On A Sociopath Becoming A Criminal
On a sunny Monday morning in uptown New York, Mildred Kent woke up to her orange cat, Buttercup, purring next to her. Smiling through the pain of having to go to work, she remembered last night's events, when Arthur had taken her out to eat in one of New York’s fanciest restaurants. She barely remembered the odd man that had led her to meet Arthur, nevertheless she was very thankful of the job he had done. Arthur and her had been a couple for the past 6 months, and even though they had had a shaky and peculiar start to their relationship, love had grown on them. Arthur was a kind, gentle and loving man who was very committed to their relationship and the future.
Nothing depressed Mildred more than stepping into the bleak interrogation room at the police headquarters on Monday morning but she hoped that the triple shot espresso she had taken in the morning worked.
The deputy approached her and with a stern face gave her a file, “faulty wiring caused a house fire down in Queens, apparently the husband made it out in time, but the wife was sleeping and didn’t make it out. The husband is in the room ready for questioning.”
Mildred grabbed the file and entered the room where an elderly man sat on one of the cold, metal chairs. When the man turned around Mildred immediately recognized him as the mysterious man that had stopped her and Arthur in the street. He looked like he had aged 5 years in 7 months, his beard was long and tangled, and he had bleary eyes.
“Good morning Mr. Johnson, I’m detective Mildred Kent and I’m just here to ask you some routinary questions,” Mildred hoped Mr. Johnson recognized her, as this would make the investigation ten times easier.
Recognition crossed his face and his whole body language changed. He straightened and faked a smile “Oh Ms. Kent! I’ve been thinking about you since that day. How is Mr. Arthur?”
“He’s very well, thanks. I’m very sorry about your wife, I can’t imagine what that must have been like.” Mildred took a seat opposite him at the table.
“Thanks, very tragic accident,” Mr Johnson replied curtly.
Even though his intentions seemed true, Mildred found his behavior odd and peculiar, she even dared to say that it seemed like he had no interest in his wife’s death. Mildred noticed that he did not present the normal signs of the stress level that came after living through a traumatic event like the one he had just gone through. His hands were not shaking and he was smiling throughout the whole ordeal. Mildred noted this and started her investigation.
“Can you tell me in detail what happened this morning?” she asked.
“It was around 5 o'clock, I woke up for my morning run and saw smoke coming from the kitchen. By the time I reacted the fire had already reached the hall. The bedroom window almost didn’t budge and when I finally got it open, I was only able to get myself out,” Mr. Johnson said with a straight face.
“And the fire detectives were not working?” Mildred asked.
“No, I reckon I forgot to change their batteries last week.”
“And you didn’t think to save your wife or scream to wake her up?”
“Didn’t really cross my mind, as I said I was trying to open the window, didn’t really give me time to wake her up.”
“Perhaps you could have screamed?”
“Too much smoke for me to scream.”
“Mr. Johnson, I find it very hard to believe that the once kind man that united me with Arthur presents so much disinterest in his wife’s death,” Mildred Kent was very surprised that Mr. Johnson didn’t even present an ounce of sadness regarding Mrs. Johnson’s death. She didn’t want to assume things beforehand , but she was starting to believe that he could be presenting the symptoms of sociopathic behavior.
“You know nothing about me.” Mr Johnson replied in a low, almost threatening voice.
Mildred believed she had all the information she needed to convince the deputy to mark this case as a homicide case. Right when she was about to get the deputy, the door opened with such force Mildred jumped out of her seat.
“Mr. Johnson the State of New York Police Department has now marked this case as a homicide investigation. The questioning will proceed, but everything said from now on will be recorded and used in court. You have the right to an attorney, and if you can’t afford one the state will provide one for you.” The deputy spoke loud and clear, marking his words with authority. He took a seat beside Mildred and continued with his speech, “Forensic investigators found the kitchen wires had been messed with, causing the fire. Your story is inconsistent making you the prime suspect in this investigation.”
Mildred Kent couldn’t believe the turn this case had taken, but she was ready to incriminate this sociopath. “Mr. Johnson, your attitude change from the last time we met on the streets of New York has me questioning your attitude now. Dare I say, this may even be another game for you.”
Mr Johnson spoke low, but his next words resonated throughout the room, sending shivers through Mildred’s body, “isn’t everything in life a game?”
By Paulina Caballero and
Antonia Escobar, Step 9
