Killing Ways

by Alex Barclay

  Thank God, thank God, please, please let him look. Please.

  He took the phone, stared at the screen.

  ‘An email,’ he said. ‘Shaun Banner. Copied to Joe Lucchesi?’

  Shaun Lucchesi? No! It’s the names of Duke’s abusers! No! Oh, no!

  ‘Don’t read that email,’ said Ren ‘Don’t read it. Please don’t. It is not in your interest to—’

  She watched in the shattered mirror as Duke started to read. He blinked, twice. And Ren thought of the broken dolls’ eyes and the nightmares. And the pale blue glass. He blinked again. He was scrolling down. He was still scrolling.

  Oh, God. How many names are on that list?

  His whole body started to tremble. He kept swallowing, over and over.

  ‘We can get justice for you,’ said Ren.

  Duke turned to her, squinted. ‘Justice? For me?’

  ‘Westley Ames …’ said Ren.

  Duke was struggling to keep control of his facial muscles.

  ‘I know Police Chief Ogden Parnum is dead,’ said Ren. ‘But we can bring the others to justice. All those men. We can make sure that they rot in jail for what they did.’

  Duke was looking around the room.

  I have no idea what you are thinking right now.

  ‘So you know all my dirty little secrets,’ said Duke.

  ‘That’s not what this is,’ said Ren. ‘It wasn’t your fault. Don’t you want to—’

  ‘No!’ he roared. ‘No!’ He yanked her toward him, she could feel his breath on her ear. ‘Which one’s your locker?’ he said. ‘Which one?’

  Oh, shit. What’s even in there?

  Ren pointed to her locker, and he dragged her to it, opened it, and pulled out her wash bag.

  What the?

  They were back at the sink. He dropped the wash bag into it. He unzipped it, and frantically searched through it.

  What are you looking for? I don’t want to think.

  He pulled out her toothbrush.

  What is he doing?

  He pulled out the toothpaste.

  He took the bag and threw it across the floor.

  He released her waist, but grabbed her hair again, pulled it tight, held her head over the sink. He squeezed toothpaste onto the brush. He turned on the cold faucet, with a shaking hand.

  ‘Open your fucking mouth,’ he said. ‘Open your mouth. Open your mouth.’

  He pulled up her hair.

  ‘Open. Your. Mouth.’

  She did as he asked. He shoved the toothbrush under the water, then shoved it into her mouth and started scrubbing hard.

  I am gone. I am gone. I am gone.

  ‘I always had a filthy mouth,’ he said. ‘Always had to scrub at it, always. And if I couldn’t? If I couldn’t get to brush my teeth, if I was in school, or the toothpaste was all gone, and I had no money to buy any more, you know what? I preferred the taste of puke.’

  Jesus Christ.

  He scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed Ren’s teeth until her gums bled. She was choking on the toothbrush, gagging, and he kept brushing.

  ‘You know what I did with my few cents?’ he said. ‘When all the other kids were buying candy? I was buying toothpaste.’

  Ren coughed, over and over, until eventually he stopped. He shoved her head under the cold tap, and the water poured over her mouth, and she sucked it in, and it burned like acid, and she spat it out, and he pulled her head up again. Her gums were throbbing, her scalp on fire.

  He threw her down on the bench by the wall, where she sat slumped back.

  And then something happened that she could never have imagined. Duke Rawlins dissolved into tears.

  ‘Did I stand a chance?’ he said, wiping his eyes. ‘Did I? Did I? If you have a mother as fucked up as mine and a father who’s what – a whore-fucking vanishing act? What kind of blood’s going to be running through your veins? How did I stand a chance?’

  ‘You didn’t,’ said Ren. ‘You really didn’t.’

  ‘Do you know my mother allowed men into my bedroom?’ said Duke. ‘Knocked on their behalf – a weak and shameful, pussy’s knock. Knocking! As if there was an option! There was no safe place for me. Like every other kid, I’d make those homemade signs saying KEEP OUT! and DANGER DO NOT ENTER!’

  ‘What your mother did to you was—’ sick, unconscionable …

  ‘Do you know …’ he roared over her.

