“So what does that all mean?”
“Well, for starters, sociopaths don’t have normal human emotions like empathy. They have no concern for the feelings of others. They also have a very high threshold for disgust, which has been measured by lack of reaction in these patients to photos of mutilated faces. But sociopaths don’t care about faking emotions. Psychopaths, on the other hand, are excellent actors. They’re intelligent, charming, and fantastic at manipulating emotions. They can make you believe they care, when in fact, they feel nothing.”
“So they’re good liars.”
“They are pathological liars. They can tell the most outlandish stories without blinking an eye. And the other salient characteristic of sociopaths is a weak conscience. They feel very little guilt or shame or remorse. Psychopaths, on the other hand, have no conscience. Can you imagine what that’s like? To feel no remorse whatsoever for your terrible actions?”
“…”
“On top of that, sociopaths have a very low tolerance for frustration or for discharge of aggression.”
“Meaning…？”
“It takes very little for them to become violent.”
“I see.”
“And they’re fearless. When a normal person is put in a situation where they anticipate a painful stimulus, such as an electric shock, their sweat glands will increase in activity. But in psychopathic subjects, no skin conductance responses were emitted. They don’t feel fear the way we do.”
“Right.”
“So if you put it together, Detective, you’ve got an individual who feels no empathy, no remorse, no fear, and is prone to violence. It’s not surprising so many serial killers are diagnosed as psychopaths.”
“So are you saying Liam Cass is a psychopath?”
“It’s hard to say. He was only nine years old the last time I saw him, and most of these personality disorders technically can’t be diagnosed until eighteen. But…”
“Yes…？”
“He was definitely a sociopath, but my gut feeling was that he was also a psychopath. Even at such a young age, he was an amazing liar and manipulator. But at the same time, when I first met him, my instinct was to like him. It took several sessions before I could see through him. And I am a professional.”
“So he’s a serial killer?”
“Be careful making that jump. Nearly all serial killers are likely psychopaths, but not all psychopaths become killers.”
“But you believe Liam is capable of murder?”
“Well, psychopaths are capable of murder. So if Liam is a psychopath, then yes, he is capable of murder.”
“How long did you work with Liam?”
“Two years.”
“That doesn’t seem very long, everything considered.”
“Liam didn’t want to be helped. He had no interest in changing for the better. When I tried to talk with him he simply lied to me about what he was feeling. If there’s one thing my sessions with him did was to make him realize what he should and shouldn’t say out loud. And the truth is…”
“Yes?”
“I was scared of him.”
“Scared?”
“Detective, I used to keep a photo on my desk of my daughter, who was about Liam’s age. During one session, he kept staring at the photo and smiling in this very disturbing way. Then he started asking questions about her.”
“What sort of questions?”
“Innocent questions. Like what foods did she like and what were her hobbies. It wasn’t anything terrible, but the way he asked was very upsetting to me. And I think he meant for me to feel uncomfortable. I put the photo away after that.”
“Did he cause her any harm?”
“No. But soon after that, I told Mrs. Cass that I didn’t think I was helping her son, and we terminated our sessions. I didn’t want to work with him anymore.”
“Because you were scared.”
“Yes.”
“Of a nine-year-old boy.”
“If you knew what was going on inside that kid’s head, you would be scared too.”
Chapter 30
Erika
Right after Jason and I finish loading the dishwasher, an alarm goes off on my iPhone. I pull it out of my pocket and look at the alert:
PTA meeting at 7:30. Traffic is light. You should arrive in ten minutes.
Damn. That stupid PTA meeting is tonight. And I told Jessica I would go because I’m the one in charge of movie night, the most important event of the year.