//NOTICE: This file is a transcript of a confidential conversation. Any unauthorized viewing or sharing of this document is strictly prohibited, and will result in severe consequences.//
This is the transcript of a recorded interview between Rick Beckett and someone who I will call ‘John’ for my own safety.
FILE-001
John: Welcome, Rick. My name is [//EXPUNGED DATA//].
Rick: Hi.
John: Why the long face?
Rick is silent for a second before replying.
Rick: I have many reasons, all which are valid.
John: I believe you are talking about your family?
Rick: How many times do I need to fucking tell you, I didn’t do anything!
John: I understand what you believe, Rick. But the facts stand: Your family is dead and you are alive. And you have yet to provide any other possible explanation, not even in court.
Rick: I can’t tell anyone what happened. What really happened. They would move me from this hellhole to somewhere even worse.
John: And why do you think that, Rick? What happened?
Rick is completely silent.
John: Rick?
He still doesn’t talk.
John: Rick, please talk to me.
Rick: It was Jesse.
John: Who is Jesse? What did Jesse do?
Rick: Jesse killed my family.
John: Who is Jesse?
Rick: (takes a deep breath) I… I met her last month. On vacation, at the beach. I saw her on the pier, sitting by herself on a bench. And she was beautiful. So goddamn beautiful. I walked over and sat next to her. We began talking, and she said we should hang out sometime. I agreed, and got her number.
John: Rick, I’m sorry to interrupt, but you were a married man a month ago.
Rick: So? You didn’t see her. She was the most stunning woman I had ever seen, and that I ever will see. Got any other questions, or can I continue?
John: Please.
Rick: A week later, after we had gone back to our respective homes, she called me about potentially meeting up soon. I said it would be great, and she said that she would come over to Chicago and meet me.
John: Did she?
Rick: The next day. We met at a fancy restaurant.
John: Did you tell her you were married?
Rick: I… I did, at the end of the dinner. But she wasn’t sad. Or mad. There was something else on her face as she left that restaurant. I didn’t know what it was then, but I do now. It was malice. Pure hatred.
John is silent.
Rick: I never told her where I lived. I never even mentioned a neighborhood. But as I drove, I kept seeing the same car ahead of me. Not behind me. Ahead, turning a corner just as I came to that light.
John: Was it her?
There is no response, but it can be inferred that Rick nods at this point.
Rick: Eventually, she got too far ahead. I couldn’t see her anymore. I began to panic. That look on her beautiful face… I wish I would have done something different. Not told her, maybe. Maybe then my family would still be happy. Alive.
There is a long silence.
John: What happened?
Rick: You know what happened.
John: Can you… tell me in your own words?
Rick: When I got home, there was blood everywhere. Neighbors had heard screaming and called the police. So there I was, sitting in a house full of dead, mutilated people, my own family, for fucking Christ’s sake, and I was arrested. You were there for the rest of it.
John: Why didn’t you say any of this?
Rick: Well, as soon as I could, I called Jesse. Some random lady picked up. She said that this number is hers and has been for quite a long time.
John: Could you have gotten the number wrong?
Rick: No. I knew it. I still know it.
John: If what you are saying is true, there has been a murderer on the loose for over a month, without us even knowing about it.
Rick: I swear to you, I’m not lying. I’m not!
John: I know… that you think you are telling the truth, Rick.
Rick: You piece of shit, you don’t believe me!
John: That’s not what I’m saying. Please, calm down.
There is a large crash, before the recording device cuts out.
A few days after the date of this recording, John was reported missing, as well as Rick. Neither of them have been found as of now. They are both presumed dead.
I found this recording in the depths of a government archive, along with many other files, all titled JESSE with a file name. I tried to save as many as I could before I left, but I must have missed quite a few.
I will try to share as many of these files as possible before I am found out.
Sincerely,
Julius Klein