First Time Killer Read Online Free PDF Page A

asked.
    J.T.’s eyes darted around. A bead of sweat formed on his brow. “No. I just found it. Told them that. They believed me.”
    “I guess your puking helped convince them.”
    A sheepish grin flashed across J.T.’s face for a second, then faded. “Food poisoning. I must have eaten a bad burger.”
    “Sure, kid. Sure. Any other observations or recollections from that night?”
    J.T. shook his head.
    “Hey, numnuts. I told you, this is radio. They can’t see your head shake and only I can hear it rattle,” Tin Man said. He took a sip of coffee from his Giants mug. If the engineers didn’t like it when the talent drank beverages in the studio, fuck ’em.
    “Oh. Sorry. That’s about it, all right.”
    “Okay. There you have it. Our own J.T. O’Connor with his eyewitless account. Thanks, man. Now, keep your yap shut for a moment. It’s my turn to talk,” Tin Man said.
    Time to earn his pay.
    “I have a couple of things to say to this killer,” Tin Man said. “You are a lily-livered coward. Killing another human. Not taking responsibility. Not treating the body with respect. I mean, what kind of low-life sicko cuts off the arm of a dead person and stuffs it into a trashcan? A sick pervert, that’s who. And then hides behind a telephone and calls in about it. Like we care about your pathetic little life. I hope you get hit by a truck, die a painful death, and rot in hell. Tonight.” Tin Man waited a beat. “In fact, if you come down to the studio, I’d be glad to run you over myself.”
    Tubby applauded in the background. Tin Man glanced into master control, trying to gauge the boss’s reaction. Celia had a broad smile on her face.
    Tin Man was about to break for spots when a message flashed on his monitor from an intern filling in for J.T. on the board. LINE 5. SAYS HIS NAME IS JEFFREY. YES, THAT JEFFREY.
    He swallowed, but his mouth felt dry. “We have a special caller, everyone.” Tin Man bypassed the ring-ring sound effect and went straight to line five. “Go ahead, Jeffrey.”
    “How dare you criticize me? You don’t even know me.” The caller’s breath was loud over the phone.
    “I know your real name isn’t Jeffrey.” Tin Man felt a surge of adrenaline in his veins.
    “Who says?”
    “Oh, you’re not that stupid. What’s your real name? You can tell me.” Tin Man tried the buddy-buddy approach. His heart beat faster.
    “I’m no coward. I’ve got bigger balls than you do, that’s for sure.”
    “Okay. So you’re not a coward. You’re a butt-kissing, dog-genitals-licking, pitiful excuse for a human being,” Tin Man said. “That better?”
    “Go to hell.”
    “Original. Maybe you are stupid.” Tin Man licked his lips. “Hey Tubby, this guy won’t tell us his name. Let’s change that. You know how I love giving f-wads nicknames. The media’s calling him First Time Killer, but that seems too…important. Too weighty. I think I prefer something a little more familiar, more common. How about just First Time?”
    “Tin Man, you are a jerkwad. And your friend is a fat tub of lard. If I—”
    Tin Man potted the volume down on the call so only his voice could be heard. “First Time, how do I know you’re the same caller? Huh? Got any more body parts for me?” First Time was speaking in the same robotic monotone as Jeffrey from the other day, but Tin Man knew his callers would go to great lengths to try to dupe him. He potted the phone call back up. Because of the seven-second delay, First Time wouldn’t know he’d been silenced for another few seconds.
    “—and you have no idea what I’ve done.” There was a slight pause as the broadcast caught up. “Hey! You turned me off. Don’t you dare do that again. Or the blood I spill will be on your hands!”
    “Are you threatening me? Some anonymous joker? Why don’t you come down to the station and show your face? We can take it out into the parking lot. We’ll see who the tough guy is.” Tin Man felt a few drops of