Chapter 11: Copycats

As is often the case, the biggest selling morning newspapers picked up on the exclusive run the day before by the evening newspapers. The vigilante story was so sensational that all of the main Scottish papers carried their own versions of the story on their front pages.

The difference in the treatment of 'the vigilante' was marked however, with none of the 'cowardly' slant that the Evening Times story had used. If anything the Daily Record hailed the vigilante as a modern day hero, reclaiming Glasgow's streets from the criminals when the police were failing.

Another feature of certain journalists is that they monitor police radio channels, hoping to get in early on breaking investigations. The Record's crime reporter had lucked onto the call from the officers in Kelvingrove Park and his luck was going to prove significant for Gavin.

Although details of the incident in the park were sketchy, later editions of the Daily record carried the news that the vigilante had struck again. Those few lines acted as a spur to the journalist from the Evening Times and he followed the incident up with his police contacts.

In no time at all he had the horrific details of the murder of one Frederick (Fred) Little and the information that Little had been linked to the entire series of rapes that had been carried out over the previous months. He also noted down the name of Lizzie Houston and her address.

For once Lizzie wasn't home alone - both of her parents having taken time off work to be with her after her ordeal. When the front door bell rang it was Mary who answered it to find the Evening Times journalist on her doorstep.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Mark James, Evening Times. I wondered if I could have a few words with Lizzie Houston about the attack on her last night?" he asked, holding out his press credentials.

Mary took the 'pass' and studied it carefully, satisfying herself that he was who he said he was. The idea of the family being in the newspaper was of some concern to her, but she decided there was almost a civic duty to speak out about rape and violent attacks on women. Slightly nervous about it still, she agreed that he could talk to Lizzie and invited him in.

The family all gathered in the sitting room, Lizzie beside Mark James on the sofa.

"I just want to get a few details about last night, Lizzie. I know it must be very upsetting for you, but it might do others good to hear your story. Other girls might take some comfort from your words," he started.

This opening was calculated to get the girl to open up, to make her think about the greater good. Of course that was all a ruse - he was a newspaper man and what he was really after was something sensational that would sell copy.

Lizzie was more than happy to talk about her hero the vigilante and she shared every detail of what he had said and done. Once she had finished her story, Mark James gave her a strange look.

"You make him sound like some modern day knight in shining armour," he said.

Lizzie got all misty eyed as she thought about that.

"Well, that's exactly what he was," she eventually replied.

"You would find out about this later today anyway, so I can tell you now. The man who attacked you was called Fred Little. He is believed to be responsible for more than six rapes in Glasgow over the past year. In all likelihood this vigilante left you getting into a taxi and returned to murder him, murder him in a most brutal way. The vigilante cut Little's genitals off and stuffed them into his mouth. That doesn't sound like the actions of a knight," the journalist said.

The reactions he got were not what he had expected.

"Well that saves me a job!" exploded Paul Houston.

"Oh! So that's what he meant when he said the man wouldn't hurt anyone ever again. I forgot he said that," said Lizzie.

The thought made her smile even wider, her attacker was gone forever and she wouldn't have to worry about him again.

"It sounds to me as if Glasgow's women are much safer today with someone like him dealt with. Live by the sword, die by the sword - in a manner of speaking," blushed Mary, as she realised how her words could be construed.

Gavin read the morning paper and felt a little bit better about himself at the different way his 'work' was described in this version of his story. He watched quite a bit of daytime TV, lost deep in thought about how the 'family discussion' would go that night. Something nagged away at his subconscious and he forced himself to focus on the show that was running.

Most daytime TV is pretty mind numbing at best. The current show was one of those where people bought run down properties and renovated them to make money. His interest was suddenly piqued. There could be an opportunity for him in something like this.

"If I set up a company and got dad to buy me a run down apartment, I could use the druggies money to get tradesmen to renovate, paying them cash. Once I sell the renovated apartment the profits would be clean and easy. Maybe setting up a company will even help me with my University course in Business!" he thought to himself.

Gavin had been looking at property ever since he had returned from Lochgoilhead. It was clear to him then that he was going to have to move out of the house sooner or later so with his usual thorough approach, he had started looking.

One property might be absolutely perfect for what he was now thinking about. It was a sandstone tenement with eight apartments, right in the heart of the city centre. The entire building was derelict, seedy and run down and he was sure it could be bought cheaply. The location made it very attractive for his purposes, as it could attract the city's rich young crowd.

Gavin spent the next few hours going over details, searching on the Internet for other information on renovation schemes. He even found out he could apply for a one-off government grant for some of the work he would probably need to carry out - home insulation, energy conservation and things like that.

When his attention returned to the TV it was to find that the late afternoon TV news had picked up on the killing in the park the night before.

