He gestured to me. “Seems I’ve done a lot more than just meet one, Julian.”
“Fair point.” I moved closer to him. “You could read up on it for days, weeks, years and by the end, your head would be spinning. A doctor showed me a model once on theorized subtypes. Unprincipled, which would be the lack of remorse aspect. Disingenuous, that covers the deceptive and untrustworthy part. Covetous, which is the envious and exploitative factors. Lastly, malevolent. Being malicious and cruel.”
“And which part of this model are you?”
I sighed and stared into his brown eyes. I wanted to lie and say none, but he had to know.
“I’m a bit of all of them, but no two psychopaths are the same. The textbooks speak of studies done by doctors. But who I am isn’t so easily defined.”
“Explain it to me, then.”
I nodded. “I will, but first I have to get Corey out of here and deal with Bear. Can I walk you upstairs? Get comfortable and meet me in my bedroom, and I’ll explain more.”
He flinched when I mentioned my bedroom but reluctantly agreed.
Once Wynn was upstairs, I got Corey out of the basement and into a car. Edward would personally drive him to the airport and make sure he got on the plane. Right before he shut the door, I leaned in close.
“Don’t make me fucking find you, Corey.”
“I…I promise, I won’t.”
The car drove off, and I went in to deal with Bear. It wasn’t going to be pleasant but the sooner I was done, the sooner I could find Wynn and get the rest of these secrets out in the open.
It took longerthan I’d have liked to handle Bear. I didn’t often kill on Thrindell because disposing of bodies here wasn’t easy. I was sure Wynn would be asleep by the time I was finished. However, when I entered the room, he was sitting up in bed and reading on his phone.
He looked up when I entered. “You showered?”
“Had to. Figured I’d get everything done down there before we talked.”
He bit his bottom lip and nodded. “So, tell me, who are you, Julian? What kind of psychopath?”
“One that was born from two very normal parents. My great-grandfather was like me, and some other family members through the years were as well. Medications and therapy were tried, but in the end it was realized that we needed a way to coexist. Ignoring that part of ourselves, however, wasn’t an option.”
“Killing is, though?”
“If we ignore it, that makes it worse. We figured out how to sate our cravings while doing some good at the same time. No one we’ve killed were good people, Wynn.”
“Actually.” He placed his phone next to his legs. “I’ve been thinking about that. The last few hours have been swirling around in my head.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, and I realized Ridgeway isn’t out to get me. He’s out to get you, because he’s figured out that it was you that killed the governor, but he can’t prove it. Am I warm?”
I hummed. “I’m not sure what he knows, but I suspect he does.”
“Why?”
“Why, what?”
“Why did you kill her? She was a bitch, sure, but deserving to die? I don’t agree.”
This was going to be a hard one to explain. “Rona wasn’t a great person.”
“Your father chose her as governor, right?”
“Yes.”
“He must have believed in her.”
