Hitting the return key, the monitor went completely blank, as if someone had turned the computer off. For a long, pregnant pause, nothing showed up on the screen.
Finally, the monitor started to change. Six barely distinguishable words came into view on the screen. Like the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland, the six white words gradually appeared against the blue backdrop of the computer. Like separate little ghosts, they seemed to hover until they finally stood out against the stark contrast.
Six little words, and each one brought chills up and down Delta’s spine.
Six words.
“HELLO CONSUELA—LONG TIME NO SEE.”
Delta held her breath. Connie cursed beneath hers. Together they stared at the six words as the second row of words formed on the screen. The monitor, now back to its regular color, read:
“You remember me now, don’t you? Sure you do! Who else is masterful enough to create such a complex and successful plan? Who else could test the powers of your own intellect so thoroughly? Who else, but that scrawny little propeller-head you and your buddies humiliated all those years ago at M.I.T., remember? Ah, how I wish I could see the look on your face at this moment.”
Connie inhaled and stood up so quickly she knocked over her chair. “Not you.”
Delta grabbed her hand to keep her from leaving. “Who? Who is it?”
Connie swallowed, eyes still glued to the screen. “His name was . . . is . . . Elson Zuckerman.”
“And you knew him from college?”
Connie nodded. “Elson was a . . . well . . . we called him a scrawny little propeller-head at school.”
“And that sent him over the edge? Come on, Connie. don’t tell me people are being hacked up because someone called him names.”
Connie slightly shook her head. “No. It wasn’t just that.”
“Then, what? What could be so bad that he’d go off the deep end and start killing people?”
Connie sat back down and quickly tied her thick hair into a knot. “God, it’s been years.” Her voice sounded far away.
“If you don’t tell me what the hell is going on here, I’m going to scream. Who is this guy?”
Looking up at Delta, Connie shook her head sadly. “Elson Zuckerman was a bitter little man who had it in for me at M.I.T.”
“
You
had an enemy in college? I thought you were one of the most popular students on campus.”
Connie sighed. “I was. At the Institute, I was at the top of my class.”
“Naturally.”
Connie faked a grin. “And the second guy on the totem pole was always Elson. The other guys got used to me being at the top, but Elson never could. He wanted to be first in our class so badly, he did everything except sleep with the professors. I’d never met anyone with such a horrendous ego in my life.”
“Was he mad because you were a woman?”
Connie shrugged. “I guess. There weren’t too many Latina women in college back in the seventies, let alone a woman at a predominantly male school perched at the top rung. I guess he thought the position was reserved for him. He used to make reference to the fact that I was cheating him from his rightful place. Whenever he said stupid stuff like that in front of the guys, they’d be all over him. I mean, they would even give him wedgies. Can you imagine? Being in college and guys are still giving you wedgies?”
Delta smiled, remembering the many times she’d pulled her brother’s underwear so far up, he practically sang soprano. What an odd tradition, she thought. Must have been painful. “Guy sounds like a class A jerk.”
“It wasn’t all his fault. His dad was a physicist, and his mom was another scientist of some sort. They had high expectations of him. Too high. I think it drove him to the edge.”
Delta nodded. She remembered how frightened some of her friends would get whenever they would bring a “C” home. “Still, Con, the man’s a psycho, and you’re trying to tell me it’s because his underwear was pulled over his head?”
Connie shook her head sadly. “God, I haven’t thought about this in years. Our final project was for each of us to design and implement a program that would sell to an outside software company. I designed one of the first desk-top publishing packages with inter-office phone linkups.”
“And Elson?”
“He created what he spent his entire life doing—a simulated adventure game.”
“The guys used to tease him about playing the games as a way of not dealing with reality. He would just swear at them and continue playing. He was very, very good.”
“And?”
“Well, the night before the presentation, the guys got a hold of his disk and they added a bunch of porno scenes to it. You could have rammed a Mack truck through the professor’s gaping mouth when a naked woman walked onto the screen and started to fondle Elson’s hero.”
Delta suppressed a smile. It sounded no more harmful than some of her college pranks. “So, what happened?”
“Elson bolted out of the room. It was a week before we saw him again. He walked right into class and confronted me. He said he knew I was trying to keep him from usurping his place at the head of the class. He said I was trying to humiliate him and that, someday, I would pay the price. He was so angry, it was the only time I had ever been afraid of him.”
Delta could only shake her head. “Wow. What a wacko.”
“It wasn’t his fault, really. His parents had set him up to play the victim. You know, the kid that was always picked on, even in grammar school?”
“Yeah.”
“That was Elson. His parents convinced themselves and him that he was the brightest kid around. Once he started extolling his intellect, people would torment the poor guy. And believe me, he was tormented.”
“What happened after he confronted you?”
Connie shrugged. “It was our senior year. I never saw him again.”
“He just disappeared?”
“Yep. Gone without a trace. He left M.I.T. and never returned. He didn’t even leave a forwarding address.”
“All because of an ill-conceived joke? Didn’t anyone try to find out where he went?”
“I tried. The only thing I found out was that he withdrew from the last semester and moved out of the dorms.”
“Still, one rotten joke shouldn’t push someone to murder.”
Connie stood up and walked away from the table. “It wasn’t just one, Del. Elson was the goat for a lot of people’s jokes. And I, well, I was a crazy young girl hanging around crazy guys who would do anything for a laugh. We never meant to hurt him.”
Delta sensed there was more and folded her arms across her chest and waited.
“Me and the guys knew he had finally scored a date with this freshman he’d been talking about for months. Around the guys he’d pull up his pants and tell them how he was going to have his way with this girl. Well, as luck would have it, she went out with him. While he was out with her, we rigged a loudspeaker from his bedroom to the roof overlooking the main quad where everyone hung out.”
