Bo-Bo in and bring you up a glass of water now if you can get into bed straight away and try to go to sleep."

  "Ok, Mummy," replied Amelia and quickly disappeared upstairs.

  Charlotte put the file on the kitchen table and finished off the rest of her red wine in two sweet swallows. She then filled a plastic beaker with some water and a little juice and went to see to Amelia. As she made her way up the stairs, she knew what was coming. Lately, since Jonathan had gone, Amelia was asking after her father all the time, and the usual innocent grillings of a little girl as to where Daddy was always ensued around bedtime. Tonight was no different. Charlotte kissed Bo-Bo, the favourite lion teddy, and then Amelia. Just as she was about to switch the bedroom light off, Amelia asked, "Does Daddy not love us anymore? Is that why he's gone?"

  Charlotte closed her eyes as she heard the words and sighed under her breath. "No, darling, that's not the case at all. Daddy does love us both but Mummy and Daddy just need a little bit of a holiday from each other for a while."

  "So is Daddy coming back then?"

  These were all questions that Charlotte had to answer. The questions of a curious seven-year-old little girl. But the truth be told, Charlotte did not know what the answer was.

  "Daddy will come and see you in the morning and then very soon, he will take you away for a few days sailing on the boat."

  "Will we see the dolphins again?"

  "I'm sure you will see the dolphins," Charlotte replied.

  "Will you come too, Mummy? asked Amelia.

  "You must try and get some sleep now, sweetheart, and try not to worry, Mummy and Daddy love you very much."

  Dr Beaumont then returned to her file after she opened another bottle of red wine, and tried to assess her own life, with little or no conclusions to answer herself with. Soon she fell asleep on the sofa with Rob Foster's file on her lap.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  It was a brisk, cool spring morning when Dr Beaumont pulled into the visitors' parking bay at HMP Hull. She removed her file from the back seat and locked the door before making her way to the entrance. This wasn't the first time Dr Beaumont had been to Hull Prison and she doubted very much that it would be her last. The gothic, Victorian prison almost had a charm of its own, similar to that of an old fashioned museum, or failing this, something out of a Marvel or Batman comic.

  As she received her pass and was escorted through the various locked doors, blocks and walkways, Charlotte could almost smell the history on the walls. The deep angst was atmospheric and she felt if these walls could talk, this would be a story in itself. The last person in the UK to be hanged by Pier-Point was hanged within these very walls. She was guided to an interview room deep at the bottom of the prison. As she entered the room, everything she expected to be there, was there.

  Both the chairs and the table were securely fastened to the floor and the arrogant looking guard nonchalantly encouraged Dr Beaumont to take a seat, and he shut the door behind her. Charlotte removed the file on Rob from her leather briefcase, and flicked through the pages making one or two mental notes on her subject.

  Ten minutes later, the interview room door was opened and a tall almost handsome figure came in. It was Rob Foster. This was obvious from the photograph within the file. However, both his legs and hands were chained together, and Rob had an escort on either side of him. Both escorts systematically put their arms on Rob's shoulders, forcing him onto the bolted chair. Rob's face looked weary and older than his years, and his right eye looked like it was swollen. It was obvious either the prisoners or the guards had taken a dislike to Rob. He just looked at Dr Beaumont, but made no comment.

  "Mr Foster, my name is Dr Charlotte Beaumont. I'm a forensic psychiatrist. I'm here to assess your mental health for the Crown Court, would you mind if I had a chat with you?"

  There was pause in the room for a moment. It was almost as if Rob was too shy to answer. "Yeah okay love," was Rob's reply, "but can we get rid of these two goons?"

  Charlotte almost smiled but instead turned to the guards and asked them to leave the room, and then added that the guards should remove the restraints. Both guards looked at each other, then the senior of the two smirked and replied, "Sorry, darling, he's a bad man this one, do you know what he's done? Don't you read the papers?"

  'Typical macho wanker', thought Charlotte instantly but then firmly spoke. "I am a forensic psychiatrist and this is my patient, he deserves respect and dignity whilst I am in charge of his care. Also, anything that is said in this room is confidential and between myself and my patient. If you do not leave this room, I will be taking it up with the governor within the next fifteen minutes. If I am not happy, I will then take it to the board of governors. I want a confidential chat with my patient, and I want his restraints removed immediately."

  On hearing this, the guard was on the back foot and did not want to lose face, especially in front of this lag. "Tell you what, love", he replied, "I'll leave you alone with this killer and I'll even shut the door but I'm keeping his restraints secured."

  "Ok that's acceptable," replied Charlotte, "but if you don't mind, I would like to have your name and number."

  He cockily replied, "Okay, love, I'll give you it as soon as you're finished." Both men then turned to look at each other and left the room.

  Both Rob and Charlott
e were fully aware that they were alone together but it was Rob who broke the silence. "His name's Maguire, he's a fucking cock. He's the reason I've got this black eye."

  Charlotte questioned Rob's statement. "Are you telling me a prison guard assaulted you?"

  "Yeah but it was nothing serious," came Rob's reply. "Maguire likes to think he's a bit of a hard man but to be honest he hits like a girl throwing a ball."

  Charlotte smiled at the comment and then continued with the interview. She asked Rob in detail about his history and it soon became apparent that Rob was telling the truth. However, his body language was that of hopelessness, frustration, and she felt she was looking at a broken man. She continued and asked him how the death of Simon Grant came about. All the time, Charlotte was constantly watching Rob's body language.

  Her client was obviously in distress, constantly looking at the floor and almost jittery at the doors being slammed within the holding. Rob found it frustrating to answer because, in all honesty, he did not know himself. All he could say was that he thought he was being followed but also, he had been drinking. Charlotte then pressed on. "How long have you been taking spice for?"

  "What's spice?" Rob questioned.

  "When you were arrested at the police station Rob, samples were taken from your mouth swab, the toxicology report says you were on MCAT. A particularly nasty variation called Spice."

  "To be honest, doctor, I don't remember anything."

  As Charlotte was writing notes she looked up and smiled. "Please call me Charlotte," and added, "in forensics we try to be less formal."

  Rob looked at her for a second and replied, "Okay, thank you, Charlotte."

  The interview lasted for a good hour, and the interaction between doctor and patient, Charlotte felt, was positive. This was obviously a hard man, but by no means a bad man. Charlotte was of the view that her patient, Rob, was in a very bad place, but she would need to assess him again, and she would tell the court as much. It was as important to Charlotte as it was to Rob's lawyer, Laura, that this man would get the care and support he would need. Charlotte remained adamant that she would see to it personally.