Page 97 of Tell Me Your Desires
Teddy closed the door behind him and stood there quietly. His head was bowed, and if he took half a step back, he’d run into the door. He was…waiting.
“Come sit with me, Teddy.”
Teddy obeyed immediately, walking swiftly to the chair opposite Anya. Some could look past the character of a person because of their looks or how charming they were; after all, many serial killers had groupies. Anya could see that Teddy would be one of those inmates who received a ton of ‘fan mail’. None of it would be from her, though. To Anya, Teddy wouldalwaysbe the person who killed women she cared about.
She observed the way he sat, his hands under his thighs, feet flat on the floor. Teddy was stoic and unmoving. There wasn’t a toe tap, or a finger drum, or a leg bounce to indicatenervousness. However, Anya noticed Teddy still wouldn’t look at her. Would he lose his composure if he did?
“Look at me, Teddy.” It wasn’t a question or a request. It was a calm demand. Almost motherly. One that Teddy submitted to instantly. And there was the crack in his reserve. Whatever Anya had envisioned seeing in his eyes, adoration was not one of those feelings. A lot clicked into place for Anya then. “You chose me because I remind you of her, don’t I? Your mother.”
“Ruby doesn’t like you. She never lets me choose, but I did this time.”
‘She never lets me choose.’Ruby intentionally selected unattainable girls for Teddy to obsess over. Was this to keep him frustrated and easily manipulated? Of course it was. Anya uncrossed her legs and sat up, resting her elbows on her knees. She moved steadily and calmly to avoid startling Teddy. “I know about the girls, Teddy. And I know about Veronica, Brenda, Julie, Mary…Maisie. I believe Ruby chose your victims before, butyoupunished the others for being with me. Why?”
“They were turning you intoher. I don’t like her.”
“Her? Meaning Ruby?”
Teddy nodded and stood abruptly. “She’s always telling me what to do!” He started to pace, anger now palpable in the air around them. “I don’t want you to be like that. That’s not how it was before…”
Before your mom died, Anya finished silently. “You didn’t want to kill those girls, did you? But Ruby made you.” Anya stood, taking a cautious step towards Teddy. “She wanted to control you the way Temptress Lilith controlled your father.”
Teddy whipped around, fury darkening his features. “Don’t talk about her! She ruined everything! I hated the way she looked at him! The way she berated him and beat him! He even let her step on him.” Teddy lowered his head, defeated. “Ruby enjoyed watching. She’d make me watch until I…got excited.Then she’d laugh at me. They all laugh at me until I make sure they can’t laugh anymore.”
Anya realized then her initial assessment was flawed. While Teddy may have punished the women who slept with Anya, his choice to disfigure them came from something far more sinister. He was punishing Temptress Lilith with each cut. And whether Teddy recognized it or not, he was also punishing Ruby. That was Anya’s way in, but time restrictions wouldn’t allow her to do this as delicately as she’d like. Anya had to dive in headfirst, hoping that whatever drew Teddy to her would outweigh any loyalty he had for Ruby.
“Why did you shoot Jaime?” She asked, fully aware that he wasn’t the one responsible for it. Anya was testing Teddy’s allegiance. If he took responsibility for the shooting, this mission would be pointless, and Anya would once again be wrong.
Teddy frowned. “I didn’t. I would have cut her up like the rest. I don’t like guns.”
“Then who did? Was it Frank?”
To Anya’s surprise, Teddy laughed. “Frank is a pussy. A nobody! He thinks he can be like us, but he’s weak.” He shook his head. “Ruby uses the gun. It’sspecial.She likes the control it gives her.”
Anya clenched her fists at her side, trying to regulate her heartbeat by telling herself Teddy was merely reiterating what she already knew. Running out of there to kill Ruby wouldn’t get Anya the answers Jaime needed.This is it.
“Special? Has she had the gun for a long time?”
Teddy shrugged. “She stole it.” He approached the chains hanging from the ceiling and touched them cautiously, as if they might cause him pain just being near them. Anya’s hope for clarity on where the gun came from was dwindling until Teddy spoke again. “From our mother.”
Anya’s eyebrows shot up. “Your mother?” That meant Ruby had the gun in her possession at the time of Taylor’s murder. It was circumstantial at best for the legal system. Would it be enough for Jaime?
“She had cancer.” Anya brought her attention back to Teddy, who had moved to the bed. “She got the gun when she knew it wasn’t going away.”
“Margaret was planning on killing herself?” Teddy gave Anya a sharp look when she mentioned his mother’s name. “I know everything, Teddy.”
The muscles in his jaw worked as he stared at Anya. “Why aren’t you afraid of me?”
Anya didn’t join him beside the bed. No, that bed held too many pleasant memories to taint it with this experience. However, she did move towards the center of the room, silently urging Teddy to follow her with her body language.
“Because I don’t think you want to hurt me,” Anya answered truthfully. “Do you?” Teddy shook his head as he approached her. She felt uneasy with how close he was getting, but she stood her ground and slipped her hand behind her, resting it on the butt of her gun. “Your mother didn’t use the gun,” she said, bringing Teddy’s attention back to his story.
“Ruby took it before she could. Mother had the chance to go outherway, with dignity. Ruby robbed her of that.”
“Have you…ever tried taking the gun away from her? Or using it against her to get away from her?”
Teddy furrowed his brows as he settled onto the armrest of the nearest chair. “I think about killing Ruby all the time. But she keeps that fucking gun with her all the time. No one else is allowed to touch it.”
"That’s it, we got it!”Max punched the passenger seat, grateful no one was sitting there when it bounced roughly from the impact. “That proves Ruby shot Taylor!”
