for most of Sunday night until the early morning hours, making him wonder if she was with someone else; a male coworker perhaps. After he hadn’t gotten any response from her after reminding her of her GYN appointment, he began to think he had scared her off. He was pleased to discover she had kept the appointment and that she was now on an appropriate form of birth control. He waited the allotted time for it to take effect before seeing her, but barely and it was a long, excruciating forty-eight hours he had forced himself to wait. He had kept his mind off of her by submerging himself in the Cambridge case files and it was proving a daunting task to go over all the gory details yet again. His sleep was tortured with the images of the young women who had been mutilated in atrocious ways and the families’ heartrending pleas. A horrible thought had started to creep into his psyche that he would never catch the killer and it was making his days and nights almost unbearable. Elsa would never know how grateful he was for the distraction she was providing by playing his game. He was hoping to have heard back from Anthony by now, but the son-of-a-bitch hadn’t contacted him yet with any help. Undoubtedly he was too busy enjoying the chronicles of Seven to give a shit about the lives still in danger from the Cambridge Killer. Victor drove away, giving one last look in the rear-view mirror at Elsa’s darkened street while her moans of pleasure still echoed in his thoughts. Too mentally exhausted from his work, the gentle fuck he had given her was a welcome reprieve from his usual debauchery. He reminded himself to write down how her body responded to his tender touches. When he arrived at his out of the way and secluded home on the outskirts of Richmond, he knew the silence would be deafening and he dreaded where his thoughts would wander to. No doubt, the Cambridge case. Standing in the middle of the immense, stark white living room, he twirled his keys until the hypnotic sound of the jangling nearly put him into a deep meditative state. Pulling himself out of his entrancement, he reached for his briefcase and dug out Elsa’s file and his journal. Both had grown larger over the past two days. During the times when he couldn’t sleep or had been woken by nightmares, he had taken the opportunity to delve further into her past. He had lucked out in finding a delicious bit of Girls Are Wild video footage of her that was quite entertaining if not revealing about her personality when intoxicated. It was no wonder she had stuck to drinking virgin sangrias the first night he met her. At least she had the common sense as an adult to know her limits and drink only in the privacy of her own home. After perusing her folder for the umpteenth time, he finally went into his bedroom to write his thoughts.
I was forced out of my routine tonight by you, C8. It was as if you knew I was listening and you purposefully taunted me, challenged me even to try and resist you. I know it’s my own iniquitous imagination conjuring those thoughts and so you’re forgiven as I know you would never do such a thing. Still, I was unable to refuse your unspoken challenge. I am, after all, only a man with not only emotional but physical needs. You satiated both tonight so you have fulfilled your purpose. The gears were turning in those stunning, inquisitive eyes of yours as you tried to make sense of my dichotomy. I can’t figure it out myself and I gave up trying to make sense of it long ago. You strangely seemed to enjoy the gentle fucking I gave you just as much as the forceful one from Saturday. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Your personality split is just as evident as mine, though you don’t see it. Docile and submissive at times to rebellious and impetuous. If I weren’t so captivated with your reactions, I might try a little harder to bring you to heel. I’m reminded of C3 when you act out and the way she was finally forced into