Chapter 29 : I went to a serial killer's lair (Part 4)

That sounds comical. But really, that sentence was probably the most chilling part of the entire experience for me. It was the way he said it. Like he had to come up with something on the fly, something that would sound plausible, and he failed. Who says that in real life? Hey, do you want to have some hot man to man fun? Nobody. It's something you'd see on an advertisement for a cheesy porn site or something.

"Some..... hot.... man to man.. fun?" *smile* *quivering lips*

That was it. I said, "nope, I want to go. I'm leaving." He said, uh... ok. I quickly walked past him as he flattened himself against the wall to avoid me, and I noped right out through the living room dissection area and through the kitchen to the back door, which was thankfully still not deadbolted. The keys were still on the counter. I let myself out of the door, and didn't bother closing that, as I saw him slowly coming to the door behind me. I deliberately walked, not ran, to my car. Looking back at the building I could see that indeed there was a window facing the back yard area from that paneled room, but of course it was covered up from the inside. Dude was shutting and locking the back door.

And I left, heart pounding, skin icy cold, thinking HOLY FUCK. What was that.

So... was this guy some kind of killer? Or was he just an awkward, closeted gay guy... with access to a sterile-looking apartment with an autopsy/mortuary table? ... and a windowless room that locks from the outside. With a chair and a phone, and no light switch. It's clear to me that the poor soul who walks into that room gets locked in, he probably shuts off the light from somewhere, and calls the phone. Other than that, it's anyone's guess what happens. I assume the friend of the judgemental person who emailed me must have been some kid that got locked in for whatever game ensues.

Driving home, at first I thought of course I have to call the police and tell them what's in that place. But, thinking it through, I realized I didn't really have any crime to tell them about. I went to meet a man for casual sex, and what? He has a room with a chair in it? He has (as I thought at the time) an exam table? The police aren't going to do anything with that story. The guy didn't touch me or do anything to me, and I left. I considered calling an anonymous tip line, but again, what exactly would I report? There was no actionable crime. Also keep in mind that at that time, while the local police in this city were pretty decent, they weren't especially interested in getting involved with helping the gays. They'd prosecute actual crimes if it was cut and dry, but I'd heard plenty of accounts of them not choosing to follow up on cases where there was not an easy arrest to be made.

I decided not to report anything because nothing would come of it except drawing unwanted attention to myself. Even in retrospect, I think that was probably the most rational choice to make. If this happened today in 2020, the law enforcement would probably be a lot more interested in it. But back then, not so much. So, live and learn.

I still drove past that house once in a while in the normal course of life for several years, and I'd pay attention to how it looked. The vertical blinds were closed for maybe 5 or 6 years whever I went past. Then eventually the blinds were down and there were decorative curtains in the window, so I assume the place was eventually sold to someone who actually lived in it.

Around 2002, maybe 2003, there was a murder of a young man on the news, he'd been found in the next state (which borders on my city, so it's not very far away). I recognized the guy from the gay community, but didn't know him personally. A friend mentioned to me something about the local serial killer. I said WHAT? He explained that a few young men had gone missing over the past year, each after being at one specific dive bar, and each being found several miles to the north past the state line, and out in the country. The case on the news matched up with that MO; my friend told me the young guy had been at that bar and left with someone the night that he disappeared. The news report didn't mention anything about a gay bar or similar recent cases (of course). I had to wonder if my acquaintance from the internet had anything to do with it. The location of the murders apparently was nowhere near that duplex, at least according to the story I was told. I never heard of a resolution to that murder on the news, or any official mention of a suspected serial killer, other then some gossip.

So.... that happened.