The Father by Tom O. Keenan

Author:Tom O. Keenan [Tom O. Keenan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780857161161
Publisher: McNidder and Grace Limited
Published: 2015-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Next morning, he’s back in Barlinnie Prison, an environment now comfortable to him. He’s to stay in the waiting room until the officer brings Johnston out. This gives him time to prepare and think. Although he wasn’t a psychiatrist, Rooney has been around forensic psychiatry long enough to ‘diagnose’ Johnston.

“Now a consultant forensic psychiatrist: more delusional activity?”

“Well, bastard,” he whispers, not a place to be heard talking to himself. “I believe he has a narcissistic personality disorder, which I intend using.”

“You believe.”

“He meets all the traits.” He crosses his arms, and, under his arms and out of sight, he counts them out using all of his fingers. “One, an exaggerated sense of self-importance, and he has that. Two, a preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited power. Three, a belief he is special. Four, he believes he can only be understood by, or should associate with, special or high-status people. This I intend exploiting. Five, he believes he has a sense of entitlement. Six, he selfishly takes advantage of others to achieve his own ends. This is definite. Seven, he lacks empathy, no doubt. Eight, he requires excessive admiration. Nine, he believes others are envious of him. Ten, he shows arrogant, haughty, patronising, or contemptuous behaviours or attitudes.”

“He has all of these?”

“Abso-bloody-lutely, he has every fuckin’ one.”

“He also has an intelligence way above most NPDs you have ever come across Rooney.”

“He’s a nihilist. He believes his existence has no value, but he gives himself purpose: to kill others, through others.”

“You got your proxy killer man!”

Rooney’s whispers are beginning to draw the attention of the officer in waiting room duty, who is about to approach him to check if he is talking into a mobile, or is on drugs. Just then, though, another officer arrives and ushers Rooney into an interview room. Johnston’s there, sitting at a table. Rooney takes an adjacent seat.

Exploiting the first three NPD traits, Rooney cuts to the chase. “You’ll be pleased with yourself for your… achievements.”

“Fishing again?” Johnston says, sitting up straight in his chair, to gain a clear perspective on Rooney. Whatever his traits, Rooney feels Johnston enjoys the jousts with him. He interests him.

“I’m just guddling,” Rooney says, with a bit of disarming humour in his voice. He wonders if Johnston will understand the significance of the term ‘guddling’, where a trout is caressed under water and lured to relax before being scooped out to land squirming on the bank. He wonders if Johnston will indulge him. “I feel you are moving forward, towards a… kill,” Rooney says, deliberately using the word ‘kill’. He gets up and moves around behind Johnston to fire it directly at the back of his head. There’s a pause, not unusual in itself, but this is an atmosphere of intrigue and excitement. Rooney likes the feeling of the hiatus while waiting a reaction from Johnston, but this pause is different. Rooney feels instinctively he’s touching something. The atmosphere in the room changes steadily and becomes tense. Johnston gets up, but this time he stays in the room.

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