The window cleaning ticket murder - A true story

The Window Cleaning Ticket Murder

This is the true story of the murder of Daphne Torrock and was written with a play on words.

The whole of the village crawled with Police as I went about my business. I had a good vantage point and I could look down on them as they came and went. I was for all intents and purposes, invisible.

It's not as though I could not be seen at all and indeed, I did not attempt to hide myself. Yet I still remained invisible. I could see in the reflection of the glass the incident vehicle surrounded by the police, the coroner and the crime scene investigators as well as some of the public.

Something terrible had happened in the village, a village I knew well and what was about to unfold, was an atrocity that had not occurred in this village before nor perhaps would ever occur again.

Still apparently invisible, I was able to remove my equipment and a set of ladders from the scene without anyone noticing me. It was amazing that I was just able to drive away without being challenged. I breathed a sigh of relief.

It's not as though I felt guilty or anything and as I drove home wondering just how I was able to drive away from a crime scene looking as nonchalant as any normal person could.

For several weeks, there were no knocks on my door, no phone calls or inquiries whatsoever. It was not as though I was expecting them as the true horror of a person that I had known and shared thoughts and small talk with, for years, lay brutally murdered in her bedroom.

I had met Daphne some years before. Even my wife knew her and sometimes I would talk and would be invited into her house. It was a typical cottage and Daphne had that certain taste that only someone who had really "lived" could have expressed in its decor in such a delightful way. Daphne was an easy-going character but had a dark side to her and would often be away in London. I would not see her for a while and then she would just turn up with a friend. I wondered who these men were and I looked upon them with disdain and suspicion.

Crime Watch is one of those programme's that you either love or you hate. For me I was not averse to watching it and indeed on this particular night I knew the net was closing in. Daphne's body was discovered by her cleaner who I also knew. Of course it was a heinous crime. Strangulation and the plastic bag just to make sure was of course a callous thing to do. The question kept entering my head over and over, "why, why?" Life in this village was never going to be the same again.

For days on end I pondered about whether I should phone in to Crime Watch or just the local police station. Could I, would I? I just could not bring myself to do it. I knew nothing, nothing at all and that's how it would stay.

Weeks passed, things died down and it all blew over. I hadn't even been questioned and nobody had been arrested. I was in a way disappointed, almost angry that I had been overlooked. I ventured into the village again as normal, the police long gone the incident van just visible as a patch of lighter grass where it had been parked. The crime unsolved.

I could see Daphne's house just down the hill. The soul of the house was missing, empty quiet and lonely. I had no need to go to the house anymore. It was then with a start, I knew that I had left some evidence behind me. Surely they had found it, they must have found it. It was impossible not to have been found and indeed it was damning evidence in the form of a small slip of paper. My finger prints were on this scrap of paper, this I knew. It could only be a matter of time surely? Yet still, I remained invisible.

Several years passed and I had cause to visit a Policeman's house in the course of my business. I asked how the Daphne Torrock case was coming on. He said that there was a suspect. I was not tense in any way. The suspect was Moroccan and the authorities were waiting to extradite him. Ah, a suspect, one from Daphne's shady past, one that had also been in the house. Was there evidence to connect him with the crime.

After I had carried out the work that the Policeman required, I left a small piece of paper. It was identical to the one that I had left in Daphne's house before that fatal day. Had I made a mistake?

The next time I called on the Policeman, he knew exactly who I was and even knew my name, my whole history. Did it make me nervous? No I was calm. How could I remain so calm in the face of such an abhorrent crime?

The answer is simple. I knew nothing of Daphne's murder until I saw it on Crime Watch. I was invisible because everyone knew who I was. No one thought to question me as I went about my business. You see I was invisible because I was always there right in front of everybody, part of the scenery, Mr anonymous. Did I have any relevant information about the crime? No I did not and I had nothing to do with it. The Moroccan was extradited and was eventually jailed for the murder of Daphne Torrock, the evidence overwhelming.

