They Thought He was Safe

by P. D. Workman

  “He had trouble with one of the cartels. His family was safe as long as he left, but if he went back…”

  Zachary thought that through. They walked in silence for a while. Zachary indicated his car as they walked up to it. “This is mine. I want to put this box away. Where do you want to go for pizza? Do you have a favorite place, or just anywhere?”

  “Wherever you want,” Philippe said agreeably.

  Zachary stowed the box away and they both got into the car. He looked on his phone for a pizza place in a slightly nicer area of town and started the engine. He didn’t want to ask Philippe too much until he was a captive audience. Once he was eating, Philippe wouldn’t want to interrupt his meal just because the questions were getting uncomfortable. He’d want to eat all he could while he had the chance. Zachary suspected he was probably not getting enough to eat on a daily basis.

  Once they were settled and the pizza was being baked, Zachary continued the discussion. “What do you think happened to Jose?”

  Philippe pursed his lips, thinking about it.

  “Nando says that people leave all the time. They can go on to another job or they might be running away. If ICE showed up at his work, he wouldn’t stay around. He wouldn’t go back to the apartment; he would just leave.”

  “The police officer who was investigating his disappearance said that Immigration was not involved. They don’t have Jose and, as far as we can tell, they weren’t investigating his work or anywhere that he was involved with. So why would he just disappear like that?”

  “Nando says…”

  “I want to know what you have to say. You seem like a bright young man. You seem like you were friends with Jose and care about what happened to him. I don’t think Nando does.”

  Philippe didn’t say anything for a while. “Nando does care,” he said eventually. “But he is always worried about how things are going to affect him. He doesn’t want to have to run away. He wants to make money. He makes good money because he works hard and he is the one who rents the apartment, so everybody’s money goes to him.”

  “And he makes more than it takes to pay the landlord?” Zachary asked. There were a lot of beds in that apartment. If fifteen or twenty men were paying a hundred dollars apiece for rent, Nando could be socking away a good amount of money just from the rent.

  “He is the one who runs the risk,” Philippe said with a shrug. “So he gets paid something for it.”

  “Do you think that Nando had something to do with Jose’s disappearance?”

  Philippe looked shocked by this suggestion. His eyes widened comically, and he shook his head vigorously. “No, no, Nando wouldn’t do anything to hurt Jose. He is a good man. He takes care of us. If someone is sick or hurt, he is the one who helps. He will get medicine or a doctor, or he can help someone escape, if there is word on the streets that someone is looking for him. Nando is a good man. Just very careful.”

  Zachary nodded slowly. The waitress brought out their pizza, and both men helped themselves. Zachary didn’t see how he was going to be able to eat more than one slice of the huge pizza. Philippe could have his fill and take the leftovers home to the other men at his apartment.

  “But Nando doesn’t know what happened to Jose?”

  Philippe shook his head. “He kept Jose’s things. Didn’t get someone else in there to replace Jose right away, in case he came back. But… he is not coming back.”

  Zachary chewed a mouthful of pizza, unable to answer right away. He swallowed. “How do you know he’s not coming back?”

  “If he was coming back, he would have by now. There wasn’t anything to keep him away from the apartment. Not for this long. Maybe a couple of times he stayed away with a friend overnight. But not a whole week. And he didn’t go to work. So… I don’t know what happened, but I don’t think he is coming back.”

  “Do you have an idea of why not? What might have happened to him?”

  “This land… sometimes it just eats men up.”

  Zachary considered all that Philippe was saying or not saying. “Do you know Pat and Lorne Peterson?”

  Philippe took another piece of pizza. Zachary wasn’t even halfway through his.

  “I met them,” Philippe said finally, cautious.

  “Nando thought that they were Jose’s girlfriends.”

  Philippe laughed. “Jose did not have any girlfriends.”

  “He didn’t date anyone here? Because he had a wife back in El Salvador?”

  Philippe looked at Zachary over his piece of pizza, studying him closely. “You know Pat and Lorne?” he asked.

  “Lorne was my foster father.”

  Philippe took another bite of his pizza, thinking about that. “You know that Jose dated men,” he said finally.

  Zachary nodded. “Yes. I know that. A lot of people might find that shocking, but I don’t. Did other people in the apartment know that about him?”

  Philippe shook his head. “I do not think so. The only people who know are people he goes with. Socially.”

  And that included Philippe himself, Zachary realized. He raised his eyes to meet Philippe’s. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were that close.”

  Philippe nodded. “He thought I was too young,” he confided. “He said I wasn’t old enough to know what I wanted. But I have always known.”

  Zachary wasn’t sure what to say. He let Philippe’s words roll around his mind for a few minutes. He took out his notepad and pencil. “I need to write a few things down before I forget. I’m not going to write down your name. You can look, if you want to.”

  Philippe shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. You can write my name.”

  “Do you have an idea what happened to Jose? Do you think he just left on his own?”

  “No… he would not have left unless he was in trouble. And if he was in trouble, the rest of us would be as well. Me and Nando and everyone else who worked or lived with him. Or socialized with him.”

