Page 2 of Psycho
Thomas scoffed. “You’re joking.”
“I’m not. He reads faster than anyone we’ve ever seen and has a great understanding of concepts far beyond his years. We tested his IQ. 155. Just a few points shy of Hawking himself.” Thomas couldn’t hide his startled response. “So you can see our problem.”
Thomas nodded. “If he’s a psychopath with that level of intelligence, he would be a plague on society and smart enough to hide in plain sight. Any bed-wetting, arson, harming of weaker children?”
“Not so far. In truth, he lives in his head. He listens to music and reads. He’s bored, no doubt. There’s nothing in this facility that could keep a child like him entertained. Being locked in that room, in silence, with nothing but the few books his mother gave him must have been torture for a boy with that level of genius.”
“He’ll lack for nothing with me,” Thomas assured him. “I’d like to meet him now.”
“I’d advise you not to touch him. Also, do not turn on the overhead light. He becomes quite…feral.”
Thomas nodded, making to leave the observation room.
“Will you keep me apprised of his progress?” Dr. Stryker asked, expression tight.
“Of course.”
Thomas opened and closed the door to the room quickly to keep the harsh fluorescent lights of the hallway away from the child. Once inside, the child didn’t acknowledge him in any way. He moved forward, dropping to sit cross-legged near the boy, but not close enough to touch him.
“What are you reading?” Thomas prompted, unsure whether the boy could hear him over the music playing in his headphones.
He responded by lifting it enough for Thomas to read the cover.Light in August.
“Faulkner, huh? That’s a pretty advanced book for your age.”
The child flicked an irritated gaze towards Thomas, like he was intruding. Perhaps he was.
“What if I told you I have a library in my home with thousands of books?”
This time, the boy tugged a headphone free, eyeing Thomas suspiciously. “Have you read them all?”
Thomas chuckled. “No, and I suspect you might beat me to it. You speak very well.”
The boy shrugged. “I could speak before I could walk. It frightened my mother. She was…unwell.”
He spoke with the vocabulary and affect of a grown man. Thomas wasn’t entirely convinced the boy wasn’t, in fact, a fairy tale creature or perhaps an extraterrestrial. “I heard. I’m sorry for what you had to endure for the first few years of your life.”
The boy shrugged again. “She couldn’t help who she was.”
It was such a simple statement of fact. No bitterness or malice.
“They tell me you don’t like to be touched,” Thomas said.
The boy’s expression looked almost prim as he said, “Not against my will, no.”
Thomas couldn’t help but smile. “That is valid. Nobody should touch you without your consent.”
Once more, the boy observed him shrewdly, as if trying to guess at his motivations, but said nothing.
“Would you like to come live with me and read your way through my library?”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why would I want to live with you? Other than your library?”
Thomas shook his head. “Well, to be honest, I have a lot of money but no family. Just one son who is a bit older than you. I want to fill my house with boys just like you.”
