Chapter 5A: Monday January 24: Judge, Jury And Executioner!

WARNING! WARNING!!

I walked by several tables, half were vacant and almost all had empty glasses of different sizes taking up a small amount of space. I stepped out of the main lounge, stood near a tall pot plant and gazed towards the ladies rest room. It was just a feeling but I had learned to trust it from past experience. A feeling that something wasn't right. I couldn't put my finger on it but I just knew, even before my brother spoke. Then it dawned on me. She'd taken her handbag, which wasn't unusual, but she'd picked up her cigarettes and lighter and put them in her bag, which was, especially if she intended to return.

'You're absolutely right you know, and I have to give you credit for picking the signal. You see it was my decision for her to walk out, my way of reminding you that I'm in charge. I want you to fully comprehend the lessons you've already learned, I want you to understand that there is really nothing for you to do except precisely what you're told.'

'What's happening now?'

My brother's answer came immediately.

'I suggest that you go to your van and head in an easterly direction. You'll find that Tracey has taken a taxi to her ex-boyfriends place.'

There was a hesitation before my brother began again as if responding to my thoughts.

'No it wasn't her idea it was mine, but then Saturday night's amusing little diversion was mine too wasn't it? You must remind me to tell you one day exactly what you did to the poor girl.'

I felt an almost imperceptible pressure force me forwards towards the exit.

'No sense hanging around here, we may as well get going.'

It suddenly occurred to me that if my brother had made Tracey go to an old boyfriend then he was changing her opinion of me. It was almost as if he was turning her on and off like a tap, like he did on Saturday night in that incident with her brother Ian and his friend Wayne. I could only assume that the girl who had been so pleased to see me before, so willing to make an effort to come all the way from St. Kilda had only remembered the 'good' times, the 'pleasant' experiences, and that now she despised me. That being the case then the lessons I was going to learn were most certainly going to be a little different. Just how much I would find out in due course.

'Your right you know, I do have something a little different in mind, something you won't be able to do a thing about even if you want to. Who knows maybe you won't want to, with your background it's just possible. You see I can make anyone do anything as long somewhere deep in their subconscious they have a desire to behave or respond in that fashion.

'And that's exactly the way it happened with those two girls on the train. And on Saturday night, once you and Tracey made verbal contact the rest was easy. By the time I'd finished with her you were the dream date, the masterful lover she longed to be dominated by. That's why she walked up to the bar in a desperate attempt to establish contact.'

'You mean that it didn't matter what happened when I first walked over to her table?'

'Of course it did, contact needed to be established first. Once that was accomplished the rest of Saturday night was easy, and fun. It's just a shame you can't remember any of it, but I will tell you something, you've got a dark side to your character that you've managed to keep hidden deep in your subconscious. As for what's going to happen at her ex-boyfriend's house, well while he's trying his best to renew relationships with Tracey I've got another little surprise for you. That will take up a little time at which point I'll decide she's had enough, she'll leave his house after a fight, you'll confront her and she'll tell you how much she hates you for what you did to her. That's when you'll grab her.'

I could barely believe this was possible. 'But what about if I don't want to?'

'You will little brother, at about the same time the dark side of your character re-emerges!'

I wanted to run to the panel van and race after her but I didn't, instead I forced myself to walk steadily past the bank, past a small hamburger joint run by a little fat bloke called Bill to where the van was parked.

Just as I was about to get into the van the now familiar dizziness came over me and something made me look across at a young man whose face looked familiar from a distance even if his physique didn't. The extraordinary thing was that the building he was leaving from looked strangely similar to the sports centre around the corner, but that was impossible wasn't it? Then I decided that where my brother was concerned nothing was impossible. So I then thought about the first question that came to mind. 'Am I supposed to know him?'

'All in good time. Just remember the face and you'll understand later. For the moment though he's not important, the girl Tracey is.'

'But why can't I know now?' I knew I was playing a dangerous game questioning my brother but I just couldn't help it.

'I DON'T WANT YOU TO! That really is all you need to understand. Now if you insist on disputing whatever I say I'm going to have to prove just who is in charge here.'

A severe headache pounded through my skull and lasted for more than ten seconds making my head feel as though it was being split open by a jackhammer. When the pain stopped I realised I had no choice, so I shrugged away the thoughts that were going through my mind and decided that the answer would come at a more suitable time and that I needed to concentrate on the business at hand.

'You certainly do little brother, you certainly do. A short dizzy spell is all that's necessary to gain control of your mind, but I can give you a headache that'll kill you if I so wish and you certainly don't want that, DO YOU!'

