Saturday, September 22nd, 2018 – L. Ruiz-Ade
I spoke to one of the contacts in her address book with an interesting name. Hyphenated. Stubborn or simply independent? Perhaps it will give me a glimpse into the sorts of company she keeps more than others. They were female, and, as I found their last name more interesting than their first, I chose to reverse the lettering.
“Kera?” She confirmed the name when I talked to her over the phone. I couldn’t get to meet her in person. The nervousness of the age infected her on that front. “I don’t see her as often as I used to – she’s busy with school much of the time. She’s family to us, not blood, but still. She’s babysat my kids pretty often. I do have to wonder how you managed to get a hold of her address book though. It’s a little disturbing. I get the art aspect of it, but it’s a massive violation of privacy, don’t you think?”
Unfortunately, she refused to tell me any more about Kera, fearing for her right to secrecy. Despite the short, almost curt conversation, I felt as though I had succeeded at least somewhat with this call. Someone close to Kera. It was far less intimidating now.
Monday, September 24th, 2018 – Robert R.
She doesn’t seem to mark many names on her list. This became very apparent to me with the last name I managed to work on. Robert Ross… who was also her boyfriend. Again, there were no markings in particular, so I was not ready for a large amount of distrust.
I actually got him to agree to meet me. I did not give him the name of the owner of the book, but I did explain that I wanted to interview him. He was curious, intrigued, but when I got to the coffee shop he agreed to meet at, his curiosity turned a bit sour.
“That’s… extraordinarily weird. I’m her boyfriend, and I’m not entirely certain on the laws, but I’m pretty sure stalking is illegal. Honestly, this is creepy as fuck. Don’t you see that?” he stood up part way through talking, shaking his head, “I’m telling her what you’re up to. This is done. You’re done with your project. I hope she decides to press some sort of charges on you if she can. If you think this is okay, what else would you be willing to do?”
A good question on his part. What would I be willing to do?