Story of a Sociopath

  “And has the old man recovered, or is there no hope?”

  “The doctors aren’t keen on making any long-term predictions, but it looks like he’s getting better.”

  “Well then, I think it’ll pass, that Suzi will get over it as soon as her father gets out of the hospital,” I said, trying to cheer him up.

  “She took advantage of the fact that I was out a few days ago visiting villages around the county and she shut herself up in my office. She read all the papers that I’ve kept about this thing. The e-mails I sent to the gas company, to you…She says I’ve betrayed her, that I’ve manipulated her. I think she’s started to hate me. My children are confused. They don’t understand the conflict between us, but they’re clear about one thing: if they have to choose, they’ll choose their mother.”

  “Roy, there’s too much at stake here. You have to concentrate on the press conference tomorrow. You have to give the go-ahead for them to start the exploratory drilling. Your friends, Jones and Brown, aren’t going to let there be any mistakes. You know that better than me. You can’t fold at the last moment. There are lots of people who believe in you and who will do what you say. There are lots of hicks ready to sell their grazing land without knowing that their sheep are sitting on top of a sea of gas and that they’re being offered a tenth of what the land is worth. If you flake out now, then everything will fall apart.”

  “I know, but I can’t take my mind off it. Suzi is prepared to give me the divorce papers tomorrow.”

  “Ask her to wait a couple of days.”

  “She won’t. She’s made it clear, she wants to finish me, she wants the whole world to know I’m a son of a bitch.”

  “I’ll tell Evelyn to get here as soon as possible. She may be able to make Suzi change her mind.”

  “I don’t think so. She doesn’t trust you and she doesn’t trust Evelyn. Even now she’s saying that she regrets having allowed us to ruin Wilson and Doyle to get me to the mayor’s house.”

  I made him learn the statement by heart. And we tried out the questions and answers that would come up in the press conference. I said goodbye at midday. I didn’t want to accept his invitation to lunch. Roy was looking for an excuse to leave his house for a while, and I didn’t want to share a table with someone as depressed as he was. Also, I just didn’t care about his family problems.

  I had decided to walk back to the hotel when my cell rang. I didn’t recognize the number, but I did recognize Bernard Schmidt’s deep voice.

  “What’s going on over there?” he asked me without even saying hello.

  “Everything’s going well. Roy knows the statement by heart. There won’t be any problems.”

  “I’m asking you what’s going on over there, not about tomorrow’s press conference.”

  “What do you mean? I’m telling you, everything’s going well.”

  “No, it’s not going well at all. Roy called the lawyer, Brian Jones, and Jones called me just now in a state of alarm. Roy told him that his wife wants a divorce and is ready to kick up a fuss with the drilling.”

  “A married couple’s squabbles. They don’t affect the general plan,” I said.

  “What do you mean? Am I hearing you correctly? Either you’re stupid, or else you’re not at the level required if you’re going to work for an agency like GCP. If Parker’s wife opposes the drilling, if she gives the slightest hint of her suspicions about this business, if her lack of agreement with her husband is so significant as to lead her to petition for divorce, what do you think will happen? We’ll be right back at square one, but in a far worse situation than we are at the moment. Don’t you realize?” There was no emotion in Schmidt’s voice. He spoke in a low register. However, he was so blunt that I felt a shudder down my spine.

  “We’ll try to counter whatever Suzi Parker says,” I said, just to say something.

  “And how are you going to do that?”

  “I don’t know. Perhaps I can speak to her and convince her to keep quiet. Evelyn Robinson is on her way. They get along well; perhaps she’ll listen to her. I don’t think that Suzi really wants to hurt her husband.”

  “What you think means nothing to me. I want guarantees.”

  “I can’t guarantee anything.”

  “In that case, tell me what you’re going to do to stop the main story tomorrow from being Suzi Parker’s announcement instead of her husband’s press conference.”

  I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure where he was trying to lead me, but in any event I had no way to prevent Suzi from demanding a divorce. I could try to dissuade her, but nothing more.

