Stalker Page 6

  A stunned silence filled the room, affecting even the most thick-skinned veterans. Usually a newsroom is full of black humor. On this day, however, the jesters remained tight-lipped.

  “This is an important story, gang,” Laura continued. “We’ve got a possible serial killer out there. Let’s get moving on this. I’d like to have some video to show during our 3:30 newsbreak. And please, try to keep it tasteful. Our research is showing that people are getting tired of blood and guts journalism.”

  The crews broke, with Melissa tossed in the middle of them. She spun around, whirling, holding her note pad in the air so it wouldn’t get knocked out of her hand.

  After the others left, Laura called over. “Some first day, huh Melissa?”

  Melissa tried to smile, but it was faint and unemotional. She was in no mood. What kind of city had she just moved to?

  Stalker Revisited

  *1*

  Jerry took a bite of his Leif Ericsson Burger and as the melted cheese slopped out the side and dripped down his chin thought he was in heaven. He blotted it with his napkin and took a long moment to look around The Norseman’s Bar, feeling sad. He decided one of his first priorities when he got to Michigan State would be to find an equivalent burger.

  “How is it?” asked Dan.

  “Pretty damn good,” Jerry said, swallowing the last of his beer.

  Having a watchful eye, Samantha was at his side in an instant. She wore a tight white T-shirt that appeared to be painted on. Emblazoned across the front in bold navy letters was the phrase Cool Off at The Norseman’s.

  “Need a refill?” she asked.

  Cool off? All that’s doing is making me hot, Jerry smirked, distracted from her question at first. “Sure.”

  “Dan here tells me you’re leaving us to go to Michigan.”

  “You got it from a reliable source, Sam,” Jerry said.

  “In that case, your burger is on me tonight.” She smiled and sauntered off, swaying her hips.

  “Is it my imagination, or is she treating me differently than usual? I didn’t think she even knew I existed.”

  “Cool down, lover boy,” Dan said. “She’s probably in a good mood because you won’t be around to hassle her anymore. It’s her way of celebrating.”

  “I’d like to think that she was showering some warm, loving attention on me.”

  “You don’t want her to shower you—you want her to shower with you.”

  They laughed good-naturedly at Dan’s joke. When Sam returned with Jerry’s beer they both grinned adolescently, picturing her naked with Jerry. Samantha set his beer down, eyeing them suspiciously, which caused them to laugh out loud. With a shrug, she left.

  When their childish laughter subsided, Dan raised his glass in a toast.

  “This isn’t goodbye, but rather a celebration of your moving on to fulfill your life’s dreams. I wish you all the luck and fortune in the world.”

  They toasted. As the beer went down Jerry watched Dan. He was worried about him. He had called Dan several times to cement plans for tonight, and each time Dan seemed somewhat inebriated. Surely Janet was the cause. He now regretted that drinking was part of their farewell party, but decided to go along with it anyway. He didn’t want to create any friction between them, especially when he didn’t know how long it would be until he saw Dan again. He decided to follow a different topic.

  “So, how are things going at KBC?”

  “Crazy. Yesterday, when Melissa and I got back from shooting that gas tanker explosion, they had just found the body of that girl.”

  Jerry nodded his acknowledgement. It was the hot topic in town, a favorite of water cooler conversation.

  “Did you hear that she was here the night she died?” Dan asked.

  “I know. Part of that bridal party. You wanna talk about weird, that takes the cake.”

  “We probably saw her,” Dan nodded, shivering.

  A silence fell between them. Again Jerry decided it would be a good time to try another tact.

  “You mentioned Melissa a minute ago. Who’s she?”

  “Melissa’s your replacement, you asshole. How could you not know that? She’s on TV all the time.”

  Jerry shook his head. The name meant nothing.

  “Melissa Van Dyke?” Dan prodded.

  Again Jerry shook his head, though this time he was smirking. “I’m embarrassed. I have to confess. I’ve been watching channel 7. I guess I didn’t have the guts to see who had taken over my old turf.”