  Zachary nodded.

  There was silence as Zachary wrote his notes.

  “There have been other men,” Philippe said.

  Chapter Seven

  Z

  achary didn’t want to misinterpret Philippe or put words in his mouth. He answered cautiously. “Other men?” he repeated. “You mean, you have seen other men?”

  Philippe shook his head. “I have. But I meant… other men who have disappeared.”

  Zachary couldn’t help readjusting his chair and leaning forward, wanting to connect with Philippe and not take any chance of misunderstanding him. “Tell me about these disappearances. Who has disappeared? Other undocumenteds, like Jose?”

  “Some of them undocumented. Some with documents. But other men… who are not white… who are part of this community.”

  “Gay men?” Zachary pressed, then corrected himself. “MSM, I mean? Like you and Jose?”

  Philippe nodded. He put down his pizza for a moment, which told Zachary that he was very serious about what else he had to share. He also leaned toward Zachary. “Jose was not the first one. There have been men disappearing… for some time.”

  “Did you tell the police this?”

  Philippe’s eyes flashed. “Why would I tell them anything? They haven’t done anything. They think they solve the problem by arresting people. Having raids of bars and lounges and other places we gather. They don’t want to stop the disappearances. Just the complaints.”

  “Do you think they know who is behind it? Or do you think the police themselves are behind it?”

  “No. I just think… they don’t want to hear it. They don’t care if a few men go missing. It isn’t worth it to investigate.”

  “Have you talked to others about this?” Zachary assumed that he must have. If men had been disappearing for years, then Philippe certainly wasn’t old enough to remember them. He couldn’t have been part of the community for more than a year or two, if that. Someone else in the community must have talked to him about it, and shared the information abou
t the police cracking down on gays instead of trying to help them out.

  “Yes. Of course.”

  “I’d like to talk to somebody who remembers about other men who have disappeared. I want to know what’s going on.”

  “Nobody knows, though,” Philippe said. “If they knew who it was, they wouldn’t have to be afraid. They could turn them over to the police. Or they could do something about it themselves.”

  Zachary nodded. “I understand that. But if I can get information about the victims, these other men who have disappeared, I might be able to figure something out. A pattern. Somebody who knew all of them or was involved closely with them.”

  “How would you find anything out? If the police can’t find anything, how would you? They are not going to give you their files.”

  “Did the police find out that Jose had left his box of personal items behind?” Zachary challenged.

  Philippe shook his head. “No.”

  “And did the police find out that you and Jose were… close friends?”

  “No.”

  “I found those things out. Today is my first day on the case, and I know more now than the police. I can investigate. I can’t promise that I’ll figure out who it is, but I can’t figure it out if people refuse to talk to me. I need you and the other men in the community to talk about what’s going on. I already have a list of men who could be involved. People who have made threats or who have been violent. I may not have the databases that the police have, but I have a start. And I can find out more.”

  Philippe raised his brows. “You have suspects?”

  “Yes. Potential suspects. I need more details before I can point the finger at anyone seriously, but I have a start.”

  Philippe picked up his pizza again. He ate it more slowly, chewing thoughtfully. “I will ask around,” he agreed.

  “I need more than that. I don’t live here and I want to be able to get started on the investigation today. I don’t want to have to go home without anything, and then to come back in a few days when you turn somebody up who is willing to talk when the trail is colder. If somebody took Jose a week ago, and either harmed him or locked him up somewhere, then that person is here now. Close by. He’s looking over his shoulder and thinking that nobody can punish him for what he’s done. He’s laughing at you.”

  “Not laughing at me,” Philippe insisted, sounding offended.

  “Yes, he’s laughing at you and everybody else in the community who knows that something is going on but doesn’t know who the monster is behind it. He’s laughing at you and everybody else who is afraid to go out at night. He gets a kick out of it, out of knowing that he’s smarter than you or anyone else.”

  “He isn’t that smart.”

  “He is if he has been getting away with kidnapping or murdering men in Vermont for years. Enough men for the people in the community sit up and take notice. There are bound to be men that no one has tied to this guy too. People who were expected to go somewhere else, so they were never missed at the time. However many men you know of who have disappeared, you can bet there are more. Maybe twice as many. Serial offenders operate for years before anyone catches them. We never know how many victims there really were.”

  Philippe took another piece of pizza. “Why do you believe me?”

  Zachary was taken aback by the question. He considered it from Philippe’s point of view. He was young, barely old enough to be called a man. He offered a wild story about men disappearing with no corroborating evidence. As a young man and an immigrant, he was used to being ignored and pushed aside.

  “I believe you because I believe Pat,” he said slowly. “I’ve known him for a lot of years and I know he’s not the type to get hysterical or imagine things or make them up. If he’s concerned, then I know there’s reason to be. He didn’t tell me that there were other men who have disappeared, but that might just be because he didn’t want to taint the investigation or sound like he was telling wild, unverified stories.”

  Zachary took a sip of his soft drink.