You see, on that small piece of paper I'd left in Daphne's house that day were written the words; "Windows Cleaned Today".

For much more on what happened in my life take a look at my book for more surprising incidents by clicking on this link for a FREE preview and free look inside my book Running for Home.

Other books by this author include the time travel novel called "Inside the Clock" which is based on a true story and in which the reader must decide whether or not that the author actually traveled back in time or not? "Inside the Clock"

Inside the Clock - A novel about time travel based on a true story

Hey I can't believe how well my book is doing on Amazon. I never actually thought I would be an author but my novel "Inside the Clock" based on a true story, has been published in the Amazon Kindle store. What I'm doing now is to trying to publicise it by going door to door with cards while I collect my window cleaning money!

The way Amazon works is that the higher your book gets, the more good reviews it has then the higher it goes again to a place where more people begin to see it so more buy it.... you get the picture. It's a place where a lot of writers would dearly love to be; including me. But I look at it this way;  I never imagined I would write two books and have thousands of people read them. That in itself is a privilege even if most of those books were acquired whilst they were on offer for free.

I am trying to look at it altruistically rather than be disappointed that I never made a fortune out of it.

This book called "Inside the Clock" is actually based on a true story of something that happened to me for real in 1969. It was nothing extraordinary but it was something that has bugged me for years. All the characters in the book are actually real as are the places and animals. It is a real story but with some fiction thrown in to make it interesting. In this way I am able to write with confidence since I was actually there and most of the events described in the book did take place right down to the news events of the era.

I have several interesting reviews so far which gives me some confidence. The person giving one of the reviews seemed to think that I had actually travelled back in time. But anyway, make up your own minds as to what is real and what is fiction in this, my first novel - "Inside the Clock"

Wagga writes his Autobiography

Here's my Autobiography in which I describe what actually happened in my life. More stuff happened than I had at first realized. It was a hectic life right from the outset, having military parents and moving from one camp to the next it was never a settled life. I left home at the age of 14 to join a sea training school for the Merchant Navy. This was more of a reform or borstal school though.

At sixteen I joined the Merchant Navy as a deckboy and traveled the world. Health a safety were for sissies and did not exist. Consequently, we got into all sorts of dangerous situations.

Becoming a Psychiatric nurse gave me a glimpse into just what it was like in the large Victorian asylums of the sixties and seventies and plenty of wierd and strange things.

Joining the Royal Navy, I became first a radio operator, then a helicopter aircrew man and escaped death by the narrowest of margins. Later becoming a Military policeman it was all fun and games trying to put into practice what I had learned.

After leaving the military in 1983, my wife and I went to live in Malta which was an amazing time although often we would barely have enough food to live on. After two years with no work we reluctantly returned to the UK where I began to work as a window cleaner right up to the present day.

If you click on this link it will take you to Amazon book store (UK cutomers click here Running for Home) and it contains a feature whereby you can look inside any book for free and read a remarkable amount of the book before purchasing it so you get a feel for it: Running for Home

Free Amazon look inside feature - Time travel novel based on a true story

Free Amazon look inside feature - Time travel novel based on a true story

Did you know that you can review books on Amazon before you buy them? You will be surprised at just how much you are allowed to read of each book you are interested in before you actually buy it. In fact you will be able to read so much of it that you will probably get "into it" if it's any good and prompt you to buy it. Read my short story to see my viewpoint and see if you agree that if you could go back in time, then it could be too dangerous to change even the slightest thing in case you should change the future and put your present family at risk. "Inside the Clock" is based on a true story that actually happened to me. Go here  to read this book or at least get a long free preview by clicking on the "look inside" feature when you go to the Amazon site.

The most stupid thing I ever did!

Most stupid thing I did

When I was in the Merchant Navy way back in the late 60's I was just a young deck boy. The ship was called the Canberra Star of Blue Star Line. She was known as a refrigerator ship and would sail to New Zealand to load up with frozen lamb destines for the British dinner table.