Gavin was surprised but delighted to learn that the man from the night before was the man he had been keeping newspaper clippings of for months now. He had thought of the man as a rapist but not the rapist.

Glen saw the headline on the poster as he walked towards the station car park-and-ride to retrieve his car on the way home from work. He stopped to buy a copy of the Evening Times and then made his way to his car and sat behind the wheel to read the front-page article.

The details of the story left Glen stunned. The sheer brutality of the killing was awful to think about and his son had carried it out. The quotes from Lizzie Houston passed him by; he didn't register just how thankful the girl was at being spared such a terrible ordeal.

Glen realised that not much more than an hour after he tore into Gavin the night before, his son had gone out and killed again. It beggared belief and his mind was made up more than ever that Gavin would have to move out of the house. He even thought about contacting the police himself, but he knew that Christine and Fiona would never forgive him. It saddened him when he realised that he was actually sorry that they had ever taken Gavin in.

The short drive home was still long enough for him to get his raw emotions under control. He had learned his lesson from the night before and promised himself he would be more calm and in control for the family discussion. That was one of the things he was starting to find unnerving about Gavin, his son never seemed to lose control the way he did. Of course, his son lost control in others ways - killing people for instance.

When he made it to the house he found that Christine had finished early to come home and cook an extra special dinner for the family. Glen had his first indication that tonight was perhaps going to be difficult, if Christine was cooking something special, she had a reason for it. He guessed she was determined not to see her family broken up and knew he had to take that into account in terms of how the evening was going to go.

Dinner was homemade lasagne with fresh green salad and garlic bread. Christine had even splashed out on a bottle of red wine and she poured Glen a glass to go with his meal. Talk was strained however, and there was no getting away from the fact that a cloud was hanging over all of them. As Christine began to clear the dirty dishes, Glen decided enough was enough.

"Leave those for now, dear," he said, "I think there's something on the news that we all need to watch."

Neither Christine nor Fiona had picked up on the latest news about the vigilante and they wondered why Glen wanted them to watch the news. Gavin immediately knew what his father was up to and he steeled himself for what was about to come and what the reactions would be from his mother and sister.

The evening news programme started with a summary of the main news items. When the anchor said that there had been further sensational developments in the case of the Glasgow vigilante, Christine and Fiona gasped and looked quickly at Gavin. Gavin avoided their eyes and instead focussed on the TV.

The vigilante story was the lead item and the family listened in silence.

"Now, to our top story tonight. Glasgow has been rocked in the last few days by the news that a vigilante is active across the city. He has already been connected to the deaths of nine members of criminal gangs and two major seizures of drugs and now it seems he is the prime suspect in another killing.

"Last evening, seventeen-year old Lizzie Houston was attacked in Kelvingrove Park on her way home from work. However, her attacker seems to have bitten off more than he could chew. Let's hear the story in Lizzie's own words."

The scene on the TV changed to show Lizzie Houston standing outside her front door, her parents flanking her on either side. The footage had clearly been edited and that helped put the story across quickly and with maximum impact.

"He knocked me to the ground and sat on top of me. I tried to fight back but he had a knife and he held it to my throat, threatening to kill me. He was saying horrid things to me, telling me that he was going to rape me.

"He was wearing a stocking over his head and when I saw another face, this one wearing a ski mask, I thought I was going to be gang-raped. I was surprised when the second man grabbed the hand holding the knife and I think I heard him break the rapist's arm. Then he hit him and dragged him off of me.

"He reassured me and told me that I was going to be alright. He said that the rapist wouldn't hurt anyone ever again - but I didn't realise at the time what he meant by that.

"He told me his name was the vigilante and that his job was to wander the streets of Glasgow to make sure fair maidens and damsels in distress were safe. He was strong yet gentle with me, making sure I was covered up and that I got home safely. He gave me money and watched over me until I got into a taxi.

"I can't describe how frightened I was. I prayed for the lord to save me and the vigilante came to my rescue. I know that he killed that man, but that saves me from worrying that he's out there somewhere and that he might attack me again. If he's watching this, I would just like to say thank you again. Thank you Mr Vigilante, thank you."

The shot on the TV changed back to the studio.

"The man who attacked Lizzie Houston has been identified as Fred Little, a 27 year-old unemployed man with no fixed address. Strathclyde police today confirmed that Little had been positively linked to six rapes in and around Glasgow in the past year."

"After Lizzie Houston had reported her ordeal to police last night, Little's body was discovered in Kelvingrove Park. The body had been horrifically mutilated according to police and they warn that the vigilante is a dangerous killer and should not be approached by members of the public."

"We sent our reporter, Glen MacDaid, out onto the streets of Glasgow today to gauge the public's reaction to the work of the vigilante. Here's Glen's report."