  ‘I’m sorry …’

  His voice returned to normal. ‘… that my mother allowed groups of men to take me away to their cabins in the woods? They’d tell their wives or whoever the hell they had back home that they were going hunting. And they were hunting me. Through the woods. And I had to show up in school Monday like nothing had happened, like no one had handed me over to a pack of wild animals Friday night for a gram of coke.’ He stuck his neck forward, opened his eyes wide, like a threat, like a challenge. ‘’Course, it didn’t matter who caught me – they all got a piece of me in the end.’ He looked at Ren. ‘Thing is – there weren’t really any pieces. Someone like you might think I’m a broken man, but I’m not. You can’t be broken if all of you has been gone since you were about seven years old. That’s the fact of the matter. I didn’t know until I was seven years old that what was happening to me didn’t happen to most other kids.’

  Oh. God. This is just so heartbreakingly, terrifyingly, chillingly fucked up. ‘Do you think I trust law enforcement after what a sheriff did to me? Came to me in his pristine uniform, came on me in his pristine uniform. Used his baton. Anything. Everything. No, sir. And he wasn’t the only man in uniform to come to my door. So you can all go fuck yourselves.

  ‘Bet you had birthday parties and … comfort! Comfort in your life. I had nothing. For the first four years of my life, I could feel: happiness, joy. And after that … I could feel only pain. And after that, nothing until my one friend. I had one friend … that Joe Lucchesi killed! And lied to me about – told me he was cheating with my ex-wife, lying son-of-a-bitch. I almost believed him, but it was just another load that someone expected me to swallow. And it was almost the worst part. Almost worse than him killing Donnie was him trying to shit on Donnie’s memory. Do you know what’s so terrible? If you’re like me, and you know nothing good in your life and you’re numb to all pain, but then something happens that makes you feel good? Or someone comes along that makes you feel good? Well, that’s a fucking miracle! That’s what that is. It’s the most precious thing in the world. And Joe Lucchesi took all that away. And I have made him pay, and I will make him pay some more.’

  Shit on the memory of a rapist/murderer?! ‘You and Donnie Riggs killed women together!’ said Ren.

  ‘Which also makes me feel good!’ said Duke. ‘Don’t you fucking get that by now?’

  Jesus. Christ.

  ‘But it’s not the same without him – it just isn’t,’ said Duke. ‘I fuck up without him, always have. I don’t get the same one hundred per cent joy I did from when he was with me. That was taken from me. The last bit of good.’

  He slammed his fist into the mirror, and the phone dropped to the floor. ‘Where the fuck is Joe Lucchesi? Where is he?’

  He pulled back, blood streaming down his knuckles.

  ‘I told you, he’s not in Denver,’ said Ren.

  ‘I don’t believe you,’ said Duke. ‘I don’t believe you.’

  She glanced down at the phone, still open on the email from Shaun, and there were just so many names.

  Duke bent down, picked it up, held it right up to her face, and scrolled through it. They were numbered.

  Her heart lurched.

  Sixty-three names.

  68

  Duke looked down at Ren. ‘Have you ever met someone like me before?’

  Ren shook her head. ‘No.’

  ‘And what do you make of me?’

  Ren looked into his eyes.

  I have no words.

  ‘You know, I wonder if you pity me,’ said Duke. ‘And I can’t say that that’
s not what I want, because I think somewhere inside me, there’s a little boy who wants it. He has to still be there, doesn’t he? Because who else can still feel the thrill of seeing a hawk in flight or the smooth surface of a creek waiting to be dived into, or … because it’s not me …’ He looked away. ‘I get different thrills.’ He paused. ‘But maybe it’s not the calm of the creek water, it’s the need to shatter it. It’s the need to break that perfect surface. Maybe that’s what that is.’

  What do I make of you? What do I make of you? You make me want to kill every person on earth who has ever harmed a child.

  And after what you’ve done, which I have to keep thinking about, after what you’ve done, you make me want to kill you.

  He looked at her as if he was reading her mind.

  ‘Never be too comfortable in your skin,’ he said. ‘Never. Never think you’re better than everyone else, never look at other people and judge. Because, you know the fucking tragedy of humanity? A lot of us give in to the things we hate, don’t we? Dainty did. She was disgusted by our mama … and I watched her become our mama. Dainty might not have been a hooker, but she was a mean, junkie bitch. Wrote a song about mama, ended up making it her own fucking anthem, ended up dancing to it, ended up dying to it. Be careful what you choose to dance to.’