The tone of the voice sent a shiver through me, it was more diabolical, evil and harsher and scarier than any of the memorable voices in the many low budget horror films I'd seen. N a short while I was in the van and driving in an easterly direction. I didn't even remember getting in let alone driving off.

'And why should you? You'll even forget about that young man if I so desire.'

'But if you wanted me to see him then you clearly want me to remember him, and if that's the case then why would you only let me see him when you have control of my mind like this?'

'Because I have that little surprise in store. But I had to try while you're under my control just in case it didn't work, then you wouldn't remember a thing. As it is everything worked perfectly.'

'Can't you give me a hint as to what this is all about?'

'Sorry little brother, now concentrate on catching up with Tracey.'

Once clear of the town's main centre it was just a question of following the directions of my brother. Traffic was light as I beat four sets of lights giving me a clear run and enabling me to maintain a constant high speed without causing any undue alarm. I stopped at the fifth set of traffic lights and didn't see her taxi until a few cars began moving away from the lights where the highway bridged the freeway. Her taxi was in front of a tray truck on the inside lane.

I followed at a discreet distance for what seemed like ages until the taxi pulled up in a quiet suburban street outside a cheap looking weatherboard house. I pulled up behind another slightly older Holden sedan and watched Tracey Carpenter step out of the cab.

'So far so good little brother, now all we have to do is wait for them to finish. I suggest that you get into some of those clothes that are in the back, you know, the ones we used to dress up in when we paid those 'special visits' to some of our customers. Then I'll show you my special surprise.'

I saw the front of the house open from my vantage point and watched a young fellow climb all over the girl before I jumped in the back of the van and searched through the junk for what I needed. I dressed in my regulation two track-suit, ski mask and outsize sports shoe uniform, a uniform that a lot of people might feel is ridiculous but works for me keeping me out of trouble, and waited for my brother to show me his surprise.

'All right close your eyes and allow me to paint a picture of something that's happening right at this very moment.'

'Of course. But how can you... ?' I thought for a moment and realised the question was ridiculous. 'Forget I asked.'

'Quite right.'

What could I do but settle back and allow my brother to fill my mind with visions — maybe illusions — of something happening at another place. A distant image began to take shape, blurred at first it came increasingly into focus as it came closer. It was a young man outside a block of flats, I only caught the briefest of glimpses front on before he pulled on a balaclava, but it was enough for me to recognise him as the young man I'd seen on leaving the hotel. Again his face was familiar but I just couldn't put a name to it, neither could I remember where I knew it from.

He wasn't looking towards the flats, instead he was looking at a brick-veneer house next door, at the two windows either side of the front entrance. One light went on in the room to the right and as soon as it did the young man appeared to make a decision. He walked down the driveway of the block of flats, climbed over the fence separating the flats from the house and settled himself carefully in the backyard.

'What's going on?'

'In this house lives a girl called Alison Braithwaite, now our young friend here is planning to break in, tie her up and rape her.'

'Well shouldn't we be there doing something to help her instead of wasting our time here?'

'Why? That's not the purpose of the exercise, besides he's not really going to harm her, and anyway she's mentally tough enough to take it. No the purpose of this exercise is to show you the sort of thing the bastard gets up to. Have you figured out who he is yet?'

'No.' Suddenly the image of the young man made its way down the side of the house, checked the one on the other side and the street both ways before poking his head around the corner. 'Should I have?' The young man stayed in position for as long as he dared until all of a sudden the light in one room went out and seconds later the one in the other room went on.

'Of course you should Winston. He's going to give her five minutes, in that time I want you to think about a certain young man who was responsible for what happened to me.'

It hit me all of a sudden, God how could I have forgotten? Now I knew why my brother was here even if I didn't know how.

'You don't need to know how, all you need to do is remember the name Nathaniel Bristoll!'

That was it! God how could I forget a face like that, how could I forget what he did? I could remember what happened as clearly as if it was yesterday. The kid had arrived home when his father — Wallace Bristoll — was already dead, killed because he'd disturbed my brother and two of his gang while they were raping his wife — Virginia. It was fate playing a hand that day, if his father hadn't disturbed them my brother wouldn't have thought it necessary to post a guard and the resulting slaughter may never have happened. The boy of course hadn't known it at the time. He'd entered the back way after climbing the fence from a paddock behind the house — his usually way of arriving home — and had avoided being seen.

He'd told later how he'd heard one of the gang begging another to 'do it to her', begging him to 'fuck her to death'. It had been that more than anything else he said that had made him angry, made him go to the hallway, carefully open the cupboard door and pull out a cricket bat. That and his mother screaming.

