Arresting Attraction: How To Create A Criminal

Chapter Eleven

 Black was shuffling through his cabinets when I walked into his office. He had his back to me, and I wasn't sure if he noticed me or chose to ignore my presence. Either way, I took a seat at his desk and crossed my legs, waiting patiently for him.

At the last drawer, Black was kneeling over, his hands rummaging over files until he found the one he wanted. A thick, oversized, wrapped in layers of rubber bands thick file.

He stood, turned to his table and dropped it. The file slammed the wood of his desk, making me jump.

"79," he said, "79 incidents over four months. That has to be a record."

I gulped.

"We need to do something about this, Scarlett."

"I know."

"Charlie Thomas has been in his facility, underwent treatment with 3 individual doctors, now you, and has managed to cause 79 isolated incidents with full investigative reports made."

I didn't say anything, opting to hang my head.

"He's a dangerous man, Scarlett. He's evil. And, he knows exactly what he's doing."

"He's planning something," I offered.

Black nodded, "How much have we learned so far?"

"Very little. I can only get so much out of Debby, and Leroy has stopped talking about it altogether."

Black sat down, ripping the elastic bands from the file. The rubbers shot in all directions, before slingshotting back having been caught under the weight of the file. He flicked open the file cover, and threw down the first page.

"Attack on female staff."

He threw another file and report.

"Attack on male staff."

Another report.

"Attack on male inmate."

Another.

"Conspiring against the institution. And, the list goes on."

I picked up the reports, glimpsing at them before neatly piling them together.

"We need to get someone to begin mapping the incidents, see if we can pull together a possible motivation, a possible hint at to what he's planning," Black said, reaching for the reports and putting them back into the file.

I shook my head, "Charlie won't have a clear line of destruction."

"So, all the attacks are random?" Black raised his eyebrow, skeptical.

"No. They're definitely not. But, knowing Charlie, there won't be much sense to them."

"How so?"

I moved my hands in front of me, placing them on the table, "Charlie thinks differently to anyone I've ever met. What you see as a coincidence; Charlie sees as an opportunity."

"That doesn't make sense," Black rubbed his forehead.

"Charlie Thomas doesn't make sense. Which makes perfect sense."

He crossed his arms and leaned back into his chair. The chair squeaked under the weight, shifting.

"So, you're saying that even if we review and catalogue the incidents and try and put some reasoning on them, we won't be able to picture his next move?"

"If he doesn't want you to know, you won't find out. I can promise you that."

"Well, as his nurse, you need to find out."