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He wore slip-on plastic sandals and socks, and his feet were linked together around the ankles, no more than eight to ten inches wide so he had to shuffle. His wrists were clasped together by handcuffs and chains. One chain went from his wrist to around his waist and hung like a leash behind him so that, as he sat at the table, his guard secured it around the chair and locked it in place. The guard pulled Lipori’s wrists forward in between the two metal braces and locked Lipori in place.
The guard briefly looked at Lydia and then back to Mr. Lipori.
“There is to be no physical touching. If at any time either of you wants to end this interview, all you need to do is call out to the guard or bang your fist on the table. There is a guard on her side of the wall and a guard on your side, Mr. Lipori. If anything goes on that’s outside the rules, this interview will be terminated and future access might be restricted. Do either of you have any other questions?”
Lydia shook her head. Lipori raised his, gave a sexy glance Lydia’s way, and shook his head no.
The door was locked behind the guard and the two of them were left alone.
Lydia’s heart pounded, so much so she wondered if he could feel her pulse when her hands sat on the table, across from his.
Jakob Lipori made no secret of the fact that he found Lydia attractive. He scanned her upper torso, highlighting certain parts she would’ve found rude and insulting if she was in the general public or if they were strangers. It made her feel like a piece of meat. But of course, she was braced for the fact that Lipori was going to try to do something that would set her off-kilter.
“Well, Georgie, we made it at last. I was wondering when you’d come back and see me.” He smiled very cautiously. “Did you miss me at all?”
He was different, she noted. He was bitter, showing outwardly his evil intent. She’d always known him as half-gentleman, flirtatious, but not hard. This man sitting in front of her was not stable. It scared her.
“It’s Lydia. I’m Lydia Cunningham. Georgie no longer exists.”
“I see. Well then, in all due deference to you and your hulking husband, I will still call you Georgie, if you don’t mind, in honor of the young nurse killed in that African massacre. She was your friend. Her name was Georgie. I liked her too.”
Lydia wasn’t sure what he was talking about. Lipori was wild in the eyes, his mind wandering, acting like a caged animal. She suspected he might be in near panic at being caught and incarcerated.
“As you know, I don’t remember that village or Georgie, God rest her soul. But let’s get down to business.”
“Yesss! Let’sss,” he said excitedly, lengthening his “s” sounds to sound like a snake. He began leaning forward, all too close.
“You asked for the interview. I’m here. I understand you’re trying to work with your handlers to come up with some solution. They have given me some idea what you’ve proposed, but it was your wish that you make that request to me. So I’m here. I’m just here to listen. Understand, I don’t have any decision-making capabilities or power.”
“But you do. I’m sure you have requests. You want your husband to be safe, you want your dog to live, right? You want to have a hand in their safety. That’s what I’m offering, with your permission.”
Lydia backed up in the chair, crossed her legs, and stared at the wired window behind him. The guard was peeking through the glass, having to bow to get a glimpse of the both of them. He was tall.
“I’m not interested in chitchatting with you. I’m here merely to listen. We don’t even have to talk very long. No need to take up too much of your precious time. I’m done being any part of your life.”
Lipori leaned forward on his elbows, spread his hands, and showed her he was still securely tied. “I’m quite harmless here. And as for being part of my life or not, well, we share a history, Georgie. Perhaps the history isn’t something you remember, but we have a history.”
“Yes, I would say it’s more like a tragedy, Mr. Lipori. More like a horror film.”
He inhaled quickly, as if the sound of her voice was exciting to him. “I love horror films, especially the classics. I grew up in a dungeon, don’t you know? My parents called it a castle, but it was more like a cell, similar to this one.”
Lydia had some ideas what his childhood had been like and guessed it was no picnic. She reminded herself he would reveal things that were designed to throw her off and then change on her quickly to catch her off guard.
“Sounds idyllic.” She tried not to make it snarky, but he growled and squinted at her.
“Don’t make fun of Mummy and Daddy now. Poor things tried to manage me ever since I was little. Now they’re rotting in prison. I’m so broken, Georgie. I can’t speak of it.” He placed his hand over his heart and furled out his lower lip.
He was completely crazy. She hadn’t seen this side of him before. Apparently, incarceration was doing a number on his psyche, and this part of the puzzle falling into place gave her some ideas.
“So I gather your family wasn’t close. Can we move on? I’m anxious to get to the purpose for this visit. Can we?”
“Call me Jakob.” He smiled, so she nodded.
“You used to all the time, remember? Remember all the wine we drank together in Florence? Remember how many times I told you how beautiful looked in that blue bathing suit?”
She checked her memory and honestly didn’t remember those details, but she did remember a large pool out back at the villa, overlooking the flower garden she’d spent all day in. So she answered his comment with her own. “I don’t remember any of that. I don’t think we ever did that.”
“Oh, that’s right. You don’t remember anything of Nigeria or Benin, do you? You don’t remember the weekend we shared near the capital? At the five-star hotel? The Blue Heaven?” His eyes sparkled, and he licked his lips. “None of that you remember?”
