r/nosleep | Reddit Horror Stories • Collection

Pt.2 I help people commit suicide, but they have to convince me to do it first.

I mentioned last time that a significant portion of my clientele comes from law enforcement, mostly the ones who care so deeply about their work that it ultimately destroys them. Coincidentally, my client last night was a cop. I was entirely perplexed when this man sought me out. He was a highly ranked missing persons investigator with a mighty public presence; from the outside lookin in, he was unshakeable. That's the interesting thing about my line of work, though. I am one of few in my clients' lives, most often the only one, who truly gets to look inside.

Nevertheless, I have a policy of not turning a potential client away until I hear their story, so we scheduled a meeting at my place. He wanted to see me right away. When he arrived, he looked nothing like the sturdy man I'd seen on TV. He was clearly in a hurry, so we made our way to the living room immediately. I had my usual setup in place, and I assumed my position on the chair while he perched on the edge of the couch.

"Is it okay if I smoke?" he requested.

I popped out of my chair to fetch an ashtray from the windowsill. "No problem." I try to make my clients as comfortable as possible in their remaining hours.

"Thank you, I've heard you're a kind young woman. I really appreciate it."

"It really is no problem, sir." I took my seat again. "Before we start, did you bring payment?"

He nodded as he reached first inside his coat to produce an envelope, then toward me to relinquish the cash. He lit up a cigarette and discarded the extinguished match in the ashtray. "I haven't smoked since the birth of my children, but... well, I suppose that's all changed now."

I took this last response as an opportunity to begin. "So, what exactly has changed recently?"

I observed him weighing the question in his mind, attempting to locate a suitable starting point. He took a long, exaggerated drag off his cigarette. "Well," he commenced, exhaling a plume of smoke with the word. "I just solved the biggest case of my life, that's what."

I cocked my head to one side. "Excuse me, sir, I'm not sure I understand."

He chuckled lightly in response. "I'm not sure I do, either." His eyes tracked the smoke trailing off the end of his cigarette. "I've been working this case for years. It is - well, was - a cold case, so it was remarkably hard to crack. A young girl, here one day, then..." He made a tight fist with his unoccupied hand, then opened it suddenly like a magician revealing the turn. "Gone the next. It's been ten years now."

I bobbed my head in response.

"I had interviewed everyone. Parents, teachers, friends, friends' parents, neighbors, hell, anyone who had ever come into contact with the girl. I worked days, nights, weekends. My wife had passed away by then and my children were grown, so immersing myself in my work wasn't such a big deal anymore," he explained, pausing to smoke. A long column of ash had formed at its distal end.

I urged him on. "So, when did you get a break in the case?"

"Today. The when isn't as bothersome to me as the how," he clarified, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Okay, how did you get a break in the case? I imagine you'd be pretty excited to finally get answers to this... obsession of yours," I cautioned.

"Hell, so did I. And yet, life has a funny way of giving you exactly what you want in the worst way possible. I was on my way to follow up on the first legitimate tip we've gotten for this case in years. I have this habit of being perpetually early, and I realized I was near my daughter's neighborhood, so I decided to drop by for a quick visit. I'm very close with my children. After my wife passed, we had to be there for each other. The three of us were all that remained of our family."