All participants are over 18.
*****
I give myself credit: it took some courage to walk into a police station filled with macho, notoriously sexist and homophobic policeman wearing a tattoo on my head that read CUMSLUT in bold red letters. The label wasnât standing off my face by my choice; rather, an unhappy date on whom I passed out and vomited vindictively stamped me with those letters as revenge for âteasing himâ. I was here to press a complaint against the renegade tattoo artist.
I stood before the window at reception, cap pulled down well over my forehead, as the desk sergeant took my name and the basic details of my complaint. He looked up at my covered forehead, but didnât press the matter.
âSit down,â he said. âAn officer will be with you shortly.â
In truth, I didnât wait long. A door opened to the offices behind reception, an officer emerged and called my name. I stood up and followed him back to an interview room.
âIâm Constable Mayhew,â the officer said as he moved to the far side of a desk in the small room. He was a thin, lithe young man and I assume he wasnât long out of the academy. âHave a seat.â
I occupied a chair on the opposite side of the desk.
âJust so all our cards are on the table, I will tell you this is an interview room, but there are no cameras or tape recorders rolling here. The only record of our conversation will be the details I take down in my notes.â
âSo, I understand you have a complaint against an unknown tattoo artist who, uh, inscribed something derogatory on your forehead.â
I blushed as I nodded.
âLetâs see it.â
I pulled off the cap. I kept my head shaved bald, so there was no hair hanging over my forehead to obscure the illuminated letters printed there.
âI see,â said Mayhew. âWho did this to you?â
I explained to him that my memory of that night was fuzzy. I recalled only a tall, powerfully built man with long, dark hair and a lot of tattoos. I described my conversation with another tattooist named Greg who recognized the tattoo style and design as belonging to a dangerous man named Vance.
âVance, huh?â Mayhew said. âIâm going to call in one of our detectives, Masters.â
Mayhew made a quick call on his cell out in the hallway. I couldnât hear his voice, but I couldnât follow the discussion. He returned to the room with the man he introduced as Detective Masters.
âNice to meet you,â Masters said. Our eyes didnât meet; he was busy studying my forehead sign. He didnât take a seat, but remained standing.
âSo you got drunk and picked up by this guy, but you fell asleep on him and threw up in his lap, and he took his revenge by branding you with the name âcumslutâ. You want us to find him and youâll press charges. Is that about right?â
I confirmed it was.
âThis sort of thing has happened before. Iâve seen a couple cases like it; one even mentioned the same name. Trouble is, this âVanceâ guy doesnât seem to exist. No Vance works in any of the hundred or so tattoo parlours in this city. Itâs not clear whether thatâs his first name or his last name, but there arenât a lot of Vances in this town. Iâve checked the ones in the phone directory and Iâve searched through Ministry of Transportation records to check on driversâ licences. Not one of them looks like the man you described. I have to tell you, so far, my working theory is that Vance is either an alias or, more likely, he doesnât exist; heâs just an urban legend: the mad tattooist and boogeyman, a reputation spread by other tattooists to mystify their profession. He is to tattoo artists what Sweeney Todd was to barbers.â
I was incredulous.
âAm I not living proof? What of these âcouple casesâ you said were like mine?â
âYeah, a couple of guys have been in over the last two years with, uh, unpleasant names tattooed on their foreheads too; youâre the third, and the second to accuse someone named âVanceâ.â
âWell, wouldnât you say that where thereâs smoke thereâs fire?â
âMaybe. Or maybe you and those other guys went and had those tattoos made because you like the attention they bring you. Maybe you were high, or maybe you were drunk. Maybe now that youâre sober, you have second thoughts and want to forget all about having that work done.â
I started to object, but Masters held up a hand. âTell me honestly, are you gay or were you in the closet until this outed you?â
I didnât see what difference that made. âI am bisexual, I guess, but Iâm discreet about it.â
âThere you go. Subconsciously, you maybe commissioned the tattoo to force yourself out of the closet. You said yourself you were under the influence when the tattoo artist put this on you. Maybe you were so drunk you asked him to do it.â
âYouâreâyouâre putting words in my mouth.â
âNo,â said Masters, as he first, locked the door to the interview room, and second, undid his belt and opened his fly. âIâm putting my dick in your mouth.â