Killer Women (2 page)

Finally her plane appeared on the tarmac.

He watched as the jet engines thrusted it forward, faster and faster towards the end of the runway. For a split second, it seemed to falter and Graham caught
his breath with fear. Surely it wouldn’t crash. Please. God. No. The momentary jerk was a perfectly normal motion for the plane but Graham had feared catastrophe.

He stared through his sunglasses as it passed overhead. He felt as if someone had torn out his stomach.

He would not see her again until they returned to Orpington! He wasn’t sure he could cope. The pain was so great he doubled up as if suffering from some awful bout of indigestion.

Gillian looked over, concerned that he was in agony. If she’d been able to see behind those dark glasses, she would have noticed the tears welling up in his eyes.

He managed to wipe them away before they reached his cheeks. Gillian Philpott presumed her groom was in the middle of a hay fever attack.

That night, Graham Philpott lay in bed next to his wife wide awake. She had long since fallen asleep. But he could not relax. He could not switch his mind off.

Janet. Every minute. Every second. There she was. In her bikini. Smiling in the bar. Winking at him. Embracing him, running her fingers down his chest…

His appetite had gone. He told Gillian he had a
stomach bug. But he knew he’d feel hungry when he saw Janet again.

He was tense. So anxious to see his wife’s twin sister. To feel her in his arms. To love her.

After hours of lying awake in the hot Bali night, Graham quietly slipped out from between the covers and crept across the room. The only noise was the constant blur of the air conditioning system and the crickets out on the balcony.

He sat down at the desk and took out some of the hotel note paper. He stared out of the window as he tried to put his thoughts in writing. After a few minutes the words started to flow.

‘When I looked into your face you had such a lovely look when I was stroking your cheek.’

He stopped writing for a moment. Pausing to make sure that what he had just written made sense. Then he went on.

‘It was such a soft expression and I think that must have been the first time certainly that I saw that and knew certainly that I must have completely fallen in love with you.’

It was a clumsy sentence but she would know what he meant.

Graham Philpott wrote for hours. He became so immersed in it, that he just gave up worrying what he would say to Gillian if she stirred from her slumber in the bed, just a few feet away.

Luckily, she slept soundly, unaware of the passionate love letter her husband was writing to her twin sister.

Janet wasn’t there to meet them at the airport. That was the first disappointment. He was desperate to see her. He needed her so badly. But at least he had the letters to give to her.

Then she did not respond when he tried to call her.

Perhaps she did not want him after all. Was it possible that her loyalty to her sister over-rode her feelings for him?

Graham was worried. He did not want to give either of them up. But, if he had to, he had already decided he would choose Janet first. She was the one who would become his lover. It was only a matter of time.

Then an incident occurred that seemed to confirm all his wildest fantasies. Janet asked if she could stay on at their house. The break up of her long term relationship had had a traumatic effect on her, she explained. To Gillian, it seemed a perfectly sisterly thing to say: ‘Yes.’

Graham could hardly contain his excitement. When she arrived at the front door, he took all her bags upstairs to the spare bedroom and layed them all out lovingly on the duvet.

Janet was surprised. Men normally didn’t bother.
But she gave it little thought.

Those slightly wary feelings she had about Graham in Bali were long since gone. She was just grateful to have a place to stay. She did not really think he had a serious crush on her. Gillian, on the other hand, noticed that things seemed well… different.

A few weeks later they accepted an invitation to a neighbours’ party. It was a rare treat for the twins. Graham was not a great spender and the chance to dress up came but once or twice a month. As Janet came down the stairs wearing a pretty red dress, Graham looked up from the hallway.

‘Janet. You look marvellous. What a beautiful dress. You really know how to look good don’t you?’

His smile seemed never ending. He could not stop looking at her body. Admiring every aspect of it as she gave them both the customary twirl.

As Graham poured compliment after compliment out, Gillian stood beside him in the room. He had not said one word about her outfit. She felt upset by his neglect. But she put it down to thoughtlessness.

Parties in Orpington tended to be pretty staid affairs. When Gillian, Graham and Janet turned up at their neighbour’s semi-detached home, they were a breath of fresh air compared to the grey-looking people at the gathering.

Smartly, but sexily dressed, the two sisters prompted a number of glances from the mainly middle-aged men assembled. Graham was lapping up the attention. In his mind, he had not one, but two of the prettiest girls in the street on his arm.

More people began to arrive and the party picked up. Then the hosts turned up the music. The sixties sounds brought a lot of memories back for Graham. He watched as some of the couples danced in the front room. The effect of the alcohol had loosened their suburban outlook and some people were actually enjoying themselves. Gillian wandered off to talk to a friend. It left Graham on his own with Janet. For a moment, there was a difficult silence between them. He was lost for words. His love for her was so overwhelming that he didn’t know what to say. Anything would have sounded ridiculous. He could hardly blurt out ‘I love you’ in front of a crowded party.

Janet construed his silence as shyness. She decided to break the ice.

‘Why don’t we dance?’

It was an innocent enough request, but to a man as besotted as he was, it sounded like an gift from god. A confirmation of his delusion.

It was not as if they were even about to dance closely together. Janet would never have even considered that option. She simply intended to hop
around to the music for a few minutes. Nothing more. She now knew he had a crush on her. It was obvious. She just hoped it would go away.

As they danced, Graham watched and soaked up the way she moved. From the twisting of her hips to the movement of her thighs, he could not take his eyes off her. Like a lot of men when they dance, he was barely moving. She had no idea he was examining her every move. Lusting after her. Imagining she was making love to him. But when she saw his eyes, they were a dead give away. They were boring deep into hers. She thought it was probably the effect of the drink. But it made her feel uncomfortable. She did not like being stared at so intently by any man – certainly not her brother-
in-law
.