It was certainly a different time and place to what it is today. The crew were mainly a motley bunch of Glaswegians who would not tolerate a naive over sheltered boy like me. As a consequence, I was bullied a lot on board this ship.

One day, some of the crew ganged up on me and were out to get me. I tried everything to avoid them but I was cornered on the stern of the ship. It was a calm day in mid Atlantic, the horizon clear all round the ship. The nearest land hundreds of miles away. I was afraid of what these guys were going to do to me so I did what I thought was a great idea. If you have seen the film Titanic and you remember what Rose did? Yes she climbed over the railings right on the stern. This is exactly what I did.

The crew were horrified and just melted away, knowing just how dangerous this was and did not want to be party to a fatality. Had I lost my grip then it was almost certain that I would have died since it is particularly hard to find a person in the sea even at close range.

I climbed back over the railings and decided never to attempt anything so stupid again.

Amazon eBooks - Free preview before you buy

Did you know that you can preview millions of books before you buy on Amazon Kindle library? Yes and it's free with no catches whatsoever. So if you see a title In Amazons eBook library that you think will be a good book to read, you can preview it by clicking on the "Look Inside" tab that is displayed on the top edge of the cover of the book.

It may surprise you at just how much of the book you can actually preview. You will be able to read more pages of your potential purchase than you think. This is a good thing since you can often get a real flavour for the book that you have taken an interest in.

So, if you were not aware of this generous feature that Amazon have provided in their Kindle book store, then it can be a big advantage in helping you make up your mind on what title to buy. Here is an example of what you will see:

Here is a real example for you to read. It may surprise you at just how much of a book you can actually read before having to buy it "Inside the Clock". This is my book by the way - hope you enjoy the introduction to a story about time travel but based on a true story.

Henry Winkler - Great Ambassador

Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer and author. Winkler is best known for his role as Arthur Fonzarelli in the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days

 Henry Winkler as the cool dude we all knew as the "Fonz", is a great ambassador for upholding the rights of children. He has shown remarkable empathy for the woes of children in the education system. Children that want to do well but are held back by their lack of ability or even disability such as Dyslexia.

Henry Winkler has Dyslexia himself and suffered greatly in his younger days and this is why he can empathise with children and adults that have problems with learning. He goes on to say that children want to succeed and are desperate to achieve and instead of being regarded as lazy if they cannot keep up with the academic regime that they are subject to, it is more likely that they have a problem with learning.

All children are different and have different abilities and should not be castigated for being unable to achieve high standards in something that perhaps they do not have the ability to do. He mentions that everyone (adults included) are great at something and can quite possibly excel at it given the chance to shine in that particular category of learning, craft or vocation.

Children's self esteem can quite literally be destroyed by over zealous teachers that measure a child's performance by the curriculum or by the official stance on the subject. When Henry Winkler asked a class of children "what do you think you are good at?" the answers were quite remarkable. One child even said; "at being myself" another said "at math". These answers are poles apart but suggest that this is exactly what is found in real life; people are good at what they are good at and they cannot be forced into an artificial mold.

The damage that trying to force children to achieve is more likely to destroy their self esteem and once that has been destroyed then it is extremely difficult to recover. Henry Winkler himself went through this challenge and can testify to just how difficult it was for him to recover his self esteem and confidence. As he himself says "I have had to learn to be confident". He goes on to say that once you know that your lack luster performance in school was not your fault, then you can begin to move on an recover your self esteem and confidence as it should have been.

I personally can identify with all of what has been said above and after a head injury at the age of six I can see that my limitations were never my fault. Had I known this all those decades ago, things might have been different. I was always good at making things. I was artistic too but instead of following this trend where my heart was leading me, I tried to do things that I did not have the ability to do which in turn ruined my self esteem and confidence. An academic future was highly prized and a future as a carpenter was looked upon as second best. How I wish the "Fonz" was there to give me a boost when I needed it but as he would say in his catch phrase...."Aayyyy."