The Heartthrob's Dark Obsession Part 2

Chapter 34

Chapter 34:

Derek sat nervously waiting for his next interview. How many had he even done since Nori went missing? To think that only one year earlier his beautiful fiancee was giving her first interview about everything that happened. But now, here he was begging for her safe return.

Tara walked into the room and sat next to him. "How are you holding up, Derek?"

"Not well." He somehow thought they'd find her by now.

"Maybe this will make you feel better," said Tara. She opened her binder and handed a black and white picture to Derek. It looked a little bit like a darker haired version of Theo.

"What's this? Who's this?"

"This is a lead from one of those YouTube videos we put out. Another video was put on the same channel about a missing girl in Massachusetts and we got dozens of comments saying that the security footage on this girl's last day at her job has a man who looks kind of like Theo."

"Who's the girl?"

"Amy Zerger. She's a 21 year old nursing student. She worked part time at a pharmacy."

"Does she have anything to do with Nori?"

"I honestly don't know. But it's a lead. This girl went missing anywhere from one to four days after Nori. Her last confirmed sighting was outside a party the day after Nori was taken. Maybe Theo did something to her because she recognized him."

"This could be huge."

"It could be. It may also be nothing. But I want to treat it like a lead and see what comes from it. But let's keep it quiet for now."

"Thanks Tara."

"Don't thank me yet. Thank me when we find Nori."

He gave her a weak smile.

****

"So Derek, in your own words, what happened to your girlfriend, Honoria Fintan."

"She's my fiancée. But regardless, on December 5th she was taken from our apartment in New York. The police suspect it was Theo Masterson who took her. He abducted her for 54 days in 2018," said Derek.

"We suspect he's not harmed her. Theo claimed he was in love with her and he suffers from schizophrenia. So he may have paranoid delusions that she is there willingly," said Tara.

"Maybe she is there willingly," said the reporter.

"What do you mean by that," asked Derek, cautiously.

"Well, I mean, Theo Masterson was a bit of a Heartthrob. A lot of women would love to be in her position."

"A lot of women want to be kidnapped and tortured by a crazy man?" asked Derek.

"Theo's quite a catch. Not everyone would complain about it. Maybe Nori wants to be there, she could be happy. I'm just saying that maybe she and Theo planned it all."

****

Derek was fuming. That reporter seriously wanted to accuse Nori of making everything up and running off with Theo. Why in the world would that ever be this man's line of thought?

Nori was probably miserable, he was miserable. It was her birthday and she was all alone. No. Not alone. She was a captive, a prisoner. And even though her birthdays weren't exactly her happiest days she would probably have been coping better if he was with her.

He sat in the lobby crying. A hand pressed down on his back. He looked up and saw Tara smiling down at him.

"That guy was out of line. You were right to walk out. Next time I will do a better job vetting these interviewers. I'm sorry."

"I don't know if I can do that again, Tara."

"If you want to find Nori we have to keep going with this public appeal. We're not going to get anywhere on our own. Theo's very thorough. I'm certain he has some sort of secondary accounts but I couldn't track it. So these public appeals are all we have."

"That guy suggested that Nori was happier with Theo. And let's be honest, we may have gotten a few leads but most of those YouTube comments were just women wishing they had been kidnapped by a famous actor. That guy was right. Most women would be happier with a guy like Theo."

"That guy was not right. It doesn't matter what those women want. What matters is what Nori wants and she wants to be found. She wants to be with you. Anyone with a brain knows that. And I won't stop looking for her. And I know you won't either."

Derek took a deep sigh. He looked up at Tara. "We have a lead in Massachusetts. Why are we just sitting here?"

"What? You want to leave now?"

"Yes. I can't sit here hoping to find something. I need to get looking for her. If I hadn't gone looking for her last time she may never have escaped."

"We need to get stuff in place, Derek. And as much as I know you want to help, you have to stay here."

"Why? I want to help."

"And you can help, by being here. The last thing we need to do is potentially send you into a place that Theo might be hiding. We'd scare him off before we can figure out if he's there. If Nori is up in Massachusetts the last thing we need is for her to be moved to another location. So, why don't you go home and rest and tomorrow I can head up there."

"Tomorrow? You promise?"

"Yes, I'll go there tomorrow. But I won't just run in there all willy-nilly. I need a plan. And I'd like to speak to this other missing girl's mother."

****

Derek collapsed on the bed. Nori's small dog jumped up to join him. Derek smiled at Celeste and pulled her into his arms. 

"Do you think she misses us?" he asked the dog. Celeste gave a small yip. "I know, she definitely does."

Derek sighed and grabbed his notebook and a pen. He flipped to a clean page.

"Dear Nori,

Today is your 25th birthday. You're still missing, but I will find you. I won't go a single day without thinking about you, even if it takes me a century to find you. I miss you every day and my biggest regret is not staying home that day that you were taken. No matter what is happening, I hope you know how much I love you.

Happy Birthday, babe. When you're back in my arms we shall celebrate everything we missed. We'll have our whole lives to make up for everything that happened. Without you I'm losing my mind. I've been stuck in my own head since you vanished. All I ask is that you forgive me for not being there. I love you.

~Derek."

He flipped through the other pages of letters he wrote. He started them a few days after Nori went missing. He refused to give up. He would find her if it was the last thing he did.