The Invited Guest

One moonlit night I was in my convertible driving through the city of Las Vegas, NV
After losing a lot of cash and getting into a fight with my wife
I went to see a silent film for mature audiences only
As I was leaving the city limits, heading back home in California
I saw a hitchhiker waving me down
He looked mousey, a little disheveled but I felt bad for him
He told me his name was Sid
I asked him where he was headed
He said, “Anywhere you’re going, I’m fine with.”
I thought that was odd
He told me that he was coming from a desert grave site along the highway
A week prior he told me, he buried three family members there
All of his family have died
About 10 miles south, I saw a billboard advertising home cooked meals at a diner
I told Sid I’m going to stop
He just sat there and shrugged his shoulders
As I exited the car, I noticed he wasn’t getting out
I told him, come on, my treat
The diner was quite empty
Two customers in a booth
A cook, waitress and a man sitting alone
We sat in a booth near the window
Before Sid, sat down, he said I’m going to use the restroom
I sat down
The waitress, who looked quite nervous and jittery asked me who is that guy with you?
I said his name is Sid
I picked him up outside of Vegas
Why?
She said that he looks like the man that has been reported missing for a week,
He murdered three girls
It was all over the local news channels and radio
I couldn't believe it
She went on by saying if he is who I think he is, I need to call the police
A private eye came in here a few days ago and gave us a picture of your friend, the hitchhiker
They think he may have killed even more then the three girls
Police found three young girls under 21, slaughtered, with their throats sliced all along this interstate
They’re calling this guy the “Virgin Killer”
I began getting an upset stomach
I lost my appetite
Sid returns out of the bathroom
He looked a little more presentable
Hair combed, face washed and hands cleaned
He tells me he’s hungry and he doesn’t have any money
I told him that I lost my appetite and you can order what you like
He began getting a little suspicious
Maybe because the waitress, the cook and myself were looking at him with fear and caution
The waitress took his order
He ordered scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, rye toast and black coffee
I began asking him some questions
I wanted to know why he was at this graveyard in the middle of the night
He told me that’s the only available time he has to pay his respects
I asked him, who were the three family members you went to visit at the cemetery?
He told me that they were his daughters who died tragically from a major car wreck
I asked if he had a picture of them
He said no
He began to get agitated
As the waitress was about to bring his food,
On the radio a special bulletin came on interrupting the regularly scheduled program

Be on the lookout for a scroungy, white male age 35-45
Long brownish hair with beard
His name is William Doe
He is wanted for the death of three young girls aged 15-17
Last eyewitnesses saw him getting into a turquoise 1957 Chevy Bel Air convertible with California license plates

At this point Sid was sliding out of the booth and took out this massive hunting knife, grabbed the waitress by the arm and placed his knife and arm around her neck

He also told others that if a call is made to the police or any stupid moves towards me, I will gut this woman in front of your eyes

I am not going to jail!
Throughout this ordeal Sid was unusually calm
He told me to get up and demanded I drive him and his hostage away from this area
I was hesitant until I saw how that knife was positioned on her throat
I grabbed the keys and made a gesture to the cook to call the police
Before the cook tried to make a call, Sid got wind of this and took out a small pistol
Fired twice into his chest, while still holding the knife into the waitress’s neck
Meanwhile I knew I couldn’t make a move towards him
I started the car and he carefully slid into the backseat with her in his grip
He wanted me to drive towards the California border
The highway was dark & desolate
I can hear the sirens in the distance
Sid was getting nervous
He knew he was eventually going to get caught
He took the knife and cut the waitresses throat from ear to ear, disposing of her body by throwing her out of the car

I decided to break as hard as I could
This created Sid to slam his head up against my backseat, stunning him and dropping the knife

I then jumped over the seat and punched him repeatedly until I knew he wouldn’t try for his gun or knife

When I reached for the gun in his coat, I was going to shoot him in the leg twice
When I fired, there were no bullets
Luckily, up ahead the police were on pursuit of my car
There were four cop cars blocking the road ahead and three behind me
When they arrived, they manhandled Sid and cuffed him
One cop told me that the waitress was dead
She died from trauma to the head and blood loss
The police asked me to come down to the station to file a report
I did
After I was cleared and all of their questions were asked
I knew now not to pick up any hitchhiker’s again.