  “As I’ve said, I’ll try to talk to her.”

  “Let’s imagine that she is still keen on causing trouble.”

  “I can’t guarantee anything,” I said angrily.

  “You are wrong. We pay you to guarantee that our clients are not presented with any unpleasant surprises or forced to wrestle with any last-minute problems. Either you sort it out or we will sort it out for you. But if I have to fix things then you’d better start working out a severance package. I’ll give you an hour. Call me and tell me if you’re going to fix this disaster or if you’re incapable.”

  Bernard Schmidt hung up before I could reply. I walked quickly back to the hotel, hoping to find Cooper there. I was pleased that there was someone to talk to.

  “Evelyn called me. She’s coming up by car, with Neil. She said that you sounded very worried. She told me that Suzi Parker has had an argument with her husband and that…”

  “I know the story. I was the one who told Evelyn. We have a problem. We have to stop Suzi from serving him the divorce papers tomorrow. If we don’t then we’ll end up out of a job.”

  Cooper’s right eyebrow started to twitch. It was a nervous tic of his.

  “If Suzi Parker asks for a divorce we’re going to get the sack? But what can we do about it?”

  “Well, someone’s expecting us to do something about it. If Suzi explains why she wants a divorce, and mentions her father’s heart attack, then we can give up on the fracking project, and Roy’s friends aren’t going to like that at all.”

  “Unless we kidnap her, or spike her drink, or slip her a laxative so she can’t leave the bathroom…”

  “You want to stop talking bullshit?”

  “There’s nothing we can do. Roy has to convince her, not us.”

  “Roy can’t do it. She doesn’t even want to see him.”

  —

  The steaks they gave us at the hotel restaurant were hard. We ate scarcely a mouthful. When we had finished, I called Suzi, worried that she wouldn’t want to speak to me. She told me that Evelyn had called her asking her not to do anything until she’d spoken to her, but Suzi had made it perfectly clear that there was no one who could stop her from asking for the divorce. Roy, she told me, was going to sleep on the sofa in the living room. She had thrown him out of their room. She wanted her husband to pack his bags and leave as soon as possible. I listened to her without interrupting. She needed to let herself go, to get all her bitterness out into the world. When she finally stopped talking I started to speak calmly, weighing each word with care.

  “Suzi,” I said. “I understand how upset you are. You’ve had a big shock with your father’s heart attack. But you can’t blame Roy for what has happened. Your father’s an old man who must find it difficult to accept that the world is changing. Older people are always worried about change, wanting nothing to happen to the world they’re used to. It’s normal, it’ll happen to all of us when we reach a certain age.”

  “You’re all sons of bitches!” Suzi shouted.

  “No, we’re not. Roy isn’t. He hasn’t done anything to be ashamed of, and neither have we.”

  “No? Well, what do you call what you did to the other two candidates in the mayoral election? You tried to find anything, any old thing that could sink Wilson and Doyle. And you destroyed them. One because he sowed a few wild oats, and the other because he owed money. Or do
n’t you remember?” Suzi’s voice was growing stronger.

  “No, it wasn’t like that. You always look for your opponents’ weak spots in politics, and any skeletons in the closet must be brought to light. The electorate has a right to know everything about public figures. We didn’t invent anything. Everything that was published was true. You remember how you said we shouldn’t have pity on them? You wanted your husband to become the mayor. You dreamed about having tea with the Queen. Or are you the one forgetting things?”

  “Don’t try to blame your dirty tricks on me! I was naïve, but I’m not going to allow you to destroy this land. My husband will do anything to get his way. He signed a secret deal with this gas company; he’s made it easy for them to take over all the land in this county. But he won’t get our land. I can swear to you that I will not allow it.”

  “You’re not thinking straight, and you can’t see things for how they really are. Roy hasn’t signed any deals with the gas company.”

