The Last Victim_ A True-Life Journey Into the Mind of the Serial Killer - Jason Moss [69]
It was my very last question to him, number 53, that he seemed to find most provocative. I asked why he tried to make a point to outsmart teenage boys. He responded like this:
I disagree about outsmarting boys, as they nowadays are streetwise. There you have the rest of your questions. You can learn all you want on the visit, as I will give you private lessons if you really want to know.
Now, that was a frightening thought. Until this moment, the idea of visiting Gacy in prison sounded like a novel way to spend my spring break. It hadn’t occurred to me that he might be planning something special for me; after all, I’d be safe behind glass partitions and everything would be carefully monitored by guards and video cameras. How creative could he get?
But there it was: the first clue that everything might not be as it seemed.
30
The Invitation
Every time I asked Gacy something that he thought was too personal, private, or confidential to be discussed over the phone or via the mail, he’d say, “When you come and visit, we’ll discuss it then.”
I just thought this was his way of avoiding having to answer. I also knew that I had neither the time nor the money to travel that far. In fact, in my whole life I’d only been on one major trip out of the state.
Additionally, there was the obvious problem of getting my parents, especially my mother, to agree to such a preposterous adventure. Many of my friends were planning trips during spring break to the beaches in Southern California and Mexico or to the ski slopes in Utah. I could just imagine telling my mom: “Guess where I’m going over the holiday? Death Row!”
At first, Gacy countered my reluctance by telling me I could hitchhike to Illinois, or even drive my own car. When, in a phone conversation with him one day, I balked at this suggestion, he said, “Don’t worry. Let me see what I can do.”
I started to protest that I didn’t have any money when he impatiently interrupted.
“Look, I’ll talk to my attorney. I’ll have him send you a check to cover the tickets and hotel, even some spending money while you’re here. How would that be?”
I was speechless. I’d now run out of excuses. I was also amazed that he wanted to see me so much he’d pay me to visit.
“Wow, John, I can’t believe it,” I said, really meaning it. “I’m actually going to be able to visit you. This is gonna be great. This is going to be awesome.”
Now, how was I ever going to get my parents to let me go?
“Mom,” I said excitedly not a minute later, “I just got off the phone with Gacy.” I could barely catch my breath. “He said I could visit him. He said he’d pay for the whole thing! Can you believe it?”
“No, Jason, I can’t believe it.” Then she gave me her look that said I was being hopelessly naive. “What does this guy expect from you?”
“Nothing, Mom. He’s in prison locked up, with no normal people to talk to. I’m his way of connecting with the outside world. I’m his audience.” I could see her smirking, but I tried to ignore her and explain myself—a difficult proposition because even I wasn’t sure why I needed to do this.
“C’mon, Mom, I just want to know what makes him tick. And this could help someday when I try to get into graduate school.”
She rolled her eyes.
“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” I pleaded. “How many people can say they interviewed a serial killer?”
That piqued her interest. Every mother likes to brag about her kids.
She thought for a minute while I paced back and forth. “Yeah,” she agreed, “it would be interesting, but I don’t understand what a fifty-year-old man has in common with an eighteen-year-old boy. People don’t give anything for nothing, Jason. You know that better than anyone.”
She was referring to my constant suspiciousness. I was always assessing people’s motives, and it was difficult for me to believe that anyone would do anything that wasn’t self-serving. Looking back on it later, I’d find my making an exception of Gacy especially ironic.