The only problem with Sean was that he didn’t own his true self. While he had a half-naked white girl on his fridge, he jacked off to curvy black women in his bedroom.
I checked his drawers, did a quick look in his closet, and under the bed.
Their hushed conversation drifted from the living room.
“Why not, Honeybee?”
“I told you to stop calling me that.”
“A little meal and movie can’t hurt anybody. You know you miss the macaroni and cheese from Fanny’s.”
“I can’t and besides, I’m not on vacation.”
“But you have to eat.”
I quietly closed his bedroom door
Annoyance dotted Haven’s words. “Wouldn’t your mother and father see us?”
Sean groaned. “I could figure something out. Rent the back room or maybe go when they’re in Colesville or—”
“Absolutely not.”
“Honeybee, please.”
I headed down the hallway. “Thank you so much, Mr. Thompson.”
Sean reluctantly rose.
Haven stood and rushed to the front door as if her life depended on it. Beating Sean and I both to it.
Sean’s gaze went to Haven’s curvy behind. “Let me know if you all have any more questions.”
Poor guy. It must be hard watching that sexy body walk away.
I handed him my card. “I will. If you think of anything, please call me.”
Sean stood in the doorway as we walked to the car and climbed in. He remained there while I started the vehicle and backed up. I swore Sean stayed even as I drove us away.
I smirked. “That was helpful.”
Haven rolled her eyes. “Was it?”
“A little helpful, Honeybee. A little.”
She glared at me.
“Sorry. Too soon?”
“Too soon.”
I directed my attention back on the road. “Sean isn’t our Unsub.”
“Of course, he isn’t.”
“Although his relationship with his mother had me intrigued for a moment.”
“Why?”
“A common characteristic of serial killers is their destructive relationship with their mother. Sean appears to be from a loving family.”
“His mother thinks he’s the second coming of Jesus.”
I laughed.
“Personally, I don’t like the theory that monsters are created by bad mothers.”
“The data shows it.”
“It also shows absentee fathers, but no one brings that part up. It’s all about the mother.”
“She’s the one that raised him.”
“And where was the father?”
“Good point, but that still doesn’t mean a mother’s job isn’t significantly important in raising a child. Usually, the mothers are over controlling, overprotective, physically abusive, and emotionally abusive. Sigmund Freud claimed that males try to reach autonomy with their mother. If the child is unsuccessful this will result in rage.”
“Freud? Really?” She rolled her eyes. “Many of Freud’s theories have been debunked.”
“Yet many still stand true.”
“Freud gives men another way to blame women for their downfalls.”
“Yet, 66% of known serial killers were raised by a mother that was the dominant figure in the household, if not the only parent.”
“Which points to the fact that many serial killers have shitty fathers.”
Unfortunately, I had to agree. “Fair point.”
I grinned. It was an odd discussion for a strange day, but still I enjoyed this banter with Haven. Stein and I talked while we investigated, but never on an intellectual level. Never was there a battle of minds.
Haven continued, “We spend a lot of time looking at the mothers, but there are other factors. Mental and physical trauma have long-lasting effects on people.”
“Correct. And there’s physical as well as psychological abuse.”
“I don’t think Sean was abused in any way. Even though Reverend Thompson is a racist, he had decent control of that household and didn’t believe in any whipping of any kind.”
“That’s progressive of him.”
“He hates blacks, but also hated the idea of physically harming kids.”
“No sexual abuse then?”
“I got no indication.”
Sexual abuse was a prominent characteristic among serial killers. Either the psychopath witnessed it or was sexually abused themselves.
Haven added, “I wasn’t around his family, but I heard a lot about Sean’s earlier childhood from him. I even saw a couple of baby pictures where he was put in little furry bear onesies complete with the ears poked out by his head.”
“How cute?”
“He was embarrassed by the pictures.”
“I would have been too.”
The more I knew about Sean, the more it didn’t sound like he would be on my suspect list at all.
Infancy was one of the most significant stages in the development of humans. Emotionally, infancy was crucial to the proper development of any adult personality. In the first twelve months, a child needed adequate attention and physical touch. If not, the child could suffer from substantial personality disorders in the future. In fact, there may be signs that the child had a psychopathic personality by the age of 2. This is indicated by the absence of a range of emotions such as sympathy, remorse, and affection. Aggression usually began in early childhood.
If true, that would have meant that Haven had dated an aggressive Sean in high school. I didn’t sense that vibe from him at all.
Commonly, serial killers tend to be isolated from their peers as children and teens. Many suffered from weight gain, stuttering, and learning problems such as dyslexia. Almost all known serial killers were bullied as teens. This caused them to begin to harbor secret aggressive fantasies on revenge. Additionally, serial killers were always left alone as kids, always neglected and abandoned by their parents whether emotionally or physically.
I glanced her way. “But Sean did bring up an interesting point that I hadn’t realized.”
“What’s that?”
“The girls have been kidnapped on religious holidays.”
Haven parted her lips. “Wait. You’re right.”
“Our fifth victim Shelly Darby was taken out of the movies on Pentecost Sunday if Sean is right about that date.”
Haven nodded. “And Melody was taken on Trinity Sunday. Oh my God and Ariana was taken after my mother’s Sunday School class on Palm Sunday.”
“Exactly. I bet if we check the other dates, we’ll find more religious holidays. It didn’t dawn on my team probably because we’re not hugely religious.” I tapped the steering wheel. “I have a faint memory of Palm Sunday from my youth, but I can’t remember the last time I celebrated. And Pentecost or Trinity are ones that I don’t remember at all.”
“Most just remember Easter and Christmas.” She went into her pocket, pulled out a tiny notebook, and flipped it open. “Okay. Let’s check out this theory.”
She took out her phone too. “I’ll check the dates with religious holidays.”
“Good.” I rounded the corner and left Sean’s neighborhood, wondering if the poor man was still standing in the doorway and thinking about Haven.