X (Kinsey Millhone 24)

“You think he’s one of them?”

“No question. I started following the research, or what there was of it, when I first realized what a sick puppy he is. The studies I’ve seen suggest low levels of cortisol, which affects our ability to feel fear. Without fear, they have no concept of consequences.”

“Does this run in families?”

“The jury’s still out on that one, but I’ll tell you what he told me: Frankie was cold and rejecting and she punished him for every little thing he did. If he cried or wet his pants or if he spilled his milk or made noise. She burned him. She locked him out of the house. She tried to drown him in the bathtub when he was three. She’d whip him with a stick until the backs of his legs were bloody. He tried so hard to be good, but she left him anyway.”

“I don’t want to feel sorry for him,” I said irritably.

“I’m not saying it was cause and effect. It’s one small part of the whole. Growing up, he managed to acquire a thin candy shell of charm and that’s served him well. It doesn’t address the underlying pathology, but it allows him to ‘pass’ as one of us.”

“Those are the kids who turn into criminals, right?”

“Some do, but it’s almost a side effect. I’ll give you the perfect example. When I was still in school, I worked at one of the state hospitals for six months. This was the only time I actually encountered one of these ducks. I was doing a psychiatric workup on this kid, evaluating his suitability for placement in a group home. He’d come to us by way of juvenile court because he’d pushed his little sister out a second-story window. She was two and she survived, but that didn’t seem to interest him in the least. When I asked him about the incident, his attitude was clinical. She was pestering him and he was curious what would happen if he tossed her out. He had no guilt or shame about what he’d done, so it didn’t occur to him to be secretive. Ned’s smarter than that, but I suspect his mind-set’s much the same.”

“What’s he do for a living? You told me once, but you’ll have to tell me again.”

“He’s in outside sales; at least he was when I dated him. Probably still doing it in one form or another. He can be warm and thoughtful and empathetic. I was completely taken in when we first met. I thought we were soul mates. It doesn’t last, but it’s irresistible when he’s rolling out the charm. His job is to get along with people—chin-wag and problem-solve and make nice—which might seem odd until you realize it’s all learned behavior. He’s human by imitation. Maybe that’s why he does such a good job of it; there’s no unruly emotion to get in the way of his goal, which is to dominate.”

“What was the company?”

“Van Schaick Chemicals. They manufacture polymers and engineering plastics; also agricultural products. We were a small branch and most of what we handled was related to crop protection. I was in the marketing department.”

“How’d you end up doing that?”

“Oh, who knows? It’s not like I grew up drooling over color brochures for cutworms and fungicides.”

“What about Ned?”

“He started as a crop production services advisor and ended up southwest regional manager. He was an ag major at Cal Poly with an emphasis on business, so he has solid management abilities. He’s great with clients; not so great when it comes to dealing with other employees, especially women. Underneath, he’s not like the rest of us.”

“It’s probably stupid to say this, but this guy’s genuinely dangerous, isn’t he?”

“More so if he starts unraveling. You can call him a psychopath or a sociopath, but what’s curious in his case is that he doesn’t display the irresponsibility or the chronic instability that are characteristic. To me, this makes him all the more dangerous—to use your word—because he comes so close to mimicking ‘normal.’ So far, his thinking’s been organized. What would make him truly dangerous is losing his ability to maintain a front.”

“Back up a step. If he played a part in Lenore’s death, he must have felt some guilt or he wouldn’t have covered up.”

“That was early in the game.”

“I can’t believe we’re doing this. We’re talking about him like he’s a stone-cold killer. Based on what?”

“I’d say ‘intuition,’ but that’s not worth much. I’ll tell you one thing about guys like him. And I’m just going by what I’ve read. They hang on to trophies. Nothing big. Just little things.”