PSYCHOPATHY; criminal minds [S. Reid]

Chapter two//Past Life

DANIEL HAD NOW BEEN ON HIS MEDICATION FOR A WEEK. Improvements had already began falling into place and Daniel's aggression was calming down. He used to attack doctors and guards if they touched him on a bad day.

His bad days consisted of him talking to himself more than usual and hitting his ears to "silence the voices" as he would say.

I had not yet been able to get Daniel Butcher to open up about his past but it was crucial I did. His past could tell us more about him and his conditions. Past trauma may explain the symptoms he has been experiencing.

That was the plan for today. Ask about Daniel's past.

"Daniel, I'm going to ask you some questions and I want you to answer them to the best of your ability. Can you do that for me?" I calmly asked him, keeping my voice at an even volume and tone.

Daniel nodded slowly, almost seeming unsure.

"Do you remember the name of your parents?"

There was silence we Daniel stared at the wall behind me, thinking deeply about it. "I do. My mother...Josephine. My father...Travis."

"Good. That's good." I nodded, writing some notes. "Tell me about your mother."

Daniel went on about her a little but was still fairly closed about it. He told me about the soup she would make for him as a child and about when she would bounce him on her knee and sing the 'donkey song.' Other than that, Daniel did seem to remember much or, if he did, he kept quiet about it.

"And your father. What was he like?"

Even less was said about Daniel's father. However, he did mention that his father was in the barn,of the farm he grew up on, quite a lot or in the study. Nothing more was said of him though.

"Were you closer to your mother than your father, Daniel?"

He nodded. "Yes. My mother was beautiful and she looked a lot like my sister."

I tilted my head and furrowed my brows. There wasn't any record or mention of Daniel having a sister. If there was, no one told me. "What was your sister called?"

"Charlotte. She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." He gushed, looking me deep in my eyes. He never once broke eye contact for the rest of the session. "She's eight years younger than me."

"So she's around 30?"

Daniel hummed, "mhm. Must be."

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I sat in the office with files upon files scattered all over my desk and my laptop open with several tabs about Daniel Butcher's family.

I read on about his father. Drunken man who abused both his wife and kids, fired from multiple jobs and arrested time and time again for starting fights on the streets.

Information on Daniel's mother stopped after Christmas of 1982 which is when she suddenly died. No investigation was formed as the death was passed off as natural causes due to heavy smoking and drinking.

A knock at the door made me flinch, dropping my fifth coffee cup to the floor as I went to take a sip from it. I turned my chair around to face the glass door.

"You're still here?" Claire asked as she walked in, moving to stand beside me at my desk. She looked at the different files and my notes, furrowing her brows. "Wow. You've been busy."

I rested my head on the palm of my hand with my elbow resting on the table.

Claire picked up the coffee cup off the floor, grabbing some tissues to soak up the spilled drink. "How much coffee have you had? You realise it's three in the morning?"

"What?" My head shot up to look at her and then I glanced at my watch. "Shit." I muttered as I rubbed my finger tips across my forehead.

"Go home." The other woman ordered as she began tidying up my desk. "What even is all this?"

"Did you know Daniel Butcher had a sister?"

She shook her head. "No. Is she in the area?"

I looked up at Claire, guilt heavy in my eyes as I slowly shook my head. "Not exactly. She passed away four years ago."

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When I got home that same morning, I stayed up even longer simply researching Daniel's family. Turns out there is a lot more about his past that we don't know.

A few hours later and it was around 8am and I was sat in another session with Daniel. Again, his eyes never left mine as he held strong, intimidating eye contact. It was like one really intense staring contest between Psychopath and Doctor.

"Daniel, when was the last time you saw your sister, Charlotte?" I asked him, tipping my head to the side and relaxing my facial expression.

"I hear her every night." He answered.

"Okay." I jotted that down before laying my pen on the notebook and looking back at the man opposite me. "But when did you last see her?" I asked again.

Daniel furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm not sure. I keep expecting her to visit."

"Daniel..." I started, unsure of how to break the news to him as he clearly didn't know or didn't remember. "Daniel your sister passed away four years ago. In a car accident."

"No." Daniel's voice was deep and dark. "No, my sister is fine." He hit his fists against the metal table. "She's fine!" His voice grew louder with rage and he tried to break from the handcuffs.

The guards rushed over to calm him down as Daniel abruptly stood from his seat and managed to break the chain of the handcuffs that connected him to the table.

He reached across for me but thankfully the guards held him back first and I hurriedly stood my seat. My eyes were wide as I panted rather heavily with my hands on my stomach.

"Take him back to his room and get his medication to him." I told the guards, looking away from Daniel to them.

Once Daniel was out of the room and I was alone, I exhaled a deep breath and brushed down my white doctors coat and then pushed my hair behind my shoulders.

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