The Closer

by Donn Cortez

  “That’s the easy answer. In my experience, easy answers are usually bullshit.” Jack leaned forward intently. “Millions of other people are exposed to exactly the same thing you are, and they don’t bring handcuffs and a butcher knife to a rendezvous with an escort.”

  “I—I wasn’t really going to do it.”

  Jack picked up a bottle of water from the table and took a long drink. “Maybe not. The important thing is, you had the choice—so let’s forget all that bullshit about you being some kind of robot programmed by horror novels and slasher flicks. Just because you belong to a subculture doesn’t make you its slave.”

  Jack put down the bottle, picked up a box cutter. Studied its edge. “What it does mean,” Jack said softly, “is that when you join a subculture, you agree to an unspoken contract. A contract to abide by the rules of that subculture—to not only enjoy its fruits, but endure its penalties. And sometimes, a subculture will demand a sacrifice from one of its members….”

  Mark swallowed.

  At the end of eight hours he was sure of two things: first, that Mark simply wasn’t strong enough to lie to him.

  And second, Mark hadn’t killed anyone.

  He was a wannabe, a kid who surfed the net for Nazi porn and true-gore sites. He had an unhealthy obsession with serial killers, and might very well grow up to be one… but if he actually planned to use the knife Jack found in his suitcase, it would have been his first time.

  And Jack had tortured him.

  The tape was still real, Jack was sure. But Mark hadn’t made it—”Furious George” had. A real serial killer who was apparently smart enough to send in a decoy first. If Mark had been accepted into The Pack, Furious George would have been the next to apply… and now Jack had to start all over again.

  Except…he didn’t know what to do about Mark.

  If Jack let him go, he might go to the police. He’d seen Jack’s face, he knew about the Stalking Ground, and he could warn Furious George.

  Jack couldn’t afford any of that.

  “Mark.”

  “What? What? I’ve told you everything I know—”

  “Not quite. Tell me why. Tell me how you could become so obsessed with something like this.”

  Mark laughed weakly. “I don’t know. It’s just—it’s not like anything else, you know? It’s real. It’s like, everybody wants to do this stuff, but nobody ever does.”

  “Except for The Pack. They were the real thing… and you wanted to be a part of that.”

  “Not anymore. Not anymore—”

  “Remember what I said about subcultures? That’s what The Pack was turning into—a serial killer culture. The internet is the perfect spawning place; it’s like a conceptual rain forest. They had their common bond, their own words—trophy buzz, sheep, BDUs— and a place to come together and share information. They even had art—photos, videos, sound-files.”

  “Had?”

  “Yeah. Had. What they have now …is me. See, one of the things that tend to evolve in rainforests is specialized predators, ones with highly developed camouflage abilities. Did you know there’s a white praying mantis that looks just like an orchid?”

  “No. No, I didn’t.”

  “Talking to you has made me realize how important the Stalking Ground is. I was going to just destroy it… but if I did, another one would inevitably evolve. One that would attract people just like you.”

  “But—but I haven’t killed anybody—”

  “I know,” Jack said. “But if you had joined The Pack, you would have. And with their help, you would have killed many, many more. That’s why I have to keep the Stalking Ground open. That’s why I can’t stop. I have to stay in control.”

  “I—I get that.”

  “Do you? I want to be very clear on one thing, Mark. I don’t do this as an excuse to kill people. I do it to prevent killing, and to bring some peace to the families of murder victims.”

  “So you—you don’t want to kill me?”

  “No. I don’t. Killing is the ultimate control, the ultimate power… but the thing about power is, sometimes it can get out of hand. You have to be careful.” Jack stood up.

  “I know. I know. You’re right.”

  “Real power isn’t controlling other people’s lives, Mark. It’s controlling your own. You have to be very clear on the consequences of your actions.” Jack walked behind the boy. He put one hand on his shoulder.

  “I will be, I swear I will be—”

  “We all have choices. Choices we’ll have to live with. And sometimes… sometimes those choices are very hard to make.”

