Scott Sigler - Nocturnal - A Novel

Except Tard couldn’t tell anyone about his job, because Firstborn said no one was ever to go near the monster’s house. Sly said it was okay, though, to ignore Firstborn’s orders, as long as no one found out.

Movement. Down by the monster’s house. By the back door. It was the man dressed in black, the man who had been circling the block earlier. How exciting ! Tard stayed very still, because he was good at that.

Tard watched.

Cowardice

John Smith checked the caller ID: POOKIE CHANG.

What now? Pookie had just called thirty minutes earlier with that murder-rate research project. John loved Pookie and would always have his back, but truth be told the guy was more than a little too quick to delegate detective work.

John answered. “Pooks, you gotta give a guy a chance. I haven’t even started to search the database yet, let alone start tabulating stuff. This isn’t—”

“John, I need you, right now.”

Pookie never called him John . “What’s happening?”

“Bryan’s having a meltdown. I need you at Erickson’s house, ASAP.”

John looked to his apartment window even though he knew what he’d see — the blackness of night, lit up only by streetlights and the glowing windows across the road.

“It’s dark out,” John said.

“I know it’s dark out, John. Bryan is going in there without a warrant, and if he does, Zou is going to screw him right to the wall. I don’t know if I can stop him on my own — I need your help.”

John stared at the window. Stared and shook his head. He wanted to help Bryan, he did, but it was dark outside and Pookie wanted him to go to the house of a killer?

“Pooks, I … I just can’t.”

“The fuck you can’t! Your black ass would be dead if it wasn’t for Bryan. I’m so sorry for what happened to you, I am, but you get your gun, get on that Harley and move.”

John nodded. Hard to breathe. Bryan needed him. Erickson’s. It wasn’t all that far, not at this hour, using the bike to slide between traffic, if there was any traffic …

“Yeah, okay, I can be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Make it ten,” Pookie said. “And don’t forget your gun. This isn’t about you anymore. Man up, or just stay in your goddamn apartment for the rest of your life.”

Pookie hung up. John closed his eyes tight. Breathe. You have to go, you HAVE to .

He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out his Sig Sauer.

His hand was already trembling.

The Kill

The sound of a shutting door made Rex snap awake.

Had someone found him?

He was still in the brown garbage can. The lid was still closed. What had happened? He had just closed his eyes, tried to think of his people finding him. Had he fallen asleep? It was totally dark out. Was it past midnight? He didn’t have a watch, didn’t have a phone.

He heard a click-click-click sound. He rose slowly, the top of his head lifting the hinged lid so he could peek out under it. There was April, walking away from the house, a big smile on her face. Her high heels clicked on the concrete. Maybe she had just fucked Alex. Maybe she had given him a blowjob. She looked dirty. Unclean .

There was no one else on the street. There were no cars. She was walking away, fast, like she was fleeing him. It spun him up to think that she was trying to escape.

No one else on the street — his attempt to make his so-called family come had failed. Maybe it didn’t work that way, he didn’t know. What if April didn’t return? What if she was going to get help? What if she was going to get her parents? What if Rex wouldn’t have another chance?

She would have a key. Alex would be alone in the house.

Rex quietly crawled out of the garbage can. Blanket wrapped around him, he walked after April. Could he get her? He’d killed Roberta … Roberta was bigger and stronger than April the meth-head.

His feet carried him after her. He had to get her.

Click-click-click .

Rex’s feet made no noise. He reached out for her, locked his hands around her neck and squeezed . She grabbed at his fingers. She tried to turn, but he wouldn’t let her. She made little grunting noises — not enough air for a real scream. Her nails raked the backs of his hands, so he squeezed as hard as he possibly could.

April twitched, she kicked out weakly … she stopped moving.

Rex was so turned on, so damn turned on. He pulled her into an apartment building entryway and gently set her on the ground. He wouldn’t have long. Rex looked in her little purse and found the keys.

He couldn’t hide here forever. He had to face Alex, Alex who had stomped on his arm, broken it. Alex, who had punched Rex in the face so many times, kicked him in the stomach …

Rex shook his head. He wouldn’t be afraid anymore, he wouldn’t . He was the king .

He looked around again to see if anyone saw him. The street was silent. There was no movement. Rex walked to the house. He tried to breathe. Alex was inside. Rex’s hand caressed the front door’s white-painted wood.

He had killed two women — Alex Panos wasn’t a woman. Alex was big and strong. Rex couldn’t run now, couldn’t stop himself from going in. One way or another, Alex’s endless torment ended now. Rex’s breath came in deep, ragged spurts.

Kill Alex. Kill Alex. Kill Alex .

Rex’s hand slid down to the brass doorknob. Cool to the touch. He tried a key: didn’t fit. He tried another, staying as quiet as he could. The third one slid in. He turned the key, then turned the handle.

Rex stepped inside. There was a room to the right. Coming from inside that room, the blue/white flashes of a TV playing in the darkness.

From that room, a voice: “Did you get me my Chocodiles? You better have my Chocodiles, girl.”

Rex walked into the room. Alex Panos — big, strong Alex Panos — sat in a chair facing a huge TV screen.

Alex stood up quickly. He looked across the room, somewhere to Rex’s right, then looked back at Rex. Alex’s hands curled into fists.

“You little faggot,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

The voice froze Rex’s feet in place. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t think of anything but the fists smashing against his nose, the knees breaking his lips, the boot snapping his arm.

The flickering light from the TV played off of Alex’s blond hair. “The news said you killed your mom,” he said. A statement with an underlying meaning: you killed your mom, are you here to kill me?

Yes. That’s exactly what Rex was there to do.

His feet came unglued. He took one step forward.

“Don’t,” Alex said. “Get out of here, or I will fuck you up. Did you tell anyone where I am?”

Rex took another step.

Alex looked to Rex’s right again. There was something there Alex wanted, but Rex wouldn’t take his eyes off the prey even for a second.

“You better run away, motherfucker,” Alex said. “Go now, or I’m going to hurt you real bad this time.”

The voice of anger, the voice of hate , but there was something new in there: fear .

Rex breathed in deep through his nose. He didn’t just hear Alex’s fear, he smelled it.

Alex suddenly ran to his left, crossing in front of the TV. Rex shot forward before he even knew what he was doing. He slammed into Alex, driving the bigger boy back into the TV. Plastic cracked, something sparked, and they both hit the ground hard. Alex cried out, a squeal of pain very unlike his manly words of threat.

Rex started to stand, then felt a fist slam into his mouth. So hard . He fell back and landed on his ass. A boot crunched into his stomach, crushing the air out of his lungs, making Rex’s body curl up into a ball. All the fear came rushing back. The terror of beatings past consumed him, because he knew this one would be worse than all the others — he shouldn’t have come here.