The Swap Skills Killer Read online

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  Sometime later Jake pulled up outside the Forum, the rain had started getting heavier and he wished that he had thrown his jacket on before he got into the car. Amelia swore as she stepped in the huge puddle.

  “Damn it, you could have pulled up a bit further along from the puddles, the rain is getting my new shoes wet,” said Amelia trying to jump away from the puddles.

  “Well sorry Madam, not only do you want me to chauffeur you here, you want carrying over the thresh hold, err puddle too,” Jake said with a hint of sarcasm.

  “You could just have been a bit more thoughtful, avoiding the puddles and having the brolly ready when you open the car door,” Amelia chuntered.

  He just loved her sassy attitude, very endearing, he thought.

  “Oh hark at her, we’ve got them on today haven’t we,” he laughed.

  The rain pelted down from the dark and blackened sky, matching their moods, as they hurried on to the Forum.

  As they strolled into the building, Becky scurried towards them with a tray of muffins saying to help themselves and that tea was mashing.

  “Pull it up on the screen now Adam” Jake urged his face beaming as he reaching over excitedly for the chocolate muffin before Amelia could get her hands on it.

  Jake and Amelia plopped down at the computer and they scrolled down to the said advert.

  “Come on Becky, where is that brew? We’ll have eaten all the muffins by the time we get our tea,” Amelia said.

  “How long has that advert been online?” Jake asked.

  “Just let me look, about three days ago”, Adam replied.

  “Do you think he has set this up as a nifty ploy to lead us away from his original advert for swapping his tiling work? Is he playing with us?” Amelia queried.

  “I don’t know about that, but he seems to have a whole lot of experience in different trades, surely no one can be that resourceful,” Adam replied.

  Jake said. “I concluded that too, but how does this fit in with the killings, there are quite a few sick people out there that might be silly enough to answer the advert for a laugh, you get these strange folk that want to die by sex games and being eaten, it’s yucky and doesn’t bear thinking about.”

  “Should we answer him and maybe try to catch our killer, I could pretend that I want my evil boss killed or my sadistic husband,” chirped Amelia.

  “Hey, go steady there, this is getting a bit too close for comfort now, I’m not that evil a boss!” Jake barked.

  “It’s an ideal situation Jake, what have we got to lose, we can’t miss this opportunity if it is him trying to contact, or better still we might take another psychopath off the streets.” Amelia exclaimed.

  “OK, will speak to the guv and the incident team, to see where we are with the investigation and where we go from here.” At that point, his mobile rang

  “DCI Hammond speaking.”

  “Jake, DSupt. Blackwell here. We have news on the killings. The modus operandi is the same as the killer fifteen years ago. You know I got Frank to come in and look at the old files because he was the DSupt. on the case, along with myself, well we’ve spent a few hours on the files and with the information from the autopsy, we reckon it’s the same killer.

  “We need to have a catch up on how you are getting on at the Forum, with Adam Forrest visiting the groups and the questionnaires.”

  Jake exhaled, “Well, as soon as we get an ID on the other victim, we can run them through the Forum database to see whether she has done swaps on the site. Meantime, we have a perverted message gone online about ‘contract killing’ swap for ‘what have you’. Can you believe the audacity of some folk, joke or no joke; we have to look into it. Do you know even for a copper, these weird ones don’t half give me the creeps?”

  “Yes, we all know there are some nutters out there too Jake, it might not be a joke, and we can’t take the chance we have to investigate this quick,” Oliver replied.

  “I’ve got a plan B, as Plan A, the tiler swap meeting was a ‘no show’ and he must have cracked on the meeting was a set up somehow.”

  Plan B is a meeting with the contract killer person, meeting on the green across from the Antiques Shop.

  “Just go careful, who is meeting him?” Oliver asked.

  “Amelia is up for it. What I can’t understand is if it is the same person that did the killings fifteen years ago, why has he come back onto the scene?” Jake said.

  “It could be something that triggers him to kill again; he could have been in prison, in another country, different family circumstances, his wife died etc.,” Oliver said.

  Jake mulled over the fact that if it were the same killer, it would bring back all the memories to his dad. Would he be in any danger, as the killer escaped he would have seen all the press about his dad surviving his attack.

  CHAPTER 22

  Jake knew that the killer found out it was a set up to try and catch him through Plan A, the tiling swap advert, so now they had to try the other alternative and answer the other advert. It had to be him, who had tried to advertise to see whether he could attract clients through contract killing.

  He would catch him through this other advert if he had cracked on that the meeting in the park was a set up. Jake was still confused how he had found out it was a trick, perhaps he had been watching them earlier on in the day when they were planning the meeting in the park, and the best spots for back up to hide. Never mind, they would go to Plan B the Contract Killer message, and reply to the message as someone interested in getting their husband knocked off. In return, they would offer anything he wanted, apart from sexual sadism.

  In addition, Jake had the knowledge that it was the same killer from the previous killings fifteen years ago, thanks to the input from DSupt. Blackwell and his father Frank, and the killer did not have that advantage.

