by Craig McLay
The security office was on the main floor of the arts building. The response desk was at the front. That was where the staff member on duty would sit, ready to answer any incoming calls and communicate via walkie-talkie with security staff on patrol. Behind the desk was a large and decrepit-looking file cabinet that always appeared to be about to fall on whoever was sitting in front of it. Behind that was a small conference room where the staff could meet, change, eat their lunches and anything else they needed to do.
Despite the fact that he was the official head of security, Jerome Ludnick kept his personal office in the admin building. It was well known that he tended to avoid spending any more time with his actual staff than was absolutely necessary.
When Colin walked in, he was happy to see Tony Mannonaro sitting behind the response desk. Tony was in his last year of the law and security program. A tall, dark-skinned son of Italian immigrant parents, Tony was built like a fridge and wanted to one day work for the provincial police.
“Hey Tony,” Colin said. “Just the man I was hoping to see.”
Tony glanced around to make sure there were no other security staff within earshot. “Hey Colin.”
“Thanks for that tip on the parking story, by the way,” Colin said quietly.
Tony had provided Colin with a copy of the email that Devries had sent to Ludnick advising that anyone ticketing or otherwise interfering with his car would be immediately terminated. The resulting story had since been pulled, but Ludnick was still on the warpath to find out who might have leaked the memo. Tony knew he had to be extremely careful about what he said.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tony said, allowing himself only a small grin. “What can I do for you?”
Colin leaned on the desk. “I got a tip that an automotive student named Terrence Devane was involved in some sort of incident over in the tech wing last year. I don’t know if the other student was injured or what, but Devane got kicked out for it, so I figured you guys might have an incident report on the whole thing here somewhere.”
“Devane?” Tony said. “You mean that guy they found over at the rec centre? Some assembly required?”
Colin nodded. “That’d be him.”
“Well, let’s see,” Tony said, rolling his chair over to the computer on the corner of the desk. “This is a real half-assed computer system we have here. It’ll tell me if there’s a report, but all the details are on little pieces of paper in that monster back there.” He stabbed a thumb over his shoulder at the sagging file cabinet. “Just last year? You don’t have a more specific time period?”
“Nope,” Colin shook his head. “Truth is, I don’t even know if it was last year.”
Tony asked Colin to spell the name and then typed it into the computer. After a few moments, he seemed to find something and wheeled over to the filing cabinet.
“Says there’s one from February,” Tony said, pulling out one of the sliding rows of vertical files and starting to page through it. “These are all filed by incident number, so if the computer goes down, we have absolutely no way to search for anything.”
“How often does the computer go down?” Colin asked.
“Let me put it this way, one of the other guys nicknamed it Linda Lovelace.” Tony frowned and rolled back to the computer, muttering numbers under his breath.
“What is it?” Colin asked.
Tony flipped back and forth between two files, neither of which appeared to be the one he wanted. “It’s not here.”
“It’s gone?”
Tony shrugged. “Not necessarily. It’s just not where it’s supposed to be. Things sometimes get filed in the wrong spot, of course. Once that happens, it’s pretty much impossible to find them again.”
“Are there any copies of it anywhere?”
Tony shook his head. “Nope. We keep one and whoever reported the incident gets one. If the cops get called in, sometimes they ask for one, too. Usually it’s within a couple spots of where it’s supposed to be, but this one ain’t there.”
“Does it say anything in the computer about who called it in or if the cops got involved?”
“Nope,” Tony said. “This is just an Access database that’s been around since the dawn of time. I can do keyword searches, but that’s about it.”
Whatever Colin was going to say next was interrupted when the door opened and Ludnick entered. Tony stiffened and wheeled immediately back to his spot at the desk.
“Afternoon, sir,” Tony said.
Ludnick ignored him and stared straight at Colin. “What the hell you doin’ here?”
Colin tried to appear casual. “Actually, I just came by to see if you had any information about Terrence Devane. Something that happened back in February in the auto repair bay in the tech building. However, the incident report on the whole thing appears to have disappeared. You wouldn’t have any idea where it might be, now would you, chief Ludnick?”
Ludnick regarded Colin the way a crocodile might look at an antelope that just stopped by the edge of the river for a drink. “Protocol’s changed,” he said. “From now on, any requests for information from this department will need to be submitted to me in writing at least two weeks in advance. After reviewing the request, if I determine it’s valid, I will provide the requested information if and when I feel like getting around to it. If not, then go fuck yourself. Failure to comply with this new process will be met with the stiffest possible penalty.”
He made a point of looking directly at Tony as he said the last part. For his part, Tony did his best impression of a man who was not actually there.
Colin wasn’t put off. “It may be that whoever pulled or misplaced the file just isn’t quite tech savvy enough to know how to delete the incident number on the system. You don’t have anyone on your staff like that, do you, chief?”
Ludnick ignored this and began walking towards the back office. “If you’re here to report an incident, please provide all necessary information to the staff at the response desk. If not, then fuck off. We’re busy.”
