This is a story about a bizarre confession made by a strip club bouncer. You may want to read this one twice.

“I don’t know why I did it. I guess things just got a little out of hand. I mean all things considered why would anyone get mad at me? My reasons were good,” he stated as he finished his verbal confession.

“Then just write down everything you told me and sign your name to it,” I said as I slammed the pen down in front of the man.

From that point forward he wrote down his confession. The confession seemed jumbled when he said it. I don’t know why but I guess I thought that once it was written down it would be easier to believe. This is what he wrote:

Believe it or not after a lifetime of private schools and two semesters in college, I live in a crappy little basement apartment over in what most people would consider to be a shitty neighborhood. I got crack-whores, bums and drug dealers lining my streets. I fall asleep to the almost melodic sound of yelling, screaming and gunfire. I swear, if I ever had money to invest in some big company, it would be the company that makes that police line tape. I mean they must go through a ton of that shit on my street. Fuck, that cop is staring at me again. I guess I shouldn’t be writing down every little thing that pops into my head. Well, anyway to get back to my story.

I have this job downtown. It’s not the greatest job but it pays the bills. I’m a bouncer at an all nude club called Jiggly’s. It’s nice; I get about fifty bucks a night plus the girls all tip out to me. Mostly, cause I make sure none of those degenerates gets too touchy feely with them.

I know this doesn’t seem related but its got everything to do with why I did what I did. Anyway, this guy came into the club. Now usually, there’s a couple of regular types of guys who come into establishments such as the one I work at.
One, you got the guy who is just coming out with his buddies to whoop it up and have a good time. This type of guy is never a problem. He don’t want no trouble, just a good show and a lot of laughs with his buddies. The girls like these guys the best. Apparently, they give the best tips.

Next, you got the first-timer lonely virgin guys. Again, these guys usually are no problem, but they’re just dead bodies in the room. They’re too fucking shy to go and just pay the girls for a lap dance and they don’t have the nerve to go stick a dollar in a g-string so they usually just sit in the back of the room, and stare longingly. When I see a guy like that I let him stay for a little while then I let him know that if he ain’t gonna pay for some action then he needs to leave.

Then, you got the intense guys. Sometimes these guys need to be watched. They just sit there and stare at the women. They pay for lap dances and stuff money down g-strings but they never seem to be having any fun and they don’t talk to the girls at all. It’s like they’re obsessive little stalkers plotting on how to rape and kill one of these girls.

One time a little piece of shit like this grabbed a girl off stage, picked her up and acted like he was just gonna walk out with her. He got about two feet away from the stage when I took a baseball bat to the prick’s knee. Oh, he let the girl down alright. Then I just kept kicking him in the ribs as he crawled his sorry ass out of my place. The best thing is; nobody files a police report after getting the shit kicked out of them at a strip club. Could you imagine that phone call, “Hi. 911. I just got the shit kicked out of me in a strip club down in the wrong side of town. Yeah, I know that this is the kind of joint where I can go in looking for a dance, pay a little extra get a BJ some crack and maybe even a stolen handgun. But you think I can file a report against the bouncer?” Hell, even the cops in this city hate coming down here. The only time I ever see them is when they’re armed with about a mile of that friggin’ yellow police tape.

Most of these guys are either married or they got steady girls and any talk of even being in a strip club could jeopardize whatever they got going on with them.

But this guy that came in. He was different. He had a shit eatin’ grin on his face but he was all alone. He paid the girls and even laughed a little but still he never talked to them. He stayed for about three hours and spent a lot of time with a little red-head in our club named Autumn. Suprisingly, that was her real name.

Most girls in our club would make up some kind of phony stripper name. A lot of girls feel like using a fake name puts another barrier between them and the customers. Most of the girls in our club are either named after colors like Cyan, Violet, Sienna, Amber, or flowers like Daisy, Rose, Orchid, or Fern. Sometimes the girls even try to get clever and use names that are nothing like their personalities. We have a Chastity, Angel, and Virgin all dancing nude in our club.