  Perhaps back then the killer envisaged people were getting too close, his wife and family growing up, questioning his whereabouts, and travelling all the time. It might be that his father and mother or his wife had died, and his family grown up so he had more time to kill.

  There had to be a reason for the gap and he had to find out why he had come back, it could be revenge on his father for finding out where he lived, although it was all in a fake name.

  On that dreadful day, he nearly killed his father, the killer had tried to kidnap another girl at a car boot, only she would not have any of it and managed to evade his advances and fight him off. She caught a police officer that was on duty at the car boot as there had been stolen goods sold on the previous week and they wanted to check there were no more dodgy merchandise sold. She gave the officer details and registration of the car, and he rang it in to DSupt. Frank Hammond and he got the uniforms on it straight away. Of course then Frank Hammond got the address and went out to the house to bring him in for questioning. When he went to knock on the door it was ajar so he went in, that was when he got the crack on the back of the head.

  At that point, Oliver Blackwell turned up and stopped the killer finishing him off, and had saved his life, by turning up with the task force.

  CHAPTER 23

  When Harry got off the coach outside the Forum, he planned to follow Frank and Maria Hammond home, because he wanted to finish off what he had started with Frank Hammond. This family had foiled his plans fifteen years ago, and now again when he came back to Horncastle to continue his work through the Swap Skills site and had obstructed him again, he had to disperse of them all.

  He saw them get off the coach after him and they chatted to Rachel for a while and then ambled round to the Car Park to head for home.

  Harry followed them home. He was careful that they did not get sight of him by staying behind another car. When they arrived back home, they got out of the car, unlocked the front door and went into their lovely bungalow. Frank had done well for himself; he had the perfect house, lovely wife, and happy family, well not that happy as they were one family member short. You cannot have
everything perfect in life and shit happens.

  He watched them furtively through the window. Maria picked up the coffee jar and spooned coffee into two chintz patterned mugs, obviously bought from one of the local antique shops. She placed two ready meals into the microwave, took Frank’s coffee through to the lounge. She then grabbed a bottle of wine out of the wine rack, got out two glasses, and settled down sipping her coffee and reading her magazine at the kitchen table, waiting for the meal to cook, and the microwave to ping.

  His thoughts were menacing, should he pounce on her and take her off to his secret hide out now. Would the old man hear her cry out, should he jump her now? He could walk around to the patio and see whether Frank had nodded off in the chair whilst waiting for his dinner. No such luck as Frank was sitting watching the television, Britain’s Got Talent, his favourite show.

  As he crept, back to the kitchen window, he heard the microwave ping, his belly started to rumble, and it reminded him that he was well overdue something to eat. He glanced through the window and Maria had set two dinner plates out, and she went to the fridge and bent over to reach the cherry tomatoes and a bag of salad out of the vegetable rack and she sprinkled a few tomatoes and a handful of salad on each plate. She then took the lasagne out of the microwave; in addition, a sharp knife out of the cutlery drawer, slid it in and along the lasagne tray, and slipped it onto the plates. He imagined the knife piercing Maria’s heart, but he would have to bring his own because that one did not look sharp enough to gut a fish, and he had to get it right.

  Maria turned towards the window just as he moved his head away. A smile crossed his face, nearly caught but Maria’s eyesight is not what it used to be and she had not caught a glimpse of the man that could have taken her life with a snap of his fingers.

  Never mind, he was getting hungry, he had many more opportunities now he knew where they lived, and he turned and he jogged happily back to his car for the short journey home.

  CHAPTER 24

  As Jake lay in bed, the sun was beaming through the window beckoning him to get up and enjoy this wonderful spring day. He lifted the quilt and forced himself out of bed, sauntered along the hall into the bathroom to get a shower. It was good that the sun had woke him as he had forgot he was meeting Adam to go over the Forum group questionnaires.

  He quickly grabbed a coffee, some Choco Krispies, and a banana, lolled at his breakfast bar and ate them whilst glancing at the newspaper to see whether Lawrence had been up to his old tricks winding the readers up with his fear mongering. He then leapt into the car and drove, keeping within the speed limit, even though he was running late, to pick Amelia up and get to the Forum in time for his appointment with Adam.

  He knocked on her door, and she promptly opened it, gave him her best smile and said

  “Oh you’re here; I thought you would be here for about eight.”

  He shrugged “Ah well, you guessed wrong, I slept in, and this big yellow monster thing woke me up,” he said stifling a yawn.

  “Big yellow monster thing,” Amelia giggled.

  “The sun creeping through my window, you Muppet.”

  She looked beautiful today, and had a taupe coloured suit that made the best of her colouring and she could see that he was gaping at her in admiration, which brought colour to her cheeks giving them a rosy glow.

  “You smell like sweet almonds and honey, good enough to eat,” Jake said.

  “Why thank you and you don’t smell so bad yourself,” she said leaning into him.

  “Well, it must be all me, manly sweat because I forgot to spray some deodorant on when I got out of the shower as I was running late to pick you up.” Jake said.