  “She’s good, but not up to your level yet. She’s really sweet, with a terrific sense of humor. She’s fun to be with. If it weren’t for Janet, I’d be extremely tempted to ask her out.”

  “Dating a fellow employee—dangerous ground there, Dan,” Jerry chided. “Speaking of Janet, how is she? I’m kind of surprised I haven’t heard from her. I thought she’d call and wish me luck, or at least send a card.”

  “I’d like her to call or at least send a card to me,” Dan said angrily.

  Jerry realized that he had opened a sore, red with inflammation. Why am I following this thread? He would have to tread carefully if he didn’t want to get swallowed by antibodies.

  “I take it you’re still having problems.”

  Dan was exasperated. “I wish I knew! I haven’t seen her in ages. She’s never home anymore, and if she is home when I call she’s always busy and can’t do anything. I’d almost swear she was seeing another guy.”

  “I hate to ask this, but what makes you think she’s not?”

  Dan took a long drink, swallowing half of his beer. “She could be for all I know. Last night I decided to drop by her place unexpectedly to see what happened.”

  “Did anything?”

  “I couldn’t go through with it. All I did was sit in my car and watch her building. When I was about to leave the door opened and she walked out. I slunk down in my seat and watched her get in her car. She drove right past me. I don’t think she noticed. About five minutes later I went home.”

  He finished his drink. Sam was over in a flash.

  “Another round?”

  “I’ll take another,” Dan spoke up quickly.

  “I’m fine,” Jerry said, and as Sam moved off, asked, “Do you have any idea where she was going?”

  “No, but I’m sure I wouldn’t like it if I knew.”

  “How do you know? She could have just been going grocery shopping or something.”

  Dan said nothing.

  “Look,” Jerry offered, “I’ll see her tomorrow before I leave if you’d like. I’d love to see her one more time anyway. Maybe she’ll say something to me she won’t say to you. If she’s trying to end your relationship, I’ll find out.”

  “Good luck,” Dan said bitterly.

  “Wouldn’t it be better to know now before you ruin yourself? It’s pretty obvious you’ve been drinking a lot lately, and it’s a safe guess you’re not sleeping much either.”

  “Insomnia runs in my family,” Dan deadpanned, irked. He had planned on a last evening of fun and adventure with his best friend. He didn’t want to be the subject of a study.

  “All I’m saying is not knowing where you stand is driving you crazy. I think you’re avoiding the problem rather than facing it.”

  Dan turned away from him, looking off.

  Jerry’s mood soured too. He realized that Dan’s problems with Janet ran deeper than he thought. This struck him as peculiar, because in all the time they were a couple, he’d never known them to have a serious fight. What he didn’t know was that Dan felt guilty over his thoughts about Melissa.

  Finally Jerry broke the silence. “Okay, maybe I’m butting in where I have no business being, but I’m your friend. I’m concerned.”

  “I know you are,” Dan relented. “I’m sorry. I guess I’ve got a lot of things on my mind.” He started sliding his chair away from the table. “I have a sudden urge to get out of here. Do you agree?”

  “What do you have in mind?”

>   “Did I ever tell you about the movie Stalker?”

  Jerry shook his head.

  “You’d love it. It ranks right up there with Halloween and The Exorcist for classic terror.”

  Jerry was doubtful. “Isn’t that one of those dumb teenager movies? You know, the ones where the half-naked girls get cut up by some psychotic heavy breather?”

  “It’s along those same lines,” Dan said excitedly, “but the execution is far superior. Remember, Halloween had that for its basic plot too.”

  “I guess…”

  “C’mon. Let’s go. I’ve been meaning to see it again.” His voice dropped markedly in volume. “I didn’t pay too much attention the first time. That was the night Janet and I had our first big falling out.”

  Jerry knew what to do. A movie would take Dan’s mind off Janet for a while. Besides, he was a sucker for a good movie too. “Okay, let’s go.”

  Sam returned with Dan’s beer, but Dan was already heading for the door. He had a running tab there.

  “Leaving so soon?” she asked Jerry.

  “No. Just in time,” he said, and went after Dan.

