Wanda Miller’s face was wan, and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Big circles around her eyes that even a high-end concealer would have trouble masking. She asked Maria what she wanted.
“I want to talk about Ariella,” Maria said.
“Patrick said not to talk with you,” Wanda said.
“I also want to talk about Julie. And about Christopher Wilkins,” Maria said.
The features on Wanda’s face hardened. She started to close the door, but Maria stuck her foot out and blocked it.
“This isn’t going away. Talking to me is the best option you have,” Maria said.
“I’m fairly sure talking to you is the worst option I have,” Wanda said.
“It’s the only option if you want to find out who it was that killed Ariella,” Maria said.
Wanda hesitated, but after a solid ten seconds, relented. Maria followed her into the apartment. Wanda led her to a table in the dining room and sat down. Maria took the chair across from her.
“You’ll forgive me if I don’t offer you something to drink. I’d like to get this over with before Patrick gets back,” Wanda said.
“Did you know Vance Nixon was going to kill Christopher Wilkins?” Maria said.
“Why are you here?” Wanda said.
“Because I want to avenge the death of my girlfriend, and she was killed by the same person who killed Ariella,” Maria said.
“How do you know that?” Wanda said.
“Bullets were left on my doorstep. The same caliber of bullets that killed Ariella,” Maria said.
“But I don’t understand why you’re asking about Christopher Wilkins,” Wanda said.
“Because it’s all tied together. Vance Nixon, Patrick’s changing stance on development, all of it. You told Ariella the night she disappeared about Christopher Wilkins being killed. She was a plant by a local reporter. She told them Patrick’s secret was the coverup of a murder, but she was kidnapped before she could give the rest of the story to the reporter she was working for,” Maria said.
“But how would anyone know what I did or did not tell her? You said I told her something that I don’t even know and then she was kidnapped. Was someone listening outside my door? Please. Do you even hear the nonsense coming out of your mouth?” Wanda said.
Maria knew Wanda was right. This was the one big weakness in her theory. How could anyone have known what Ariella knew unless Wanda had told them, and Wanda couldn’t have told them fast enough for Ariella to be kidnapped.
Unless.
Maria looked around the room. It was relatively bare, a temporary location. A generic painting of a desert mountain hung on one wall. Across from it was a traditional Mexican Day of the Dead mask. Nothing else in the room had Mexican style decor. Everything was bland, generic.
Why was that mask there?
“Did you hang that mask?” Maria asked.
Wanda shook her head, no.
Maria stood up and took the mask off of the wall. Fitted on the inside were a microphone and a transmitter. Maria found the power switch and turned it off.
“There was a microphone there? The whole time?” Wanda said.
“Was anyone in the room before you moved in here?” Maria said.
“You’d have to ask Nick. He handled all of that stuff,” Wanda said.
“Tell me more about him,” Maria said.
“Not sure what more there is to tell,” Wanda said.
“He was Patrick’s spotter, right? He assisted Patrick on missions,” Maria said.
“In reality, the spotter is the superior on the missions. The shooter is supposed to focus on the shot, but the spotter makes all the decisions, confirms the kill, and protects the shooter. And if something happens to the sniper, the spotter is supposed to take the shot,” Wanda said.
“So Nick was an accomplished long range marksman?” Maria said.
“Nick? He was the best shot of all of them,” Wanda said.
“Did Nick take an interest in Ariella? Ask you any questions about her?” Maria said.
“Nick takes an interest in all attractive women. That’s just Nick. He wins them over with that smile and those beautiful eyes. Before I dated Patrick, Nick was pursuing me. He can be very convincing, but in the end, I only had eyes for Patrick,” Wanda said.
“So he’s not married?” Maria said.
“Nick would have gotten hitched eventually, I’m sure, though he definitely wasn’t in a hurry,” Wanda said.
“You talk about him like he’s dead,” Maria said.
Wanda pondered her words. She was unsure if she should say was about to come out of her mouth, but there wasn’t really anywhere else to go but forward.
“Nick was injured on a mission. He took shrapnel to the groin area and was castrated. I doubt any man could deal with that well, but for Nick, he’s short, you know? Most of the men he served with were taller than him, so he spent massive amounts of time in the gym to get stronger and stronger. He couldn’t get taller, right? But he could compete lifting weights and with women, all that charisma. He was the ladies’ man in the group. They all said I was the only one to escape his pursuit, probably why Patrick married me, but that injury, it ended all of that,” Wanda said.
“So, you’re saying that Nick doesn’t have genitals?” Maria said.
“That’s what I heard. He’s never brought it up with me, and I’ve never brought it up with him, so I’m not sure what to think really, but yes, the rumor is that Nick lost his genitals in that incident,” Wanda said.
“You’ve been really helpful,” Maria said. She stood up to go.
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Wanda said.
“I don’t know. But I do know that there are some things that are best left kept from husbands,” Maria said.
“I don’t keep anything from Patrick,” Wanda said.
“Sure about that? Look, Patrick isn’t my target. That’s the only thing I can tell you, and if I was you, I wouldn’t tell him I was here. Nor would I tell him about the microphone,” Maria said.
“What are you going to do?” Wanda said.
“Someone was taken from you. Someone you loved dearly. What did you do?” Maria asked.
Wanda didn’t answer.
“Do you regret it?” Maria asked.
Wanda shook her head, no.