Tessie Forster’s First Death by Maeve Howser

Compiler’s note: Compiled Evidence Regarding Tessie Forster’s First Death makes explicit mention of guns, police, weight/diet, misogyny, and mental illness. As the author, I can’t in good conscience recommend that you engage with this article if these are difficult points for you.

Compiled Evidence Regarding Tessie Forster’s First Death

Compiled from various sources and submitted to press by Maeve Howser (she/her)

Advertisement noticed along the side of an Intercity Transit bus exactly one week prior to the incident:

The advertisement was markedly bare bones, the aforementioned text being simple black on white print. The advertisement was only observed on a bus traveling route 13 on the afternoon of October 14th, 1988, apparently being promptly removed soon after.

– – –

Excerpt taken from The Informed Oyster, a short-lived local news outlet that closed its doors a mere 4 years after the incident:

Olympia WA authorities were gathered near the intersection of Legion Way SE and Capitol Way S on the evening of October 21st, 1988 in response to numerous calls alleging that a shooting had taken place. At approximately 8:38 PM, a single shot was fired by an assailant who was described by most witnesses as fleeing the scene, disappearing effortlessly as they traveled east via Legion Way. Inclement levels of rain that were steadily rising played a part in the shooter being virtually unidentifiable, and many witnesses described them as wearing a black rain poncho.

Victim was confirmed to be the unidentified date of Glenn Shorb, a 31 year old unemployed resident of Eastside Olympia. Among those taken into custody for questioning were calling witnesses Jenna and Marcus Pezzeretti, and Elsa Barnham. Mr. and Mrs. Pezzeretti are a married couple who were reportedly making their way to their parked car when the shooting struck, whereas Ms. Barnham had interacted with Shorb and the victim while serving their table at a restaurant that has requested to remain anonymous, only to witness the incident through a window whilst clocking out. Shorb remains in custody.

In the hours and moments leading up to the shooting, witnesses took note that Shorb’s acquaintance, the eventual victim of the shooting, was identified by several witnesses to be pop musician Tessie Forster, also known by her stage name, TESS!E. Shorb would later divulge that he had received a great many questions and compliments regarding what appeared to be his date. While forensic experts firmly believed for a time that she was in fact the pop idol, Forster’s manager Perry Kraight confirmed that she was not only alive and well, but currently performing in Thailand. Authorities are still working to uncover the true identity of the victim.

Following the incident, police were quick to conduct interviews. The following clippings are these interviews cut to portions most relevant.

INTERVIEW LOG: JENNA PEZZERETTI

22 October 1988

Q: That’s what I intend. First, if I could just get your name and date of birth to make sure I’ve got it right, we can move along.

J: Jenna Tiberius Pezzeretti, March 19th, 1958.

Q: Graduated from The Evergreen State College in 1980, now employed as a columnist for The Decembering Poet?

J: Yes.

Q: Well, if you’d care to, please tell me what you were doing in the historic district of Olympia on the night of October 21st, and then we can move from there.

J: Can I speak frankly about a personal matter?

Q: Well… I suppose?

J: My husband has shit where there might have once been a functioning organ between his ears.

Q: Ah.

J: Eventually my complaints of his own gross incompetence inspired him to take me out on the town. I still fail to 

understand how it was supposed to help, but I had almost nothing planned that night.

Q: You humored him.

J: Precisely. Things begin to get more relevant after dinner. At this moment I feel that I’m entering the first hours of what will probably prove to be food poisoning, in fact.

Q: It could be stress. You witnessed a horrific thing last night.

J: This is fair. At any rate, as we walked southward, we noticed the rain beginning to pick up. It had already been Alighierian in nature, now I was beginning to feel the force of every drop like a pincushion to the elements, and I felt like I was dragging Mark around to get to the car.

Q: Eventually you arrived on the corner of Legion and Capitol.

J: Indeed we did, and meant to cross Legion. As we passed that corner, though, just to my left, I could see someone who’d reminded me of Tessie, the musician. Then I clued into the reality that she was Tessie.

Q: I take it you’re a fan?