  “Do you want to see the papers? There’s a whole file filled with documents that would be very interesting to the press. I’ve made photocopies of everything. You’ll see.”

  I was scared now. It seemed as if Suzi were truly willing to stick the knife into Roy. She was out of control. I had no idea what was in those papers, but I guessed that they could probably ruin Roy and drag us down at the same time.

  “I can’t believe that you hate Roy, that you’re willing not only to hurt him but to damage your children’s future. They’ll point at them in school, whisper that they’re the children of a disgraced man. And that wouldn’t be fair, not for the children, and not for Roy.”

  Suzi didn’t say anything. I realized that this last argument had struck a nerve. She didn’t care about hurting Roy; in fact, that was what she wanted to do most of all, but there was no way she would hurt her children. She took a while to reply.

  “My children have nothing to do with this.”

  “They’re his children too. If you humiliate their father, do you think it won’t affect them? You should consider what you’re going to unleash. It’s not just Roy who’ll face the consequences, but your children as well.”

  “I want a divorce. I won’t stay with a man like Roy, not for anything in the world. He fooled me. Yes, I’m in a bad place at the moment. My parents warned me that there was nothing to Roy apart from ambition, that he married me in order to get ahead. They were right.”

  “No, they weren’t right. Only a couple of hours ago your husband told me, in despair, just how much he loves you. He can’t imagine living without you.” I added a touch of melodrama to my voice.

  “He only loves himself. I’ve been a means to an end for him, a way for him to achieve what he wants. I will try to keep my children out of this, but I will do what I have to do. I’m meeting my lawyer at eight o’clock tomorrow morning. He will have the papers ready and all I have to do is sign.”

  “You won’t do that, Suzi. Give yourself a bit more time; think about it some more. You are angry and you are refusing to understand why Roy does things the way he does. You’re judging him too harshly. He wouldn’t do anything to steer the county in the wrong direction. It’s his land, his people. Do you really think he’d be so soulless as to allow anything that would put his people in danger?”

  “A few years ago I would have slapped anyone who said that Roy had no morals, that he was capable of anything. The truth is, I never knew the man until a few months ago. This is the real Roy—a ruthless and dishonest man. He’ll do anything to get what he wants. If he had to destroy the county, he would, as long as it was to his advantage. But that’s not a surprise to you. You’re his perfect match. You’re a son of a bitch, just like him.”

  I didn’t defend myself from her insults. There was no point, and it would have just made her more angry. I swallowed, and contained myself, trying not to insult her in turn. The way she was setting herself up as a victim pissed me off. Suzi had been perfectly happy with the idea of sacrificing Wilson and Doyle, but she had decided to forget about her complicity and pretend she had never been involved in such a plot.

  “Well, do what you want. I don’t think you’ve thought this through. Perhaps your children won’t be able to forgive you for marking them as the sons of a pariah. Let your conscience be your guide.”

  I hung up. Cooper was looking at me worriedly. He had been able to follow the conversation: he was sitting right next to me, and Suzi had been shouting.

  “She’s going to ruin everything. What shall we do?”

  “Well, what you said: either someone slips some sleeping pills or a laxative into a glass of water and knocks her out, or we kidnap her,” I said grumpily.

  “The best idea is the sleeping pills. We can earn some time if she’s fast asleep.”

  I looked at him, not believing that he was really considering this possibility. But Jim Cooper was a naïf, innocent in some things and entirely amoral as far as his profession was concerned.

  “Would you give her the drugs?” I asked, following this crazy train of thought.

  “It would have to be Roy. We can’t get involved in this.”

  “Are you serious?” He was driving me mad.

  “Of course.” Cooper seemed surprised at my doubt.

  “Forget about it, it’s ridiculous. I’ll have to call Schmidt. We can consider ourselves fired.”

  It took Bernard Schmidt a while to pick up the telephone. I told him about my conversation with Suzi and said that I didn’t think I could find a solution. She was determined to take Roy down.

  “This is too much for you to handle. I’ll call the lawyers.” He hung up.