  “I can do it, I can do the right thing—”

  “I’m not talking about your choices, Mark. I’m talking about my own.”

  Jack reached around, and cut his throat.

  He could have turned into the real thing.

  “Sure,” Jack whispered. “Or he could have outgrown it. Found another outlet instead of murder.”

  Like you did?

  “I never wanted to be a killer. Just an artist.”

  You seem to have combined the two rather nicely, though, haven’t you? Just look at the pattern that blood spatter formed. You can’t take your eyes off it. Looks sort of like a lion. Or it could, with a little work…

  “I had to do it. I had to.”

  So you can’t make choices anymore? If that’s true, you’re just a machine. A killing machine.

  “No. I’m still a man. I am.”

  Right. So what was all that crap about subcultures and art? You know what that sounded like? Like one of those bullshit “mission statements” artists put beside pieces to justify them. And that’s just what you were doing, weren’t you? Justifying yourself? Sure, you added all that rationalization at the end about how you couldn’t afford to have the kid tip anyone off… but that’s not what you were really thinking. You were thinking the kid should be grateful you were the one that killed him— that it was like a musician getting to jam with the Rolling Stones, or a sports fan getting to pitch to Babe Ruth. Lucky, lucky him…

  “It doesn’t matter,” Jack said wearily. “What happens to me doesn’t matter….”

  Because it’s already too late.

  Quietly, methodically, he started cleaning up the mess.

  Like he’d done so many times before.

  When it was done and the body had been dumped, when an anonymous call had been made to the police and Jack had returned to his motel room, he checked the Stalking Ground for messages. He wasn’t surprised to see there was one from the Patron.

  PATRON: “Dark theaters are suitable for dark deeds.”

  “No,” Jack muttered. “No, it couldn’t be.”

  PATRON: That’s the translation of the quote at the beginning of the film, Jack. Considering your penchant for black plastic and pain, I thought you’d appreciate it.

  CLOSER: I shouldn’t be surprised, should I.

  PATRON: Not really. Though I imagine Red Ed certainly was…. How young was he, Jack? From the conversations we had I would guess under twenty. Certainly the youngest person you’ve ever killed, hmm?

  CLOSER: I asked him a number of things, but his birthday didn’t come up. A lot of other interesting details did, though.

  PATRON: If you’re trying to rattle me, you’re taking the wrong approach. Ed can’t tell what he doesn’t know… and he knows very little about “Furious George.”

  CLOSER: But I do. I know you killed the woman in that video.

  PATRON: Of course I did. Because R ed Ed has never killed anyone. And I suspect that after you’re through with him, Jack, he never will. Technically, that makes him the first innocent you’ve done— how’s that make you feel?

  CLOSER: Smarter than you. “Red Ed” is in his forties. He’s killed six women in Idaho over the last four years…. And you know what else? He can spell just fine. As a matter of fact, he’s something of a computer whiz. He can do things even I didn’t know were possible.

  PATRON: Jack, Jack—th
at’s a clumsy lie. You know what I think? I think you suspected I was behind it all along. It really wasn’t that hard to figure out… but you didn’t want to figure it out. Did you, Jack? You wanted an excuse to express some of the frustration that’s been building up in you since we started having these little chats. But it proved a poor substitute, I’m sure. I’m sorry, Jack—I simply don’t believe you.

  CLOSER: You will.

  For the first time, Jack signed off first. He glowered at the screen for a moment, then slammed his fist into the wall.

  “Motherfucker,” he hissed.

  INTERLUDE

  Fiona Stedman did a little pirouette and smiled impishly. “Well, Uncle Rick?” she asked. “What do you think?”

  Rick Stedman studied his niece carefully. She wore an outfit she’d made herself, a full-length gown of black gauze with flowing, harem-style sleeves, the pattern embossed with tiny silver moons. A full moon pendant hung around her neck, and a tiara of stars perched on her head. A pair of sandals with elaborate black strapping wrapped around her calves finished it off.

  “I think you’re going to break some hearts,” Rick said with a chuckle.

