at 6:00 on an October evening Pete Robinson Was preparing for his third murder he was being very careful he knew that killing people becomes more dangerous if you do it often he was in the bathroom of the house that he had recently rented he stopped for a moment to look in the mirror the face he saw was thin middle-aged and pale he had dark hair a high forehead and black eyes a sound in the kitchen below worried him was Jane coming up to have her bath before he had prepared it for her no it was
okay she was going out of the front door from the window he saw her going around the side of the house into the small garden he did not like her being alone there she was a shy person and new people had moved into the house next door he was afraid that some silly woman might try to be friends with her he didn't want that to happen right now each of his three marriages had followed the same pattern using a fake name he had gone on vacation to a place where no one knew him there he
found a middleaged unattractive woman with some money and no family he convinced her to marry him and she agreed to make a will leaving him all her money both his other wives had been shy too he was very careful to choose the right type of woman someone who would not make friends quickly in a new place Clara the first of them had her deadly accident almost unnoticed in the bathroom of the house he had rented it was was a house very similar to this one but in the south of England instead of the north the
police didn't find anything suspicious the only person who showed any interest was a young reporter from the local newspaper he wrote something about death in the middle of happiness and printed photos of Clara's wedding and her funeral which happened just 4 weeks after the wedding Mary had given him a bit more trouble she wasn't completely alone in the world as she had told him her brother showed up at the funeral and asked questions about her money there was a court case but Pete had won it and the insurance company paid him the money all that
happened 4 years ago now with a new name a newly invented background and working in a different area he felt quite safe from the moment he saw Jane sitting alone at a small table in the restaurant of a Seaside Hotel he knew she was his next Target Target he could tell from her expression that she was not happy he also noticed she was wearing an expensive ring after dinner he spoke to her she did not want to talk at first but eventually he managed to start a conversation after that everything went as he had had
planned his approach was romantic and by the end of the week she was in love with him her background was perfect for Pete's plan after teaching at a girl school for 9 years she went back home to look after her sick mother and stayed with her until she passed away now at 42 she was alone with a lot of money and unsure of what to do next four weeks after they met Pete married her in a town where they were both strangers that same evening they both made Wills leaving all their property to each other
then they moved into a house he had rented cheaply because the holiday season was over it was the most Pleasant of his marriages Pete found Jane cheerful and quite sensible though he thought it was foolish of her to believe a man would fall in love with her at first sight Pete knew he must not make the mistake of feeling sorry for her he began to make plans for her future as he called it two things made him ACT earlier than he planned first she refused to talk about her money she kept all her business papers
locked in a desk drawer and wouldn't discuss them second she showed unnecessary interest in his job Pete had told Jane he was a partner in a pharmaceutical company using that as his reason for being away for long periods Jane believed the story but she asked many questions and wanted to visit his office and the shop so Pete had decided that it was time to act he turned from the window and began to run water into the bathtub the bathroom was the only room they had painted he had done it himself shortly after they arrived he
had also put up a small shelf over the bathtub for their shampoos creams and a small electric heater the heater was cheap with with two bars and it was green like the walls blending in well there was no electric socket in the bathroom but he managed to connect the heater to a socket just outside the door he turned on the heater and watched the bars become red and hot then he left the room the controls for all the electricity in the house were inside a cupboard down the stairs in the basement Pete opened the door
cautiously and lifted the handle to switch off the electricity he used a cloth over his hand to avoid leaving fingerprints back in the bathroom the bars of the heater were cooling down and turning black again using the cloth he lifted the heater from the shelf and put it into the bathtub water at the bottom end of the tub of course it was still visible it looked as if it had fallen off the shelf by accident Jane was coming back from the garden he could hear her moving something outside the kitchen door he took a small
plastic bottle from his pocket and began to read the directions on the back again a small noise behind him made him turn suddenly there was Jane's head just 3 m away above the flat roof of the kitchen beneath the bathroom window she was picking up Dead Leaves From the roof's Edge she must be standing on the ladder which was kept outside the kitchen door he stayed calm what are you doing there Dear Jane was so surprised that she nearly fell off the ladder oh you frightened me I thought I'd just quickly clean the room before
getting ready but I'm preparing your beauty bath for you it's nice of you to take all this trouble Pete not at all I'm taking you out tonight and I want you to look as pretty as POS possible hurry up dear the bubbles don't last very long and like all these beauty treatments this one's expensive go undress now and come straight here very well dear she replied as she began to climb down the ladder Pete opened the little bottle and poured the liquid into the bathtub he turned on the water again and in a moment the
bath was full of bubbles smelling strongly of roses they covered the little heater completely and even the sides of the bathtub Jane was at the door oh Pete it's all over everything even on the floor it doesn't matter get in quickly before it loses its strength I'll go and change now get straight in and lie down it will make your skin soft he went out and stopped listening she locked the door just as he expected he walked slowly to the electricity box and forced himself to wait another minute how is it he shouted I don't
know yet I just got into the bathtub it smells nice though his hand covered with the cloth was on the controls 1 2 3 he said and pulled the handle down a small explosion from the electric Point behind him told him that the electricity had gone off then everything was quiet after a while he went and knocked on the bathroom door Jane there was no answer no sound nothing now he had to prepare for the second stage he knew this was the tricky part the body had to be discovered but not too quickly he had
made that mistake with Mary's accident and the police asked why he got worried too quickly this time he decided to wait 40 minutes before starting to knock loudly on the bathroom door then calling for a neighbor and finally if needed forcing the lock there was something he wanted to do now Jane's leather writing case which contained all her private papers was in the drawer where she kept her shirts he had found it some time ago but had not opened the lock because it might scare her now there was nothing to stop stop him he quietly
entered the bedroom and opened the drawer the case was inside the lock was tougher than he thought but he finally managed to open the case inside were some financial documents thick envelopes and on top of these her post office savings book his fingers were shaking he opened it and began reading the figures 16,000 17,500 22,8 he turned the page and his heart raced on October 7th she had withdrawn almost all the money from her savings account perhaps it was here in these thick envelopes he opened one of them papers letters and documents fell onto the
floor suddenly he saw an envelope with his own name on it written by Jane he tore it open and was surprised to see that the date on the letter was only 2 days ago dear Pete if you ever read this I'm afraid it will be a terrible shock to you I hoped I wouldn't have to write this but your behavior has now forced me to confront some very unpleasant possibilities didn't you realize Pete that any middleaged woman who suddenly marries a stranger will wonder why her husband chose to marry her at first I thought I
was in love with you but when you asked me to make my will on our wedding day I began to worry and then when you began making changes to the bathroom in this house I knew I had to act fast so I went to the police have you noticed that the neighbors next door have never spoken to you well they're not a husband and wife they're actually a Police Inspector and a policewoman the policewoman showed me two clippings from old newspapers both about women who had died from accidents in their bathtubs soon after their marriages
both clippings had a photo of the husband at the funeral they weren't very clear but I was able to recognize you so I realized it was my duty to agree to do what the inspector asked me to do the police had been searching for the man since the photographs were given to them by your second wife's brother the inspector said the police needed to make sure you were guilty you must be given the chance to do the crime again that's why I'm forcing myself to be brave and play my part I want to tell you
something Pete if one day you find that I've disappeared from the bathroom I mean you'll discover that I've climbed out over the kitchen roof and am sitting in the kitchen next door I was foolish to marry you but not quite as foolish as you believed your Jane Pete's mouth was uglier than ever as he finished reading the letter the house was still quiet but in the silence he heard the back door suddenly open and heavy footsteps rushing up the stairs towards him
