The Cab Driver

By Alan Black

Women taught both father and son everything they needed to know about sex.
The father became a well-respected engineer, a builder of bridges.
The son became a serial killer - the worst in American history.
103 victims. The son could have done in over a thousand if it wasn’t for an act of God. Compelling reading with an amazing ending.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ReadOnTime BV
• Release date: Nov 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781742841458

Book preview

Chapter 1

The Father

Blackpool, Lancashire, England, 1965

Being uncomfortable around the opposite sex didn’t start with Jason Mathews. That started with his father, Jack, when he was a young boy and later in his teens.

We must begin with the parents some thirty years earlier, before Jason was born.

Reports of the Mathews family, which were released at the end of the tragedy, show that the parents were a normal, hard working couple with no inkling of mental problems in the family. Psychologists, who have written articles on this case, have come up with a theory on how these atrocious crimes could have happened. We will leave it to you to draw your own conclusions. This chilling story must start with Jason’s parents, Margaret and Jack Mathews. Let's begin with his dad.

It was a nice Sunday morning in the popular holiday town of Blackpool, the 15th of June 1965. That time of the year was the height of the holiday season and no different from any of the other holiday seasons. By 10 o'clock in the morning the beaches started to fill up with holiday makers. The famous Blackpool Trams, with their bells clanging down the seafront, were transporting people from their bed and breakfast accommodations to their favourite part of the beach. From the North Pier to the South Pier and vice versa, the same activity would go on all day on a regular basis, but it was no ordinary Sunday morning for young Jack Mathews. Most of the other local residents living on Windsor Avenue, a small cul-de-sac near the North Pier, were well aware that Jack was getting married today. Everyone knew everyone on Windsor Avenue, a small number of middle class, terraced houses equally spread on each side of the road and all with bay windows.

It was no surprise that the residents started to gather at number 12 to wish our Jack good luck. Jack Mathews was getting married today and although the ceremony was still two hours away, the celebrations and good wishes were starting to flow. Jack, his father, and Roger, his best man, were already standing outside the house greeting friends and neighbours as they came over. Not many events happened on Windsor Avenue on a Sunday morning, except the regular church goers coming and going from services.

Jack Mathews was born in the same house, 12 Windsor Avenue, twenty-five years earlier to James and Mary Mathews. He was the couple’s second son, born five years after Gordon who was tragically killed while crossing the main road coming home from school one rainy afternoon.

Gordon had chased his ball around one of the air raid shelters and had been hit by a bus. His parents had only just allowed him to walk to school on his own just before the tragedy happened. Jack remembered little about his brother as there was a five year difference in age and at the time of Gordon's death, in September 1942, Jack was only two-years-old. The parents had to live with the decision that they had allowed a seven-year-old boy to go to school on his own. There was a guard at the school crossing and they thought he’d be safe.

Since that dreadful day, when Jack became the only child, he was taken everywhere by his parents. He lived in a bubble after Gordon died and was only allowed out to play when one of his parents knew exactly where he was playing. Jack's mother strictly protected him during those early school years. It was either a visiting aunt, or the woman next door who would look after Jack on the odd occasion when his mother had to go out on family business.

During those early years, Jack was handled mainly by women. His father very rarely played with him. On a rare occasion Jack's father would take him to Bloomfield Road to watch Blackpool play ball. Jack's favourite player was Sir Stanley Mathews (plain Stan in those days), same last name, but no relation.

Jack always wished that he could have spent more time with his dad. When Gordon died, Jack's father became more distant and spent more time in the pub than he did at home with his family. Jack didn't realise it at the time, but he felt quite uncomfortable around the opposite sex.

He dreaded those Sunday's when either the family visited the Mathew's house, or the other way around, when the Mathews went to visit his mother’s relations in Manchester or Preston. Whether it was the home visit or an away visit, it was the inevitable kiss on the cheek from his aunts or girl cousins that made Jack cringe, he hated it.

When Jack was thirteen, his parents gave him a little more space. They allowed him to deliver newspapers for Sid Perry, the local newsagent. His parents also allowed him to keep the small amount of money he made so he could buy personal stuff. He was always careful with his money and saved more than he spent. It was to become a life long habit.

Jack was a popular boy and well liked by the neighbours. He would never say no to running an errand for Mrs. Fisher at number 8, or placing a bet with the local bookie for Fred Bates when the gout wouldn't let him do it himself.

Everyone thought that Jack was just an ordinary pupil at St. Kevin's, so it came as a big shock to his parents when, in 1963, young Jack passed his O levels and gained entry into Blackpool Grammar School. Inwardly, Jack's father (a local tram driver) fully expected Jack to leave school at 13 and to get a job. He lobbied at home for that to occur. It would have enabled young Jack to bring some extra money into the house thus enabling his father to buy an extra pint at the local pub.

Let's not lambaste Jack's father. He was a nice man, never a big drinker, or gambler, and he always provided for the family. His sole enjoyment was a few beers at the local pub. He also bought a Little Woods Football coupon each week to see if he could crack the 75,000 pound first prize. The rest of his pay packet went into the household.

Jack's mother, Mary, had not backed up her husband when James had talked about Jack going to work to contribute money into the household. But she didn’t want to send her son to the grammar school either. She didn’t want Jack to turn into what she thought was a toff. She stood firm on this count. Jack's early academic promise wasn’t to be uncovered just yet.

He went to Blackpool High School. Those high school years were quite enjoyable for young Jack. However, the best part of his life was still many years away.