  “Oh? You gonna give me lessons?” she shot back.

  “Me? I wouldn’t know the first thing about that,” he deadpanned. He took a sip of his coffee and absently petted Rufus, who wriggled in glee and did his best to lick the skin off his hand.

  “That’s not what I hear,” Fiona said. She threw herself down on the couch beside him. Rufus lunged for her lap, but Rick held him back.

  “Hold it, fur-monster,” he said. “I think she’ll throttle you if you mess up her outfit.”

  “Mom says you’re dating some blonde now,” Fiona said. “What happened to Sophia? Or did she just dye her hair?”

  “Uh, Sophia and me are just friends now,” Rick said. “But yes, I do have a new girlfriend. Her name’s Amber.”

  “Girlfriend? Girlfriend? That’s the first time I’ve heard you use that word since The Evil One broke up with you.”

  Rick sighed. “Her name was Karen. You’re allowed to say it.”

  “Well, she’ll always be The Evil One as far as I’m concerned. So tell me about Amber.”

  “She’s twenty-five, she’s going to school and majoring in English, she plays a mean game of backgammon. And she’s very cute.”

  “Sounds acceptable… any long-range plans?”

  “You know, the usual—marriage, three kids, world domination. Science experiments in the garage, fleeing to a country without extradition.”

  “Right. I’m sure you’ll be very happy in Lower Botswana.”

  “Actually,” Rick said hesitantly, “We are thinking about traveling. Maybe Asia, in the summer.”

  “This summer?”

  “I know, it’s kinda soon—but I really like her. I’ll bring her over, you’ll see.”

  Fiona narrowed her eyes, then smiled. “Okay. As long as she gets the Fiona stamp of approval.”

  “How about you? How’s your love life?”

  She groaned and threw herself back on the couch. “Don’t ask. I’m so desperate for a date I’m starting to make up stalkers. The other day I managed to convince myself I was being followed.”

  Rick frowned. “What happened?”

  “Oh, don’t look so worried. It was just a car looking for an address or something, driving slow. You know what my imagination is like.”

  “Yeah. It runs in the family, remember? Which

  reminds me… I came over to show you something.”

  Fiona bounded up, her eyes bright. “What? Did you finish your costume? Finally?”

  “Well, I don’t know about finished—”

  Fiona rolled her eyes. “Artists. ‘You never finish anything—’”

  “‘—you abandon it.’ Yeah, I know. But it’s close enough to show off.”

  “Aha!” she crowed. “I knew what had to be in that big clanky duffel bag! Let me see!”

  “Oh, no,” he said. “You’re gonna get the full effect. Wait here, I’m gonna go put it on. It may take me a few minutes.”

  “Hurry up!”

  Fiona sat back down and tucked her legs up underneath herself. Rufus jumped up beside her, but he lay down when she told him to. “Well, Rufus?” she said to him. “What do you think it’ll be? Something cool, for sure…”

  Rufus panted eagerly. She scratched behind his ears and waited.

  When her uncle walked through the door, she whispered, “Wow.”

  What he wore was clearly modeled on a Roman centurion’s outfit, with an armored breastplate, short toga and crested helmet, but he’d used unusual materials. The breastplate was made of panels of stained glass, the pattern a radiating sun in the middle of the chest. The toga was made of the same kind of gauzy material Fiona had used but in a deep blue, emblazoned with miniature suns. The helmet was copper, with a sculpted face mask and a mohawklike crest of bright scarlet and yellow feathers

  carefully placed to simulate flames. Black leather gauntlets and knee-high boots both sported burnished copper panels.

  “Here’s to the Sun God, he’s such a fun God, Ra! Ra! Ra!” Rick said, his voice muffled by the mask.

  Fiona sprang off the couch and hugged him. Rufus started to bark.

  “It’s going to be the best Halloween ever,” Fiona said.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  PATRON: Tomorrow’s Halloween, Jack.

  I haven’t done one on Halloween yet. It seems a bit obvious, don’t you think? Too on-the-nose, too Hollywood. Halloween is already about death, so using my skills to link the day and the deed seems redundant.