To Graham there was no going back.

When a person is obsessed they lose sight of reality. They believe that every sign is significant. Every movement becomes yet more proof of affection.

Later, he tape recorded a message to her – referring to that fateful first dance.

‘It was the first time I really had an opportunity of dancing with you the way I really wanted to. God, I can feel it now. I think it is probably the best way I have ever danced. I was moving to the way your body was moving and I was certainly
responding the way you were. If anyone was watching my eyes they must have known I was so in love with you.’

To Gillian Philpott, the signs were also becoming all too apparent. She had played the good samaritan and allowed her sister to stay at their home. Now she was abusing that hospitality by having what appeared to be a love affair with her husband. Gillian just could not believe the relationship was only
one-way
. It took two, that was her attitude. And now she was building up a hatred for them both.

It was December, 1989, and after just one year of married life, Gillian wished she had never agreed to the wedding. Everything was going wrong for them.

The marriage had just been a piece of paper, a confirmation of what they already knew. But now it seemed to have sealed their fate. She felt the relationship crumbling the moment they had returned from the honeymoon. He no longer listened to anything she said. Instead, he heaped praise on Janet constantly while barely acknowledging her existence.

Gillian would walk into rooms where they both were and become immediately struck by the overwhelming silence – as if they had been talking secretly until the moment she entered. At meal times, Graham would respond so lovingly to Janet’s conversation. Always looking deep into her eyes
whenever they spoke. Gillian would just sit there. Neglected. Unwanted.

In bed at night it was just the same story. He wasn’t interested any more. Gillian came to the same conclusion millions of wives the world over do every day. She decided he must be seeing another woman – and it could only be Janet.

But, so far, she had no firm evidence. She had never caught them actually kissing. Not even touching and certainly nothing sexual. The torture of not knowing for sure was, in some ways, even worse than knowing for certain. At least then she could get on with her life and find another man. Start afresh. She was only 27. Easily young enough to meet and marry someone new. Someone who would make her happy. But, without any evidence, it was difficult to confront them.

Once, she cornered Janet on her own, while Graham was outside washing the car.

‘Are you having an affair with him? Just tell me the truth.’

Janet was astounded. She had no idea what her sister was thinking. As far as she was concerned, Graham had a silly crush. She would not have even entertained the thought of having an affair with him. As far as Janet was concerned, she had never once encouraged Graham. It was all in his head.

She assured her sister there was ‘no truth in it
whatsoever’. But she knew that the atmosphere in that house could only get worse.

Gillian kept watching, waiting for the signs.

She became convinced her sister was lying. How could he get that infatuated with her unless she was returning his affections?

Gillian could not get the relationship out of her mind.

Janet and Graham had just gone out Christmas shopping together. That would give them all sorts of opportunities for a liaison. A chance to express their love for one another. He could even be assuring her that he would leave his wife.

All these thoughts were rushing through Gillian’s mind as she sat alone at the house one afternoon. She had to know one way or another. The anguish could not go on much longer. There had to be a way to find out for certain.

She went upstairs to Janet’s bedroom, determined to discover the truth. She felt no guilt as she systematically rifled through her twin sister’s bags. There had to be some evidence. Some shred of proof that they were having an affair. Underneath a pile of clothing in one case, she found an envelope. Inside it was a card. Something within her cried This is it.

On the cover, it looked like a perfectly normal Christmas card. But inside, the message was loud and clear ‘To my darling, I wish you every happiness
at Christmas. I am so fortunate to spend my life with you always.’

Gillian began to cry. Now she had found out the truth, it really hurt. Maybe she should never have gone snooping for it in the first place.

Then she could have carried on in the hope they could mend their marriage. Now she was faced with the facts. But she had wanted to know. She had to find out.

The tears streamed down her face. The feeling of betrayal. The disappointment. But she had to get a hold of herself. She had to confront them. This was it. This was all the evidence Gillian required.

She went back downstairs and waited. She knew they had to come back from that shopping trip eventually. Then she would destroy them. She would tell them what she thought of them.

She first heard them approach as they walked up the short driveway to the house. Janet was laughing. Graham was telling her a joke and she was responding warmly. Gillian watched through the net curtains that hid so many secrets in the suburban world she lived in. It incensed her to see them so happy together.

As she heard the key being turned in the front door lock, she braced herself for her onslaught. This time they could not deny it. There was no way they could claim this Christmas card was anything other
than a token of their love for one another.

Janet and Graham looked up and smiled as Gillian approached them in the hallway. But, within moments, they could tell that something was wrong. Gillian looked flushed with fury. The tears had long gone. Their place had been taken by seething anger. The time had come.

‘She’s got to go.’

Janet was stunned to hear what her twin sister – her own flesh and blood – was saying.

Graham was not so surprised. He knew it would come to this one day. He wanted it to reach a head, so that Gillian could no longer control it.

‘Then you will have to go as well.’

Graham’s voice was cool, collected. The words spoken almost silkily, but with menace underneath.

The tables had turned. Gillian – the one who had just discovered her sister was having what she thought was an affair with her husband – was now being made to feel like the villain.

For a few moments these three relatives looked at one another.

But the anger that had been building up inside Gillian had turned to fear. Fear that she was about to lose her home and her husband. Underneath it all, she hoped that by confronting them both she could drive Janet out of the house and then they could start afresh.

But now her world had been turned upside down. She was confused. She knew that deep inside, she still loved Graham – no matter what he had or had not done with her twin sister.

‘Please love me.’ She begged. ‘Not her.’

Gillian was feeling desperate now. Her sister had run upstairs to pack her things leaving the couple alone to face each other.