J: I saw her in Portland not long ago. Despite my rush, my eyes kind of locked onto her, and I might have even tugged at Mark and tried to alert him to the encounter. I doubt he even knew who Tessie was.

Q: Was this the moment before the incident?

J: Yes. Forgive me if I can’t continue with my telling of the 

night’s events. I should reiterate that-

Q: You should only tell me what you wish.

J: Thank you. At this point, behind me, this wide, flowy, shadowy shape in a black raincoat or something, and a big, wide brim hat, came up behind us. Striding fast, like he was really on his way somewhere, and oh, he was. He took the corner fast and closed in on Tessie, who was holding hand in hand with a man I didn’t recognize. The figure in black put his arm near Tessie’s stomach in a suave and slick fashion, and then I heard the shot. He was so smooth, in fact, that I don’t think anybody had realized he had been the source of the shot until he was gone. This is in part due to him almost literally not slowing his pace at all to take the shot, he’d moved like oil in a pipe and treated pulling the trigger like it was essentially one of his many long steps. This itself was shocking, but I somehow took the most note of how Tessie’s eyes seemed to shrink when she dropped back.

Q: Define “shrink”.

J: It’s the only way I can put it. Then there was this smell, it invaded the street hastily and made me fear there would be malignant consequences for the simple act of breathing. It was a thin, burning smell, but not of wood, but… I suppose it was more like rubber and hair. I haven’t even mentioned how abrasive it felt against my nostrils, my lungs… I could hear her yowling like a cat, eventually, and when I peered over the shoulders of the people in front of me, I could see that she was contorted in a way that made it seem like her spine was curling up the wrong way. In the midst of it all I could hear a man just talking to someone else, repeating himself saying “Oh God, oh God I’m gonna have to tell my daughter about this before the news does, oh Christ.”

INTERVIEW LOG: MARCUS PEZZERETTI

22 October 1988

M: Jenna was saying a lot of shit after it went down. Lots of words that were too long. She thinks she’s a poet. I just think her ego is fatter than her ass…

Q: Mr. Pezzeretti, I don’t think that’s really necessary-

M: …which says a lot, you know?

Q: Mr. Pezzeretti, please come back to the story.

M: She could do all this book club cunt girl fucking talk about what the smell was like. Me, I said it was like a spent motor still running. Simple as if you ask me. Wasn’t like a gunshot, no sir. The whole time I could smell whatever it was I kept on thinking “somebody’s gotta turn that bitching car off before it blows up” before I figured out it was coming from chicky’s body.

Q: Your wife described something to the effect of Ms. Forster making a strange “yowling” sound, and contorting her body in an unusual way. Does this mean anything to you?

Very long pause.

M: You ever seen a guy go feet first into a combine harvester and learn that there are green parts inside people?

Q: How is this relevant, Mr. Pezzeretti?

M: Just don’t think you shit liver Scrabble whores could imagine something like that’s all.

INTERVIEW LOG: ELSA BARNHAM

22 October 1988

E: After not long of those two being in the building, I heard the hubbub start rising, and knew then and there that I wanted to be the waitress to help these people, and once I got up to them I definitely learned what the kind word was: “Holy shit, it’s fucking Tessie!”

Q: Hm.

E: Then the second part of the situation hit me: “Who’s this guy she’s with?” This wasn’t Pete Waites, the uber attractive moviemaking guy she’s been with, this was like some creepy bowl-cut guy. His skin was pale white and even though his face was round, his clothes hung off of his body like surrender flags, he was so thin. Whatever food I gave him, I knew he needed it dearly. Of course, as the first responder, I took this chance to talk to Tessie, and I told her I was a fan, but then I kind of leaned in and asked her what the deal was.

Q: What deal?

E: Duh, her weirdo date. She started telling me this was Glenn Shorb, her current partner. Which was weird to me because she’s been with Pete Waites for at least a few months. Then it clicked for me that I’ve kicked this guy out of the establishment before for reaching into the silverware disposal. She was talking about this guy being her boyfriend like it was undeniable truth. Then, mostly out of sarcasm, I asked her “Are you Tessie Forster?” It went quiet for what felt like minutes, and when that was over, through eyes that looked older than they did on album art, she very slowly told me, “I… am… Tessie… Forster…” at almost a whisper. From then on, she piped up, started talking like there was no conversation at all, making way for her smelly boyfriend to order.