  But therein lies the challenge.

  Halloween is about mockingdeath. About dressing it up in silly clothes, smothering it with children and candy. About pretend scares, so we can laugh after we shriek; about peering cautiously into the Abyss before spitting into it. In that sense, it’s as innocent a holiday as any, perhaps more so.

  And of course, Halloween is about masks.

  Masks to hide behind, masks to reveal. Masks to express our true selves. More art goes into this celebration than any other, I think. How much creativity goes into Easter or July the Fourth or Saint Patrick’s Day? They’re about tradition and the repeating of ritual behavior more than anything…but few people wear the same Halloween costume two years in a row.

  We’ve worn our own share of masks, haven’t we, Jack? Djinn-X, Road Rage, Deathkiss, Furious George. Mr. Liebenstraum.

  But the masks we wear now, of the Patron and the Closer, those are the Yin and Yang masks of our true faces. We both destroy in order to create. I created you… and so you must destroy me. Perfect symmetry.

  But Jack, this dance is not quite done. As your progenitor, I have certain responsibilities, certain duties. I have wisdom and experience I must pass on to you. Don’t worry, it won’t be painful; quite the opposite. You’ve gone through the pain already, it’s a part of you forever. It makes you strong. You simply need to learn to direct it properly… not that you haven’t done admirably so far.

  The only thing holding you back is that most useless of emotions, guilt. You’ve come so far, Jack; you’re almost there. You don’t need to feel bad about doing what you’re so good at. Let go and a whole world will open up to you. A wonderful, creative world.

  Perhaps hearing about my next project might inspire you. I’m rather proud of the concept myself, but I’m sure you could add so much more.

  The artist in question is primarily a sculptor, though he works in a variety of materials. His work is good, his technique excellent, but he lacks that depth of feeling a real visionary needs. I think I know how to provide it.

  He has a young niece. They visit often, and I believe she has something of a schoolgirl crush on him. Here’s what I’m considering: tie her naked to a bed, and tape firecrackers all over her body.

  Inspired, of course, by that brilliant gag you pulled with the sparkler. Placed strategically, I imagine you could selectiv
ely destroy quite a bit of the human body before causing death. Urban renewal on a physiological level— “This nipple to be demolished.

  Coming soon: a bloody, charred crater.”

  And of course, there’s the smell. The scent of exploded firecrackers is a constant in the weeks before and after the end of October, and it’s a smell that lingers; in a closed room, it should be quite pungent. Add a few decorations—a carved pumpkin, some cut-out ghosts and skeletons—and a CD playing that perennial favorite, “The Monster

  Mash.” Voilà!

  Still, it’s a bit of a departure from my earlier work. I prefer a quick, clean kill, with the majority of the creative process being expressed after; my work is more postmortem than postmodern. The firecrackers will be unavoidably loud, messy, and unpredictable.

  In order to mount a successful piece, I believe a test run is called for.

  How about I use Nikki?

  It couldn’t be. There was no way.

  Jack paced back and forth in his motel room. He had the gun in one hand, and he kept reflexively thumbing the safety off and on.

  “How? How?” he mumbled. He caught a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror as he stalked past the doorway; unshaven, no shirt, eyes bloodshot. He looked liked he belonged under a bridge with a bottle in his hand. He shook the gun at the image and demanded, “How? How, goddammit? How does he know?”

  The wild man in the mirror had no answers.

  Nikki hadn’t worked since her “interview” with Richard. She had gone to the Stroll and asked a few questions of her own, but none of the girls had seen or talked to him. It seemed that she was the only one he was interested in.

  Jack hadn’t responded to the email she’d sent him, but that could mean anything. He might not have checked the account, or maybe he’d decided she was better off without him; she could see Jack doing that.

  She didn’t feel safe on the street anymore. It was time to move on, find another city; she should already be gone, but she wasn’t sure where to go. One thing she did know: it wouldn’t be to any of the cities she’d mentioned to Richard.