Have you ever met a serial killer? I think I did.
I did. And I am relieved I didn’t knew it at the time.
I used to chat a lot on MSN messenger when I was in college. I was a shy and kinda awkward girl. So talking and flirting with random guys was much more easy for me to do online than in real. We used to have those internet stores where we can use a computer for an hour or two for one dollar once a week. I mean, it was the 2000s and technology wasn’t available for everyone. Sometimes it was just writing chat and sometimes we used cameras.
There was one guy that I remember very well. He was a lawyer, or so he said. He always refused to use the camera even after we knew each other for almost a year. He was witty and funny, and I very much like him. He was much older than me and very good at sex talk, which was somehow appeling for a girl in her late teens. He was always asking personnal questions “ where do you live ?”, “ do you live alone or with your family?”, “ do you have a boyfriend?”, “ can you travel alone?.” Of course I always diluted the conversation and never give up that much of informations.
Sometimes I would tell him a fake story but then he would ask details and details and I would end up telling him that it was fake and laugh about it. You would think it would bother him, but no. He would always laugh and say that I have a wild imagination. I think our virtual relation-ship lasted for about three years. Now that I’m thinking about it, it lasted until I graduated from College. One time he cames to the town where I was living. I was in my senior year. He said that it was for work and insisted that we meet. I agreed and told him about a coffe where we can have a drink. He declined and said that he had work all the day and he could be available only after 9 p.m and proposed that we meet in the appartement where he was staying.
I thought it was weird but in the same time I was excited and was eager to see him in real. I finally agreed and told myself I will just pass by and say hello but that I would not stay. So we agreed to meet the following day. He sent me the adress and because I know the area I knew I would find my way easily. Unfortunately, that day at the university we had to prepare for a conference, me and a group of friends. The meeting took us longer than we planned, so I sent a message to the guy telling him that I had an unexpected work to finish and that I couldn’t make it. He never responded and I never heard from him after that.
Few years had passed and I moved in another city where I was pursuing my PhD. One day, out of nowhere I received a mail from that guy. It was just a regular mail where he was asking how I was doing and what I was about lately. Honestly I was a bit surprised. We exchanged few mails after that and he told he would be very happy to meet me if I was able to make it this time. It made me laugh. I thought, well maybe it’s time to meet this guy. Where I was living happened to be an hour away from the city where he lived.
After a few forth and back mails, he gave me his adress. The location struck me as odd but I didn’t think much of it at the time. It was quite away from the city which I already visited a few times before. It was a new neighborhood I didn’t even think people lived in. The way I was supposed to get to his house was a bit weird too, I thought to myself. He said he will guide me on phone and tell me how to get to his place. I took the train anyway, arrived to the train station and took a cab and headed to the neighbourhood. I had to stop in an intersection and follow his instructions on phone as he said. When the cab arrived at the intersection, the driver asked me if I was sure where I was going. I lied and told him it’s alright I knew the area.
There was a seemingly suburb villas, the kind with high walls and well maintained front trees. It was a bit unnerving as I was walking on the street where he said he lived. It was quite. Too quite. In the end of the street there was a douzain look alike duplexes with well-maintained hedgerows instead of fences. The street was empty but for two cars that passed by before I took a turn in the alleyway. I called him and he took it from there. I followed his instructions until I stopped in front of a duplex with a garage and well-maintained front lawn. There was no car outside and all the windows seemd closed but one on the upper floor. The space in front of the garage was unexpectedly clean and for a moment I thought maybe I missed the right house. Then I heard him say on the phone”I can see you. Go ahead, the outside door is open.” When I looked up I saw a curtain dropping.
I felt a real uneasiness, but I ignored it. Come on, don’t be silly. I know this guy for almost 6 years. I will finally see him in person, I said to myself. I stepped forward to the outside door, I pushed it then went inside. It was the entrance to the duplex leading to a small lobby with stairs. The lobby was completely quite as if no one lived in that duplex. I was about to close the door when, for some reason, I decided to not close it but just push it quitly. I went upstairs and I saw number 11 on the door on right. And before I coul tap on the woody door he opened it widely. The inside of the appartement was kind of dark, because of the lack of natural light. He stood there, wearing a black shirt and gray pants and was bare feet, which was odd. He was partly bold and neatly shaved. He smiled and headed his right hand to me and said:
“Well hello there. You finally decided to do it ha?”
Something in his features was unsettling, as if he was up to something. It was as if I could see it in his cold grey eyes. Something I couldn’t explain that I felt endangered.
I I reached out my hand to greet him. The moment his hand touched mine a chill run down my spine.
“Yeah, finally” I responded out of politness. My uneasiness must have shown on my face. He shook my hand, but he didn’t let go and his grab tithened.
I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.
“Now you can let go of my hand” I said with a false amused tone. He grinned in return but he didn’t let go. At that instant I went into a fight or flight mode. My heart started racing and all my senses went crazy.
He grabbed my hand and tried to pull me inside. I threw politness out of the window an yelled “Let go of my hand! I said Let go”.
I was still standing on the threshold. I gripped the wall with my left hand and tried to pull away from the grip. When I looked up at him, I saw the creepy expression of a predator and a smile that said, “I finally got you!” I was not only trapped, but I also knew no one could hear me outside the duplex. Even if someone could hear me, they’d have no idea where the screams were coming from. He wasn’t a big guy. He was nearly my height and a little overweight. Otherwise, he’d be able to easily overwhelm me. So I took my chance, let go of the wall, and stepped inside almost halfway. It caught him off guard. I grabbed the doorknob with my left hand and began slamming the door repeatedly on his arm as I tried to walk back to break free. He finally let go of my hand after I heard a grunt from inside.
I thank God for my decision to leave the front door open. I ran through the quiet alleyway without looking back until I reached the intersection. I looked behind me but saw no one, so I continued running. I couldn’t find any cabs in this area, so I ran for nearly 10 minutes before spotting a cab passing by. While running after him, I yelled at the taxi driver and waved with my hand. He must have seen me in his rearview mirror because he came to a complete stop. I dashed to the cab, shaking uncontrollably and heavily breathing. The driver gave me a wide look and was about to ask me a question when I blurted out, “to the train station. Please! Hurry!” He gave me a brief look before resuming to drive. I arrived at the station, purchased a ticket, and then boarded the first train to my hometown. I switched off my phone because I feared he would call or message me.
When I arrived, I went to the train station’s convenience store and pretended to look for something. I know they have a camera there, so if he follows me, he will be caught on camera. I spent nearly ten minutes wandering between the iles. Finally, I went up to the cashier and bought a bottle of water. On my way home, I took two cabs in opposite directions to confuse anyone who was following me. I didn’t feel safe until I got home and shut the door. For a brief moment, I considered calling the cops. But what would I say to them? He didn’t do anything. I was not harmed. And I am an adult who understands what I was doing. I cursed my stupid lack of self-preservation instinct. I told no one about my misadventure and vowed never to go through another dangerous meetup. I never heard from that guy after that. But it took several months for me to completely forget about this encounter and move on with my life.
Until that morning, when I was reading the newspaper and noticed a familiar face, a face I’d never forget. The photo was titled “MSN Predator,” the serial killer who lured his victims to his home and never let them leave. According to the article, “all 24 victims were young women between the ages of 17 and 23 whom the killer met on Messenger. During the interrogation, the defendant stated that some of his victims had been chatting with him for more than two years, and that only one girl “slipped between his fingers, twice” as he put it, because she was somehow smarter than the others. “
I stared at the newspaper for a long, very long time.