The Sweet Taste of Murder by David Wallace

Author:David Wallace [Wallace, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cheltenham, police, thriller, cozy, Romance, mystery, Murder, Gloucestershire, cosy
Publisher: Bookie-Wookie Press
Published: 2020-01-04T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

In the middle of the afternoon, MacDuff came to see Sandy again. He was still in a wheelchair, propelling himself with his strong hands on the big wheels. Strong hands? Why am I noticing his 'strong hands'? she thought.

"Hi," he said. "I wanted to make sure you're all right. If you want to me to give Maggie a call, I'll disappear until she gets here."

"I'm all right," she said, while thinking, What a stupid thing to say! How could I be all right when it's now so obvious to everyone that I was stupid enough to let Todd manipulate me like - like a flipping puppet!

"It's okay to be not all right, you know, " he said. "I mean, it would be easy to feel that you've somehow been at fault by being taken in by Todd, but believe me, that isn't true."

"What I feel is my business, MacDuff." He noticed that Sandy was avoiding eye contact. "You know nothing about it," she said.

"I might know more than you realise," said MacDuff. "I worked as a forensic psychologist at the Home Office before I switched to the Met Police and then joined the NCA."

"Really? You're a shrink? How come you investigate cyber crime?"

MacDuff winced. "I really dislike that word," he said. "But yes, I'm Doctor MacDuff, complete with certificates and shrunken heads hanging on my walls to prove it. I wrote a book on the psychology of malicious computer hackers, so NCA thought I could do some good in this case. Anyway, the point I wanted to make is that everything I've found out about Todd convinces me that he had antisocial personality disorder. The typical signs of ASPD include absence of morals and conscience, habitual lying, manipulation and using others, with little or no remorse or guilt. And they are very often perceived to be highly intelligent, charismatic and charming."

"You're saying Todd was - what - a sociopath?" Sandy asked.

"Do you want to know the clinical difference between a sociopath and a psychopath?" said MacDuff. "Absolutely nothing. One label might sound more dramatic than the other, but they are both labels for people with ASPD. And the security people at the Doughnut are embarrassed that they missed it during the vetting process, or he'd never have been employed." He sighed and ran his fingers through his red hair. "Todd was a charming manipulator who lied to you, and everyone else, without remorse, to get what he wanted. And you..."

"And me - what?" she snapped at him, fearing what he was about to say.

"I was going to say that you are an extreme introvert..."

"Is that right? You mean you weren't going to say I have Avoidant Personality Disorder?" Sandy chuckled grimly. "I've been shrunk before, Doctor Shrinky MacShrinkface."

"...possibly even with a touch of social anxiety disorder, making you a little more vulnerable than most to his manipulation. But Avoidant? I wouldn't go so far as to stick that label on anyone without knowing you a lot better."

"Not really knowing me didn't stop my last shrink from going that far," said Sandy with bitterness in her voice.

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