"I always got the impression he wanted to impress his values and opinions on me instead of encouraging my own," Alison replied.She was already craving a second croissant."Not that his values were anything like they are now.I remember him being extremely loyal and kind to me, and there was a time when I thought he had feelings for me, but I can't be sure of that."
"Could that be a reason for him to target you?"Moore asked."Perhaps he feels spurned, either romantically or professionally, or both."
"It does give a reason, but it’s still been years, and I haven’t spoken to him in that time.If he were upset about any romantic feelings, he would have acted before now.Or if it was because of Victoria, that would have happened already."
"Unless he’s only acted after changing his views.I mean, that’s a massive change.If he was never against early release before, and he’s been vocal about it in the last year, then maybe something changed that affected him personally."
"The articles do contain a lot of emotion, and Victoria pointed out that the reports written by the killer had emotion clouding the facts," Alison admitted."I haven’t heard him talking like that before.He believes that modern forensic psychology is too lenient on criminals, especially repeat offenders.The articles came across as him not believing people can change, but I won't accept that."
"I’m with you on that," Moore said."I have to believe that people can change, or what’s the point of all this?"
"It could be that he’s getting older," Alison admitted."He’s retired now, and perhaps wants to leave a legacy.Opposing the common thought processes is a good way to do that.If he wrote articles that agreed with everyone else, they wouldn’t get much notice or traction, but by opposing them, he gets his fifteen minutes of fame."
"And if he’s going around killing people, he gets a lot more than fifteen minutes of fame," Moore pointed out.
They drove the rest of the way in silence, and Alison thought a lot about the man she had once worked with.Looking back at the man he was then, she couldn’t believe that he could be a killer.However, with the articles he’d published, it was obvious that he had changed a lot in the last year.She didn't know where that change had come from or what it meant.
With Philip Grayson being retired, there was only one logical place to find him, and that was at home.
He lived in a gated community, and they had to stop at the gate and speak with the guard on duty.Detective Moore showed him her ID, and she was waved through with no further questions.The security at the gate would deter people from entering the property unlawfully, and there wasn’t much more to it than that.
They parked in the central parking lot, with the building surrounding the concrete parkade on three sides.They exited the car and made their way up to the second floor to Philip’s door.Detective Moore knocked when they got there.
It didn't take long for Philip to answer, and Alison was a little shocked at the change she saw in him.He had aged, but that wasn’t the biggest change.There was no frailty that had come with the aging process, but a bitterness that had overcome him.His eyes were narrow and distrusting, his hair thinning unevenly, his skin pallid, and he had a permanent sneer on his lips.
"Yes?"he questioned, looking at Moore first before turning to see Alison.His eyes widened in recognition, but not in happiness, at seeing a former colleague."Dr.Payne?What are you doing here?"
"It’s good to see you, too, Philip," Alison shot back.
"I’m sure it is, but no one turns up unannounced at my door anymore unless they’re the harbingers of bad news.So, out with it!"
Detective Moore showed her ID."Can we come in and ask you a few questions?"
"Ah, so it’s an ambush," he said."Yes, well, come in, but wipe your feet on the mat first, and I must ask you to be quiet.Mary is sleeping."
"Mary?"Alison asked softly as she wiped her feet on the mat just outside the door.She knew Mary was Philip’s wife."How’s she doing?"
"No, not good," Philip said as if he had been inconvenienced."She stays in bed almost all the time now, and the doctor doesn’t think it’ll be too long.It’ll be a mercy."
As Alison entered the house and followed Philip in, she wondered if he was talking about his wife or himself.
"I suppose you’re working a case," Philip said when he reached the living room and pointed to the couch."I’ve been keeping my eye on you, Alison.You may not want to hear this, but I was tough on you because I saw something in you.Maybe you still have something in you.In any case, you’re only here because of the people that came before you, and that includes me."
Alison sat on the couch, and Moore sat beside her.Philip grabbed the armchair and dragged it across the carpet to face the couch, showing a strength that belied his old age.He sat on the chair and clasped his hands together as if he were in a session with the two women.
"What happened to you, Philip?"Alison asked."I remember working with you, and we had some differences, sure, but ideologically, we were really aligned.I read the articles you had published recently, and they don't seem like you."
"Ah," Philip said, raising a finger into the air."You have it all backwards, Alison.What you saw of me back when we worked together was not really me, but you gain wisdom with age, and perhaps you will achieve that too, someday.I fully believe what I said in those articles, and I believe you’re the one in the wrong."He wagged his finger in the air."That’s why you came to my house today, isn’t it?To tell me that I’m wrong, but you’re the one in wrong."
Philip came across as confrontational without being angry.He wasn’t the same man that Alison had worked with—there were remnants there, but that man was gone, almost as if someone had replaced him with an approximation, but had made some subtle changes.She was also sure that he was on his way to losing his mind, and that was something he would never admit.
"No, that’s not why I came here today, Philip," Alison said."You are right about one thing.I am working on a case."
"We are too lenient, Alison," Philip rambled, uncaring about why she was truly there."I think you know that, but are too scared to admit it because we live in a society where we are expected to give second chances.Would you give a second chance to an animal?If a dog bit a child, would you let that dog be with the child again?"
Detective Moore remained silent on the couch beside Alison, taking it all in.
"That’s a comparison you can't make," Alison said."You obviously feel very strongly about my opinions on certain matters.Early release, for instance?That’s giving someone a second chance."