Q: But this wouldn’t be the last time you saw Forster or Shorb, correct?

E: They lingered for a bit outside of the restaurant, attracting fanfare like the greatest human statues you’ve ever seen. It wasn’t long before I clocked out, and as I was doing so, a loud gunshot startled me and I nearly pulled the damn clock thing off the wall. I could see a guy in a coat for a split second before the shot happened, and then he was gone. From where I was punching out, I could see him running off into the crowd, and Tessie was just leaning there against the window. It was like that movie, fucking Harrison Ford thing, what was it?

Very long pause.

Q: Ms. Barnham, are you perhaps referring to Ridley Scott’s film, Blade Runner?

E: Yeah, yeah, Blade Runner.

Q: Back on track, so you’re standing there, with blood all over the window I imagine-

E: Glenn, that creep, was just standing there like nothing had happened. And by the way, there was no blood.

The transcript and audio recording of Glenn Shorb’s interview could not be attained.

The following note was discovered sticking out of Shorb’s sock during a routine medical examination. However, Shorb refused to acknowledge its contents.

TESSIE TESSIE TESSIE TESSIE TESSIER TSIE TESEE TESIE TESS!E TESSIE TESSIE TSSEI TESSE TESI TESSEI TESSEI TESSIE TESSIE TESSIE IM SORRY IM SORRY I LOVE YOU SEE YOU SOON ILL KISS YOU IN  THE RAIN (KISS YOU INTHE RAIN) GET MEM TO THE DOCTOR

It is very likely that Shorb typed this note using a typewriter property of the station’s faculty. The final lines are a clear reference to Blackout, a song originally performed by David Bowie in 1977, which TESS!E would go on to cover on the 1986 record Jewelry.

It would appear that the police department, in the wake of the shooting, took deliberate action to completely destroy all record of a subsequent incident that seemingly occurred while the autopsy was being performed. What is known, however, is that the assault began inside of the operating room, which claimed the life of the sole recorded victim, mortician Ken King. At any rate, Jane Doe was turned over to state ownership in wait for identification, and given a proper, though private, burial. Like the assailant in the morgue, the shooter and their motive, to this day, have never been identified, and the case was assumed by most to be an especially cold one, until a recent leak. The final pages of the digital diary maintained by Glenn Shorb in the months and days leading up to the incident. The following are selections of the larger document.

7/23/88

Time spent copying TESS!E to VHS: 14 hrs.

Tapes made: 36 per vid.

Weight: 191 lb.

I walked the dog today. Touching the screen I see her face on is better than even the softest of puppy fur. I don’t know what to do, women aren’t like her anymore. It doesn’t matter, I saw the news today. Pete Waites brought her to hell. She doesn’t exist anymore, fuck that.

8/13/88

Time spent watching TESS!E videos: 12 hrs.

Tapes made: 0

Weight: 170 lb.

I run my hand in my hair and it’s probably how TESS!E’s feels, need to shave it off that hurts.

8/21/88

Weight: 157 lb.

Wanted to shave my hair off but I went with a normal cut instead, just short enough that it isn’t soft like Tess!e’s. Just want to forget. However someone told me today that he could maybe help me out. He said he’d be in touch soon. Wonder what’s up his sleeve.

9/27/88

Weight: 122 lb.

Results are promising. This is looking really good. Tessie you’re so close I can fucking smell you Tessie. Love4 you.

10/20/88

Weight: 99 lb.

I might weigh 99 pounds but I feel so strong, stronger than ever. Tessie god I love her she’s here. She’s so real the smell is so true. Tessie hair is like real hair goddamn.

Maeve Howser (she/her) is a writer, filmmaker, musician, and activist from the Pacific Northwest, best known for directing Heart (2022), creating the unfiction horror webseries North Clear 30 (2017 – ongoing), and her various written works. She has been published in The Cooper Point Journal, beginning with the transfeminism essay On Passing (2023). She currently lives in Olympia, WA, and is enrolled at The Evergreen State College, where she studies creative writing and queer studies.