  “And I believe you… because you took the time to answer my questions and you care enough about Jose to find out what happened to him. I’m not going to brush you off because of your race or your age. I’ve had that happen to me too many times. I believe you and Pat that Jose has disappeared. And I did my own preliminary investigating this morning; I know there are a lot of people who are making trouble with the community and could be dangerous. Just because it’s not out in the open, that doesn’t mean it’s not there. There are still plenty of people who feel threatened by the growing acceptance of the gay community. A lot of people who would not balk at violence to stop it.”

  Philippe was nodding along with him. He took several big bites of pizza, so it was a minute before he could talk. “I will see if I can get someone to talk to you… if you really think you can find something out. I don’t know what you can do when they just disappear. How would you find anything out? There are no clues.”

  “The more similar cases we can find, the more clues we’ll have. We’ll find a pattern. Somebody had contact with all of them.”

  Philippe stopped mid-bite, sudden realization crossing his face. “If it is someone who knew Jose… then it is somebody I know.”

  “Well… more than likely. We don’t know for sure where they met or how well this guy knew his victims, but chances are… it’s somebody who has crossed your path as well.”

  Philippe gave a shudder. “That is creepy.”

  It wasn’t funny, but Zachary had to laugh at Philippe’s accent and expression. “Sorry. Yes. It is. I wouldn’t want to think this guy was looking at me.”

  “Looking at me…” Philippe repeated, shaking his head. “I do not like this.”

  “You need to know. You need to be careful… I don’t want you disappearing.”

  “But how can I know who is safe and who is not?”

  “We’ll try to narrow down where they were when they disappeared. That will give us some clue. Just… try not to go places by yourself. Especially not when you’re leaving somewhere that is known to… cater to men like you.”

  “It’s more safe to be with someone? To look like a couple? That attracts more attention. People don’t have to guess whether you are there for… purposes.”

  Zachary thought about that. “I don’t know. I still think it is safer to be with someone than to be alone. The men who have disappeared, they haven’t disappeared as couples…?”

  “No,” Philippe agreed after a moment, “only one at a time.”

  “Then I’d expect you to be safer walking with someone else.”

  Philippe nodded thoughtfully, but didn’t immediately buy in. “It’s a bad world,” he said finally. “If you walk as a couple, you attract skinheads and other gangs who want to stomp out the… men like me. But if you walk alone, you might just disappear.”

  Zachary didn’t like to think of what it would be like to live in that world. He’d been in dangerous situations before, but to be in danger just because of who he was dating or where he chose to drink or take in entertainment seemed totally unfair. Philippe and Jose and Lorne and Pat should all be able to walk where they liked and with whom they liked without being targeted.

  “Be careful. We know there are predators out there, whether these disappearances are related or not, so please just be careful.”

  The boy nodded.

  “Do you think you could get your friend on the phone?” Zachary suggested. “I’d really like to talk to him before going home again. If you’d like some privacy, I could go outside for some fresh air while you chat…” He motioned to the sidewalk in front of the pizza shop.

  Philippe shook his head. “He won’t be able to talk right now. He is working. You don’t have anything else to do while you are in town?”

  Zachary considered his options. “I need to talk to Jose’s boss. And if there are places that you know Jose hung out, I’d like to visit them, ask some questions.”

  �
�You don’t want to go these places,” Philippe said, shaking his head.

  “I need to. I need to talk to people who knew him, see what people saw, what they know. If he was being targeted because of his preferences, then there may be people around those places who might have seen whoever is… making these men disappear.”

  Philippe’s eyes were big. “Why don’t you say killing them?” he asked. “That’s what you think, isn’t it?”

  Zachary looked for some other explanation, but couldn’t find one. “With one person… he could have just gone somewhere. Or had an accident. Gotten hit in the head or mugged or even run away with someone. But if there is a pattern here, and other men like him are disappearing… then I have to think that yes, it is the work of a serial killer.”

  “But there are no bodies.”

  “Just because they haven’t been found… that doesn’t mean there aren’t any. They just haven’t been left somewhere that someone could discover them. He may have a field he buries them in, or a basement or storage warehouse. Who knows? Sometimes these guys kill for years and years before they ever get caught. They don’t leave the bodies where they can be found.”

  “So you think Jose is dead.”

  Zachary met Philippe’s eyes, dark and shiny with emotion. “After he has been gone for a week or more… yes. Now and then you hear about a kidnapper who has kept his victims alive for years… but that’s pretty rare. And usually the victims are women. I can’t think of any where men have been kept alive for years. If this is the work of a serial killer—and we really don’t have any evidence of that yet—then I doubt he would have been kept alive for more than a day or two.”

  Philippe nodded his agreement. “I think this too.”

  “I’m sorry. That’s not what you wanted to hear.”

  “I wanted to hear the truth. If I want to hear stories, I can go home and talk to Nando.”

  “What does he think happened?”

  “That Jose just went away. He doesn’t know about us. He doesn’t know Jose at all.”

  “If he had found out, how do you think he would have reacted?”