Since I knew Dr. Spagnotti hated chitchat as much as he hated dumb questions, I immediately launched into the reason for the call and told him about the case, about Zack, about Lilah, and of course about the package she’d just sent me.
“First of all, your blackmail theory, unusual as it is, does seem to fit this puzzle rather well,” he remarked. “And I can’t say I’m surprised that union ended in carnage.”
“What do you mean? Are you saying you think Lilah killed Zack?”
“That’s your bailiwick, not mine. I was just reflecting on the volatility of the situation and those two personality types. Not to say someone else couldn’t have killed Zack. I’d say it’s likely Zack had a number of enemies-given his nature and what he did for a living.”
“And what would you say his ‘nature’ was, psychologically speaking?”
“Psychopathic,” Dr. Spagnotti replied, in a tone that broadcasted duh. From what you’ve told me, they’re both fairly classic.”
I remembered the conversation I’d had with Bailey. “Then normal parents can wind up with a psychopathic kid?” I asked. “Because Zack’s parents don’t seem to have a mean or weird bone in their bodies.”
“Psychopaths can come from perfectly normal, unremarkable homes. As a general rule, a psychopath is born, not made. That’s not to say environment doesn’t play a part-it does, or at least it can.”
“But not in this case?”
Dr. Spagnotti humphed and exhaled loudly, the sound like a blast of wind rushing through the receiver, a cue that I’d ventured dangerously close to dumb-question territory. “Not as far as I’m concerned, though his relatively normal upbringing may have prevented him from becoming homicidal. But that wasn’t the question, was it? The question was whether I thought Zack was a psychopath, and the answer is yes.”
I chewed on that for a moment, but then Dr. Spagnotti broke in.
“You say Lilah was acquitted. Did she give a statement to the police or testify at her trial?”
“Both, actually.”
“She did well, didn’t she? I’d bet particularly in front of the jury.”
“On the money. Is that typical?” The last serial killer I’d had on the stand-and a psychopath if ever I saw one-was a complete idiot.
“It’s Psychopath 101. They’re often glib, frequently charismatic, and they’re adroit liars. Lilah also has the particular advantage of being a lawyer. I’d guess she had that jury eating out of her hand. Especially the male jurors.”
“You nailed it.”
Dr. Spagnotti grunted. “But Lilah’s encounter with Graden, sending you this package-it’s obvious she’s stalking you. I’d say obsessively. And she’s moving in closer. She went through Graden before, but this time she went at you more directly. I’d predict her next moves are going to bring her even closer to you.”
Even more than his words, Dr. Spagnotti’s dark tone gave me pause.
“I agree, it’s weird. And it really pissed me off at first. But when I sat back and thought about it, neither of those moves struck me as all that dangerous-”
He interrupted impatiently. “You’re missing the significance of those moves. Getting close to Graden, sending that package-those were just opening salvos. I’d say it’s a hundred to one she’ll escalate to violence at some point. I strongly recommend you get off this case, Knight. Let someone else handle it.”
“I’m okay, Doctor. I’ve got lots of security. And, besides, who says letting go of the case will make her stop…obsessing about me?”
“You don’t want to listen to reason, then don’t,” he said irritably. “I’m no clairvoyant, I just play the odds. The odds are strongly in favor of you landing in the morgue sooner rather than later.”
The ominous tone was meant to scare me, and it did. Just not enough to make me back down. “Can you tell me why she’s obsessed with me?”
“What difference does it make? You’ll be just as dead.” After a moment, he sighed and relented. “Look, I can only speak in general terms, because I don’t treat her. But my educated guess would be that you have something she covets.”
“Do you think she’s envious of my relationship with Graden? And that’s why she came on to him?”
“Could be,” he said. “Though that seems more likely to have been a way of letting you know she can get to you-as does this package.”
“I found out that Lilah got sent away to boarding school when she was only ten years old,” I said. “Might that be a sign of early criminal conduct?”
“Or that her mother wanted her out of the house, given what you’ve told me. Who knows? But I must say I’d be surprised if that hit-and-run killing of the Asian boy was the first criminal act she’d ever committed.”
“There was no indication that she got into trouble at boarding school,” I said. “In fact, she did very well. Got straight As.”
“So? All that tells me is that she was smart enough not to get caught. Besides, I’m not talking about her getting away with homicides, I’m talking about small-time stuff, kid crimes.” Dr. Spagnotti stopped and was silent for a moment. “I’m struck by the fact that you’ve got her history in boarding school. Seems to me you’ve gone to an awful lot of trouble for a case that hasn’t even been filed yet. Do you research all your defendants’ childhood histories this way?”
“Sometimes.”
But after I’d hung up, I had to admit that I couldn’t remember when.
77
I woke up the next morning and stretched in bed, the jabs of pain in some parts reminding me that I wasn’t all the way back yet. Then I remembered our plan for the day, and my pulse sped up. Bailey and I were headed out to see Johnnie Jasper and the Bayers. Though we hadn’t told the parents, the visits had two goals. One was to find out if Zack had hidden the evidence of Tran’s homicide on their property. We’d figured it made sense to check places Zack had unique access to-places where Lilah couldn’t go. The Bayers said Lilah never came to the house without Zack. The other goal was to give Lilah a big, bright trail to follow that’d allow us a shot at her.
We’d talked it over with the DA investigators and pointed out the risks, but they’d been on board. I had a feeling watching me was so boring, they’d do anything-even wear a bull’s-eye-to spice things up. And it felt good to have a whole team primed and ready. It was one thing for Lilah to get the jump on Simon, unhinged as he was. It was another to end-run a group of trained officers.
I swung my legs out of bed, feeling a mixture of dread and nervous impatience-the sooner we got Lilah and her henchmen in hand, the better. I went to the window and felt the warmth in the air before I even parted the drapes. The day was unusually balmy and bright. At least we didn’t have to contend with weather. I slipped into jeans and a waffle shirt and pulled out my fleece hoodie, just in case we were out late enough for it to get chilly.
I found Bailey in the living room, dressed similarly. Though she was sitting back in her chair, coffee cup in hand, her hunched shoulders told me she was every bit as much on edge as I was.
“Did you order breakfast?” I asked.
Bailey shook her head.
I had no appetite either. “We can grab something on the road later.”
I told her about the package I’d gotten from Lilah the night before. Though she tried to keep cool, I could see she was alarmed. “It’s not that big a deal,” I said. “She’s obviously known where I live for a while.” And I still had the bruises to prove it.