  “Do you want a spray of my deodorant; it’s a unisex type so you won’t smell like a girl,” Amelia teased.

  “What’s wrong with smelling like a girl, they smell much better than men,” he said laughing,” and “Come on then, let’s get to the Forum.”

  He needed to go through the findings of Adam’s investigations with the community development workers with their swap skills questionnaires, and then see what the investigation task team had inputted into the database, and whether it brought up any anomalies.

  He wanted to know why the killer had not turned up at the park, had he seen them. The only way that could have stopped him meeting Rachel would be that he either knew Rachel and recognised her or spotted the police. He would go back to the park later, sit on the bench, and mull it over.

  He was determined to use his strong analytical strengths and his sixth sense hunches to work this out. He was going to find the weaknesses in the killers’ signature and catch him; he had no doubt about it.

  Adam told him that nothing set off a warning beacon in the questionnaires and there had been hundreds of swaps, many had turned out as regular work. Some were unsuccessful, primarily because that person obviously wanted a job doing, and in return, they offered any old crap, often because they did not have the skills or experience to undertake the work.

  “Ere, I have a good one here I think. This one is of interest as it is another tiling job.” He passed the questionnaire across to Jake.

  “Evidently, this woman says in her questionnaire that the man came out to pick her up to show her some of his tiling work. She let him into the kitchen whilst she grabbed her bag and throw on her coat. He set his tools down on the floor and was opening the bag, probably to clobber her one,” Adam said.

  Jake nodded in agreement, “Sounds interesting go on then…”

  “At that point, her husband marched out of the living room and into the kitchen. She said that her husband wanted to go with them to see some of the jobs too and this must have foiled his plan,” Adam said.

  “How’s that?” said Jake.

  “She said he had a phone call and had to go, something about his wife being ill,” Adam said.

  “No, it was probably more like he was shocked to see her husband and he then put his hand in his pocket and pressed the fake call button and pulled his phone out ringing. Answered the call and said that he had to go because he had a message from his wife that she was ill, but he would call back later to re-arrange,” exclaimed Jake excitedly.

  “Well, she said he didn’t come back, or telephone back.” Adam said.

  “Sounds dodgy to me, maybe that’s our killer going to pick another person up. That is it; he takes them on the premise that he is showing them work. That’s what Penny was doing, waiting at the café to meet him. He did not want anybody to see him so he waited while she came out of the café and drove her to her death.” Jake speculated.

  “Now we are getting somewhere,” he shouted, whilst jumping around the room doing a victory dance.

  Later that day the tiling work couple went to the incident room for questioning, to help with the investigation. They were very forthcoming and were able to give a good description of the man.

  They gave the description of the killer to the police artist and she sketched and came up with a good likeness, which the couple agreed looked like him, apart from the nose, which was bigger, and more deep-set eyes.

  “No, he had a huge nose, a bit bent and flattened, as though he’d had his nose broken at some point in his life. The shape of his face is right, but I think he had narrower eyes, deep set. His hair was a mousey brown and he was wearing a black hat. He was medium build, dressed casually like a worker, clothes a bit shabby. There was a smell about him, could have been his aftershave, or breath, a bit spicy,” she added.

  Jake asked. “Any distinguishing marks, you know, scars, moles, tattoos or anything.”

  “No, not that I can think of,” the woman said.

  “What transport did he come in,” said Jake.

  “It was a plain white Renault van,” the man replied.

  They hurried through the conversation again, and how they had contacted him, through the Swap Skills site.

  When the couple left, the Incident Room was buzzing. Jake was on the phone with Lawrence from the Lincolns
hire Herald to try to get the description and sketch out of the killer. A call had come in for Oliver Blackwell from a man in Derbyshire saying that the description of the clothes and jewellery that the girl was wearing in the press sounded like his daughters. He gave his daughters name as Caroline Hardy who had been missing a few days; they arranged to meet him at the morgue at 11.00am next day to identify the clothing and jewellery first, and then the body if he recognised the belongings.

  They got Adam to check the name, Caroline Hardy, against the Swap skill database and her contact details were on the Swap Skills site database, as they suspected without a doubt that it would be. Oliver Blackwell and Jake realized it was about time the task force reeled their killer in, as they did not have time to wait to see whether anybody recognised him as he could be in the mind to kill again.

  It was not that easy because the killer had a fake e-mail and IP address, and it made it harder to trace his messages.

  After several arguments, they decided Amelia would message the killer and ask for a meeting with him to discuss his advert for contract killing.

  Amelia got into the site and signed in as admin, she got his details and email address and used the new email address Adam had set up for her as a Louise Thompson on a new Gmail account.

  Hello, my name is Louise and I was wondering whether your message on the Swap Skills site was a hoax or not because I have a very serious problem with my husband and I want him taken care of.

  I daren’t run away from him because I have tried that once before and he said he would kill me if I tried that again.

  I am in absolute despair and have to get rid of him before he kills me. I have been to the police in the past and it has not helped, they don’t think it is serious. I called them out once and they just came out and took it as a domestic, and more or less told him to behave himself.