  All Ren could think about was Everett.

  My darling dancing Everett.

  ‘Let me help you with this,’ said Ren, ‘with what happened to you.’

  He didn’t even look up. ‘You don’t want to help me. Shut the fuck up. You can’t manipulate me. I’m not stupid. I’m here, I’ve got your boss in a cell, your friend chained to a radiator. I told you how you can help me: get Joe Lucchesi here.’

  ‘I can’t do that,’ said Ren. ‘If I could, I would.’

  Her phone beeped again. Another email.

  He opened it. He looked alarmed.

  Not like the last time – this is different.

  What the fuck is going on here?

  Two emails. Relevant to him?

  ‘How does this work?’ said Duke. ‘I want to reply to this one.’

  He sat down beside her.

  The email address was LuckyNYPD67@gmail.com and the subject: Geoff Riggs.

  What the hell is this? Donald Riggs’ father, the subject of an email to me?

  OK, Joe was NYPD. ’67 is his birth year. Lucky short for Lucchesi. His personal email address? What has he sent me? What about Geoff Riggs?

  She looked down. It was a two-line email:

  We found something: Geoff Riggs is Duke Rawlins’ biological father. Only problem is, he’s dying. We’re going to question him before it’s too late. And frankly, I don’t give a fuck if he has a heart attack right there in the bed … Joe.

  Holy. Shit. What the?

  This is off. Even for Joe, that last line sounds extreme.

  She hit Reply, and nodded toward the box. ‘You type in there …’

  Duke grabbed it back from her and slowly input his response. Then he sat against the wall, wiped his hand across his brow, let out a breath. He was holding Ren’s cell phone in his hands. He didn’t take his eyes off the screen.

  Where is he? What has Duke replied? Will Joe get it? Why am I still alive?

  Ren touched her hand to her face.

  Still bleeding.

  ‘It’s a waiting game now,’ said Duke, more to himself than to anyone else.

  Geoff Riggs is Duke Rawlins’ father? That means Joe Lucchesi has been upgraded to the killer not just of Rawlins’ friend, but of his only brother. And he’s saying they’re sending people to question a dying man?

  This will not end well.

  69

  There was a sudden, rattling groan from downstairs, a creaking sound, more rattling.

  Sounds like the elevator. But it’s not working.

  Who is about to walk into this nightmare?

  Jesus Christ. The haunted elevator – maybe that’s all it is.

  Duke grabbed Ren. He took her flashlight from his back pocket, hustled her out the door, and used it to light their way out onto the landing.

  Duke shouted, his voice echoing around the stairwell: ‘If someone is down there trying to fuck with me, it ain’t gonna work. I’m gonna fire into this lil lady’s face if I see even a flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye.’

  Who’s here? Please be Joe.

  There was a banging sound, loud and hollow.

  That’s the basement door. The basement door is open.

  A cell phone started to ring in the foyer, echoing on the marble, its screen glowing. Ren listened, looked all around her, studied everything as Rawlins moved the flashlight’s beam all across the stairs, up and down.

  All at once, pieces started to fall into place. A plan.

  ‘That phone will have to be answered,’ said Ren, ‘so as not to cause suspicion. That lady you killed – Valerie, the realtor—’

  ‘You weren’t buying the electrical fault then,’ said Duke, laughing out loud. He sighed. ‘That was a good one, though. I saw the electrical contractor’s van last week. I figured it was a nice trap. Arranged to meet Valerie here, arranged a little water on the outlet, got her to check it out, told her I heard there was a problem in the building …’

  You are insane.

  ‘Valerie has a jumpy boss,’ said Ren. ‘If she hasn’t checked in for hours, he will send someone here if she doesn’t pick up. He will call one of us. And if none of us answers, and her last appointment was here …’

  Duke shrugged, but he started to move her forward.

  The phone kept ringing.

  ‘If you don’t let me answer that, this will fuck everything up for you. We just walk down there. I pick up, say she’s in the ladies’ room, no big deal … we’re done.’