Colin looked around to indicate that he was the only staff member in the office. “Yeah, it’s like Grand Central in here. You know, chief, the cops won’t ask quite as nicely as me.”
Ludnick stopped and turned around. “Oh yeah? Well, you’d know all about that, now, wouldn’t you?” He smiled and then turned around and disappeared.
-22-
Tony was on his way out of the building two hours later when Colin intercepted him on the way to the parking lot. His shift was over and he was keen to get home. He had a major assignment due by the end of the week and his work schedule had so far kept him from getting to it.
“Okay,” Colin said, falling into step beside him from out of nowhere. “What the hell was that?”
Tony looked around nervously. “Look, Colin. This isn’t a good time, okay? I gotta get home. I got an assignment to work on.”
“Why did Ludnick pull that file?” Colin asked.
Tony sped up. “I don’t know. Look, man, it’s not a real great idea for me to be seen talking to you right now, okay?”
Colin sped up to match Tony’s pace. “Come on. You know as well as I do that it didn’t get misplaced. Why would he do it? What’s he hiding?”
“I dunno what you’re talking about,” Tony muttered. “As far as I know, nobody’s hiding anything.”
“Bullshit!” Colin said, stepping in front to try to block Tony’s path. “You think it’s a coincidence that file walked out the door the day after Devane shows up dead in a change room locker?”
Tony stopped. “Look, Colin. It’s not the job, okay? I don’t even make enough to cover textbooks working the security thing. Ludnick pays everybody minimum wage no matter how long they’ve been there. My application’s in front of the police hiring board right now. Ludnick used to be a cop. He still knows a lot of cops. It’s no secret that if you wanna get in, you better be on his good side. He puts the word out on me and the only job I’ll be able
to get is hosing the puke off the sidewalks in clubtown on Saturday mornings.”
“Ludnick was a dirty cop who got busted by SIU for shaking down dealers and hookers for whatever he could get,” Colin said. “Not to mention dipping into the evidence locker whenever the opportunity presented itself. That’s why he’s running some dipshit college security detail instead of sitting in a captain’s desk downtown. No offence about the dipshit part.”
Tony stepped around Colin and made a beeline for his car. “What do you want from me, man? I already told you. I don’t know anything.”
“Something funny’s going on here, Tony,” Colin said. “Who took the report on Devane? At least they might now what happened. Somebody on security must have seen something.”
Tony snorted. “Are you kidding? You think somebody on staff is gonna talk to you? You should see some of the guys Ludnick’s hired in that job. Some of ‘em just like beating the shit out of people. Some of ‘em have that whole Texas tower look in their eyes, like they could go batshit on a moment’s notice if their medication ran out. The only thing they all have in common is that they owe their asses to Ludnick and would never say a word against him.”
“Exactly my point,” Colin said as Tony reached his car and pulled open the door. “Something is seriously wrong there. You want to help clean things up? You want to be Serpico? Now’s your chance.”
Tony just laughed. “Yeah? Well, Serpico got shot in the face, man. I gotta go.”
With that, he got in and drove off so fast that he almost fishtailed into a payment machine. Colin watched him go with a mix of frustration and curiosity. He had no doubt that Tony knew more than he was saying. Now he was going to have to try to find somebody else willing to say it.
-23-
Seth opened his eyes to find himself sitting on the floor of a dark and musty-smelling basement.
His hands were tied painfully behind his back and there was yellow nylon rope looped so tightly around his ankles that he couldn’t feel his feet. The walls around him were old stone, but the floor looked like ordinary concrete. He could see what he guessed was an old well that rose up about two feet and was capped by a rusty metal cover. Next to that were three rows of what looked like wooden pews from a church. The only light in the room was coming from a bare bulb directly over his head.
Where the hell am I? he wondered. He tried to open his mouth and wasn’t surprised to find that it was sealed shut with some sort of scratchy fabric gag that smelled vaguely like gasoline.
The last thing he could remember was sitting in his kitchen waiting for his supplier to show up. Had something gone wrong with the drop? He couldn’t remember. Maybe they thought he was shorting them or something. He felt a deep rumble of dread settle into his guts. Guys had disappeared before. He knew that. It was one of the implied risks of the job. It just wasn’t one he had ever considered might happen to him.
He tried to stay calm. He knew he wasn’t ripping them off. If he could keep his cool, he might just be able to talk them out of it. He was a good dealer. He always made money and never attracted any attention from the police. He had a source on the inside who made sure of that. For only a minor cut of the proceeds, too. If he suddenly disappeared, that might attract his source’s interest. Something he would be sure to bring up as soon as they removed the gag.
He heard footsteps behind him. It sounded like a group of people coming down a set of stone steps. In the echoing darkness, however, it was impossible to tell how many. He tried to turn around to get a better look, but his arms were firmly locked and as soon as he twisted, a sharp pain went straight up from his elbow to his shoulder. He realized that he was hyperventilating and tried to control his breathing. The smell of the gag made him want to vomit, which didn’t help, either.
