Page 56 of Watch Her Bleed
“Thank you for telling us that,” he says.
“What now?” I ask.
“For one, Paul and Rita are going to be brought in for questioning. We have officers going to them right now,” he says. “I believe Enzo is already in custody.”
“He is,” Sneed says. “He’s actually here already. He’s being booked.”
“He’s here?” I ask, suddenly panicked again.
“Yes, but I assure you he won’t be able to get to you. He doesn’t know you’re here,” Sneed says.
“We will get samples from the three of you and we should have that back after lunch,” Josh says. “Having you all in the same room together is pretty definitive, but this way there is no doubt.”
“So… how exactly did I end up with Rita and Paul?” I ask.
“Well, my theory is that when she had that stillbirth she didn’t cope well and tried to replace her child. Paul and Enzo… I’m not sure.”
“You said before he was violent?” Kaia asks me.
“Yeah. Up until he started hurting me, he was very violent. Like, he killed our dog. A lot of pets in the neighborhood went missing when I was a kid. I heard Paul say once that Enzo was doing it,” I say. “When he started hurting me, he was fine. He didn’t hurt anyone. So long as I was available, everyone else wasn’t a target.”
“So what did he do for the six months you avoided him?” Nick asks.
“I… don’t know,” I say. “He seemed normal.”
“Can I offer my opinion?” Dax asks.
“Yes,” Sneed says.
“So… if he was coping with his violent tendencies by assaulting Aurora, I find it highly unlikely that he just stopped for six months.”
“Meaning?” Josh asks.
“Meaning, he was projecting that violence onto someone, it just wasn’t her,” he says.
“Oh no,” I say quietly. “Because I avoided him… he could have hurt others?”
“He likely hurt others because that’s what violent people do,” Dax says. “I know your initial reaction will be to feel guilty because others potentially got hurt, but he would have escalated there anyhow. He would have moved onto things that he couldn’t fulfill with you.”
“I hope you’re not suggesting…” Sneed says with a sigh.
“Unfortunately,” Dax says. “It is possible he escalated from rape.
Chapter Eighteen
Mattia
After Aurora and her parents did the DNA swabs, Kaia had the idea that we all get lunch so Aurora could get to know her family. She is still leery of her brothers, but Dax seems to bring her comfort. He is a psychiatrist after all, so it’s likely that he understands what’s going on more than anyone else. Sterling is quiet and that seems to comfort Aurora. Nick is the one who triggers her the most, but it’s only because he is high-energy. Enzo is the same way from what I’m gathering.
“Small fucking world,” Nick says to me.
“No kidding,” I chuckle.
“So you two are dating?” Jennifer asks Aurora.
“Yeah. Newly dating, but dating nonetheless,” she says. “You all seem so… normal.”
“I don’t know about normal,” David laughs.
