Page 50 of The Silent Night Stalker
I set my things down on the floor, then head back to Mario, who’s completely out of it. I grab him by his armpits from behind and drag his body toward the tree in his living room.
It takes a lot of work to wrap the duct tape around his body to bind his arms together behind his back. He groans and tries to move, but he can’t do anything. He’s my puppet. Once I’m happy that he can’t break out of it, I zip tie his wrists together, then his ankles.
“Glpmpn tdhwpqa wetemanoal,” Mario slurs. He’s been trying to talk to me the entire time, but I can’t understand one word. His dark brown eyes are wide, and looking around, but he has no power against me.
Now that he’s secure, I remove my coat. I look down at the man trying to get loose as I finger the cross resting on my chest. Mario’s definitely way too out of it to get loose.
There’s one final touch before I call Enzo. I dig into my backpack and pull out a thick red ribbon. I tie it loosely around Mario’s throat and make a huge bow in the front.
“He’s going to love it,” I say.
Before I grab my phone, it buzzes in my back pocket. I pull it out, and a smile stretches across my face. I love how in sync Enzo and I are, like he just knows I’ve done something special for him. He’ll be mad at first, but once he understands the truth, he’ll be so happy.
Enny: I thought you were stopping by tonight.
God, I love how he wants me there with him. I press the phone against my heart that’s filled with so much love.
Me: I was, but I was busy getting you a Christmas present.
Enny: Aw, Little Bird. You don’t have to get me anything.
Me: I do. It’s important. Meet me here.
I type out the address and hit send, then wait for his blowup.
Enny: Con… What the fuck did you just do?
Me: Come by. Tonight.
Enny: No. Tell me what the fuck is going on.
Me: Please. I know we haven’t known each other long,
but I’m asking you to trust me. I’ll tell you everything
when you get here.
Waiting for him to respond feels like an eternity. Will he not come? I can always go to him, but then I’ll lose the impact of the gift.
Enny: Fine. But this better be good.
Me: It is.
It takes Enzo nearly an hour to get here, but I wait patiently. I don’t bother giving Mario another dose. If he screams, I can tape his mouth shut, but he’s still barely making sense when he tries to talk.
Snot runs down his face, and he’s drooling, so I grab some tissues from his bathroom and wipe it off for him. Even though he killed Enrique, we should all die with dignity.
There’s a sudden pounding on the front door. I stand and rush to answer it. Enzo scowls at me and blows on by as he enters the foyer. “Where is he? What’d you do with him?”
I try not to be hurt by his words and his not trusting me, but it still stings. I have to remind myself that he has no idea what’s going on, and I didn’t help by keeping this all a secret.
“He’s in the living room tied up under his Christmas tree,” I reply.
Enzo rushes into the large room and finds Mario drugged out of his mind.
“Jesus fucking Christ. Why, Con? Why?”
“He killed Enrique,” I say simply. “He’s your Christmas present.”
