“Right, I am heartily sorry, and deeply embarrassed, too. Anyway, there’s a chatroom on-line that I visited. It’s called the Gamester’s Chatroom, and it’s on AOL. As I speak, there’s a fascinating discussion going on about a new kind of game. It’s more an anti-game, though. All the role-playing games I know are about good characters’ trying to conquer chaos and evil. The game under discussion has a couple of evil characters’ trying to overcome good. Specifically, Patsy, one of the characters is attacking and murdering women in the Southeast part of D.C. Lots of lurid detail on the murders. These aren’t the actual players, but they know about the game. The game itself is probably protected. Thought you should know. The game is called the Four Horsemen.”

Patsy Hampton was definitely wide awake now. “I’m on it. Thanks, Chuck. Let’s keep this between the two of us for the moment, okay, Chuck?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

It took her a couple of minutes to log on to AOL, then get into the Gamester’s Chatroom. She didn’t participate, just read what the others had to say. This was interesting. She wondered if she had just stumbled onto her first big break in the Jane Doe case.

The others in the room were named Viper, Landlocked, J-Boy, and Lancelot. They chattered on and on about the hottest fantasy games and cutting-edge magazines, which nearly succeeded in putting her to sleep. The Four Horsemen came up twice, but only in passing, as a point of reference. Lancelot was the one who mentioned it. Chuck was right: these probably weren’t the actual players, but they knew about the game somehow.

The fantasy nerds were starting to wear really thin with her by quarter past one. Finally, out of frustration, she typed out a message for the little shitheels. She called herself Sappho.

I CAME IN LATE, BUT HORSEMEN SOUNDS LIKE A NEAT KIND OF REVOLUTIONARY GAME TO ME, LANCELOT. PRETTY AUDACIOUS STUFF, NO?

Lancelot shot back:

NOT REALLY, SAPPO. THERE’S A LOT OF IT GOING AROUND LATELY. ANTIHEROES, SICKOS. ESPECIALLY IN VAMPIRE GAME CIRCLES.

Hampton typed:

HAVEN’T I READ ABOUT MURDERS LIKE THESE IN THE NEWSPAPERS? BY THE WAY, IT’S SAPPHO, LIKE THE POET.

Lancelot replied,

YEAH, BUT LOTS OF RPGs USE CURRENT EVENTS. NO BIGGIE, REALLY, SAPPO.

Hampton grinned. He was an obnoxious little nerd, but she had him — for the moment, anyway. And she needed him. How much did he know about the Four Horsemen? Could he be a player? She tried to peek at Lancelot’s profile, but he had restricted access to it.

YOU’RE FUNNY. ARE YOU A PLAYER, LAUGHALOT, OR JUST AN ART CRITIC?

I DON’T LIKE THE BASIC CONCEPT OF HORSEMEN. ANYWAY, IT’S A PRIVATE GAME. STRICTLY PRIVATE. ENCRYPTED.

YOU KNOW ANY OF THE PLAYERS? I MIGHT LIKE TO TRY IT OUT MYSELF?