Psychological Control

Chapter 21

The red-haired woman was Jessica, stepmother to the boy called Tommy. The boy's father was obviously a successful man, as they lived in a well-policed, upscale neighbourhood and seemed a homely family, with Jessica only showing her red-haired witch-like true colours in front of tommy when the male owner was away.

It was too dangerous to stalk a target in a neighbourhood like this, with roadside surveillance cameras at every turn. If the family of the deceased called the police after the death of the target, the first thing the police would check would be the recordings from these security cameras.

David obviously knew this all too well, and he didn't try to stop when he first entered the lot in this neighbourhood; he identified which building Jessica's house was by where she had parked, and then sped the car through Jessica's house, eventually parking two blocks away.

He took me back on foot to the café opposite Jessica's house and sat there all afternoon. Not only did he observe Jessica's every move from the uncurtained, living room window that faced out onto the street, but he also heard a lot of gossip from the housewives who drank afternoon tea around him.

The housewives, who loved parenting, mentioned Jessica not a few times, and she seemed to be the latest hot topic around here. A great example of a subordinate secretary who has made it to the top and turned a sparrow into a phoenix.

I would have thought that David would have been more cautious in his next offence because he had only just escaped from a joint FBI and police search. The longer it took to get away, the more likely it was that the distress message in the video I uploaded to the tube would be discovered.

But what made me miscalculate was that David was very confident in his modus operandi these days, as his exposure this time was not due to the discovery of the place where the body was buried, but just a coincidence like getting a ticket for parking wrong. So, in the rush of wanting to tie me to his chariot, on the third day of stalking Jessica, David offered to do it.

When it came down to it, for some reason it was hard for my heart to waver too much. It was as if watching a stranger face a life-threatening crisis didn't really matter much to me. I was becoming more and more singular in my emotional appeals, influenced by Brian's personality.

As he prepared to leave the house, David brought a bag containing a tennis racket, his knives and the tools he would need to clean up the scene of the crime. And the fishing line, which he uses most of the time, was tucked away in his pocket. I was still wearing the hoodie with the mask. Only the trousers had been replaced with a pair of gym trousers that I usually wear to the gym.

It was dusk, the time of day when Jessica, who liked to play the role of the good wife and mother, went to pick up tommy from school alone after work. David pulls up in my rental car on Jessica's way from home to tommy's school.

"You know what? How could I have exposed my identity so easily if it wasn't for those stupid police who applied for the help of the bau team in the first place. Resulting in me having to roam around like a bereaved dog today!" David's mental state was unbelievably excited before he committed the crime, and he couldn't stop talking as he sat in the car waiting for his prey.

My heart skipped a beat and I could only pretend to be unconcerned, propping my head on one hand and looking out the window at the hordes of students walking past. I tapped my fingers on the window and said, "Oh, bau? That famous fbi division that specialises in serial killers? Since they found out who you were, how did you escape the search then?"

Thanks to the previous FBI agent's slip of the tongue, I had the idea of learning a little about the bau team. So, I now knew the identity of each agent in this operation team by heart. This is because of their outstanding detection rate, and the FBI's policy of publicising them. The internet was full of detailed information about them.