  “And now what?” Cooper asked.

  “Now we wait for Evelyn and Neil. Maybe they’ll come up with something. We’ll turn up at Roy’s house at seven tomorrow to take him to the press conference. Start thinking about how you’re going to fight the bombs that Suzi’s going to drop. Roy’s going down, but that’s not the problem. There’ll be such a scandal that no one will dare give permission for the fracking. They’ll cut our balls off.”

  “We have to do something,” Cooper insisted.

  “You’ve only come up with crap so far,” I replied.

  “Well, you haven’t even gotten that far. And I can’t lose this job, I need the money.”

  “Forget about it. You heard Suzi. She wants to hurt Roy, and she will.”

  “Call Roy.”

  “Why?” I didn’t want to speak to anyone, and especially not Roy.

  “We’ll go to his house. We’ll think about it—we’re bound to come up with something. But we can’t just sit here as though nothing were going on.”

  “I’m sorry, Cooper, but that’s the way things are.”

  “I’m telling you, call Roy. He must be taking it really badly if he’s been thrown out of his own bedroom.”

  I didn’t need to call Roy Parker. My cell whistled and it was him.

  “Hey, Thomas, you need to get over here. We have to change the press conference tomorrow. I’m thinking about standing down. I’m not just going to lose Suzi and the children, but also the respect of my constituents. I don’t want to be seen as some dick in the gas company’s pocket. It would finish me. I’d never be able to show my face again.”

  “Calm down, Roy. I’m coming over now with Cooper.”

  Roy met us with a glass of whiskey in his hand. He stank of alcohol.

  “Drinking isn’t going to solve our problems,” I scolded him.

  “The problems are all solved. I’ve given in to Suzi. There’s not going to be any fracking in the county,” he said. He seemed relieved to have come to the decision.

  “If you pull out you’re not going to be able to live here. Sooner or later people will find out why you resigned. They’ll feel betrayed. Also, you’ll lose Suzi whatever happens. When something like this happens in a marriage there’s no way back.”

  Roy threw his glass against the wall. He looked at me with hatred, a deep and savage h
atred. He came toward me and grabbed me by the lapel.

  “So, you’re an expert on marriages as well!” he said as he let me drop, pushing me away disdainfully.

  “You know what, Roy? You tried to fly high, but you don’t have the guts for it. You can’t control your wife and you can’t even control yourself. You don’t have the heart or the determination to do what you said you could do. You should have been satisfied with Suzi’s money, and kept sheep, tricking your neighbors a little every now and then. You don’t have what it takes to play with the big boys. You’re nothing but a shepherd.”

  Jim Cooper looked at us fearfully. He couldn’t understand how I dared say such things to Roy, who stood in front of me with violence in his eyes.

  “Come on! Calm down! We’re not going to get anywhere fighting amongst ourselves,” Cooper said as he tried to separate us.

  “Get out of here! I called you to tell you that it’s all over. Get out!” Roy’s voice dripped hatred.

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I’d like to do. But you’re putting us in a tricky situation. Yourself too. I don’t think that your friends Brian Jones and Edward Brown will let you walk away from the game. You’ll have to finish your job before you leave.”

  “I’ve told you, I’m not doing anything!” Roy shouted.

  “Yes, you’ve said what you want to do,” I replied, raising my voice as well. “But now the three of us are going to sit down and analyze, calmly, what you can and cannot do. It’s clear that sooner or later these lawyers will give you the boot, but they’re not going to let you get away with causing a scandal just because your wife found out what kind of a jerk you are and decided to dump you. Although, yes, her holier-than-thou behavior’s a bit surprising too. She didn’t blink an eye when it came to taking the other mayoral candidates down. All her scruples today are nothing but pure hypocrisy. She’s behaving like a schoolgirl whose father has caught her cheating on a paper. You know what, Roy? What I don’t understand is how people as clever as Jones and Brown thought they could do business with you.”