Sense of Evil - Kay Hooper [57]
“What do you mean?”
“I mean the human mind, the human psyche, is a very complicated beast. Generally speaking, it knows how to protect itself, or the most fragile aspects of itself. If he's hearing voices or seeing visions, and they're commanding him to do things utterly alien to his nature, then sure—he could forget about them the moment the voices or visions stop.”
“For years on end?”
“Maybe. And then something happens in his life to trigger this psychosis, and his sick and twisted alter ego comes out to play.”
“For six weeks. Six women. Six murders.”
“The number, the time period, both have to be relevant, either tied to an event somewhere in his past or tied to the psychosis. To his voices.”
“Which is your guess?”
Isabel thought for a moment, then said, “Childhood. The majority of the traumas that affect us most deeply occur in childhood. It's when we're most vulnerable.”
“What about the idea that he's schizophrenic?”
“There are schizophrenics able to function, with medication and other treatment. No pharmacy within a hundred miles has filled a prescription for the sort of medication that would be needed.”
Rafe lifted his brows. “Already checked that out?”
“Well, the profile noted the possibility of schizophrenia, so it seemed prudent. An inquiry from the Bureau tends to carry a bit of weight, and since we weren't asking for specific patient information or identification, all the pharmacies were happy to cooperate.”
“Okay. So we can be pretty sure he isn't being treated for schizophrenia.”
“Which doesn't rule out him having it. Or that he's getting psychiatric treatment without medication. We haven't checked with doctors.”
“Because they wouldn't disclose the information.”
“Not willingly. They have a responsibility to report it if they believe a patient has committed or is about to commit a violent crime, but that sort of treatment can take years before the doctor truly begins to understand his or her patient.”
“And understand what the voices are making him do.”
“Exactly. In any case, my guess is that our guy isn't getting treatment of any kind. Whether he's aware of being sick is an open question; whether he knows what he's done is another one. From the information we've gathered so far, there's just no way to be certain.”
“Earlier, you said some schizophrenics were, literally, possessed by another person, another soul trying to take over. Is that possible in this case?”
Isabel shook her head. “So far, we've never encountered a person in that condition who wasn't in a mental institution and under restraints or drugged into a stupor. We don't believe such a person could function normally under any conditions—far less something like this. There's just too much violence going on in the brain itself to allow even the appearance of normalcy.”
“And our killer appears normal.”
“Yes. No matter how screwed up his childhood may have been, or how many voices he might be listening to, he's able to function normally to all outward appearances.”
After a moment, Rafe said, “I think I'd prefer an evil killer who knows exactly what he's doing, sick as it is. At least then it would be . . .”
“Simpler,” she agreed wryly. “Black and white, no shades of gray. No agonizing over who or what is really responsible. No reason to hesitate or regret. But you know as well as I do that it's seldom that easy.”
“Yeah. As Hollis said, the universe never seems to want to play it that way. Listen . . . we aren't talking about a psychic killer, are we?”
“Christ, I hope not.” With a sigh, she returned her gaze to his face. “True visionary killers are delusional, Rafe. They believe they hear the voices of demons or the voice of God. They're being commanded to do things they wouldn't ordinarily do, for reasons the sane among us would find completely nuts. They aren't psychic; what they're experiencing isn't real except inside their own twisted minds.”
9
IT HADN'T TAKEN ALAN long to find the information he was looking for on Jack the Ripper, and he was somewhat chagrined