The Dark Web Murders

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Tuesday, 14th August. Evening 

The venue was a large country mansion just south of the city. It was set in its own substantial grounds at the end of a long tree-lined drive.Exclusive, ultra-private, it purveyed very specific services to an exponentially growing number of wealthy members. Access to the mansion's menu of experiences, broadly categorised under the common heading, Fulfilment for the Enlightened, was available only through recommendation, and even that was dependent on the result of an intensive vetting process. 

The names and professions of those who were granted membership remained secret, but The Club's mysterious founder, whose identity was carefully protected, had full details of all members locked carefully away in a hidden safe. That safe was hidden in the house of Judge Trevor Neeson. To the members, the judge was an intermediary who introduced them to the arcane diversions of The Club. The truth, however, was that the judge was the owner, architect and creative force behind this flourishing venture. 

The wealthy members seldom socialised, although occasionally a few would meet for drinks and the exchange of experiences. But reputations tended to be held sacred, and most of the members preferred to fulfil their extreme desires in the privacy of one of the many upstairs rooms in the mansion, or even in the 'dungeon' cellar. When 'group entertainment' was organised,participants wore specially designed masks to ensure that identities were protected. Wealthy doctors and surgeons, members of the legal professions, businessmen and women, scions of multi-nationals, were among the elite of this secret society whose fantasy experiences had become increasingly hardcore to satiate palates already too jaded to find diversion in the offerings of normal sex clubs. 

Masked fetish balls, dominatrix training, sadomasochism—there was no proclivity that could not be gratified. Patrons, as the members were called, would pay several thousand to star in their own adult movies, or to have 'fun' sex parties with young children, or to be kidnapped and abused by their captors, or even to be a 'mediaeval gaoler', equipped with whips and chains, to physically abuse 'recalcitrant prisoners' until the floor of the cellar ran with blood. For those to whom money was no object, opportunity for experiences involving extreme sadism could be arranged with precision and discretion.  Although The Club was of relatively recent vintage, a few members,owners of private jets or luxury yachts, were from England, Europe, and onef rom as far away as South Africa. 

The menu was as varied as it was imaginative, with numerous options to suit all tastes. Few questioned how the'fun children', the young porn actresses, the 'prisoners', or the many other essential 'supporting actors', were sourced for the delectation of The Club's affluent clientele, nor did any express curiosity as to how or where those 'dream extras' lived their lives when not engaged in The Club's business. 

The Club's house provided the patrons with a number of bars, one of which was an L-shaped drawing room, comfortably furnished, with a fully stocked bar at the shorter end. While drinks were free, there was no bartender to serve the drinks. The members served themselves. Privacy was paramount.The evening of the fourteenth of August, a Tuesday, was typical for Northern Ireland. Despite the fact it was late summer, it was cold, wet,with windy squalls forcing the rain to beat heavily, if spasmodically,against the windows of the big house. 

A small group of patrons was comfortably ensconced before a large natural fire near the free bar, oblivious to the night's tantrums, sipping drinks and talking quietly. Masks had been discarded to allow an unimpeded flow to what was clearly a tense conversation. The deviant delights on The Club's menu were clearly far from their minds. 

Professor Edith Gallagher, perched awkwardly on the edge of a deep armchair, the quivering of an illicit cigarette in her fingers betraying her nerves, said, "Christ! We've only just joined The Club and already I've had the police around."