  *2*

  The light from the motion picture bathed the audience with a sporadic flickering of images at twenty-four frames per second. Jerry looked over at Dan to make a comment about the film, but decided against it after he saw him.

  Dan was glued to the screen, mesmerized. His body sat in the stiff theatre chair, but his mind was up there on the stained screen, observing the characters and their motions. He studied with fascination the fluid-like movements of the killer. It was a ballet of horror, the murders performed with operatic beauty. He dreamed of becoming graceful, like his counterpart on the screen. With practice, he knew, it would come, as do all things.

  Practice makes perfect.

  Jerry saw this and could imagine Dan walking the streets, stalking girls and killing them. It gave him a terrible chill. He pulled at his shirt, searching for some source of heat to cover himself.

  Stalker played on…

  *3*

  “I love coming out of a movie into the night, especially after I’ve seen a horror film,” Dan said, bounding down the few steps to the parking lot. “If it was still light out, the whole effect the filmmakers were trying to instill in us would be wasted. What’s the use of trying to scare the hell out of someone if that effect can’t be sustained?”

  “I’ve always felt a spook show was meant to be more like a roller coaster,” Jerry said. “It’s white knuckles for a while, but eventually the car reaches the bottom of the hill. If you had fun, you do it again. With a scary movie, you just wait for the inevitable sequel.” He laughed a little. “How many Friday the 13ths have there been?”

  Dan realized that Jerry wasn’t catching his point. “You’re trying to compare Shakespeare with comic books: one is art and entertains, the other has art and is simply meant to entertain. A true horror film should deeply disturb the audience and follow them home. If the viewer doesn’t question his security and re-evaluate his position, then the filmmaker has failed in his job.”

  “I think you’re giving these guys too much credit,” Jerry scoffed. “I think the only aspirations they have is to make more money on this film than they did on their last one.”

  Ignoring the remark, Dan kept on. “Take Jaws for example. That movie kept a lot of people out of the water for a long time. Eventually, of course, people are going to realize they’re being stupid and go swimming again. The ad campaign for the first sequel touched on this. Remember: Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…Jaws 2. The movie sucked compared to the first, but the slogan was great. It paid homage to the fear the original generated.”

  Jerry tried to comprehend what Dan was talking about. “If what you’re saying is true, then you think I ought to be looking over my shoulder every few steps to see if I’m being stalked while we’re walking back to the car.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Do you see me looking over my shoulder? I guess it’s not working, but then again, I’m not a girl. That killer was awfully sexist. At least Jason gives equal time to the guys.” He laughed.

  Dan remained serious. “Joking aside, if you were a girl, alone, don’t you suppose you might feel a little unnerved, a little afraid?”

  “Thinking of it that way, I suppose maybe I would.”

  “It takes a special talent to tap into the human psyche and find the pulse of what frightens them. I think this movie does more than that. It finds a darker side of human nature, and exposes that raw nerve. People may like to look in mirrors for vanity purposes, but shed away the skin and expose the darker core that comprises that part of them, and they will shriek in terror. If that special mirror is constantly thrust in front of them, despite all their efforts to escape, they eventually cave in. They’ve been shown a part of themselves they don’t enjoy, and that scar will stay with them for a while—they will be disturbed. And if that happens, the filmmakers have achieved their goal.”

  “You sound like a professor. Maybe you’re the one who should be teaching.”

  Dan smiled. “So, like a professor, I decided to do an experiment.” He hesitated. “I started stalking people.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me. I’ve already done it a couple of times. It keeps the creepy feeling of the movie within me.”

  Jerry was shocked. “Don’t you think you’re a little old to be playing the Bogeyman?”

  “You’re never too old if you’re having fun,” Dan countered. “Think of all the things you’d like to do, except society dictates that you can’t. Wouldn’t it be fun to run after an ice cream truck, or fly a kite, or bury yourself up to your neck in the sand? I admit it’s a little strange, but stalking is my way of getting some of that youthful feeling back that I used to get when I played Hide & Seek and Bloody Murder.”

