The Devil's Lullaby
Page 27
As for me, things have never been better. Aren and I are getting pretty serious, my new PI business is taking off like gangbusters thanks to all the recent publicity, and I’ve even found some much needed peace that I’ve been desperate for since my sister’s passing. Your reign of terror is officially over.
Just one more thing: I don’t know where you are or what you think your next move is, but your days are numbered. One day, very soon, you’re going to be captured, and I hope I’m there to see the police wipe that smug grin right off your face. As you now know, nobody stays hidden forever, and now the whole world has seen your face. Enjoy your final days of freedom. I hope you lie awake every night thinking about your failures and trembling at the fact that, before long, you’ll be the one in shackles, cold and hungry and devoid of hope.
Au revoir,
Allison
To: Allison346542@gmail.com
From: Abaddon
Subject: cheers to a game well-played
Greetings my love,
I was overjoyed to receive your recent correspondence. Admittedly, it can get rather lonesome in exile. Congratulations on finding your buried treasure. That attic is one of my finest achievements. Since becoming a celebrity of some notoriety, I’ve had to maintain a low profile, but I do hope our paths cross again one day. In fact, I’m certain they will.
I was so sad to see that you closed your shop. Truly, you’re one of the great cons I’ve ever met, and that is saying something. If we were to become partners, it could be the stuff of legend, but sadly, you’ve allowed the plague of guilt to cloud your better judgment.
I just want to address one minor misconception. You seem to be under the impression that my work has been a failure. In order to draw that conclusion, you must be under the misguided impression that any of this was ever personal to me. In fact, every bit of it has gone according to plan, including Kristen’s rescue. Let me explain.
Killing rich idiots has always been a means to an end. I’ve acquired vast wealth as a result, enough that I can now retire comfortably. I gave you Kristen on a silver platter because I no longer needed her. There was nothing I could gain from her except the opportunity to send you a message, and that message was sent loud and clear. As for Dominic, we both know he’s far from saintly. A year or two in prison might actually straighten him out. That’s why I planted your phone at his church. I knew he probably wouldn’t take the fall for me, but I didn’t want him to get away unscathed either.
I confess that one grudge was personal. Just one. I let Mother take the fall for me. She deserved it. I won’t divulge all the details of her treatment toward me, but I will say that if you’re ever struggling to pay your rent, prostituting your ten-year-old daughter is not the solution. I have no remorse about summoning her to the hotel that night and allowing her to self-destruct as I coasted to freedom. Again, it was all part of the plan.
Now my enemies are paying the price, my future is financially secure, and I’m free to begin the new life I’ve always dreamed about. And I have you to thank, my love. Say hello to Kristen for me, and don’t let her, or Aren, out of your sight. You never know when the cat might get bored and decide to play again.
Until we meet again,
Abaddon
Nearly three months after putting the whole ordeal behind her, Allison was invited to the Summerlin Community Center to be a guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Las Vegas Skeptic Society. She spoke about her time as a fraudulent psychic, the experiences that had led her to pursue a new and more productive path, and her newfound passion for exposing cons.
“I guess the most humbling lesson,” she said from the podium of the rented banquet hall, “at least for me, is that we can never blame the victim. For years, I convinced myself that people want to be fooled, or worse, that people who are stupid enough to be fooled only have themselves to blame. But the thing is, any one of us can be conned under the right conditions. The only way to be truly impervious to deception is to become so cynical and so callous that you become completely dismissive of the entire world. And that’s way worse, if you ask me.
“I blamed the victims because it spared me from having to deal with my own responsibility in the matter. And if you’ve ever been a victim of a con, you probably blamed yourself on some level. ‘How could I have possibly been so stupid?’ We’ve all been there. But don’t beat yourself up. All we can do is learn, and we need to remind ourselves and teach our children to think critically and question everything. We still won’t get it right every time, but we’ll be much better prepared to face the world.”
The assembly was transfixed, hanging on to her every word. She spoke for nearly an hour, freely divulging all of the tricks she used as a psychic and providing listeners with a point-by-point game plan for spotting hustlers.
Still, when it came time for the Q&A portion, people were most curious about her interactions with the so-called Sin City Slayer.
“When did you realize that Autumn Noble was the Slayer?” asked one man.
“Were you guys friends?” asked another man.
“Did Autumn Noble seem very religious to you?” a young woman asked.
Though mildly irritated, Allison took it all in stride. She answered their questions, mingled after the lecture, and then returned to her car to call it a night. All in all, the event had gone very well. She started the car, pulled out of the parking lot, and merged into the roundabout that led to the main street. Maybe I’ll write a book, she thought.
Her favorite radio station was playing Master of Puppets by Metallica, and she turned up the volume. Though more of a punk at heart, she had always had an affinity for thrash metal. Right as vocalist James Hetfield shouted the line, “Laughter, laughter, all I hear or see is laughter,” the song was drowned out by white noise.
Allison extended her arm to change the station, but before she could hit the button, the static faded and so did the song. For a moment, there was only silence. Then a new song began, but it wasn’t like any song she had ever heard before. It was a simple, eerie xylophone melody, soon accompanied by the voice of a little girl.
The devil creeps into my room
To sing a lullaby
He softly whispers
Pleasant dreams
For soon it's time to die
The End