Page 204 of Naughty Nelle

“And what did your father do when he drank?” she asks.

Silence.

“Answer me, James.”

“He hit my mother,” he says at last, his lips quivering.

“So, your father abused your mother. Like you do to others.”

His voice rises with anger. “I don’t abuse anyone!”

Yes, you do, you swine!I want to shout out. Admit it! The loving, compassionate look on Elz’s face makes me bite my tongue. Shrink jumps into the silence.

“James, let me remind you. You’ve made countless people walk the plank. You kidnapped an innocent young Indian maiden named Tiger Lily and threatened her. You even tortured a helpless little fairy.”

She must be referring to her twin Tinkerbell. Do I detect some feelings?

Hook fiddles nervously with his hook.

“And let’s not forget the fact that you crashed your ship because you were drinking and almost killed your crew!” she adds.

“Who told you that?” Hook barks.

“Your shipmate, Mr. Smee. You should thank him. He’s the one who let us know you needed help and had you committed to Faraway.”

Hook’s face reddens with rage. “So that’s who landed me here. That traitor!”

“Hook, you’re in denial,” says Grimm, taking over. “Your deviant behavior is a natural progression. You learned it from your father.”

Like father like son. A horrible thought occurs to me. Like mother like daughter? Am I just an extension of my wicked mother? Nausea slithers through me as Grimm perseveres.

“What happened to your mother?”

Hook descends into darkness. “She died when I was ten.”

“How did she die?”

A tear escapes his eye and rolls down his swarthy face. “She jumped into a river.” He swallows hard. “A crocodile attacked her.”

That explains Hook’s morbid fear of crocodiles. It goes way beyond his missing hand. More tears spring from his eyes. I almost feel sorry for him.

Grimm pushes on. “How did you feel?”

Hook’s eyes turn to steel. “I wanted to kill my father!”

Sasperilla suddenly interrupts. “This is all so fascinating, but can’t we wrap things up? It’s cutting into my grieving time.”

“Shut up, Sasperilla!” shouts Winnie, ready to pounce on her.

Sasperilla crinkles her bandaged nose and winces.

John proudly puts an arm around his outspoken wife. The Badass Fairies give her a collective thumbs-up. Thanking her, Grimm plows ahead with Hook.

“Who do you see when you make people walk the plank?”

Hook’s face contorts. “Who do you think, you idiot? My father! He destroyed my mother. The bastard deserved to die!”

I’m eager to find out if Hook’s father is still alive, but Grimm takes his questions in a different direction.

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