Chris Carter - An Evil Mind

‘The clerk working at the storage facility helped the agents breach the unit’s door earlier, but he had no idea what was kept inside,’ Kennedy moved on. ‘We’re keeping this as under wraps as we can. The press has got no word of it yet, and we’ll try to keep it that way for as long as possible but, as we all know, Lucien Folter will have to be tried by a US court of law, so this story will eventually break. And when it does, it’ll break big, because now I have no doubt that what we have locked up downstairs is a fucking monster, and this really is only the beginning.’

Lucien Folter had just finished the last set of his exercise routine when he heard the heavy metal door at the end of the corridor unlock, followed shortly by the sound of footsteps. He got up from the floor, used the sleeve of his orange jumpsuit to wipe the sweat from his forehead, took a seat at the edge of his bed, and calmly waited. When Hunter and Taylor appeared before him and took the seats in front of his cell, Lucien had a proud smirk on his lips.

‘I’m guessing you had confirmation from Seattle,’ he said, his eyes slowly moving from Hunter to Taylor. Both of their faces carried nothing more than a blank expression. ‘Too bad you didn’t go there to see it for yourself. I think that I can safely say that my dismembering and chopping skills have become very polished over the years.’

‘Have you disposed of all the bodies in the exact same way?’ Taylor asked. She didn’t seem affected by Lucien’s bragging. ‘By dismembering them?’

Lucien and Taylor held each other’s stare for several seconds.

‘No, not all of them,’ he replied matter-of-factly. ‘You see, Agent Taylor, at first, like all the scientists in your BSU, I was curious. I really wanted to understand what drives a person to kill without emotion or remorse. The big question in my head was — are all psychopaths born that way, or can one be created out of sheer will? I read everything on the subject I could get my hands on, and I found that none of it had any of the answers I was looking for. There’s nothing out there, Agent Taylor, no book, no thesis paper, no detailed work of any kind that will tell you what really goes on in here.’ He tapped his index finger against his right temple a couple of times. ‘Inside the mind of someone who became a senseless killer, someone who taught himself to be a psychopath.’ Lucien smiled cryptically. ‘But you never know. Maybe one day that will change. But allow me to give you a little preview.’

Calmly Taylor crossed her right leg over her left one and waited.

Lucien began.

‘What so many seem to fail to understand, Agent Taylor, is that there’s a huge learning curve when it comes to becoming a man like me. I’ve had to evolve, adapt, improvise and become more resourceful throughout the years.’ He gave them a quick shrug. ‘But I always knew I would have to. Right from the start I wanted to try different things. . different methods. . different approaches, and though death is universal, essentially every victim has to be handled differently.’ Lucien made it sound as if killing was nothing more than a simple lab experiment. ‘But someone like me will always face one huge problem.’

‘And that is?’ Taylor asked, her interest measured.

Lucien smiled at her humorlessly.

‘Well, while you have countless resources and teams of agents and officers working around the clock to catch criminals, Agent Taylor, people like me are lone souls. My resources were very limited. Everything I had to rely on was in my head.’ He stared Taylor down coldly, still ignoring Hunter’s gaze. ‘I’m sure you are aware that not so long ago, the FBI published a study showing that at any one time there are at least five hundred serial killers loose in the USA.’ He chuckled. ‘Astonishing, isn’t it? People like me are a lot less rare than what many might believe. I’ve encountered several other murderers throughout the years. People who want to torture and kill for no reason other than pure pleasure. People who hear voices, or think they do, telling them to go out and kill. People who believe they are doing some divine work on earth, ridding God’s creation from sinners, or whatever. Or people who simply want to give their darkest desires wings. Some of them want to learn. They want to find someone who’d teach them. Someone like me.’

Lucien gave Hunter and Taylor a few seconds to fully savor the implications of what he’d said.

‘If I wanted to take on an apprentice, do you really think it would take me long to find one? All I would have to do is search the streets of any major city in this great country of ours.’ He spread his arms wide as if wanting to embrace the world. ‘The streets of America are overflowing with the next Ted Bundy, the next John Wayne Gacy, the next Lucien Folter.’

As outrageous as the boastful claim sounded, Hunter knew Lucien was right.

‘We could even have a talent show to search for America’s next Superstar Serial Killer.’ Lucien pulled a face as if he were seriously considering it. ‘I should actually suggest that to some cable TV channels. And it wouldn’t surprise me if one did consider such a show, because one thing is for sure — they would have a bigger audience than most of their other shit.’

Memories of Hunter’s latest investigation with the LAPD exploded in his mind like fireworks — a serial killer who had created his own reality Internet murder show. And just like Lucien had suggested, the audience logged in to watch it in droves.

Lucien stood up, grabbed the plastic cup from the small metal table, walked over to the washing basin in the corner, and poured himself some water before returning to the edge of the bed.

‘But returning to your question, Agent Taylor,’ Lucien continued. ‘I didn’t always disposed of my bodies in the same way.’ He had a sip of his water.

‘Susan,’ Hunter said, breaking his silence. ‘You said she was your first victim.’

Lucien’s attention turned to Hunter.

‘I knew you’d want to start with her, Robert. Not only because she was a friend, but also because you’re right. I did tell you that she was my first one. And that really is the perfect place to start, isn’t it?’ He took a deep breath and the look in his eyes changed, as if he weren’t bound by the walls around him anymore. As if the memory and the images were so vivid he could touch them. ‘So let me tell you how it all began.’

Palo Alto, California.

Twenty-five years earlier.

‘So, are you really going to go traveling?’ Lucien asked, placing a new round of drinks on the table.

Susan Richards nodded. ‘I sure am.’

Lucien and Susan had both graduated in psychology from Stanford University just a week ago, and were still flying high on their achievement. They’d been celebrating every night since.

‘Before I have to start job-hunting,’ Susan said, reaching for her drink — a double Jack Daniel’s and Coke. ‘I want to take a little time for myself, you know? Visit some different places. Maybe even take a trip to Europe. I always wanted to go there.’

Lucien laughed. ‘Job hunting? Have you gone mad? We just graduated from Stanford , Susan, which is the top psychology university in the country. If you decide not to start your own, practices from all over will be hunting you.’

‘Is that what you’re going to do?’ Susan asked. ‘Start your own practice?’

‘Nah, I don’t think so. I’ve been giving it a little thought lately, and I think that I might do the same as Robert.’

‘PhD?’

‘I’ve been thinking about it, yeah. What do you think?’