Six people in black robes walked across the floor into his field of vision. They ranged in size from over six feet tall to barely five. All of them were hooded, which prevented him from seeing their faces. All walked with their heads bowed forward and hands clasped tightly in front of them. They walked around from behind and arrayed themselves in a semicircle in front of him.
Seth realized two things immediately. One, unless he was playing a bizarre Halloween-type joke, this had nothing to do with his supplier or some sort of problem with the monthly delivery. Two, his situation had not improved as a result of realization one. He suddenly remembered the stranger who had showed up at his back door and felt the dread that had started in his stomach radiate through his whole body.
The hooded figures just stood in front of him silently for a moment before the one in the centre stepped forward and raised his hands. Seth saw what looked like large and horrible-looking scars on both arms just above the wrists. They looked like through-and-throughs from some large-calibre bullet.
“Behold the sinner who has come before the holy altar of purification,” said the figure, whose voice radiated a quiet but purposeful authority. A male voice. Seth was pretty sure of that. “We shall show him the path to everlasting salvation.”
The others muttered something that sounded like amen. With so many voices bouncing off the stone walls at once, it was hard to tell.
The figure walked forward and kneeled down in front of Seth, pulling off his hood to reveal the old man who had knocked on Seth’s back door.
He was wearing glasses, now. Small, circular wire-frame glasses of the type that one generation would associate with John Lennon and another with a fictional boy wizard. His eyes were the most striking feature, though. They blazed like he had a 200-watt bulb where his brain should be. This man, Seth had no doubt, was clinically insane.
“You are a poisoner,” the man said, putting his right hand on Seth’s head. “A polluter of souls. You divert those from God’s path and send them on a road that leads straight to hell.”
Seth tried to shake his head and say something in his defence, but the man’s grip was surprisingly strong and the gag was too tight.
“Today is the most glorious day of your life,” the man said. “You shall be purged of your sins. You will be pure. Today, you will see God in all his glory.”
Seth whimpered. He didn’t want to see God in all his glory. For the first time in his life, he desperately wanted to see an entire division of police officers come crashing through the front door.
The man stood up and motioned to the others. Seth felt himself lifted from behind and turned around. Now he could see what the pews were directed at.
It was some sort of altar.
In the centre was a large wooden cross lying flat and raised up about four feet off the floor on a shiny metal platform. Seth guessed that it was about eight feet long and six feet across. There were numerous holes in it, each one surrounded by an ominous-looking dark black stain. At the head of the cross was a table with a three-sided metal box with some sort of faded inscription on the side.
Seth was lifted and the ropes removed from around his arms and ankles. He looked down to see that the cross was mounted over top of some sort of grate. Underneath it was what looked like a drain. He wondered where it went, but the answer came to him almost immediately.
The well.
Seth felt the gag loosened and removed from his mouth as the other hooded figures began pulling off his clothes.
“Uh, listen guys,” he said. “I think there’s been some sort of mistake. I’ve never poisoned anybody. I’m just a college student.”
Seth watched as one of the hooded figures picked a metal bowl off the altar next to the three-sided box and approached the well. They crouched down and lifted up the metal lid, which came up with a rusty screech. Once it was open, they reached down with the bowl and filled it up, then approached the altar again, holding it carefully in both hands.
“Look,” Seth said, panic starting to take over. “If you let me go, I won’t say anything to anyone about this, okay?”
Two of the larger hooded figures grabbed Seth by the legs and the shoulders and hoisted him up onto the cross. Spli
nters bit into his back and legs. He squirmed to try to avoid them, which only made things worse.
The leader took the bowl and held it up over Seth’s head. “We baptize you in the blood of the purified,” he said, and then tipped it over.
Seth tried to turn his head away to avoid the worst of it, but it still went up his nose and into his ears and eyes. It was cold and sticky and more disgusting than anything he had ever smelled in his life. He tried to sit up and reflexively vomited on his shoulder. The followers holding him on either side didn’t let go. Seth felt the sticky shower run all the way down his body from his head to his knees. He tried not to breathe it in, but it was impossible.
A wet cloth was pushed against his face, clearing the worst of it out of his eyes. He opened them and saw the leader walk to the altar and pick up the triangular metal box. The leader opened this up using a latch on the side, reached in and removed what looked like a large black railroad spike.
“Suffering is the path to salvation,” the leader said. Seth felt his left arm twisted so that it was flat against the cross and then a cold, sharp prick as the tip was positioned in the soft flesh just above his wrist. He looked across to see one of the followers pick up a sledgehammer and raise it up.
“Only in blood shall we wash away our sins,” said the leader, who then nodded to the follower holding the hammer.
Seth started screaming. He had realized that he wasn’t going to be leaving this place anytime soon.
-24-
Forty-five minutes after he had failed to get any useful information out of Tony, Colin found himself sitting in the passenger seat of Janice’s old Corolla as they made their way north along country highway 42.