Interrogation (The Cleaner)
RECORDING STARTS
INTERROGATOR: Alright [REDACTED], now that we have that out of the way, why don't you start with where you left off.
[REDACTED]: Is…is it recording now?
INTERROGATOR: Yes it is.
[REDACTED]: And you can guarantee mine and my family’s safety if I talk?
INTERROGATOR: Your family is being moved to witness protection as we speak.
[REDACTED]: …ok…
SILENCE FOR TWENTY SECONDS
INTERROGATOR: Still have reservations?
[REDACTED]: No! I mean, no. I just…if they find out, I can only imagine what they’d do to me.
INTERROGATOR: I know. But right now you're our best bet at finding this guy.
[REDACTED]: But I've never seen them before. I don't even know if they're a man or woman.
INTERROGATOR: So you've never seen him?
[REDACTED]: Is it a guy? That would make sense.
INTERROGATOR: How so?
[REDACTED]: All the blood. I don’t think a woman could ever get her hands that dirty…and…there’s so much malice and hatred in the messes.
INTERROGATOR: Why would you say that?
[REDACTED]: It's everywhere. I grew up on a farm and have seen my fair share of bloodspray from our livestock. I could only imagine the fury they must have been in every time.
INTERROGATOR: And you’ve been the only one cleaning these messes?
[REDACTED]: As far as I know. I come out often enough.
INTERROGATOR: How often?
[REDACTED]: Twice a month- every two weeks.
INTERROGATOR: Ok…Before we get any further, how did you get into this line of work?
[REDACTED]: I inherited the family business after my dad was diagnosed with brain cancer.
INTERROGATOR: That must’ve been hard on you.
[REDACTED]: It was. He's been gone for a while now so it's not as bad, but the hardest part was learning what he did for work.
SILENCE FOR TEN SECONDS
[REDACTED]: You probably want me to elaborate on that don't you?
INTERROGATOR: Yes.
[REDACTED]: (SIGH)…Before my grandpa retired, my dad inherited the cleaning business and was shown the ropes. This was years before I was born, but when I talked to my mom about it she said she vividly remembers my dad coming home from his first cleaning gig. He came back a changed man. A harder man. I didn’t understand for years, but I do now.
INTERROGATOR: And he did the same job you’re doing?
[REDACTED]: As far as I know. He’d done it for decades. And my grandpa did it for even longer. It's the only gig our business has ever cleaned. We don't do anything else.
INTERROGATOR: Hmmm…now how did your grandpa get into this business?
[REDACTED]: I’m not too sure. I tried asking both of them about it when I first started, but they made it abundantly clear that if I ever talked about anything…I just want my wife and girls to be safe.
INTERROGATOR: They are, you have me word. But when you say “both of them”, who are you referring to? Just to clarify.
[REDACTED]: Oh yeah, sorry. My dad and grandpa.
INTERROGATOR: Thank you for that.
RUSTLING PAPER SOUNDS
INTERROGATOR: So, with what you just told me, do you think you're being watched?
[REDACTED]: Oh absolutely! With the shit they’ve put me through, there's no way they’re not keeping an eye on me.
INTERROGATOR: What makes you think that?
[REDACTED]: You…
SILENCE FOR FIVE SECONDS
[REDACTED]: You have no idea the things I've been paid to do.
INTERROGATOR: You can enlighten me.
[REDACTED]: I don’t know if I can.
INTERROGATOR: Is it because you don’t want to or you can’t remember?
[REDACTED]: You don't just forget shit like that…Heh, why don’t you warm me up a little bit, maybe buy me a drink before you start asking about my darkest secrets.
INTERROGATOR: Are you thirsty? We can get you some water.
[REDACTED]: It was a joke.
INTERROGATOR: Oh. So is it too hard to talk about?
[REDACTED]: Yeah. There’s a difference between dissociating to do the work, and actually talking about it.
INTERROGATOR: I see. Well, we don’t normally do this but if it helps you get everything out we can tell you what we have and you can fill in the blanks. Does that sound good?
[REDACTED]: I think so.
INTERROGATOR: Great. So we're going to start with the most prominent incident. Did you travel to Utah?
[REDACTED]: Utah?
INTERROGATOR: Yes.
[REDACTED]: I have no idea. I just get in my truck, drive to the garage and the person that hires me takes me to the places.
