Man in the Shadows

Dear Editor,

This is not only a letter to you, as you sit in your ivory tower, surrounded by your own self importance, and with the power that you hold over the very people that contribute to your very existence, but this is also a tale of a very personal matter. And I suggest that you pay attention to what I have to say to you for what you hold in your hands is not only my manuscript dealing with mercy killing, but is based on fact.

Facts that only the killer and the police would have knowledge of, and this I am going to share with you, and why you might ask? Well the answer is really quite simple. You see Dear Editor, I’m the killer and unlike you, I do not hold the power of people succeeding in life over others as you do, but I hold the power of life over death, and you, Dear Editor have been chosen. And the big question that hangs over your head is will you live or die? And that will depend on what you decide once you have taken the time to read what I have written.

I do not kill because I’m driven to kill, I was never abused as a child, I had a very privileged upbringing, went to the best schools, my parents loved me. I did not pull the legs off flies and all the other mumbo jumbo that’s associated with a psychopath, in fact I get on very well with people and have a large group of social friends, and you Dear Editor might be in that group. But don’t go running off now and try to psychoanalyse everyone. After all, I could just be throwing you a curve ball, but then again, you don’t know that either.

The reason why I kill Dear Editor is because I enjoy the kill. The excitement that builds, the stalk, and most of all the ultimate power of life over death. Oh yes one more thing, all my kills have been random, so don’t go looking for a pattern, there is no pattern. And I don’t take trophies, just lives.

I will supply you with a weekly letter, and in each letter I will take you into the darkness and share with you the ultimate feeling of being in at the kill. I will also supply you with evidence as proof that I’m who I say I’m, by giving you information that is known only to the police and me. Once my book is published, you will be free from our deal, and you may share what you have with our law enforcement, for if they were to read what you publish, they will turn their attention to you as a suspect, and we can’t have that happening now, can we?

Please, do not for one moment think that this is a threat from a deranged mind, quite the opposite I must say. And it is really not a threat at all, but a promise Dear Editor, and my promise to you is this.

I promise to walk away, to let you carry on living, but only if you take the time to read what I have written and once I see it in print you will be safe from my wrath. But if you chose to ignore my warning, beware for I could drop in for a visit at anytime. In your office or even visit you and your family at home, in fact Dear Editor, our children might even play together. So think carefully before you puff out your self-important chest and send my work to file 13... I’m watching.

Now settle down, and get ready to be taken on a wild ride that involves blood, guts, terror and truth. Oh and by the way, don’t involve the police in this little arrangement, for to do that will cancel out our little deal and all bets will be off... In other words Dear Editor... you will be a dead man walking.

Yours in Life and Death

The Teacher