Rough Justice

Chapter 4

4

He’d dreamt of the moment for years, but nothing could have prepared him for what it actually felt like to kill, to end a man’s life. No, not a man. An animal. A monster.

That moment when he finally saw life being extinguished, the flicker die from behind Jeff Brelsford’s eyes, had been a moment of purity and clarity for him. Suddenly, the world seemed a better place already.

He didn’t feel bad, guilty or dirty about what he’d done; far from it. He knew he’d done a public service and, if he had to be completely honest with himself, he’d actually enjoyed it. He didn’t think he would beforehand, and that had worried him. He had wondered whether he might feel a ceaseless sense of remorse and guilt afterwards, but he knew he’d have to cross that bridge when he came to it. Fortunately for him, he didn’t look like he’d ever have to.

As far as he was concerned, the world was better off without Jeff Brelsford in it. Who knew how many young girls he would’ve gone on to groom, harass or abuse? The guilt he would’ve had to have lived with if he’d let Jeff Brelsford carry on breathing would have far outweighed any morsel of guilt he had over ending his life.

People like Jeff Brelsford could never change, he told himself. No-one ever heard of a paedophile coming out of prison, realising he was wrong and no longer being attracted to children. It just didn’t happen. It was a disease; a disease of the mind, and one which had no cure. As far as he was concerned, that meant there was only one solution and that was the solution he’d brought the world in ending Jeff Brelsford’s life.

Unfortunately, there were more men like Jeff Brelsford. Many more. The Dark Web forum he’d managed to infiltrate had taught him that. He’d thought Deepest Desires had been home to some pretty f****d up s**t, but the new, un-named forum was on another level entirely.

What sickened him most was how the scumbags on the forum didn’t even have the good grace to leer and slobber like he’d expected them to. Instead they used words such as ‘gracious’, ‘petite’ and ‘elegant’, as if they were talking about a particularly classy level of fashion model. It was like they didn’t even know that it was a sick perversion, but some sort of sophisticated fetish or hobby instead.

The best thing about it is that no-one on the forum would know what had happened. For a start, he was the only one who knew that Celt_45 and Jeff Brelsford were one and the same person. Jeff Brelsford would be found — and probably mourned by at least one deluded i***t — but no-one would ever know Celt_45 was anything but alive and kicking. He knew this perfectly well as he would continue to post as Celt_45 himself, keeping the illusion alive until he could snare his second target.

The only thing that worried him was that he didn’t know when he would stop. How do you know when the world is rid of perverts and paedophiles? Would it ever be? He’d always told himself that he’d carry on until he was caught.

The prospect of being caught didn’t bother him in the slightest. It was one of the risks that came with the job. All jobs had their risks, and this was the one he took. What’s the worst that could happen? He’d be sent to prison and be lauded as a hero. Sure, murderers weren’t exactly up there with footballers and pop stars, but you’d be tough-pushed to find a bugger who wouldn’t prefer them to a kiddy fiddler.

Nah, he’d be alright. You hear the stories about paedophiles being beaten up and abused in prison, so what would they make of him, the man who made it his mission to kill paedophiles? Prison certainly wouldn’t be such a tough ride. Hell, it’d probably be easier than being on the outside. At least there he’d have respect. Extra dollop of mashed potato with his dinner. Lovely.

Whichever way you looked at it, he had only one option: Keep on keeping on.