Page 112 of Evil Bones
“Ted Bundy is permanently off my Christmas card list.”
“I’m serious.”
“Sorry.”
“Meloy kind of sets off alarms,” I said.
“What sort of alarms?”
“What do you mean?”Where was she going with this?
“Christ, Tempe. Goose-bumpy skin? Warbly echoes deep in your id? Or are you saying the guy literally smashes the glass on little wall-mounted boxes and pulls down the levers?”
“Of course he doesn’t do that. At least not that I know of.”
Impatient breathing riffed across the line.
“I don’t know, Adi. He’s just too…” I groped for a word. “Nice.”
“Holy shitbuckets, girlfriend. You should have said so right off. Hang up and I’ll call the crisis helpline.”
“There is such a thing?”
“Yes. I think you dial nine eight eight.”
I stashed that tidbit for potential use with my sister, Harry.
Then I took a moment to gather my thoughts on Meloy. To review mental images and replay conversations.
“What I mean is, the guy’s almosttoowitty,toocharming.”
“He’s slick? Shallow? Phony?”
“Hell, I don’t know.”
“You’re saying that a lot.”
“I am.”
“Maybe try a concrete example?”
I told her about Meloy’s retriever, Poppy. Described how he’d shown no remorse over shooting the dog.
“That does seem cold. But it doesn’t mean he’s evil.”
“Right.” A beat, then, “Just a minute ago you mentioned Ted Bundy.”
“Scratched from my holiday card and invitation list. What about him?”
“Bundy was handsome. He used his good looks when trolling for victims.”
“I’ve dated a lot of guys like that.”
“One of Bundy’s tricks was to wear a sling and pretend his arm was broken. He’d stand outside a store with a bag of groceries and ask a young woman to help him load the bundle into his car. Once she got far enough into the passenger seat, he’d snap the lock on her side, then drive to some remote place to rape and kill her. Later, he’d feel zero remorse.”
“You suspect Meloy of being a serial killer?” Adina sounded simultaneously shocked, alarmed, and dubious.
“Of course not. It’s just, I keep thinking about those behaviors you mentioned, along with others I’ve read about: glib speech, superficial charm, manipulativeness, callousness, failure to accept responsibility for one’s actions.”
