Page 96 of The Psychopath Next Door

‘Yeah, but that’s music history. If my specialist subject was serial killers, I’d be extremely worried about myself.’

He frowned, and I realised I needed to leave off criticising Keira. He liked her. And I was certain this was one relationship I didn’t need to be worried about.

We went into the kitchen, which was the only room I’d ever spent any time in. There was no sign of a laptop or tablet, and the drawers contained nothing but the things you would expect to find in a kitchen. She didn’t have a ‘man drawer’ like in our house, full of old batteries and takeaway leaflets. The contents of her cupboards and fridge told me she liked plain food: pasta, mild cheddar, chicken, tomato soup. There was a rack full of decent wine, though.

No photographs.

We went into the living room, where there were no photos on display, not of Fiona or anyone else. That was unusual. She had a bookcase which didn’t contain a single novel or interesting non-fiction book, just a medical encyclopedia, a book about interior design and a very dry-looking tome calledThe Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition.

‘She’s got the DSM-5,’ Dylan said, taking it down off the shelf.

I stared at him.

‘Keira has a PDF of this. It’s used to diagnose people with psychological issues. I bet Fiona has it so she can read up on herself.’He opened it and read out the handwritten dedication at the front: ‘To Fiona, from Maisie. Interesting bedtime reading!’ He turned to me. ‘Who’s Maisie?’

‘I think that might be her former partner,’ I said.

He had got out his phone and was taking photos of the book, presumably to send to his new girlfriend. I looked over his shoulder at the text on the page. ‘Does this book talk about this “dark triad” you keep mentioning? You never really explained what it means.’

He looked up from his phone, then put the book back. ‘It probably covers it. But I can tell you: it’s psychopathy, narcissism and ... How do you say it? Machiavellianism. Is that right?’

‘Yeah, I think so. Enjoying manipulating others?’

‘That’s it.’

‘Narcissism’ had become one of those words, like ‘genius’ or ‘tragedy’, that was so overused that it was now almost meaningless. Everyone in the world thought their ex was a narcissist. Did it describe Fiona? Was she overly obsessed with herself?

‘I can’t see Fiona as a narcissist,’ I said. ‘She seems way too interested in other people, namely our family. Would a narcissist spend so much time teaching the girl next door how to play chess, or taking her on day trips?’

‘That’s her being manipulative. Making us think she’snotself-obsessed. Plus, she must be getting something from it. Something that’s helpful to her.’

‘Like what?’

‘I’m not sure. I don’t think it’s a pervy thing ...’

‘Oh God.’

‘But maybe she just likes having someone who looks up to her. Rose hangs off Fiona’s every word. That’s going to appeal to Fiona’s narcissism. And maybe, I don’t know, she’s training her up.’

I stared at him.

‘If she thinks Rose is a dark triad person too, then maybe she’s treating her like an apprentice. Showing her the ropes.’

‘Dylan, that’s mad.’

‘Is it? It makes sense to me. It’s like a mother animal teaching her offspring how to behave.’

‘Fiona isn’t Rose’s mum.’

He shrugged. ‘Maybe she sees Rose as the daughter she never had.’

Could any of this be true? Despite all my worries about Rose’s recent behaviour, I couldn’t accept it.

‘What’s the definition of a psychopath?’ I asked. ‘According to Keira and her extensive knowledge.’

He scowled at me.

‘Sorry. I’m finding all of this hard to take. The idea that your mum and sister might be with someone like that.’ Not to mention the accusation that Rose was like that too.

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