Free Dreams to Die For by Alan G Boyes Page A

immediately hit her across the face with the butt of his rifle which sent her crashing into the wall, her mouth crimson with blood. Donaldson picked three chairs that were still intact, arranged them in a row facing him and then ordered the girls to sit facing him. The girls hesitantly did so. Donaldson gathered from his pocket some long heavy-duty nylon cable ties, used by the military as handcuffs, and secured each of the girl’s wrists to their chair. Once he was satisfied their arms were pinned he used more ties to secure the chairs to each other and the end chair to an old radiator pipe. He slowly and deliberately waved the knife in front of their eyes, then walked up to each girl in turn and looked them up and down. He started to gently play with the small white buttons on one of the girl’s dresses. He became more agitated and excited as he imagined what secrets lay beneath the flimsy fabric within his fingers and he started to tear at the buttons ripping open the dress. The girl sat motionless, tears welling in her eyes but too frightened to cry out. Donaldson slowly removed his belt and dropped his trousers and then his strong arms wrenched her head down towards him.
    The girls’ ordeal lasted over three hours before his desires and appetite diminished. They had ceased to be of use to him and, battered and bleeding, the three naked bodies lay whimpering and groaning on the concrete floor, each barely conscious and curled up in the foetus position to await their next humiliation. Donaldson, now tired from his exertions and fully spent, stood over them. He raised his rifle and then brought the butt down fiercely on each of their heads before removing his long knife and slitting their throats. As their last moments of life drained away, turning the floor a horrible deep red, Donaldson casually opened the door and strolled out into the sunlight.
    A few pedestrians had decided to brave the possibility of another bomb blast and were now scurrying along the street, staying low and cowering as they passed behind the shelter of the low wall that surrounded what a few hours earlier had been a large and impressive block of flats. Smoke was still rising from the damaged buildings and the area was now a mass of wailing and anguished people, clawing desperately at the rubble as they tried to find their loved ones. Very few glanced at Donaldson as he walked away from the school opposite, and those that did see him certainly had little interest in the sight of a soldier checking an empty building after a nearby bomb blast and his exit through the crowds did not arouse suspicion. A week later Donaldson bribed his way onto a flight out of Baghdad on an American cargo plane and eventually made his way back to the UK. At first life was dull for Donaldson who yearned for a meaningful and fulfilling relationship with a female partner, but whenever he thought he was on the point of achieving it he ended up being emotionally hurt. Gradually he drifted to the superficial contentment of surfing the pornographic websites on the internet until he hit on the idea of a Russian bride. He was amazed at just how many seemingly attractive women were willing to trade their body for a modest sum of money and a passport and it was not long before he found what he was looking for. Ludmilla was in her early twenties and obviously desperate to escape her homeland which made her an ideal target for someone like Donaldson. The pretty Muscovite would not let him down and in return the young Ludmilla would eventually get her passport, but at a price that would have little to do with money.
    â€œOk Alan. I’ll be at reception at 10:30.” Cindy was not going to argue any more. Anyway, her mind was once more turning to Gordon Truscott and she was rather hoping Alan would leave soon so that she could devote her thoughts solely to that alluring subject.

8

    The 7 th July bombings killed fifty-six people including the four bombers and injured a