Justice Unserved, Nadia Siddiqui [brene brown rising strong .TXT] 📗

hardly has a chance to introduce himself before she’s carrying on further.

“I knew who you were because you were the only person on the patio that I didn’t already know … so I mean it was a leap of faith maybe, but I had a good feeling.”

True, the only other person on the patio outside is a waitress with gray plastic tubs of silverware and a large stack of white paper napkins that she is slowly folding and bunching all of the pieces together and then placing each new silverware packet into a third gray plastic container. This girl hasn’t so much as looked up at them once since before Emma even arrived.

“Don’t mind her, everybody knows everybody here and she’s just content to mind her own business. I must say, Mr. Pettyfer, I’m so glad you could take the time to come down here and meet with me. I had no idea if you would or wouldn’t see my letter.”

“I was really moved by what you had to say about your father; I felt this was the least I could do,” says Nathan, pretending to be Hank Pettyfer the ‘renowned’ enthusiastic exposé journalist. His company has done a great job in cultivating very elaborate backstories for his missions. Nathan has about a dozen personalities that have been all carefully thought out and planned and assigned to him. Hank Pettyfer is just one of those identities with fully researchable backgrounds. Nathan has never stopped to question how all of these things are possible because he has never been conditioned to be any more inquisitive than he has to be. Too many questions wouldn't be what the company want. They want obedient soldiers and, for the most part, Nathan is.

“So, Ms. Claire,” he starts after their orders have been taken, pulling out his pen and paper. He clicks the pen slowly for dramatic effect, like he cannot wait to hear each and every single thing that she has to tell him. “Why don’t you tell me a little bit about the crimes that have been taking place as well as why you have so much fear for your beloved father?”

“Well,” Emma says softly, but she pauses to glance around to make sure that there isn’t anybody within earshot. Who she thinks might be spying on him Nathan can’t begin to guess. “There’s been talk around the nursing care facilities. My father and I used to be very close, back before his mind started to go. Over the years that I’ve spent there I have become very close with the nursing staff. You know, just bringing them cookies or flowers on holidays, the little stuff at first, but it’s nice knowing them by name and knowing that maybe because I’ve done that little bit extra that they are really looking out for my father. It’s really the least I can do.”

“So they’ve started to confide in you?”

“Well, I’m not certain if they are confiding in me so much as they don’t watch their tongues as much whenever I’m around. I guess I’m one of their ‘safe’ clients if you will.”

“Alright, I’m following.”

“Well, everybody has been following the papers and the grizzly headlines lately.” Nathan nods along to indicate that he too has read up on these headlines. Emma continues, “In a small town like this everybody likes to be in everybody’s business and so, naturally, all of the scary, horrible things become headlines and then they stay that way until the next horrible thing happens. Gives the otherwise bored people something to do I assume.” Emma shakes her head as if she cannot stand these sorts of people. “I never paid it very much mind, but then there were three robberies at the nursing home where Daddy is. It’s not like any of the people living there had many items of high financial value. It’s usually just the sentimental things that they are allowed to bring with them. Photo albums and the like.” Emma pauses when the waitress comes over with their drinks and starts to slowly sip at hers. She doesn’t speak again until the waitress is well out of hearing range. “So then the nurses have been saying that after each one the police are finding that all of their photos hanging on the wall with ‘eyes’ have been turned around and left that way or removed from the wall and stuffed under rugs or chair cushions, things like that. Like whoever is doing these horrible things is afraid of being judged perhaps. The papers never report just what it is that his been taken but, apparently, it’s nothing more than cheap brooches, necklaces or cufflinks from days when they were still the height of fashion.”

Nathan jots all of this down in his notepad. “So then why take them?”

“Well, naturally all of the nurses and staff have been questioned extensively. So they were starting to say that they think those things were taken as trophies. Things to mark their victims, his victims… I doubt a girl could do things like this.”

Nathan knows from experience that it is equally likely either way, but he’s not going to contradict her. That would only lead to her asking questions about him and that isn’t at all what he wants. “Trophies?”

“That’s the other detail that they keep leaving out of the paper. Each of the victims has been scandalized. Do you know what that means, Mr. Pettyfer? Scandalized?”

Poor Emma looks like she’s about to lose her appetite and dissolve into the shakes if she has to explain just what she means. It’s a very sort of sick person who could do such a thing. Nathan isn’t the best at attempting to comfort people. “Yes, I believe I do.” He flips the page in his notepad. “The police department doesn’t have any leads? Nobody of interest?”

“No! It doesn’t even seem like they are looking into it at all! I’ve