Autopsy of a Mind

"No need to be quiet, Alicia. Two men in their prime, both weighing close to eighty kilograms. You incapacitated both of them and took them out of the apartment alone without anyone seeing you," I finished for her. "Good story. Even a third-grade novelist doesn't leave so many loopholes in their story."

Alicia sighed. "What do you want me to tell you?"

"Where did you meet him? The man you love?" I asked in a straightforward voice. 

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"The man you love hasn't visited you in a while. He didn't tell you Sebastian was engaged and he didn't tell you that he was trying his best to get attention from the fiancé." I smirked. 

"You're lying," she said after a moment. 

I took a copy of the photograph and showed it to her. "He doesn't care about you. He found someone he actually likes and he hates seeing her with someone else." I tapped my finger on the table. 

Alicia frowned. "He likes you?" she asked, accusation and condescension clear.

I smirked. "This isn't the first time he has liked someone else in your presence, right?" I paused. "See? His heart is not yours. And you have been foolishly holding onto him for so long. What a pity."

"Fuck!" she shrieked. A barrage of expletives poured out of her mouth. She called me names, called Sebastian names, called her lover names and I listened. 

Anger. 

We were moving along quite well.

"He dropped you the moment he found someone interesting and to his taste. An intelligent woman who he thought could accompany him and not one who was trying to imitate him and his likes to get his attention," I added. "He likes the game and you presented no such resistance. You were a willing mutt who wagged their tail and did whatever he asked of you. Now that he has abandoned you, you're a street dog, but you're still loyal to a fault."

That riled her up. 

"Shut up!" she screamed. "I am not a dog! I am not his fucking dog. Everything was okay before he started liking that bitch. He wouldn't let me kill her. HE WOULDN'T LET ME KILL HER!" She shook her head and the cuffs rattled. 

An epiphany came. 

"Who? Who did he like?" I asked calmly. 

"Evie. Evie fucking Lewis!" she screamed.

"Who is that?" I asked, keeping my voice level. Like I didn't know who the hell Evie was. The implication was that this accomplice had been in the same building as me throughout my captivity. Not once had I seen him or even his shadow, but he had been watching me. 

There had to be cameras everywhere then. He had watched me talk to the other victims, berate and rebel against Alicia, he had watched me cry, go unconscious with pain… and sleep. 

The others didn't feel as intrusive as the last. 

When I was in captivity, I had better sleep than I did after coming out. I had never thought about it before that moment, but it was true. While in there, I had some hope of going out, but I was resigned to my fate.

But when I was out… when I was free, I kept wondering when I would be dragged back into hell. It was just a matter of time before the rug would be pulled out from under me and I would be back in that room and tied to the chair. 

"You know everyone but you don't know Evie Lewis?" she asked, stunned. "The bitch somehow ran away and she was the reason why they caught me," she sneered. 

"Why did you keep her in captivity for so long?" I asked. This was a curious case. She usually killed the people within a week of abducting them, sometimes a little more. But I had been different.

Alicia started to laugh. "You know… it had been a decision I made after the adrenaline rush. Her dad was getting closer and god knows how he was finding out clues. When I killed the whole family… they squealed like pigs as they died… but that girl…" She shook her head in astonishment. 

"What about her made you take her?" I wanted to know. I wanted to know, damnit. 

"She woke up in the middle of the night and walked down the dark hallway. Even I am not psychopathic enough to walk down that weird-ass hallway without the lights switched on." She shuddered for effect. "And I was sure she saw me. Her eyes fell on me, it paused for a second, and then she just walked into the bathroom!" she guffawed. 

I slipped my hands away from the table and placed them on my lap where she couldn't see. My nails dug into my palms as I schooled my expression to remain nonchalant.

"She heard everything. I could hear her breathing get harder inside the bathroom. I knew she understood everything. And the bitch didn't come out to save her family." More laughter. "People think she is this little victim or they think she saved the other three but no! She didn't save the others… It was funny, really." And she giggled and giggled and giggled until I was gritting my teeth.

"Why did you take her?" I asked, trying to get her back on track. 

"Ah! She intrigued me. Her father was a cop… a fantastic cop who followed the rules. Her mother was a dream. She had a loving family and she was happy. I wanted to see why she had turned out to be such a little bitch who didn't even try to save her parents." She shrugged. 

"So, you put all those people in front of her to test her if she would save them or herself?" I asked. I caught my mistake a little late, but Alicia didn't seem to notice. She was too engrossed in her memories, a wide grin stretching across her face. 

"I wanted to see how low she could get to save her pretty little ass. But she just…" she huffed. "She fought me all the way. She made friends with the people I brought to kill and have a party. She reassured them and smiled at them." 

"And you couldn't believe she would do that?" I asked. 

Alicia nodded. "On one hand, she defied me at every turn and on the other, she was pliant and almost motherly to the other people. It was fascinating."

"But why did want to introduce her to cannibalism?" I had an idea why, but I wanted to push the answer out of her. Alicia shifted uncomfortably. "You don't like cannibalism… you probably enjoyed showing him what you were doing for him. Then why did you try to make her follow you?" 

She was silent. 

"Not going to tell me? Should I guess?" I challenged. 

She glared at me. "He found her fascinating, too. He couldn't understand the… dichotomy of her character. She was nice, but she also had a 'fire in her'." She rolled her eye. 

That was a direct quote. I knew that for a fact. 

"It started out as intrigue, but I saw how he looked at her. Like he would replace me at any moment if she started to like eating humans. Like he wanted to play Bonnie and Clyde with him." She gritted her teeth as she spoke. Her words were forced out and her breathing got harsher.

"And you hated that, didn't you? It made you want to kill her," I spurred her anger on. 

She jerked against the restraints. "I got really close to it. I sliced her up, I spoke to her like she was a beast, and I was ready to fucking puncture her body until she was full of holes. I went to her when she was asleep and I was going to stab her and he pulled me away."

Alicia hung her head. 

"And you didn't kill her? You didn't even have the idea?"

Alicia shrugged now. 

"Did he ever meet any of the victims? Did he come over to eat with them?"

Alicia stared. I saw a flash of something in her eyes and I knew she was shutting up.

"Why? Do you think you will find him through the remaining people? You won't find him. You will never find him. They are all dead, remember? They are all dead!" she shouted. 

"Miss Lewis is alive and well. Did she see him?" I asked. 

Alicia snorted. "She's still alive? I thought they all died."

I hung my head and a smile spread across my lips. I chuckled and shook my head.

"No. She is alive. But he didn't tell you that. He didn't tell you that Evie was alive. He didn't tell you who I am. He didn't tell you anything and he didn't visit you."

Now, the last time he had visited was still in question. Was it right after Sebastian and I went to the magic show? Was it more recent after I actually started the relationship? When was it?

"He came a couple of months ago. He is busy and he doesn't have time. So, what!" she screamed. 

What an idiot. I couldn't see myself being afraid of her any longer.

"He's a liar and a cheater. And you are covering for him. You are paying for his sins," I sowed the seeds of doubt in her head. "He replaced you and now he is searching for new people to be the Bonnie to his Clyde."

I heard the door open behind me and the superintendent peered in. "Miss Lewis, Dr. Butler wants to see you," he said. His voice was low, but I swore I could still hear the silence ensue.

"What the fuck?" the scream came.

"I'll come out in a few minutes," I announced. I turned back to Alicia. "I suppose the cat's out of the bag, huh?" I tilted my head and gave her my best smile. "Look at us, still the same. Only this time, you're the one tied up and I can do anything I want to you."