The Open Curtain by Brian Evenson

exists. It was broken up once by the United States Secret Service Bureau, but it is going along on the quiet, I believe. Although the members of his former church say he is a recreant member and a villain, they will stick to him. He was once sanctified, so he must be protected.
    The steamer trunk that Young had had shipped to Chicago arrived and was seized by the Chicago police, who sent a dispatch indicating that it “contained woman’s dress, underclothes, hat, shoes, men’s clothing, dirk knife, all smeared with blood …” and “nearly 100 letters addressed to William Hooper Young.” The articles of feminine apparel were marked with the name or initial of Mrs. Anna Pulitzer.
    In addition, the “trunk contained memorandum book containing name William Hooper Young….” On the first page of another memorandum book found in Young’s father’s apartment itself were written the words “Blood Atonement,” followed by half a dozen scriptural references that, when examined, seemed related to the Mormon doctrine of blood atonement.
    The local Mormon authority denied the existence of blood atonement, declaring there to be “no such thing in the religion.” He “denied absolutely that there was any doctrine of the Mormon Church which demanded the shedding of blood as an atonement of sin. He said that there was not one of the doctrines of the Church which would give even a man partially deranged the idea that in killing a woman his own sins would be forgiven.”
    “My father,” said Rudd, “our father, I mean, wrote that it did exist.”
    “What did?”
    “Aren’t you here?” said Rudd, pointing to the subtitle,
Blood Atonement Denied.
    “Why would I be there?”
    “That Hooper Young might have discussed the idea of blood atonement is possible. He had erroneous ideas on many subjects. This idea did not prompt his terrible crime,”
Rudd read.
    Lael shrugged.
    “No comment?” asked Rudd.
    “What else could a Mormon, speaking on behalf of the Church, possibly say? Yes, we do kill people?”
    Both the police and reporters had begun to speak with confidence that Young was the murderer. Despite the belief of both parties several days before that there had been two men involved in the disposal of the body and perhaps in the murder itself, Young was declared the sole and singular murderer.
    The Captain of Police received a letter as well from “H. Young” stating that he intended to commit suicide:
    Search in vain; have killed myself. H. Young.
    The letter was written on a scrap of cheap white paper and “inclosed [sic] in a small envelope such as are used for visiting cards.” The Captain believed it was a letter from “some crank” though he decided to have experts compare the handwriting to that of Hooper Young.
    One of the most startling developments of yesterday was the discovery by Capt. Titus that a murder bearing much similarity to this one was committed in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1893.
    “A Frenchman was murdered there in that year,” he said. “And this Young was living in Salt Lake City at the time. No one could find the Frenchman’s body, nor could they trace the murderer. A long time afterward the body was found in a trunk that had been shipped to Chicago.”
    “I do not say that Young committed this murder out West, but it seems highly probable, that his mind was affected by it. Of course, the two cases differ, but still they are similar. A trunk was sent to Chicago in each case, and in both the trunks was evidence that the murderer was attempting to conceal.”
    “Why Chicago?” asked Rudd.
    Lael read the paragraphs Rudd pointed to, shrugged. “Copycat,” he said. “Unless he killed the Frenchman too.”
    “Do you think he did?”
    “It’s more interesting if he didn’t,” said Lael. “That he had in his head from the first killing the idea that all murdered bodies should be shipped to Chicago.”
    “You think he was crazy?”
    “Crazy’s not the right word,” said Lael.