Mike looked at Bobby and asked, "Are either of you going to fill me in on who this Nicole person is?"
Alex stood up and walked over to the window in Mike's office. She hated hearing her name. Hated even thinking about the woman. She'd managed to put her crimes out of her mind. Why would she come back now? They were happy. They were a family.
She heard Bobby say, "She's a psychopath. She's responsible for numerous murders. Both men and women. She has no conscious. She doesn't care who she kills. If they get in her way she will kill them. Eventually."
Mike asked Bobby, "What did these three girls do to her? Why kill them?"
Alex mumbled, "Because they are a means to an end for her. The man that she's working with. He either has a lot of money or she's attracted to him. One or the other. She enjoys killing people."
Bobby said, "You don't know that."
Alex laughed sarcastically and said, "You still believe that she's the innocent in all of those killings from years ago. You never wanted to believe that she kills simply because she likes it. Not because of some deep seated psychological flaw. The woman is a psycho and you know it."
"She was abused and..."
Alex laughed again and said, "Millions of people are abused and they don't turn into a psycho killer. No Bobby. Nicole kills simply because she enjoys killing. It gives her power and control. Which she likes."
Mike could see the tension growing between them. It was obvious, even to him that this had long been a source of tension between the couple. He looked at Bobby and then at Alex. They both looked, in a word, tense. You could cut the tension around them with a knife.
Bobby shook his head, "You've never been able to prove that."
Alex shook her head, "You just don't get it. Do you? You've always wanted to study her and there always has to be a reason why she does what she does. You just can't stand the fact that I'm right and she a psychopath and that she enjoys killing people. It's fun for her. She gets off on it Bobby..."
"And you never gave her early years enough credit."
"I did. I just don't believe it. You want to understand her. You want to think that there has to be an underlying reason as to why she is the way she is. I'm surprised that you didn't sleep with her to..."
Alex had worked herself into a frenzy. She was understandably upset and as the minutes went by, she was growing more upset as the moments passed by.
Mike could see that they were going around in circles. Neither was willing to give up on the points that they were trying to make. So, Mike decided to intervene. He picked up his handkerchief and said, "Okay. I'm calling for a time out. I think this is a sore subject with you two."
Alex crossed her arms over her chest and huffed loudly. She threw her husband a look and walked out of Mike's office. Bobby watched as she left and then Mike asked, "Is everything okay?"
Bobby nodded and told him, "Yes."
"Are you going to go after her?"
Bobby shook his head, "No. She needs a moment away from me."
"What does she have against this Nicole woman?"
Bobby sighed, "She's always believed that she wanted to kill me."
"What do you believe?"
"I believe that she would if she got the chance. She was infatuated with me. Obsessed even. She didn't like Alex. The two of them were like oil and water."
"Why isn't she in jail?"
"We were never able to prove her guilt. Every time we got close she would slip away. Alex has hated her from day one." Then he sighed and told Mike, "The feeling between the two was mutual. When Alex was pregnant with Nate... Lets just say that the feelings of hatred between the two of them are mutual..."
Alex walked back into Mike's office and slammed her hand down on his desk. Then she told them, "I'm not going to debate this with you. I don't like her. She's poison for you Bobby. She always has been. I won't let her hurt you again. I won't let her hurt us! I won't let her play these damn mind games with you. If she thinks that she's going to come here and play her mind games with you once again. Well, she's going to have to go through me to get to you. I won't let her screw up my family. Our family! It's not just us that we have to think about. We have to think about Abigail and Aaron now. We are going to catch her this time and we are going to make sure that she spends the rest of her pathetic life in prison. For every crime that she has committed here. I don't care about her excuses for doing what she does... If anything was to happen to you... I don't know what I would do Bobby. I know it's not rational, but that woman makes me see red..."
Mike watched as Bobby nodded and then whispered, "Nothing is going to happen to me. Or to you or the kids. If Nicole gets anywhere near us we will protect ourselves Alex. I love you. I've always loved you. I wanted to understand her, but I never loved her..."
Bobby leaned over and kissed her softly. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. Then she broke down into tears and cried softly against him...