Page 117 of Psychopath

Virgil took the next turn, emerging onto the roundabout without bothering to check if it was clear. A lorry slammed on the breaks. Quinn could smell burned rubber in the air as Virgil put his foot down again, leading them away from the hospital, away from the city.

“Now shut up if you know what’s good for you, I need to think.”

They passed fields, and woodlands, and Quinn listened out for sirens, but there were none.

“I need him,” Virgil said softly. He took them down a track road. The van bounced and tilted, but it didn’t fall. Virgil drove them into the shade of the trees and stopped, throwing Quinn forward. He caught himself on his hands against the front of the van. “Do you know what it feels like without him?”

“I could guess…”

Virgil glanced back. “Then guess.”

“Chaos.”

“Chaos,” Virgil echoed. “I feel like my brain is on fire, Quinn. It’s always been on fire, always festering with darkness, but he was the light. He turned down the fire. He made me feel more than it, made me feel…content.”

“I saw…in the scanner, I saw the difference when you thought about him.”

“Occasionally he wasn’t enough, the bloodlust got too much, and I allowed the fire to flourish. I used it, I used him, I’d find these men that would dare to take him from me, and I’d prove to them and myself that they just couldn’t. In the end, it was my mistake that took him away. I got caught. Have you any idea what it feels like to be without him? I don’t even know where he is, if he’s okay, if he’s even alive, and they’re never going to tell me, and it tears at me, it gnaws away, and I can’t stand it.”

Zane threw himself at the door. The plastic creaked but didn’t give.

Virgil continued, “The only reason I haven’t ended my life is because he might be out there still, he might need me, and I can’t stand the thought of leaving him behind.”

He twisted in his seat to face the window. Virgil looked past Quinn. “He thinks I’m going to kill you.”

“Quinn!” Zane yelled, throwing his body at the barrier again. “Say something, goddamn it! What’s happening?”

“He thinks I’m going to unlock the back of the van, dig my fingers into your flesh until I can hook bone, then pull you apart.”

Quinn swallowed. He looked back for a weapon, but he only had his laptop to potentially swing at Virgil’s face.

“I won’t lie to you,” Virgil exhaled. “It’s a pleasant thought, tearing you apart, listening to your bones crack and your blood drip.”

“I’m not a threat to you,” Quinn said in a rush. “I’m not after Luca. I’m not one of your victims. I’m a psychologist, and you agreed to take part in my study.”

“Where is he?” Virgil asked.

“I don’t know.”

Virgil flexed his hands on the wheel. “But do I believe you…that’s the real question.”

“I’m not police, I’m not crime investigation. I have no idea where Luca is.”

Virgil glared at Quinn. Then, he flung open his door. He dropped down, out of sight.

“Virgil,” Quinn blurted, backing off from the window. Sticks crunched as Virgil stepped round the van, stopping in front of the door to the back.

Zane crashed into the barrier between him and Quinn, and the plastic around the lock broke, sending it flying. He staggered, knocking into the side of the van before regaining his feet and gripping Quinn’s arm.

Quinn found himself pulled back, yanked behind Zane, who stared down the door, breathing hard.

“I swear,” Zane said. “I’ll kill you if you open it.”

Virgil snorted. “Zane, Zane, Zane. You haven’t killed anyone. You’re not going to start now.” He sighed. “I believe you, Doctor Quinn, but if I find out you lied, or that you knew more about Luca than you led me to believe, I will hunt you down. I will kill you, and I’ll carry your head around with me as a trophy.”

Quinn’s breath stuttered. Zane backed into him, pinning him to one of the locked cubicle doors behind.

Virgil didn’t speak again, he’d gone, but they both didn’t take their eyes off the door as they panted for breath. Minutes ticked by. Quinn checked his watch. Ten minutes had passed with Zane standing before him, pinning him whenever he tried to wriggle out.

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