But this guy seemed really taken by Autumn. I guess I can’t blame him; she is by far the prettiest girl working in our place and the only red-head. She was new to the club and had only been with us for a few weeks. You have to understand we’re not exactly a high-class club with intelligent classy girls. Most of our girls look a little beat up and used. I once heard someone use the phrase: rode hard and put away wet. I think that says it all. Autumn however, was nothing like that. I couldn’t even understand why she was dancing in our club.

At the end of the night, while Autumn was tipping out to me she told me that the guy was kinda creepy. She said he was even a little scary.

“You want me to not let him in again?” I asked her.

“No. He was a really good tipper. But if he comes in again just keep an eye on him okay? If it gets too weird I’ll give you a sign, okay?”

“Sure,” I told her.

So the next day that guy came back again. As he approached the door, I blocked his path. He didn’t really seem bothered though. He just looked at me with that strange grin on his face.

“Look, come in have some fun and then leave. Fuck up in there and I’ll kick your ass,” is all I said to him. Without so much as answering he held his sick little smile and just walked around me. He went right to the stage and began staring directly at Autumn. For the first five minutes he just sat there and stared at her. His smile never changed. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t order a drink. He just sat there. After staring at Autumn for a while he finally pulled out some cash and motioned for her to come over. I looked at Autumn and she nodded her head. So, I let it go. Now, from across the room I couldn’t see things to well but all looked normal. Then something happened. He leaned in real close to her and whispered in her ear. That was just too close for me. I know how these guys are. First its just a little whisper then an inappropriate grab. Before you know it they’re attacking the girl. So I went over to break it up. I guess Autumn could see the look in my eyes because when she glanced over to me she just shook her head. That was my cue to back off. Reluctantly, I went back to the door.

Sometimes people think I take my job too seriously, but I don’t. I mean I liked Autumn. Well, actually I liked all the girls but I liked Autumn a little bit more than the others. I don’t know what it was about her. Maybe it was her body. She had a gorgeous petite little body. She was smart too. Most of the girls that worked in that dump didn’t know their own ass from their elbow. But she was a college girl. Said she was taking classes up at the state college. To a lot of people that may not sound like much but for the girls in this place, living in this neighborhood, she may as well have been going to Harvard. So, yeah, I sometimes watched over her a little bit more closely.

As a matter of fact, after the shift that night I asked Autumn if she wanted me to walk her home.

“No, it’s okay. I live just over in that apartment building on 128th. I’ve got a great view of the city dump. Besides, if anyone gives me any shit, I’ve got my mace,” she said as she pulled a small spray can out of her purse.

“Well, if you ever do. Just let me know,” I offered. I stood outside the door of the club and watched as she walked down the street. It was like seeing a beautiful flower poking up through a pile of refuse in the middle of the dump. She was too beautiful to be here. And way too beautiful for some of these freaks to be touching her.

The next day I was just standing at the door when he walked in, shit eatin’ grin and everything.

“Look buddy, you come in have a little fun then I want you out okay?” I said to the guy.

He just fuckin’ looked at me and smiled. Then he proceeded on his way up to the stage. Just as he sat down the house lights went out and it was time for the feature act of the evening. Autumn came out and began working her magic on the brass pole. After several minutes the creepy guy pulled some money out of his pocket and motioned for Autumn to come over. I kept an eye on them and Autumn just nodded at me as though everything was okay. I re-focused my attention to the door and continued to card people and check them for weapons. Can you believe that shit? Bringin’ weapons to a strip club. What kind of crap is that?

