“Am I talking enough?”
“Go on. Next?”
“You took off a few years, a little hiatus, not unusual in your sick world, and tried to go straight. Couldn’t do it. Danny Cleveland was found strangled in his home in Little Rock in 2009.”
“He had it coming.”
“Of course he did. Exposing corruption by good reporting should always be a capital offense. Got him. Another notch in the old belt.”
“Go on. Next.”
“Two years ago, Perry Kronke was found dead in his boat, roasting in the hot summer sun, blood everywhere. He pissed you off when you were twenty-four and he didn’t offer you a job, like every other summer clerk. Another capital offense.”
“You missed another.”
“Forgive me.”
“Go on.”
“Verno and Dunwoody last year in Biloxi. Verno beat you in court when you were a hotshot young lawyer, so of course he deserved to die. Dunwoody showed up at the wrong time. No remorse for his family? Wife, three kids, three grandkids, a wonderful man with lots of friends. Nothing whatsoever, Bannick?”
“Anybody else?”
“Well, that story in the Ledger included Mal Schnetzer, rather recent vintage. Killed only a week ago somewhere near Houston. Seems as though your paths crossed, same as all your victims. I haven’t had time to look at the Schnetzer murder. You’re killing so fast these days that I can’t keep up.” She paused and looked at him. He was listening to her, as if amused.
Keep talking, she told herself. “Why is it, Bannick, that serial killers often get busy at the end? Do you read about them, the others? Are you ever curious about how they operate? Ever pick up pointers or strategies from their stories, most written after they’re caught or dead, I might add. Well, I’ve read them all, and often, but certainly not always because God knows there’s no real method to this madness, they feel trapped and lash out by speeding up. Kronke, then Verno and Dunwoody, now Schnetzer. That’s four in just two years.”
“Just three in my book.”
“Of course. Dunwoody doesn’t count because he never insulted you, or pulled a gun, or embarrassed you in class.”
“Shut up.”
“You told me to keep talking.”
“Now I’m telling you to shut up.”
“I don’t want to, Bannick. I’ve lived in your miserable life for so long and I never dreamed I would one day be able to have a chat like this and tell you what a miserable scumbag I think you are. You’re a coward. Your crimes took no courage.”
“You said that in one of your silly poems.”
“I thought they were rather clever.”
“And quite stupid. Why did you bother with them?”
“Good question, Bannick. Not sure I have the answer. I just wanted to lash out myself, I guess. Maybe as a way to torment you. I want you to suffer. And now that the end is near I can’t believe that it’s you who’s on the run, hiding here in the woods, planning to kill one last time. Your game is over, Bannick; so is your life. Why don’t you surrender like a man and take your punishment?”
“I said shut up.”
“There are so many things I want to say.”
“Don’t say them. I’m tired of your voice. If you want to talk next week, then shut up now.”
He abruptly stood, walked to her, sat on the stool, again with their knees almost touching. She pulled back as far as possible, certain he was about to strike. He reached for his pocket and pulled out two burner phones. “I’m going to get Lacy. I want her here with you. We’ll have us a nice long conversation and I’ll find out how much she knows.”
“Leave her alone. She’s done nothing but her job.”
“Oh really? She’s called in the FBI.”
“Leave her alone. Blame me, not her. She had never heard of you until I entered her life.”
He showed her both phones and said, “These are yours. Not sure which one will work, but I want you to call Lacy and arrange a meeting. Tell her you have a piece of evidence that will prove beyond all doubt that I’m the killer, but you can’t discuss it over the phone. It’s urgent and she must meet with you now.”
“Just go ahead and kill me.”
“Listen to me, you stupid woman. I’m not going to kill you, not now anyway, maybe never. I want Lacy here. We’ll talk, and once I know everything there’s a good chance I’ll simply disappear, go to some exotic village by the sea or in the mountains, someplace where no one speaks English. They’ll never find me. I’ve already been there, you know? It’s all planned.”