  “Don’t you worry that someone might call the police?”

  Dan shrugged his shoulders. “It hasn’t happened, yet. I don’t anticipate it ever will. And if it does? I guess that’s part of the risk. Think about it. It wouldn’t be any fun if there wasn’t any danger involved.”

  They reached Dan’s car and got in. For the first time in their long friendship Jerry felt like he didn’t know the man who sat next to him in the dim light. Despite all his recent personal problems, he appeared to be fueled with life, a fire that only sparked once they went to Stalker. It was as if the movie had some kind of hold over him.

  They drove off.

  *4*

  “What are we doing here?” Jerry asked, sitting in the darkness.

  Dan turned toward him. “It’s obvious that you have no idea what I’m talking about,” he said. A sly smile curled the corner of his mouth. “So I’m going to show you.”

  Jerry sighed. There was no talking Dan out of something once he decided to do it. It wouldn’t matter that Jerry felt extreme discomfort at the suggestion of stalking passersby, no matter how innocent Dan’s intentions were. He was stuck in Dan’s car.

  He knew trouble loomed when Dan turned into the posh residential district a few miles back. He asked where Dan was going, but Dan kept mum. He hoped they were taking a shortcut to some place Dan was saving for a surprise, but in his heart he knew that wasn’t true. Like it or not, they were going stalking.

  Now they sat in Dan’s car, parked on the street under the shadow of a large oak tree, lights out, silently watching and waiting. It was 10:30 p.m., but the late August temperature still invited folks to take a short stroll around the block or to walk the dog one last time before bed.

  “What are we waiting for?” Jerry asked impatiently. “If we’re going to do this, let’s get it over with.”

  “We’ve got to select the right person,” Dan answered, not looking at Jerry, continuing instead to survey the territory. “Choosing is half the art.”

  He was about to speak his protests when Dan shushed him with a wave of his hand. Without saying a word, Dan motioned for
Jerry to duck down in his seat as he did the same.

  “This is ridiculous,” Jerry whispered.

  “Just do it,” Dan urged.

  Reluctantly, Jerry followed Dan’s lead, slinking down in his seat, his knees cramped against the glove compartment. He looked over at Dan, who had a goofy grin on his face.

  “What now?”

  Dan pointed to an attractive brunette coming toward them on the walk. She wore hot pink running shorts, a tank top damp with perspiration, jogging shoes, and a headband that matched her shorts. She wiped her face with a small hand towel, cooling down after her workout.

  She got closer to Dan’s Chevy, to the point where Jerry could make out the features on her face. Not wanting to be caught halfway hunched down in a parked car on a dark street with another man (and think of the possibilities that brought to mind), he pulled his legs in closer to his chest and tucked his head in, becoming as compact as possible. Glancing over, he saw that Dan did the same. Afraid to even breathe, he held his breath as she walked by. He dared to look up as she passed. She couldn’t have been more than five feet away from the car. He waited a few more seconds, and then blew out a huge sigh of relief, uncurling himself and sitting back up. Strangely enough, with the danger of detection gone, he felt kind of giddy.

  “Is that it?” he asked, his heart pounding. “You know, that was kind of scary in a fun sense of the word.”

  Dan patted him on the leg, smiling. “Not even close. It’s only just begun.”

  He reached up and unscrewed the bulb from his overhead interior light. Soundlessly, he opened his door, and slipped out. Jerry’s feeling of dread returned.

  “Stay here,” he whispered, and then mutely clicked his door shut, leaving Jerry alone in the darkness.

  What’s he going to do now? Jerry agonized, biting his lip.

  He didn’t have to wait long to find out as Dan stealthily crept onto the walk, not hunched over like some disfigured creature as Jerry imagined, but standing rigid and straight, as though a shaft had been rammed into his spine. He took easy, even steps, his feet gliding over the sidewalk, always remaining in firm contact with the concrete so not to create unnecessary shuffling. His wooden legs churned endlessly on, like a windup toy soldier out of control, matching the girl’s rhythm and speed, but since he took large, broad steps, he quickly closed the gap.