Anyway, the night continued on and this guy just kept putting all his money down on Autumn. It was crazy. The guy stayed until closing this time. At closing the girls slowly parade backstage and I start ushering guys out the front door.
“Let’s go guys. You filled your spank bank. Now time to go home and work it out on your own,” I told them. I turned the house lights on and slowly they began filing out. I watched as that guy walked by. He didn’t say anything; he just looked at me, smiled and gave a little thumbs-up. I was pissed. Who did he think he was? I mean I’ve seen guys give attention to Autumn before but this guy was different. It was like he was obsessed.

After that it had been about two weeks and I hadn’t seen the guy. That was good. Autumn danced and she got a lot of attention but it was from the three types of guys that we normally get in here. Those guys, I didn’t mind. But that one. He just really twisted them for me. Over the two weeks that the guy wasn’t there I also had some chances to talk more with Autumn. It turns out she was from a small farming town out in the Midwest somewhere. I can’t remember the name of the state. All those states just seem the same to me.

Then later that night. He came in. As soon as I saw that stupid little smiling face of his, I grabbed him by the collar and jacked his ass up against the wall.

“I thought I warned you about coming back. Stay away from Autumn!” I told him. He grabbed my hands and pulled them off his collar like it was nothing and went right to her. The manager looked at me and shook his head as though I wasn’t to go after him. He went right for Autumn slipped some money in her g-string and took his favorite seat

Again, for the whole night this guy did nothing but give Autumn all of his attention. As I watched him, I could see him mouth the words: She’s mine. You can’t have her. Then, he looked at her and motioned toward the back. That’s where girls give private shows. He pulled out his wallet and handed her a boat-load of cash and I watched as he took her in the back. As she held his hand guided him toward the beaded door that separates the club floor from the V.I.P. rooms, he looked at me and smiled. He smiled as though he beat me. He smiled as though he had one over on me.

The next day I went into work and everything seemed pretty normal. We had a few bachelor parties, a couple of “business” meetings and the same group of regulars we always get. Things were going pretty well. Then he came into the club. As soon as he approached the door, he just smiled, paid his cover charge and walked right down to the stage. He was here for Autumn again; I just knew it. Then as soon as she came out onto stage he was right there in the front handing dollar after dollar over to Autumn.

She danced on stage and worked the pole for several songs then made her way down to him. He sat their on the couch loving all the attention that she gave to him. I knew she only did it for the money though. She couldn’t really like that guy. Besides, he was a freak and Autumn was much better than that. The guy stayed again until closing. After everyone left, I helped clean up, the girls tipped out to me and I left.

As I walked out the door, I looked down the alley and I could see him, standing by the back door to the club.
“Hey, you! Get the fuck out of here! You can’t hang around back there.”
See, guys aren’t allowed to hang out after the club closes and usually the girls don’t leave until about an hour after closing. That usually assures that all the guys are long gone. I went up to him and tried to grab him but he slipped away from me and took off. This time though, I decided to follow him.

I walked about a half a block behind. I watched as he started eyeing all the hookers walking up and down the street. It’s not uncommon for these girls to start coming out right around the time the strip clubs close. By then they figure all the guys are charged up and ready to go. This guy was no different. Finally, a girl, a red-head propositioned him. I saw him hand her some money and he took her across the street to a cheap motel. Most of the people who stayed in this motel, lived there. Believe me, no tourists come around here. I watched as he guided her right up to the second floor and into his room.

At first, it was pretty quiet in the room but then things started to sound a little rough. I started walking up to the second floor room when the yelling and screaming got louder and louder. No one else seemed to care. I mean there were people everywhere and no one did anything. I don’t even think anyone called the cops. In this neighborhood yelling and screaming was the norm. Unless it was the sound of automatic gunfire no one would even bother lifting up their heads to look to see what was a matter.

I finally made it to the room and the yelling and screaming stopped. So, I out my head against the door to try and hear what was going. Then I heard the doorknob to the room begin to turn. I ran away from the door and hid behind the ice machine. He walked away from the door and headed down the stairs. I walked over to the room and looked in. On the bed, I saw a dead beat-up hooker. The sheets were filled with blood and her body was just lying there lifeless. Her red haired wig was lying on the floor. I couldn’t help but walk into the room.