  I need you on the second floor.

  Duke switched off the flashlight, gripped Ren in front of him, fully protecting his body.

  They made it down two flights, but instead of going down, Duke moved them around to the left, by the guardrail, so they could look down to where Valerie lay.

  The phone stopped ringing. The sound that replaced it was the slow approach of footsteps.

  From under the stairs, a figure emerged.

  Joe Lucchesi.

  He walked up the stairs with his hands in the air.

  ‘Well, here he comes,’ said Duke. ‘To rescue his lil lady.’

  ‘He’s not here for me,’ said Ren, ‘and we both know that.’

  Joe kept walking up. Duke didn’t stop him.

  ‘We need to talk,’ said Joe.

  ‘We sure do,’ said Duke.

  Joe kept walking up, hands in the air, unarmed.

  Apparently.

  He walked halfway up the second flight.

  Why has Rawlins not shot him already?

  Joe made it up to the top. He moved around. There were only six feet between them.

  Duke squeezed Ren tightly, stepping back a few feet.

  ‘Go back further,’ said Ren. ‘Get out of his reach. Go toward that door at the end. It leads outside onto the back of the building. You can take my car. Joe doesn’t give a fuck about me or my colleagues. He wants you. He will kill you. I want you to leave. I just want Gary and Janine to be safe. If you leave now, you’ll get to see your father. Before they get to him. If you stay, Joe will kill you—’

  ‘What the fuck are you saying, Ren?’ said Joe.

  ‘That’s why he’s here!’ said Ren. ‘It’s the only reason. Rawlins – you came here not knowing who your father is. Now you know – everything’s changed. You need to get out of here alive. You need to see your father.’ Duke moved down the hallway. ‘Is there a key to that door?’ he said, glancing back.

  ‘No,’ said Ren. ‘It’s open. You can just go.’

  Joe started moving toward them. ‘Fuck you, Ren.’

  ‘Stay back!’ said Ren. ‘Stay the fuck away from us.’

  Ren took in the scene. Joe Lucchesi was three feet from her.
Duke Rawlins was behind her with his arm around her, his hip up against the guardrail. Ren thought of boxing, one of the best defensive moves: bob and weave. She thought of Paul Louderback and the focus mitts, how he swiped them over her head, how she had to come up quickly to punch them again.

  Straight jab, bob, weave. Jab, bob, weave.

  There was an eerie silence.

  Joe lunged toward them. Duke wasn’t holding Ren tightly enough. She was no longer useful. He didn’t see her as a threat. He didn’t see any woman as a threat.

  Ren did it. She dropped so quickly, compressed her body, came out from under Duke’s arm and spun around so she was facing him again, Joe beside her. Duke lost his balance, slammed hard into the guardrail. They heard the sound of wood cracking. Everything felt suspended. Then the guardrail broke. Duke started to teeter. He dropped the gun, reached out. Ren’s arm shot out to pull him back. Joe’s arm shot out.

  There is something wrong here.

  In a fraction of a second, Duke gripped Ren’s arm, as she tried to lean backwards to pull him in, but he was heavy and she was light, and Joe seemed to be doing none of the work.

  What the fuck are you doing? Jesus Christ! If Duke goes, I go too!

  ‘Joe!’ screamed Ren, yanking him out of whatever dark place he had gone to. ‘Joe!’

  She was sliding toward the edge of the broken balcony.

  NO! Noooo! Fuck! No!

  Joe lunged for her, grabbed her waist, brought his forearm down hard to break the grip Duke had on her, pulled her backwards and they both crashed onto the floor. There was a bare second of silence before Duke Rawlins hit the first-floor landing, then rolled down onto the marble floor below.

  70

  Joe and Ren quickly jumped up from the floor and ran down the stairs to where Duke Rawlins lay on his back, his arms splayed out to the side, his head facing away from the glass entry doors. There was a small pool of blood under his head.

  Joe and Ren locked eyes.

  He’s still alive.

  Duke managed to turn his head to look at Joe. ‘Would you have told me about Geoff Riggs? Did it kill you that Donnie Riggs was my brother? Turns out I had a good family, Joe. I had a good family. So fuck you.’