Paige was impressed that he’d made that leap. “It sounds plausible.”
“And there’s a long history of people helping criminals, even though they know what they’ve done,” Prof. Thornton put in.
Agent Marriott nodded again. “What else can you tell me about him?”
Paige tried to think of something else that might be useful. “He has to win with everything. Every conversation, every session. He has to have the last word. He has better impulse control than many psychopaths, making him capable of planning things over extended periods, but if he suffers a slight, or if it looks like someone is getting ahead of him in something, he has to get them back for it. He talked about his father beating him as a kid, and how he waited years, knowing that he would kill him. He didn’t lash out. He didn’t kill him as soon as the opportunity arrived. He waited until he could do it the way he wanted to.”
“He admitted to murder with you?” Agent Marriott said, sounding slightly surprised by that.
Paige shrugged. “He was already being held for multiple murders. I know some killers lie about what they have and haven’t done, but he didn’t seem to care about admitting to others. He hasn’t tried to hide most of his killings. He could have made them look like home invasions or robberies. Instead, he leaves his victims displayed. I think that’s another way of asserting control, by telling the police that they can’t stop him.”
“He’s wrong about that,” Agent Marriott said. He sounded confident, and Paige hoped that it was justified confidence. She hoped that he would be able to catch Adam quickly, put him back behind bars, and put an end to this. Not least because of the fear that Adam might be coming for her.
Paige found herself worrying that it wouldn’t be that simple, though. She’d seen how manipulative and how clever Adam could be. She’d thought that she was giving away nothing in their sessions, but he’d known all about her life.
“Am I in danger?” she asked. “With the threats that he made?”
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” Agent Marriott said, and there was something reassuring about the ease with which he said it. “We’re going to catch him. Obviously, the more information you can give me on him for that, the better.”
“I have recordings of my sessions with him,” Paige said. “I guess I could send you my notes and transcripts for them.”
“I’d like that,” Agent Marriott said. He paused for a moment. “But what I’d like even more is for you to consult with me on this. Would you accompany me while I try to find him? I think your insight on the ground might be very helpful.”
Paige saw Prof. Thornton bridle at that. “You’re seriously asking Paige to put herself in harm’s way, chasing after a serial killer?”
“She wouldn’t be in harm’s way,” Agent Marriott promised. “I’d make sure of it. You wouldn’t have to leave the car, Paige. You wouldn’t have to go into any danger. I know you’re a civilian. But I think your insights might be the best chance we have to actually catch this guy.”
Paige shook her head, though, wanting to make it clear what she thought of the idea. Interviewing Adam in the controlled environment of a psychiatric institution was one thing but chasing after him was quite another. She wasn’t about to do something as dangerous and impetuous as trying to hunt down a serial killer. She’d leave that to the professionals. To the people who actually had a chance of stopping him.
“I can’t. I’m sorry, but I just… can’t. But if you need anything, you can call me. Day or night.”
She gave him her number. He was the kind of guy she might have given her number to anyway, but these were very different circumstances. She wasn’t thinking about how good looking he was so much as how firmly she was going to lock her door when she got home, and how carefully she was going to check for intruders.
“And you’re welcome to call me if you feel even slightly unsafe,” Agent Marriott said, handing over his card. “Or if you remember anything that might help me find Riker faster. I also want to offer you protection. If Riker has threatened you, I can have the local police post people near you to watch in case he shows up.”
Paige shook her head, though. She didn’t want to take people away from the search. Besides, she wasn’t sure it would do much good. If Adam truly wanted to get to her, Paige wasn’t sure how much any of it would do to stop him.
In spite of Agent Marriott’s reassurances, Paige didn’t feel safe. She had a feeling that she wasn’t going to get much sleep that night.