What happened after that according to Bristoll was pure luck, the third one who was on guard had chosen that moment to walk towards the front door, that moment to stand with his back to him gun in hand. Bristoll hadn't wasted a second debating what to do, he'd walked up quietly and carefully, swung baseball style and connected flush to the side of the face with the hard edge of the bat. The third member of the gang hadn't known what hit him as he dropped to the floor gun in hand. A couple of further blows while he was lying there had ensured that he wouldn't be moving for a while, if at all.

I remember him telling how he'd picked up the gun and headed to his parents bedroom, how he hadn't rushed into the room gun blazing and had chosen to look first. What he'd seen was enough to send most boys into shock, his father was dead at the side of the bed with his chest and stomach a ghastly mess of bloodstains and bloody entrails. His mother was being relentlessly raped by the leader of the gang — Colin, my brother — while the third member of his little gang was holding a knife to her naked breasts. I remember the boy telling how anger had got the better of him, how he'd walked in quickly, pointed the gun at the head of my brother and pulled the trigger. He told how my brother slid out of the way just in time for him to shoot the one with the knife between the eyes just as he turned around, how he'd fallen onto the knife and how the knife had penetrated his mother's heart killing her instantly. He spoke then about the way he'd calmly walked back to the one who'd been standing guard and had shot him point blank in the head even though he was still unconscious and barely breathing.

After that final act he'd phoned the police, walked out the front and waited for them. The rest happened rather quickly after that with a verdict of not guilty to charges of murder due to diminished capacity being set down as long as he subjected himself to a psychiatric evaluation and as long as someone could be found to look after him. Who that person was of course hadn't been made public.

'Then... er... you're here for... '

'Revenge? Of course, how could you possibly think there was any other purpose to my visit? Do you really think it was necessary for him to kill me or Cliff? We killed the husband out of self-defence, surely you remember that the knife belonged to him.

I responded positively.

'Well it did and he was attacking us with it when Cliff managed to relieve him of it. I guess it was just unfortunate that he died in the struggle. After that I guess Cliff might have got a little carried away making sure he was dead. And what about Al? There was no reason to shoot him, after all he was hardly a threat while he was unconscious and yet the maniac was allowed to get off because of that diminished capacity gibberish without a single mark on his card, you tell me if that was fair?'

'It isn't but how... ?'

'Then of there's the couple he's staying with, his Uncle Trent Bristoll and his Aunt Linda. They're the one's I feel sorry for, they had to take him in even though they detested him. Worst thing is there's not a single thing they can do about it except to make his life a misery, which I might add they do quite well. I mean if he hadn't been playing the part of a peeping tom at our place, he wouldn't have seen those two girls, wouldn't have seen a little deal that was taking place while he was there and we wouldn't have felt the need to follow him back to his house. His father wouldn't have sprung us using his wife for a little entertainment and we wouldn't have killed him. Then Bristoll wouldn't have murdered us, his mother wouldn't have died because of Cliff falling on the knife and he wouldn't have been taken into custody and sent to them. So really we'll be doing them a great favour.'

I was keeping a careful eye on Nathaniel Bristoll as he remained crouched watching the room with the light on. I was guessing that he was planning to make his move when the light went out.

'Yes I remember all that, not that it made it any easier to deal with knowing that all of our supposed 'peers' were so prepared to forgive and forget the deaths and the events leading up to them. I mean that's why I had such a problem for twelve months after it happened. But if that's the case why don't we just go there and kill him, I mean why are we here with this girl who doesn't mean anything to either of us? Or does she?'

Suddenly the light went out and Bristoll moved to the window and peeped inside.

'Let's just call it a bit of fun, a favour to a friend of mine Marvin Wallace, who had a little more than a passing acquaintance with her. Let's just say she's getting what she deserves. As for going there and just killing him, that's not possible. Uuhhmm, well I suppose that's not strictly true we could kill him now, but I wouldn't get to hang around if I did that and life really is too much fun even in a body like yours for me to want to go back where I came from. You see basically I'm sort of on trial. No what needs to happen is for Nathaniel Bristoll to die by either his own hand or failing that, somebody else's. You see I can kill plenty of other people, I just can't kill Bristoll.'

'Then you're saying that we didn't pick Tracey out because she was the prettiest girl in the room on Saturday night, that we picked her out because of what she did to a friend?'