INTERROGATOR: So you have seen him.
[REDACTED]: Never! Dad said if I even accidentally saw them, they would kill me without hesitation. I’m not stupid.
INTERROGATOR: I don’t understand. If you're driving with him to the cleanup site, how have you not seen him?
[REDACTED]: I don't drive anywhere after I park.
INTERROGATOR: He drives you then.
[REDACTED]: No…Ugh, it's so hard to explain. Even thinking about it makes me sound delusional.
INTERROGATOR: I promise whatever you say won't sound too extreme. We’ve seen and heard plenty in the field.
SILENCE FOR TWELVE SECONDS
[REDACTED]: I…I blindfold myself. Then I feel hands on my shoulder and next thing I know I’m in the room all by myself. I don't know how to explain it, I don't know how they get in my van, I don't know how we end up in the room, or anywhere else. It just happens, in a split second.
INTERROGATOR: Room?
[REDACTED]: Yeah, that's where I do most of the work. It’s fucking creepy.
INTERROGATOR: How so?
[REDACTED]: It's so big and sterile and empty.
INTERROGATOR: So is this his facility?
[REDACTED]: Facility? This is a school gym size room with bright white walls, ceiling and floors. Nothing but a cleaning cart, hose and drain in the middle of the floor. It’s so surreal. Once I'm done cleaning, it's pretty hard to see where everything starts and stops. If it weren't for the hose in the wall, I wouldn't be able to orient myself.
INTERROGATOR: Hmmm. So you’ve never been to any other room in the building?
[REDACTED]: What?
INTERROGATOR: You’ve been working for this man for thirty years but never had the thought to explore the rest of the building?
[REDACTED]: What the hell is there to explore? It’s a white room.
INTERROGATOR: The rest of the building.
[REDACTED]: How am I supposed to do that?
INTERROGATOR: Leave the room? You’re not tied to there.
[REDACTED]: It has no door. How am I supposed to look round a doorless fucking room?
INTERROGATOR: No doors?
[REDACTED]: Yeah, how did you not know about this? I thought you were experts.
INTERROGATOR: We are learning something new every day. Tell me more about the room.
[REDACTED]: What else is there to it? I don't know how many times I have to say it, there's nothing in there.
INTERROGATOR: No secret door?
[REDACTED]: Not even a seam. No windows. No cracks. It's pristine every time I leave…except for one time there were gouge marks in the floor. But they were fixed the next time I was picked up.
INTERROGATOR: What is it made out of?
[REDACTED]: The floors are epoxy, the walls feel like thick metal. I tried looking for an exit once, tapping around the room, but it was all solid. Not a hollow sound in sight.
INTERROGATOR: Can you draw it for me? I’m having a hard time picturing the room.
[REDACTED]: …really?
INTERROGATOR: Yes.
[REDACTED]: Sure I guess.
SILENCE FOR THREE MINUTES
[REDACTED]: Here.
INTERROGATOR: It's just a cleaning cart, a hose and a hole? Where's the rest?
[REDACTED]: That’s all I see in that room. I can't tell where the walls end and floors begin. I don’t know if I can explain it anymore simply.
INTERROGATOR: That’s so odd. Is this what it looks like after you’re done cleaning?
[REDACTED]: Yeah.
INTERROGATOR: What about when you first get there.
[REDACTED]: I’m not drawing that.
INTERROGATOR: Why?
[REDACTED]: …It’s…The floor is caked in blood. Sometimes there are chunks, bones even. Once I saw brains that were thrown at the wall. Splat and slid down in a cartoonish streak.
INTERROGATOR: So you clean up bodies?
[REDACTED]: No. It's just…the remains. I've never seen a body before. Only what's left.
INTERROGATOR: So he takes the bodies elsewhere from the room?
[REDACTED]: …I didn't say that…
INTERROGATOR: Please, whatever you tell us can help catch this man. He's a monster roaming among us.
[REDACTED]: I know. (SIGH) It's just so hard.
INTERROGATOR: I understand, but the more we have the more- What?! How did you get in here!
[REDACTED]: …It's…him. Please, I'm so sorry! I didn-
SIX GUN SHOTS
CRUNCHING SOUNDS
FOUR HOURS AND TWENTY THREE MINUTES OF SILENCE
RECORDING RUNS OUT OF MEMORY