Chapter 23
Another missed call.
Another ignored text.
Ever since that meeting, I’ve been trying to get in contact with Nina and it’s been damn near impossible. I’m a patient man but I can’t stand to be ignored like this. Not when I’m still worried about her state.
At no point get I get any resolution on what is motivating Nina to kill these men. I hadn’t even gotten answers about what happened when she called me last weekend.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out though.
With there being so much on the line in this time as the now, three families, work through their tentative agreement, I don’t want to risk anything. If there was a time to have an eye on Nina, it’s now.
I couldn’t say if we’re in danger or not since I don’t know what exactly it is that sets her off.
She told me about a man that she thought she loved but never picked her. The origin of her pain, her cutting.
That’s the pain she inflicts on herself. But the pain that she inflicts on others?
It’s still a mystery.
If she’s ignoring me, then how can I get any closer to that answer?
Without her on my hands, I look through my folder with everything in it to try and piece one together. It’s not very good. The only thing that sticks out to me is her view of them being disgusting.
But why?
She doesn’t call every man disgusting.
I pop open a beer and sit in my chair, trying to think about any other than how I had her on this desk. On how beautifully she submitted to me right here. On how hopeful I was that we had turned a new leaf. That she was opening up to me.
Every time I think I’m getting close, she’s farther away.
What more can I do to catch this woman?
If I end up back in Louisiana and she’s not coming, I’m unsure how I’ll react.
I’m a patient man.
But I won’t wait forever for her to get the picture. She’s not getting more distance than this.
Something about the way she’s described the men I know she’s murdered stands out.
Creep.
Disgusting.
Pervert.
She’s not just a girl as she’s said. She’s not oblivious to how she shows up in the world.
As a woman who danced for a living, reveres women in the field and dresses in a way that begs for attention…
Begs to be touched. If not voluntarily, then to be paid to touch—then why would she then be upset for them to fall for the trap she laid?
I’m missing something. I know I am.
My thought to call Geno and get his opinion cuts like a knife when I remember exactly why I can’t.
He’s gone. Long gone and I don’t really know who I could talk to about this more.
Redd is sick of my baseless accusations and is overall, not a man to discuss your personal life with. He doesn’t respect boundaries.
This isn’t just about the harm that Nina could cause the family, it’s about the harm she’s causing herself in turn.
It is personal.
More than.
I’m in my feelings, drinking alone, thinking about how I can save her from herself. That wasn’t in my job description. It’s an obsession I’ve been fanning on my own. A raging fire that I’m trying to see through and I can’t.
Why won’t she pick up the phone?
Tossing the empty beer bottle in the can, I return back to my place and keep dragging every detail under the microscope.
If she’s not going to help me get there, I’ve got to get there on my own and then grab her to join me.
Why be upset that the fish took the bait?
Why kill the fish if you don’t wan’t it?
Couldn’t you just throw it back?
My head swims with the fish analogy and I’m no closer to what I’m looking for.
I try texting her once more, hoping these words will reach her wherever she is. Hopefully reach her before she strikes again.
Vert: I’m not givin up on you. Come see me when you need this.
If that’s not enough to get her to answer, I’m gonna grab her and show her exactly how dedicated I am to getting to the bottom of this.
Rolling a blunt and stepping out side to smoke it, I’m close to calling her again. My time is running out here and I want answers before I’m back home.
More mellow than I’ve been all day, I come up when there’s a knock at my door. My package must be here.
Turning the lock and opening the door, my package is there. But there’s someone holding it for me.