Chris Carter - An Evil Mind

‘Test them?’ Taylor asked. ‘Test who, or what?’

‘The theories,’ Hunter said, reading between the lines.

Taylor looked at him.

Lucien pointed at him and made a face as if saying, You got it in one, Robert . ‘I wanted to test the theories.’ He leaned forward a little. ‘Weren’t you intrigued, Robert? As a student with such an eager mind, didn’t you want to understand what really goes on inside a killer’s head? What really makes them tick? Didn’t you want to know if the theories we were taught were true, or just a pile of shit guesses put together by a bunch of nerd psychologists?’

Hunter continued studying Lucien in silence.

‘Well, I did,’ Lucien said. ‘The more theories I studied, the more I compared them to how my fantasies made me feel. And then, one of those theories finally proved true for me.’

Lucien looked at Taylor in a way that made her feel naked, vulnerable.

‘Care to take a guess at what theory that was, Agent Taylor?’

Taylor refused to be intimidated. ‘The theory that says you need to be a sick scumbag and fucked in the head to do what you did?’ Taylor replied, no anger or excitement in her voice.

It only made Lucien smile. ‘Robert?’ His gaze moved toward Hunter and his eyebrows arched.

Hunter wasn’t in the mood for games, but Lucien was still holding all the cards.

‘Fantasies may one day not be enough,’ he said.

Lucien’s smile widened before he addressed Taylor again. ‘He really is good, isn’t he? That’s right, Robert. I carried on fantasizing until one day I realized that the fantasies just weren’t enough. They weren’t making me feel as good as they used to. I realized that to get the same high, I needed to move it to the next level.’ His stare settled back on Hunter as if he owed him a debt of gratitude. ‘Then you said something that triggered everything, Robert.’

If Lucien was expecting any sort of reaction from Hunter, he was disappointed. Hunter stayed perfectly still, matching Lucien’s stare. It was Taylor who showed surprise.

‘How do you mean?’ she asked, wiggling her body on her chair.

Lucien kept his eyes on Hunter a little longer, still looking for a reaction.

Nothing.

‘Robert and I used to have very long discussions about many of those theories,’ Lucien began. ‘It was only natural. Two young and hungry minds trying to make sense of the crazy world we lived in, trying to be the best students we could be. But it was during a debate in our second year at Stanford that Robert said something that really got my brain going.’

Taylor peeked at Hunter.

Hunter kept his attention on Lucien.

‘I’ll clarify it for you, Agent Taylor,’ Lucien offered with a smirk. ‘We were studying brain physiology. The debate was whether science would one day find a way to identify a sector of our brain, no matter how small, that controlled our urges to doing something, anything, including becoming a killer.’

Lucien looked at Hunter. Even without any acknowledgment, he knew Hunter remembered that debate.

‘I hope you don’t mind if I use the same example as you did then, Robert,’ Lucien said. ‘I still remember it well.’ He didn’t wait for a reply from Hunter. ‘Two brothers,’ Lucien began, addressing Taylor, ‘identical twins. Grew up under identical circumstances and environment. Both were shown the same amount of love and affection by their parents. They went to the same schools, attended the same classes, and were taught the same moral values. Both very popular students. Both very good students.’ Lucien shrugged. ‘Attractive too. The point I’m trying to put across here, Agent Taylor, is that there was absolutely no difference in their upbringing.’

Taylor’s frown was minimal, but Lucien noticed it.

‘Stay with me,’ he said, ‘things will get clearer. Now, let’s say that these two brothers became avid music fans.’ Lucien winked at Hunter. ‘And they both liked the same style of music and the same music groups. They changed their looks and hairstyles to match the ones of their idols. They bought the albums.’ Lucien paused and smiled. ‘Well, that was back then, now they would just download the music, isn’t that right? Anyway, they had the T-shirts, the baseball hats, the posters, the badges. . everything. They went to every concert that came to their town. But there was one difference. Brother “A” was content in just being a music fan. He was happy with just going to the gigs, listening to the songs back in his room, and dressing up like his idols. Brother “B”, on the other hand, wanted something more. Just being a fan, going to gigs, and listening to the music wasn’t enough for him. Something inside him told him that he needed to be part of the music circus. He needed to experience the real deal for himself. So brother “B” learns how to play an instrument, and he joins a band. And there we have it.’

Lucien allowed his words to float in the air, giving Taylor a moment to digest them before moving on.

‘It’s that little difference that makes all the difference, Agent Taylor. Why does brother “B”, after growing up in identical circumstances, wants something that little bit more than brother “A”? Why is one content with just being a fan, and the other isn’t?’

If Taylor was trying to think of an answer, Lucien didn’t wait.

‘That same theory can be easily transposed across to the desire to murder.’ This time his smirk was even more confident. ‘Some people with violent tendencies may be content with just fantasizing, with watching violent films, or reading violent books, or looking at violent pictures on the Internet, or punching a punch bag, or whatnot, but some. .’ He shook his head slowly. ‘Some will feel the need to go that little bit further. To become brother “B”. And it’s this drive, the drive that makes us want something more than others, that Robert argued he didn’t think science will ever be able to pinpoint, at least not physically, because that drive is what makes us individuals. It’s what makes us all different from each other.’

Hunter kept on observing Lucien. He was getting excited with his own discourse, like a preacher in a church. Even more so because he could see that he’d made Taylor wonder.

‘Are you saying that Robert’s debate argument all those years ago is what tipped you into starting killing?’ Taylor said with a sarcastic lilt to her voice. ‘Are you looking for someone else to blame for everything you’ve done? Well, that’s typical.’

Lucien threw his head back and laughed animatedly. ‘Not at all, Agent Taylor. I’ve done what I’ve done because I wanted to.’ He pointed a finger at Hunter. ‘But physiology aside, that argument got me thinking, old friend, because that was when I realized that that was exactly what I needed to do. I needed to stop fantasizing. I needed to stop fighting the urge. I needed to move it to the next level. . brother “B”. So I started planning. You see, one of the great things about studying criminology, Agent Taylor, is that we learn about some of the most infamous killers that have walked this earth. And believe me, I studied them in depth. I read and subscribed to specialized newspapers and magazines. I studied the writings of numerous prominent forensic psychiatrists. I learned about sex murderers, serial murderers, military murderers, mass murderers, and professional murderers. I studied massacres and murder conspiracies. I learned just about everything I could on the subject, but the one thing I paid particular attention to was. . perpetrators’ mistakes. Especially the mistakes that led to their capture.’

Taylor decided to bite back. ‘Well, it looks like you didn’t pay that much attention after all, given your current predicament.’ She allowed her eyes to circle around his cell.