What Hides In The Dark

Gerard stared at the canvas, admiring his work as he listened to the sound of footsteps echo down the corridor. A thin smile spread across his face as Frank appeared before the glass, placing his charcoal on the table beside him as he rose to his feet.

“I’ve been expecting you Mr Iero. Although I’m rather surprised you didn’t come sooner” He said softly, his voice almost soothing to Frank’s ears as he locked eyes with the murderer. “That body in the wardrobe...that was Mikey Way, your brother” Frank said, trying to forget what he saw that night.

Gerard sighed, linking his hands behind his back as stared down at the floor; shaking his head in dismay. “He always was a fragile child” He replied sadly, slowly walking towards the glass. Frank kept his eyes on him, almost unable to look away. He couldn’t help but admire him with his chiselled good looks and mysterious dark eyes with a body most guys would kill for. He couldn’t deny that Gerard Way was a beautiful, yet terrifying human being. Yet, despite all this, as he watched the cold, uncaring mask of the killer slip for a second, he saw a glimour of humanity. The look of guilt pained in his eyes as he struggled to conceal the sadness on his face.

We’re not born evil he thought to himself.

“Did you kill him?” He asked. Gerard looked up from the ground, an angry expression quickly forming on his face before it faded into a twisted smirk. “Of course not. If anything it was my father who killed him” Gerard replied matter-of factly. Frank hesitated for a moment, searching his eyes for a sign that he was lying. There was nothing. He been locked up for so long, why would he care about confessing to another murder? He thought. He sighed heavily to himself, running a hand through his hair as he turned his back to him for a moment. Maybe he didn’t kill him.

And then he remembered.

Frank laughed aloud to himself, shaking his head as he placed his hands on his hips; turning back to face Gerard who’s face had remained the same. “Come on Gerard do I look stupid to you? Your father died 10 years ago. Mikey’s body had been put there recently” He said, beckoning at the murderer. Gerard remained silent, moving a chair to the centre of the cell directly opposite Frank. He sat before him, folding his arms as he cleared his throat; the smile still perched upon his flawless face. Almost as if he knew he was taking control of the situation.

“You see Mr Iero. My father was not a pleasant man. I’m sure you’ve read the psychologists reports on me but none of them will know any of what I am about to tell you. They had already made their minds up about my sanity as soon as I confessed to the murders”

Frank said nothing, listening intently as he nodded at Gerard to continue.

“Despite what the psychologist’s reports say, I did not come from a happy family home. My father was a drunk, a vile disgusting waste of humanity. He would cheat on my mother and beat her black and blue until one day she left. She just woke up one morning and walked out, abandoned us all. Of course with my mother gone, he began to turn on us”

He paused for a moment, pouring himself a glass of water as he began to sip it cautiously. He gestured towards the jug, offering the police officer a drink. Frank politely declined as he waited for him to continue.

“My father had a strong disliking of my brother. He never said why, but every time there was an incident or the dishes weren’t clean or god forbid that man had lost his drink it would be him that would earn a whipping for it. Obviously I tried to protect my younger brother, to me he was still a child, even when he turned 20 he was still a little boy in my eyes. But he suffered with depression for years. It was my father who made him take a blade to his wrists. It was my father who made him turn to drugs to try and escape the nightmare we lived in. It was my father who, even in death, still managed to make his life a misery. My father is the one who drove Mikey to kill himself Mr Iero. I would never harm Mikey. No matter how much of a psycho I am perceived to be”

A stunned silence hung in the air. Frank opened his mouth to speak but found himself unable to form the words he wanted to say. He remembered reading about Arthur Way’s murder in the papers; the sickening act Gerard had forced his father to commit before slitting his throat was horrific. Looking at him now, he couldn’t believe this man had done something so terrible. He just looked so.... Innocent?

“You promised me you something in that cell...”

“And indeed you got what I promised you” Gerard interrupted, his voice harsh as though he was slowly losing patience. “You wanted to find Jeff the Killer is that right? Well, I just brought you a step closer to discovering who he is” He added. Frank stared at him, shocked by this revelation. How did any of this link to Jeff The Killer?

An orderly suddenly appeared beside him, startling Frank as he gestured him out of the corridor. “One more minute please” Frank asked, his eyes wide with desperation. He needed answers. There was no way he could just leave here without knowing what Gerard meant. “Visiting hours are over Mr Iero, I suggest you come back another time” The orderly said, keeping his voice low as not to disturb the other patients. Frank moved closer to the glass, pressing his hands against it as Gerard slowly rose from his desk, grinning as he moved into the shadows of his cell. “Mr Way please, I need answers. What do you know about Jeff the Killer?” He cried as the orderly grabbed him by the arms, dragging him away from the cell.

A shrill laugh echoed from the murderer’s cell as the light flickered out. “Fly away little Iero” Gerard called out before Frank was hauled into the security box; the orderly locking the door behind them as the murderer continued to laugh into the darkness.

Notes

So what does Gerard know about the killer and how far will Frank have to go to find out?
Find out next week!

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