On one side of the room were pictures of lots of different women. All of them were red-heads. Then, I saw a stack of videos sitting on the floor. Each one was neatly labeled with three pieces of information: A girl’s name, the name of a city, and the date. As I searched through the tapes I found one labeled from about two weeks ago, the time he was gone. The name was Kandi and the city was Atlanta. So that’s why he wasn’t in the club, I thought.

Reluctantly, I put the tape in and hit play. It didn’t take long for me to figure out how this home movie was going to end. I watched as he and the red head entered the room. The way she was dressed, I figured she must have been a hooker or maybe a stripper from some sleazy little joint like ours. She was no high class girl. There was no romance or time for getting to know you. He went right to some hard-core nasty sex. Working in a strip club you would think I would be desensitized to this kind of crap but this was just wrong. He was beating the crap out of her. I hit fast-forward on the VCR and through the static lines of the fast forwarding, I could see him take out an axe from under the bed and begin to hack away at her. Quickly, I hit stop. I had no interest in watching anymore. I knew I had to stop him. He was probably going after Autumn next.

I yelled for someone to call 911 and then I took off after him. I kept screaming for people to stop him but no one would listen to me. They just let him run on by. As he was running down the street he kept looking back at me and continued to smile that sick little smile of his. I ran faster, but I couldn’t keep up. It seemed like the faster I ran the faster he ran. I screamed wildly for people to stop him but still they continued to let him pass. If they only knew what I knew, I thought. If they would have seen the murderous scene I just witnessed, I am sure they would all pounce right on top of him. But this was the city and no one ever wants to get involved. Here there are no good Samaritans.

Eventually, he found his way on to a bus. I knew where he was going. He was going to see Autumn. I had to stop and think. But then I remembered that she lived at that apartment building on 128th that overlooked the dump. So, I hailed a cab and told the driver to take me to need fake address. The cabbie who I guess mistook me for some dope who didn’t know his way around the city tried to take me the long way.

“Hey asshole, you’re going the wrong way,” I said. “No. Quicker way. Trust me,” he replied in some sort of broken English. “Look make a right up here at the next street,” I screamed. Finally, he followed my instructions and I figured by now the bus had made it to Autumn’s apartment. I sat in the back of the cab screaming at the driver who constantly threatened to kick me out of the cab if I didn’t calm down. Well, this was no time to calm down. I had to save Autumn. She was in danger. Then the cab stopped in front of Autumn’s building and I darted out the door. I stiffed the cabbie and he kept yelling at me.

“So, call the cops,” I screamed back. I was hoping the police would show up at this point. I mean then that sick freak could be arrested and Autumn would be fine. I ran to the front door and tried to get buzzed in but that didn’t work. No one was answering. I buzzed Autumn’s apartment but all she kept saying was, “Don’t come up here, don’t come up here.” I figured she must have been in some serious trouble for her not to want me to come up.”

I went out to the alley and pushed a rusty dumpster up against the fire escape. I kept climbing up, hoping to hear Autumn’s screams. Not that I wanted her to be hurt but I figured if I could hear her screams I would be able to find her. After climbing the ladder I made it to the first escape on the second floor. Nothing. Just some old woman watching a re-run of Matlock on TV LAND network. So, I went to the third floor. Again, nothing. Just some little kid playing some video games. Then, I went to the fourth floor. I looked in the window and I could see Autumn. That freak was walking in the room behind her. She probably didn’t even see him.
Without hesitation, I broke through the glass and the guy looked at me. I mean he just stared at me. “I know you,” he said. Autumn yelled, “He’s from the club.” She was screaming with joy, I could just feel it. She knew I was here to save her.