Jack sailed through high school. His parents and his relatives had not studied all the way through high school, so they didn't question him about his school work because they hadn't a clue about all that. Jack endured very little pressure with his studies. He did his homework with time to spare for an evening kick around with his mates. Occasionally, he went to watch football with his mates and their fathers.

Once in awhile Jack's dad would come along to Bloomfield Road and those were the games that Jack liked the best. He bought his tickets, including one for his dad, from his newspaper delivery earnings. Oh did he enjoy those days, free of the girls and his aunties. He loved going to the match with the old man.

Now and again when his female cousins came to visit, it was a fast hello. He knew that he didn’t have to play or talk to them. Then it was out to play with his mates who were all boys. The women didn’t complain either, they knew that although he had always been polite, Jack had never really been well-adjusted to their company. He didn't even have one favourite female cousin, which was unusual.

His parents didn't think much of the problem at the time. They probably noticed it, but they didn’t want to make it an issue. His parents found it much easier to let it go, rather than confront him over not being nice to his female cousins. Jack still acquiesce to the visits with his relatives. His parents told Jack that when they visited family, or when relatives came to visit them, they expected everyone to be together for meals. Jack thought it better to agree to this than to cause family problems. Jack’s parents told themselves that Jack was going through a period of shyness and that he would grow out of it as he got older.

Life was good for the Mathews family. Jack’s father enjoyed a relatively easy job on the trams. His mother worked part-time at home sewing in sleeves for a local raincoat manufacturer. Jack carried on with his earnings as a newspaper boy. He was never in need of anything and never did contribute any money into the household.

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Chapter 2

College years

Jack Mathews graduated from high school in 1958, at the age of 18, with a high school diploma. England had emerged from the austerity of its post-war years. The government was promoting projects large and small. Towns, cities, roads, and rivers were sprouting newer looks. Jack decided that he would like to be a part of the new boom years.

Jack emerged from a lazy afternoon swim in the sea off the North Pier in Blackpool. This was a memorable Friday afternoon. When you looked at him you saw an average British teenager. His baby blond hair had stayed that way. He had grown taller the last couple of years, to a modest height of five feet eight inches. He had eyes bluer than the blue-grey seas around that area. At 140 pounds sopping wet, you could call him a skinny kid.

Today he knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life. His friends were going into private and public concerns as trainees and apprentices. Jack made an application to get an apprenticeship with the structural building and design firm of Holdsworth-Becker, a world renowned designer and builder of bridges. The firm had offices in Blackpool and Newcastle. Jack sold himself well to the recruitment officer. Within two weeks Jack was offered an apprenticeship and on his application the recruitment officer had put at the top of the page, exceptionally gifted boy watch for him.

The arrangement with Jack was that he worked for the firm during the day and studied at night to earn his engineering degree. During his apprenticeship, Jack took a keen interest in the construction and design of large span bridges. After a five year course it came as no surprise from anyone that Jack received an Honours Degree in Engineering from Dartmouth Engineering College.

Once he received his degree, the company promoted him to a supervisory position working on the New Tyne Bridge being built in Newcastle. Jack's work was divided between his office in Blackpool and his meetings in Newcastle for on site inspections with architects and civil engineers contracted for the job.

The first few years he held various important positions with the company, yet he was only 23-years-old. Competitive companies tried to headhunt young Jack, he was brilliant at what he did. He knew that in 1964 his company would enter the bidding for the new Hudson Bridge in New York. Tenders would go out and young Jack knew that if his company won the contract, he would be sent to New York to head that division of the company.

No money in the world would get him to switch companies at that stage. He still did very well. In the five years since he started he was earning over a hundred pounds a week, a pretty good sum for a young engineer. His company knew what they had in young Jack and his reputation in his field was building slowly. Holdsworth-Becker knew that with Jack on their team they would have an edge over their competitors when bidding started on the new bridge.

During the past forty years the firm had built a reputation of being one of the worlds leading bridge builders. Having a brilliant young engineer like Jack with the firm was a big plus. With the new M1, it didn't take Jack long to drive from Blackpool to Newcastle. He was a popular young man and a good conversationalist, if the subjects were football (especially Blackpool) or bridges. He was somewhat of an expert on the world’s biggest bridges, even those built by rival firms.

Most of his social life was spent at home downloading xxx rated porn links on his new state of the art commercial computer bought for him to work out complicated engineering problems whilst working from home. The xxx rated porn links, which at that time was illegal, could only be obtained on special commercial computers just released at that time. Little did his bosses know that besides engineering graphs and bridge designs being shown on Jacks computer, designs of a different kind were being downloaded by young Jack. No one knew about the sexual satisfactions he was getting on his main frame computer. He wouldn’t think anything at masturbating at least twice a night to these movies which were available on the black market. They were very expensive in the sixties but it suited him. For Jack it was a darn site easier than trying to make a date. Watching the movies helped Jack control his sexual needs, they never came back to haunt him.

Most weekends he would go out for drinks with the lads where he never misbehaved, never chatted up the birds in the pub and had a wonderful reputation as a fine upstanding young man. It wasn't until he was twenty-three that he had his first sexual experience. It happened one cold, rainy night in October.

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Chapter 3

The First Time

Jack was just about to drive back to Blackpool when he saw a woman standing on Clyde Street, a couple of blocks away from the ramp leading onto the M1. Although he had little experience with the opposite sex, he knew that the woman was a prostitute. She was thin, about forty-years-old with dark, brown hair. He didn't know why he made a U-turn and pulled up next to her.

He opened the window and the first thing she said to him was could she get in the car. She was wet and cold and couldn't talk on the street. Without hesitating, he opened the door and let her in.

Hi, my name is Rose, said the woman. Are you looking for a good time? she asked.

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