'Let's just say that I knew where she liked to hang out, which made her easy to find on Saturday night. You see Marvin was a member of my little gang for a while until she talked him into leaving and going straight. They were engaged to be married when she dropped him. Marvin was head-over-heels with the bitch. He never got over it and committed suicide two days later by shooting himself. I made a vow to make her pay which Bristoll interrupted. Well now I've got another chance, a chance I obviously never expected to get, and I'm going to take it.'

I watched Nathaniel Bristoll walk around the back and pull something resembling a glass-cutter out of his bag. After a quick inspection of all the windows towards the rear of the house he picked the laundry as the easiest and the spot where he was least likely to be disturbed. He made a clean cut first time, lifted the circle of glass away quickly and easily, undid the old-fashioned catch, lifted the window with little or no noise and climbed in as silently as a cat burglar.

'I'll just bet his aunt and uncle don't know about this sort of thing do they?'

'As far as I can gather from the jumble of thoughts going through his mind, this is the first time he's ever gone this far. Still, serial killers have been known to start from such behaviour. A fact I've found out in my time down below.'

Once inside Bristoll reached back into his bag, pulled out a very lethal looking knife, took his shoes off, put them in his bag, walked down to Alison Braithwaite's bedroom, pushed open the door a few inches and waited for a reaction... He repeated that exercise another half-dozen times until the door was half open, presumably decided that it was quite safe and pushed it the rest of the way before stepping back and waiting for any signs that the girl may have seen or heard something. Satisfied that everything was as it should be Bristoll walked into the room, reached into his bag of tricks, pulled out a roll of masking tape and ripped off a length. Then he walked to the bed, grabbed her by the hair and before she could scream jammed the length of masking tape over her mouth. Satisfied that she couldn't make enough noise to raise any alarm he showed her the knife which convinced her to move out from under the covers, lay her naked body face-up on top of the bed and allow him to place a similar length over her eyes, at which point he took off his ski-mask.

'I know you can't hear what he's saying Winston and I know you'd like to but I don't think it'll matter in the long run.'

I saw Bristoll's self-satisfied smirk as Alison Braithwaite reluctantly agreed to his apparent request to lie face down. I watched as he pulled some chain out of the bag and shook them for her benefit. The girl did as she was told and I watched as Bristoll secured one end of the 'Y' shaped piece of chain to her left ankle with the first of three padlocks before throwing the rest of the chain underneath the bed, pulling it out the other side and attaching the second end to her right ankle in the same fashion. Then he reached under the bed, grabbed the extra long third length, threw it past the head of the bed, pulled it through one of the uprights of the bed-head and wrapped it around her neck before securing it on to the single length again with the third padlock. Subsequent to that he pulled a length of rope from the bag, tied one end to a wrist, threw it under the bed, retrieved it and pulled it tight before securing it to her other wrist.

Bristoll watched the girl for a moment. Her right cheek was lying on the pillow as I suddenly saw her profile through him, and thanks to that profile the girl's sense of apprehension as she waited for the inevitable that she couldn't see.

He gripped her hips in his strong hands as his fingers squeezed tightly from the sides and pressed his thumbs into her naked buttocks. He moved his hands slowly but surely in an upward direction, squatted over her, reached underneath and grabbed her breasts before releasing one so that he could reach down and pull his erection out of his pants. Once out he slotted it between the cheeks of her bottom, moved his hand back and began to squeeze her breasts again as he gripped her nipples between her thumb and index finger, squeezed them tightly and pulled them to either side of her body until they were stretched to their absolute limit.

I watched as he knelt on the bed, gripped the girl by the hips and lifted her up as far as the tension of the chain would allow before he began to insert the head of his hard-on into her. Finally, after several clumsy attempts he was fully sheathed and raping her with long, slow strokes. It was clear to me that the cunt was a virgin, that he was losing his virginity by raping the poor girl.

'Yes he is, or was, a virgin. Now I really don't think you need to see any more to know what this animal deserves do you?'

I didn't even get a chance to answer as the vision cleared from my mind and I was back in the van in the same side street. 'Are you trying to tell me that what I just saw actually happened even while I was here, and that I was a witness to it?'

'Of course! But do you think he deserves to be punished? WELL DO YOU?'

I thought about what he was doing to that poor girl even as my brother and I were having this... er... conversation. Thought about how he had killed Colin and his two friends in what amounted to cold blood. 'I think he deserves whatever punishment we can think up.'

'Good, good. Now I suggest that you turn your attention to Miss Tracey Carpenter.'

I focused on the house Tracey had entered before. Half an hour went past, then an hour, then two before curiosity got the better of me and I opened the door ready to get out.