“Don’t worry Autumn. I’ll save you. This guy is as good as dead,” I told her. I charged right into this guy’s midsection with everything I had. I began throwing punch after punch into his mid section. He hit me back and I could here Autumn yelling for him not to hurt me. I mean that was great. She must love me, I thought. The guy continued to struggle and it looked like he was about to get the best of me when I grabbed a wire from a table lamp and wrapped it around his throat. I just kept choking and choking. I would have stopped but it was like I couldn’t. I enjoyed watching the life slowly ebb from his weakening perverted little body.

Then, I felt a smash against the back of my head. It must have been one of his friends. One of his buddies must have been in the apartment too. So I spun around with everything that I had and punched blindly. I felt my hand hit that jaw faster and harder than anything I had ever hit before.

But as I looked down at my assailant, I saw the shattered face of my beloved Autumn. The freak was already dead I knew that, so I went to tend to Autumn.

“Come on Autumn. Wake up,” I said. But her body was limp. I tried to pick her up and I realized that she was no longer breathing. I didn’t mean it. But I couldn’t understand why she hit me. The only thing I could figure is that she thought I needed help and that she hit me by accident as well.

So, as I stated in the beginning. Maybe I went too far in killing that guy. However, he deserved it. He was a killer. He killed that hooker. He killed all those other strippers. And he was gonna kill Autumn. But I stopped that.

“Look Eric, I don’t get this guy’s story. It don’t make no sense to me,” I said to my partner as he finished reading the confession. “I mean. The owner of the club has no clue who this guy. Said he don’t work for him. I told him about Autumn. You know what he told me? Autumn is just as sleazy and beat-up looking as the rest of him. You saw the crime scene photos Eric. This bitch had track marks all up and down her arms. Shit, I ran her name and came back with one hell of a rap sheet. He makes her sound like some sort of angel. He said she moved her from the mid-west. Shit was born and raised right here in this city. This guy must be delusional or something.”

My partner told me to calm down. He had a hunch. Just as he finished calming me down, in walked another stripper from Jiggly’s. Her name was Cyan. Eric brought her over to the two way mirror and asked, “ You know this guy?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “He’s this real creepy quiet guy that keeps coming around scoping out Autumn. He don’t say nothing, he just smiles.”

“Wait, he ain’t the bouncer?” I asked.

“No, as a matter of fact, the bouncer had to talk to him a couple of times. He got caught once or twice hanging around outside the club after closing. Funny thing. Autumn told me one time that she thought that guy was following him.”

“Well, we have some bad news for you. Autumn’s dead. This guy just confessed to killing her,” I said as Cyan started crying. I tried to calm her down because I still needed more information from her.

“Ma’am, I need you to look at this photo. This is the picture of the guy that he claims was the weirdo stalking Autumn. Who is he?”

The woman started to sob even harder when she saw the crime scene photo of the other victim. “That’s Mikey,” she sobbed. “He’s the bouncer. Autumn asked him to walk her home the other day because of that guy,” she said through the tears.

A uniformed officer walked into the interview room and pulled me off to the corner while Cyan was being consoled by Eric, “Here are the tapes. They were in the motel room just like that guy said they were. We found the dead hooker too. Mother fucker chopped her up with an axe. By the way, I interviewed some people at the motel. They said he kept screaming for someone to stop some guy,” he informed me.

“And?”

“Well, there was no guy. It was like he was chasing someone that wasn’t there. They all just thought he snapped,” the officer finished.
Eric escorted Cyan out of the room and I told her I would call her if I had any further questions about this case. As she left, I put one of the tapes in the VCR and hit play. The frame was a bit out of focus and it seemed like someone was moving the camera around trying to get the best possible angle. I could tell by the layout of the room that this was the motel a couple of blocks down from Jiggly’s. I had been called there before. Finally the picture cleared and the camera was steady. A man then started to walk away from the camera toward the other side of the room. He turned to face the camera and I was shocked to see that the man who claimed to be the bouncer trying to heroically swoop in and save Autumn was the killer on the tape.