Page 105 of Exquisite Things

Jack looks at Archie now. “Are you like them?” he asks.

“Like what?” Archie asks. Then he wonders aloud, “You mean gay? Is this a... are you the...” Archie’s eyes widen in horror. “It’s you... You’re the reason gay men are disappearing, aren’t you? You’re the serial killer?”

Jack cackles. “What in the world are you talking about?”

“Gay boys are vanishing in London. Where are they?” Archie asks. “What have you done with them?”

“I may be a jackal, but I’m no serial killer.” Jack narrows his gaze at Archie. “They haven’t told you a thing, have they?”

“Told me what?” Archie glances at me and Bram.

“Do you think they’re your friends?” Jack asks.

“They’re more than friends,” Archie snaps. “They’re my family.”

“Jack, enough,” I beg. “This isn’t you.”

Jack looks at me with eyes full of regret. “You’re right. It’s not. I’m not this decrepit person. Inside, I’m still the young man you once knew and hated—”

“I never hated you,” I lie. Of course I did. Still, I know he’s no serial killer. He does his killing the socially acceptable way. In boardrooms.

“Of course, I don’t look as lovely as you both still do. Your dewy skin. Your full heads of hair. How magnificent you both are.”

Bram’s eyes glow with fear. He gives me a nod that tells me to make a run for it. I can hear him without him saying a word.Covertly, he straightens one finger. Then two. I know we’ll run at...

Three.

Bram bolts up from the floor.

I lift myself up from the toilet.

We make a run for the door.

Jack blocks our passage out. Raises his walking cane up. Pushes the tip of its golden handle. A blade pops out from the end of it. Sharp and threatening. He points it at Archie’s neck. A threat that stops us in our tracks.

“It’s a scary world out there. So much crime. A man can never be too careful. These days.” Jack moves the blade from one side of Archie’s neck to another. “I wouldn’t move if I were you. One step in the wrong direction and it’s the end for you.”

“I thought you weren’t a killer,” Archie says.

“I’m not whatever serial killer you were referring to,” Jack corrects him. “But to have what these boys have... For that, I would gladly take your life.”

“Please don’t do this.” Archie’s voice sounds guttural. Desperate. Confused.

“I have no desire to hurt you.” Jack smiles. “In fact, your fate is not in my hands. It’s intheirs. Yourfamily.”

“I’ll scream!” Bram yells.

Jack shrugs. “In this place? Go ahead. No one will hear you.”

“Just put the weapon down,” I beg. “Let Archie go and we’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

Jack mulls the offer over. “A fine plan, but in the wrong order. First, you talk, then I put the weapon away and free your friend.”

“Did you... Did you know we would be here?” Bram asks. “How long have you known?”

Jack’s eyes light up. “You give me more credit than I deserve. I was merely here to look at the eye candy before returning to New York. The cane was a gift from a friend in MI5. One can’t be too careful in London these days, he said. Thieves everywhere.” Jack’s lips tighten. The lines on his face look hollow in the harsh light of the bathroom. “You’re thieves too, aren’t you?”

With his free hand, Jack touches Bram’s chest. Runs his hand up and down the goose bumps on his skin.