Delta squirmed in her seat. “That’s brutal.”
“Pretty rotten, huh? But that wasn’t the worst of it.”
“There’s more?”
Connie nodded, her eyes welling up with tears. “He . . . he could-n’t get it up. I . . . can’t begin to imagine the utter humiliation he must have felt. Everyone knew. I mean,
everyone
was out in the quad that night. We had violated every possible human right imaginable. When I look back on it now, I am so ashamed.” Connie bowed her head and sighed.
“God, Con, we’ve all pulled regrettable stunts in college. That’s where we go to make our mistakes. Up until then, we make our parents’ mistakes. don’t be so hard on yourself.”
Connie inhaled slowly, her sadness still evident around her eyes. “How could we have been so cruel? It’s not like we hated him or anything. He just got on our nerves with all of that `I am the smartest of you all’talk. I swear, we must have heard that once a day, and that really burned the guys. They would have done anything to pop the veins in his face.”
“Still, you didn’t make him a nutcase just by picking on him.”
“I know that. But now, with people dying at his hands, I can’t help but feel responsible.”
Delta turned back to the screen. “Look. There’s more.”
The screen suddenly scrolled down and more writing appeared. “ ‘Yes, Consuela, I am quite sure you remember. I told you long ago that I would return. Did you think I had forgotten all of the pain and anguish you caused me? Did you think I could forget your cruelty and humiliating jokes? Did you truly believe you had escaped my wrath? Not likely. I’ve spent a lifetime planning our little reunion. You do remember the last words I ever said to you, do you not? I believe I warned you that I would be back, and . . . well . . . here I am. I do so hope you enjoy it. Alas, the “boys,” as you used to endearingly call them, did not fare as well in their part of the game. But you . . . you were always the brightest of that pathetic lot. You and your ideas and opinions, always stealing center stage.
“ ‘But now, the stage is mine. And the script is the challenge to discover just how brilliant you really are.’ ”
“What does that mean?” Delta asked, jotting the words down on Gina’s steno pad. “You don’t think . . .”
“ ‘They were disposed of so quickly and easily, it wasn’t even enjoyable. But then, they never were as “gifted” as you, my dear. Isn’t that what all the professors thought about you? You were always the one who could do no wrong, even when you publicly destroyed me that mortifying night. You, the one who got a scholarship because someone had heard about the scams you and your brothers used to pull to get money. A cheap carnival trick, and you had them all falling down before you.
“ ‘Pathetic. You never paid for the painful experiences you caused me. Retribution is at hand, Consuela. I am going to right the scales of justice. I am going to prove, once and for all, that I am, and always have been, your intellectual superior. I am going to show you and the rest of the world my intellectual and computer mastery over you and your over-rated intelligence. As you humiliated me, so too will I embarrass you by committing crimes right under your nose that you will be unable to stop. Oh, the “boys,” that disgusting group of hormonal retards, are long gone. It’s just you and me now. How cozy. Just as it should have been so long ago.’ ”
Delta quivered from the chills. “What a wacko. This guy’s really sick.”
The monitor changed to a new paragraph. “ ‘I tracked you down and spent months designing this program especially for you. Every minute detail was researched and carefully planned. Oh, it took some doing, but it’s impeccable. You see, I intend to pit my superior genius to your feeble brain, and the stakes . . . well, let’s just say they’re considerable.
“As you may have figured out already, everything that happens in this game will happen somewhere along the beat of your dear
compadre
, Delta Stevens.
“ ‘Surprised? Don’t be. I know
everything
about the life you lead here in River Valley. I’ve done my homework well. Because she is touted as one of the best cops in the city, I believe she will suit you well as your warrior against the dangers she’ll soon encounter.
“But I digress. First, you must solve each level in order to prevent a death of someone on Officer Stevens’beat. Your job is to try to get far enough ahead to find out where I’ll strike next so you can prevent me from killing again. If you don’t catch me before the final level, then a tragedy of great proportion will befall you and your little city.’ ”
“What does he mean?” Delta asked, frantically scribbling the note down on the pad.
No sooner had she asked the question, than the screen transformed from words to a picture of a high-rise. As they watched the building get more detailed, it suddenly exploded into a fiery mass before the screen went blank.
Connie placed her hands over her mouth. “God, no,” Connie whispered through her hand. “This can’t be.”
“ ‘Make no mistake about it, Consuela, I’ll play the game with or without you. I will continue moving through the city, preying on the helpless innocents unless you and your warrior find a way to stop me. The final level will be the destruction of one of the largest hotels in the city. You will have to live with the knowledge that your cruelty, your lack of humanity toward me caused the deaths of hundreds of people who did nothing to you. After that, I shall come for you for the final
pas de deux
. But for now, it’s time. The game, as Sherlock Holmes was fond of saying, is afoot.
Adieu
and good luck.’ ”
Connie steadied herself as the screen slowly faded.
“What a fucking psycho,” Delta said, hitting the side of the monitor.
Connie slowly shook her head. “Not just a psycho, Del. He’s an intellectual giant. don’t ever forget that. He’s been making these games well before anyone even thought about them. He’s brilliant at it.”
Delta slowly rose and stretched. “So what? Can’t you do it? Can’t you beat him?”
Connie looked away from Delta’s probing eyes. “I don’t know.”
Delta gently touched Connie’s chin and turned her so they were facing each other. “Look, you’ve played every available game on the market. You’ve had people from Silicon Valley send you games to test for bugs. You’re brilliant at solving puzzles. Of course you can do it.”