Page 60 of Line of Sight (Second Sight #4)

KATHY WAINWRIGHT came into the office. “Gentlemen—and Riley—what can I do for you?”

Riley pouted. “Hey, not nice.”

She laughed. “I’m just teasing. You’re such an easy target.” She sat on the chair Gary had put out for her. “You said you want to talk about psychopaths?”

Dan was buzzing, and he wasn’t really sure why. He couldn’t escape the feeling that the conversation was going to be vital to their investigations.

Psychopath is a word bandied about so freely nowadays. Maybe we’ve lost track of its true meaning. And if their killer truly was a psychopath, then what they needed was a photofit that would help them recognize the guy when they saw him.

Something to help them catch him before someone else died.

Gary nodded. “What can you tell us?”

Kathy bit back a smile. “How long have you got?”

“How do we recognize a psychopath?” Dan blurted.

She leaned back in her chair. “Well, first of all, you could be looking for someone who suffers from ASPD—that’s Antisocial Personality Disorder.”

Riley frowned. “Antisocial? They’re reserved?”

“That’s the common assumption, but antisocial here means someone who goes against society, its rules, and other behaviors that are more commonplace.”

Dan huffed. “I’d say a serial killer fits into that description.”

“I take it a psychopath doesn’t run around with a machete, laughing maniacally,” Gary remarked.

“Far from it. They can hide their natures really well, usually beneath a mask of charm and charisma, but a superficial mask. Over time it wears off. Psychopaths are masters of deception. They lie easily, they exaggerate, they fake remorse or concern for others…. In short, a psychopath has no sense of right and wrong. They rarely take responsibility for their own actions.”

Dan stared at her. “Do they get off on murder?”

Kathy’s brow furrowed. “Not all psychopaths are killers, okay? Everyone who suffers from ASPD is not automatically a psychopath. And there are probably people in this building who have psychopathic tendencies.”

He blinked. “Really?”

She chuckled. “It was giving a lecture on psychopathy that brought me under Boston PD’s radar.

But after that lecture, a guy approached me to tell me—and I quote—‘psychopaths aren’t inherently bad.

’ He told me he was diagnosed with ASPD with factor 1 traits.

We’re talking someone who’s egocentric, manipulative, callous, deceitful, with impaired empathy.

He gave me a lecture, telling me psychopathy isn’t a catalyst for bad or violent behavior—the environment is—and that ‘good’ was a very broad, vague adjective.

” She gave another chuckle. “And there I was, thinking I was giving the lecture.” She glanced at Gary’s desk, leaned forward, and picked up the copy of American Psycho .

Her eyes sparkled. “Doing a little research, guys?”

“Not really. That’s actually part of one of our cold cases,” Gary informed her.

Kathy went quiet for a moment. “You need to understand something. Psychopaths who do commit murder? They get a sadistic enjoyment from the pain and suffering of others. But the pleasure they experience has more to do with excitement, power, the rush of the experience….” She paused.

“That’s also something else you need to be aware of.

Psychopaths can have dulled emotional responses.

It takes more to excite a psychopath, to thrill them, to make them happy than it would you or I.

Their boredom threshold is very low, as is their attention span. That’s why they seek out thrills.”

Riley leaned forward. “What are they like in everyday life?”

“Cool-headed, quite detached, almost to the point where they appear cold and callous. You need to realize they can’t recognize other people’s distress, and even if they know about it, they can be very apathetic.”

Dan cocked his head. “What about relationships?”

Kathy smiled. “How to spot a psychopath? Look for a trail of short broken relationships. They’re great at exploiting others for personal gain. And they’re quite happy to throw someone under the bus to get ahead, even if that person has helped them.”

“I have a question for you,” Dan interjected. “Would a psychopath be concerned about being caught if they committed a crime? Would they be afraid of the consequences of their actions?”

He knew what his gut was telling him.

Kathy sighed. “No, they would not. Psychopaths generally have a total disregard for rules, laws, and norms. They’re not troubled by their conscience, usually because they don’t have one.

Their true nature is aggressive, hostile, oppositional…

and they have a mean streak. I know this is a lot to take in, but here’s the short version, my top ten if you like.

” She counted off on her fingers. “Psychopaths are overconfident. They feel superior to those around them. They have zero understanding of emotion. They’re highly impulsive.

They don’t apologize—and if they have to, it reeks of insincerity.

They’re deceitful, with immoral and exploitative tendencies.

They focus their attention on their own basic needs.

They cannot empathize with others. They are superficially charming.

And most of the time, they’re trying to blend in—to appear just like the rest of us. ”

Riley grimaced. “Christ. Put all that together in one killer and we’ve got one seriously badass murderer out there.”

Kathy got up. “I hope that was useful.”

“Extremely.” Gary met her gaze. “If a little terrifying.”

“If it helps you catch this guy, then I’m happy.” She glanced at Riley. “Want to go for a coffee sometime?”

He blinked. “Really? What happened to not wanting to be a cougar?”

Kathy smiled. “That was ten months ago. People change. But hey, if you don’t want to, I understa—”

“Yes,” Riley blurted. “Coffee would be great.”

Her smile widened. “Good. I’ll call you.” She nodded to Dan and Gary. “Good day, gentlemen.” And with that she walked out.

Gary chuckled. “Wow. Riley, looks like this was your lucky day.”

Dan was only half listening. He was still mulling over Kathy’s description.

“If I can find out who organized the 2012 reunion, can one of you get in touch with the Canadian police?”

Gary’s face lost all traces of good humor. “You’ve got a feeling about Anthony King, haven’t you?”

“Unfortunately yes.” Dan swallowed. “And it’s all bad.”