Page 31 of The Hand that Frays

“It says here she was admitted by her mother,” he reads.

“Patient presents with sexual deviance that began as a fixation with sexual gratification through hiding and watching parents during intercourse. The patient doesn’t deny fixation when questioned and even seems prideful of her fascination. Parents were interviewed, and I found no evidence of the parents’ involvement in the obsession. Further brain studies were recommended,” Neo reads aloud in a hushed whisper.

“What the fuck?!”

He flicks his eyes over toward me. “There are many people in the world who have a sexual deviance, but this is…”

“You think this is from the poison they’d been feeding her?”

Neo shrugs.

“Well,” I start, licking my lips, “when was she released? Why was she released?”

Neo flips toward the end, skimming his finger over the last words before Ada’s release.

“Says here the mother came and got her.”

“The same person who checked her in suddenly decided the child was fine and came to get her? That makes no sense.”

“It does if you look at the date. The counselor was told on January 23rd,2019. She was released into her mother’s care on January 24th,2019.”

“She knew the cops were coming. Which of them told the counselor?”

“Cecily,” Neo recounts, closing the file and putting it back. They’ll never know we were here unless the lingering presence of Neo Wade leaves a ghost behind to torment the place.

Which I could see happening.

“So they probably leaned on Cecily. She must’ve told them she told the counselor, and they were worried about how it would look with a daughter in the psych ward when the cops did eventually come.”

Neo sighs. “I’m surprised they didn’t kill the counselor. Most individuals with their kind of fucked-up mentality would do anything to preserve their lifestyle. Especially when they lose that gratification of caregiving if they’re found guilty and locked away.”

“Ada, is how old now?” I ask him as we sneak out of the window, which we jimmied open.

He holds me by my hips as he softly places me on the ground.

“She’s twenty.”

“The question now becomes who’s the victim in all of this,” I tell him as we skirt the fence line to find the hole we left behind for ourselves.

“I think it’s obvious, though you are my stupid girl, aren’t you?”

I crawl through the hole after Neo, popping up and dusting myself off with a scowl.

“It’s not as cut and dry as you think, Neo.”

“Why isn’t it?” he asks, turning on me now that we’re tucked away inside the tree line of a thickly wooded area.

My breathing hitches at the crazed look in his eyes. “Do you know something I don’t? Were you not presented with the same evidence?”

Being on him with this case, as he calls it, doing things his way instead of mine, has been thrilling. He integrates himself to find the actual guilt in the case before striking like a snake toying with its dinner until he smells weakness.

But I’ve enjoyed most the feral look in his eye while he hunts. The Butcher is alive and well beneath his wicked flesh, and I love watching him reemerge.

He’s been letting me shine for years, cleaning my blade after the bloodthirst is quenched and fucking me raw when it’s not.

Now it’s his time to rekindle his love for vengeance. His time to tamp that steadfast pang to maim. Until it rears its head once again.

“I asked you a fucking question, stupid girl.” He backs me into the rough exterior of a tree, and I dig my nails into the craggy bark.

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