'Where do you think you're going?'

'Just to see what's happening in there, is that okay by you?'

'I doubt it will do any harm as long as they don't see you.'

There was a slight gap in the lounge room curtains. I took a quick look around and seeing all the other houses in darkness and the street deserted went to have a look. They were there sure enough and things were looking good. Both of them had been drinking and were the worse for wear, the guy was flaked out on the couch wearing only his socks as the girl struggled to get dressed. She had her tight black skirt on and was struggling to push her large breasts into a rather flimsy lace bra.

"Somehow--" I whispered "--I don't think you'll have them on for long, not if I know my brother."

Suddenly she was ready and heading for the front door. I raced back to the van and knelt behind it.

'See what impatience can do.'

The voice of my brother was at its insulting best.

'It can create monumental cock-ups if you're not careful, now get ready to remove your ski-mask because here she comes. You know the one good thing about that house not having a phone is that she's got to walk to the end of the street to call a cab, and that means she's got to walk right past here.'

The front door opened and she appeared, struggling to keep her feet as she yelled one parting insult. "You think you're so good needle dick. I didn't even come, did you hear me! I didn't even come! At least that fat cunt I left at the hotel had something you didn't, a cock and the ability to use it." She staggered down the path, out onto the street and headed in my direction.

'Funny how things happen isn't it little brother. First she doesn't like you, then she likes you, then she doesn't. Same with the boyfriend, when she first arrives she's all over him, now he makes her want to vomit. All right get ready, when she's near enough I want you to confront her and ask her why, if Saturday night meant anything at all to her, she walked out on you tonight.'

Just as she was level with the rear of the van I hurriedly removed the mask, stood up, confronted Tracey face-to-face and was about to ask that question when she spat in my face.

She stood there hands on hips, barely able to stand as she swayed from side-to-side breathing what I presumed was brandy all over me as she spoke. "You must've heard what I said fat boy, what's the matter don't you understand plain English?"

I pulled a handkerchief out of my pocket and wiped away the spit.

"And I don't know how the fuck you found me, but unless you're fucking stupid as well as fat and ugly surely you know when you're being given the flick."

"If you felt like that then why did you meet me and allow me to bring you... ?"

"Because you at least owed me a meal and a couple of drinks. And besides coming out this way brought me closer to my boyfriend's place where I thought I would be treated properly." She wobbled to one side and almost fell as she laughed. "Boy was that ever a mistake, he's more of an animal than you are, if that's possible." She looked me up and down. "Gee I knew you were fat but I didn't realise just how fat you really were."

"Fat is it? Animal is it? You fucking loved it you cunt. All that kneeling and begging, all the submissive shit. And what about that five thousand dollars? I suppose that meant nothing as well?"

She laughed so hard I thought she was going to have a coughing fit. "What five thousand dollars, God now you've got me thinking you belong in a fucking loony-bin. As for me loving it, you're fucking lucky I didn't call the police and have you charged with assault, aggravated rape, sodomy, and any other charge I'm sure the police could think up."

Now I was confused, I knew I had left the five thousand at her place.

'Of course you did but she isn't going to remember it if I don't want her to. Now offer her a lift, and when she refuses and mentions calling a taxi you'll know what to say, and what to do.'

"Now get out of my way you big fat tub of lard," continued Tracey, "I have to ring for a taxi." She tried to push me out of the way. "And don't think of offering me a lift I wouldn't go with you if my life depended on it."

I knew that was the signal. "It does Tracey, believe me it does."

One short jab with my right fist connected flush on the jaw. She collapsed into my arms and though she was a dead weight I had no trouble lifting her up and dumping her into the back of my panel van. There was a pile of stuff in the van to cover just about any emergency, and I certainly planned to put it to good use tonight. I searched among the stuff until I found what I was looking for, two pieces of rope, two thick pieces of cloth and a blanket. I tied the girl's hands and feet with the rope, put one piece of cloth over her mouth before tying it at the back, placed the other piece of cloth over her eyes and tied it just as securely as the first. I was just about to put the blanket over her when I paused to look at her breasts.

'Come on Winston, if you don't want to renew acquaintances with such a fine pair I most certainly do.'

I ripped the blouse down the front, pulled her bra off and squeezed her breasts for a few seconds before putting the blanket over her. It was time to get going because it was going to be a long night. Once in the van I shut the door as quietly as I could before driving off.

'Good, good, nice to see you're learning about priorities little brother.'

'Yes I'm learning about other things too, like a minor problem of needing a quiet little place to take her and the van.'