"It was the only name he gave us."

He just smiles and calls himself Happy.

It was two in the morning and Anthony Pelli walked past the flashing red and blue lights on his way into the station.

Alfie at the front desk reached over his beer gut and grabbed the phone. “Hey Lisa. Yeah, chief just got here. I’m sending him back.” Then he put down the phone. “Chief, he’s in the back. Cell 1.”

“It’s 2am and he’s in custody. Why do we have flashing lights on outside? What’s that about” Chief Pelli said.

“Sorry, I’ll get the boys to turn them off. Probably just excited.”

Pelli said just clicked his tongue and walked into the door behind the desk. Alfie followed.

In the hall were 3 officers standing with their arms crossed and their faces beaming. They’d finally caught him.

“So he killed some people?” Chief said.

“We caught him doing it too,” Officer Harold said. “Homeless people, like all the other ones. This has gotta be the guy. Chief, look at his face. I don’t think it’s a mask.”

The Chief sighed and looked through the glass.

The man inside was sitting as calm as a breeze, staring straight ahead. The chief peered closer. The man’s face was just a smile and two black dots.

“You’re telling me that he’s not wearing a mask? That his little line of a smile and those two circles are his mouth and eyes?”

“Yeah.” “Yup.”

“Where the hell is his nose? How does he smell?” Chief asked, still looking at the character.

The boys shrugged.

“Harold, go turn off the lights outside. You left them on. We don’t need that.”

Officer Harold walked to the front of the station.

Chief hadn’t looked away.

“Profile? No way to identify?”

“He’d never been fingerprinted, but he’s in the system now. No dental, his teeth are weird. His clothes are from Walmart. His boots are Oakleys, though.”

“Weapons?” Chief said.

“He had a weird stick. It’s in evidence under ‘H’.”

“H?” The chief asked.

“Happy. That’s the only name he gave us.”

“This guy’s name is ‘Happy’?”

“That’s the name he gave us. We don’t know his real name.”

“Who talked to him so far?” Chief asked.

“Nobody.”

Chief frowned and said, “Why not?”

The two officers went quiet, waiting for the other to answer.

Chief looked up from the glass. “Why not?”

Officer on the right answered: “He’s a bit off, Chief. He’s weird.”

“No detectives been by yet to talk to him?”

“We called Sanford, but someone got stabbed out East and he’s been there since. He’s trying to get back here.”

“Chief, you used to be a detective.” Officer on the left said as Chief Pelli straightened and walked to the door to the holding cell.

“Yeah,” he answered, pushing the door open.

The man seated at the table sat with his head looking straight forward, making no reaction to the Chief’s entrance.

Chief sat down across from him and once he looked the guy in his black, round eyes, something seemed to crawl inside of the Chief’s stomach. Chief leaned back in the chair, partly to be further from the man, and partly to appear relaxed.

“They caught you killing homeless people,” Chief said.

“You must be the Chief,” the man said, as cordial as a butler. The only thing that moved was his mouth. The chains around his wrists never made a sound.

“Were you charged properly? Or should we be letting you go right now?”

“I want my lawyer,” the man said, black eyes unblinking.

“Do you have one in mind?” Chief said. “What happened to your face?”

“No I don’t have one in mind. And that’s a rude question to ask a stranger.”

“They said you go by Happy.”

“I do go by the name Happy.”

“Is that because you’re always smiling? You haven’t stopped smiling since I’ve seen you,” Chief said.

“I think that because I’m always smiling, I deserve a name like Happy.”

“Why were you killing homeless people?”

“Can we keep clear of the personal questions?” Happy said.

“How about ones that involve the law?”

Happy said nothing. He just sat across from the Chief. He looked like a doll with a flat face and two black marbles sticking out of it, with a smile like a sideways parenthesis. When Happy didn’t speak, it looked like he was inanimate. Like he shouldn’t be able to speak.

That thing that was crawling in Chief stomach was kicking now. Yeah, this guy is weird.

“If you’re innocent, we can let you go.”

“I know what I did.”

“What did you do? I was told over the phone that you were observed killing three homeless guys, and you let the fourth one go. What was that about?”

“I showed the last one mercy.”

“Mercy?” Good, he’s admitting.

“The first three go to hell. The last one gets to tell.”

“You killed the first three?”

“More than three. I’m the one you’re looking for.”

“You’re admitting to killing another one, one week ago? And The week before that, six others? And before that, another three?” Chief asked.

“Only the homeless. Only the ones without ambition. Only the scourge. Those who don’t work. If they’re merely down on their luck, they have nothing to worry about. It’s the thieves, the hopeless, the muck of the streets and parks. They’re filth. They disgust everyone.”

“You kill the filth?”

Happy nodded and the smile seemed to spread just slightly. “I kill the filth.”

“Why would you do something like that?” Chief asked.

“Why would you let something rot on the street? Why would you let so much potential stagnate? Sometimes all that last one needs is a little… push. Like seeing what he could have been. Like being the only one I left alive. You know where those men are now? They have jobs, all of them. They cleaned themselves up. They know the streets aren’t safe. Now they’re forced to struggle. They have knees and arms that work just fine. They can work for money and stay off the streets. I wouldn’t kill a blind beggar, Chief, I’m not heartless. I’m selective. They’ve chosen their path, and their path was one of reliance, childishness, addiction, crime, filth, and grotesque, selfish behavior. I know what I did was against the law.”

“You seem very confident in yourself,” Chief said.

Happy leaned forward, which was the first time something other than his mouth moved. Chief started slightly in his chair.

Happy said, “What makes you think I’ll be here much longer?”

Chief pointed to Happy’s wrists. “That’s stainless steel around your wrists.”

Happy shook his head and a muttered laugh. “I’m not worried about the steel.”

“What are you worried about?”

“Nothing.”

“Well,” Chief shoved his chair back and it made an annoyed squeak, “Anyway, thank you for making this easy. Enjoy federal prison.”

“No, you’ll see me again. You’ll catch me again. And more people will die. But just the ones that need dying, and the ones that need to see death in order to live.”

Chief said nothing and left the room. That thing in his stomach was ready to crawl out.