Alex Barclay - The Caller

‘Sure.’

Blake led them down the hallway. A bike leaned against the wall with a black helmet hanging from the handlebars. The kitchen was a modern chunky design, granite, walnut and stainless steel. Blake stood by the island and rested a hand on the corner.

‘My own blood was dripping down onto me from here. I remember raising my hand up towards it to prove it. I thought I was in the middle of a nightmare; you know the part where you start to realize what you’re experiencing isn’t real and something physical you do will wake you up; like, you wake up when you’re just about to walk out in front of a speeding car?

‘I can’t describe how I felt knowing that this was real, just the combination of sensations in my head – these throbbing, aching, piercing, stabbing pains. And I can not describe the terror of hearing his footsteps come back towards me.’ He looked away. A tear ran down his face.

‘He came back?’ said Danny.

Blake nodded. ‘And somewhere inside me, I got this overwhelming urge to get away, like an actual physical sensation. I… I basically dragged myself off the floor and was on my hands and knees by the time he walked back in. I made it look like I was about to collapse back on the floor, but instead when he came closer, I kind of jumped up and I punched him, really hard. He staggered backwards into the foyer. That’s when I saw he had a gun in his waistband. And when I looked past him, I could see he had laid something out on the floor, I don’t know what it was. But I knew he was going to do something to me there. So I punched him again, back towards the door. He had my phone – the cordless phone. That went flying out of his hand. He didn’t go pick it up. And then, he… I mean, I guess he wasn’t expecting I would fight back. He grabbed what he had left by the door and… he was gone.’

‘Did he tell you why he was there, why he was doing this to you?’ said Joe.

‘No.’

‘Did he speak at all?’

‘No.’

‘What do you think he had left in the foyer?’

‘I couldn’t see.’

‘What did you do after the attack?’ said Joe.

‘I cleaned myself up, I took some sleeping pills and I went to bed.’

‘Didn’t you need stitches?’ said Danny.

‘Probably. I managed. Well,’ he said pointing to his chin. ‘Maybe not. But I didn’t want to see anyone, didn’t want to go to a doctor. I just wanted to get into bed and sleep through it all.’

‘Why did you not come forward earlier?’ said Joe.

Blake sighed. ‘There are several reasons, I guess. The first is, like anyone, I didn’t ask for this, it was forced on me. If you’re a private person to start with, you’re definitely not going to want to be public at the most personal, damaging time of your life. Do you know what I mean? When I see people on TV with a microphone thrust into their face as they’re walking away from an explosion or a shooting, I can’t bear it. I turn it off. Everyone wants to be inside everyone else’s pain these days. I don’t think it’s right. Do you remember when you could watch the news or read the papers and you would barely see blood or dead bodies and it was all just too sanitised? Then they gradually began showing us more of the reality of war and violence and it worked to an extent, it woke people up to what happens in the world. But that point has been made. Now it’s all about satisfying this imagined prurient curiosity we all have. We want to see how violent death looks on someone’s face. We want to see how losing your wife two minutes ago looks on someone’s face. It’s not right. I would never want to be looked at that way. I think it’s the worst kind of invasion. Worse for me than this Caller entering my home.’

‘This will be kept within the task force,’ said Joe. ‘You don’t have anything to worry about.’

‘Thank you. I’m also thinking of my neighbors. Another reason I didn’t come forward – this is going to sound nuts – was the residents’ association around here. They work so hard for everyone, making sure the neighborhood is not compromised in any way. It would devastate them if they knew about this. Also, if in any way… you know… I invited this on myself-’

‘This is not your fault,’ said Danny.

‘Other people might feel differently.’

‘And why did you come forward now?’ said Joe.

‘When I saw that press conference, I felt I would have support. I would have the backing of the Police Commissioner and the detectives investigating this. And I guess I felt I could speak out for the guys who didn’t make it.’

‘We appreciate you talking to us,’ said Joe. ‘We don’t always have a victim who gets away.’

‘Why do you think he’s targeting us?’ said Blake. ‘Me and the other victims.’

‘He mightn’t like what you represent to him,’ said Danny.

‘But-’ said Blake.

‘We’re not sure why,’ said Joe. ‘We’re looking at different things. Talking to you helps us get closer to what that might be.’

‘Do you think he’s crazy?’

‘Did he seem crazy to you?’ said Joe.

‘Uh, I guess not. I don’t know. Isn’t he crazy to do what he’s doing?’

‘Maybe not,’ said Joe. ‘We’ll know when we find him.’

‘Do you think you’re getting close?’

‘We have lots of information we’re working on, some very reliable directions to go in.’

‘Do you think… look, I guess what I want to know is… do you think he’ll come back for me?’

‘I see no reason why he would do that, Mr Blake. He left when he had the chance. I don’t think he’s going to come back around. Why would he?’

‘The house appears to be very safe,’ said Danny. ‘Look, if you’re ever worried about anything, take our cards, call us.’

‘Thank you.’ He stood up. They shook hands and walked to the front door.

‘Did you have that security system all along or just… after?’ said Joe, pointing to the keypad by the door.

Blake nodded. ‘After.’ He shrugged. ‘But even if I had it before, it wouldn’t have mattered if I was going to go inviting the guy into my house anyway. I mean, a security system is only as good as the guy with the codes.’

‘We had a guy once who wrote the combination to his safe on the ceiling above it,’ said Danny. ‘We have people who never change the factory settings, which are the same in a lot of places. That’s one thing you got to do.’

‘Oh, I do everything that has to be done,’ said Blake. ‘I keep closing the gate and the horse has bolted so long ago…’

‘You do whatever you need to feel safe,’ said Danny.

‘Thanks for coming. I guess I’m lucky I can hole myself up here and not have to face the world if I don’t want to.’

Joe thought of Anna and felt a stab of guilt for making a link. ‘Thank you for your time, Mr Blake.’

‘Yeah,’ said Danny.

‘No problem,’ said Blake. ‘Take care.’

Rufo sat in his office chewing cherry Gas X, thinking it was time to give up on raw broccoli. Just because something was good for you, didn’t mean it tasted good. Or that your body reacted well to it.

‘So,’ he said when Joe and Danny walked in. ‘How did Brooklyn Heights work out for you?’

‘The guy’s name is Blake,’ said Danny. ‘Rencher did a work-up on him and he’s clean. Lives in a nice house – he’s got a foyer. He has never been in trouble, pays his taxes. He looked expensive-’

‘Yeah, but did you see those Target bags in the hallway by the bike?’ said Joe. ‘Maybe he doesn’t like to spend his money too much.’

‘Either way,’ said Danny, ‘he’s another rich guy who finally realizes it doesn’t protect you from shit. I feel sorry for him, don’t get me wrong. There’s something just so fucking tragic about him.’