InSight

That’s why he left through the house instead of through the garden gate. To plant the damn bugs. “ You could have done all that without my knowing. Why come back a second time?”
    “You mean the night your dog came at me? Perverse pleasure. Nothing more than fun and games to keep me from getting bored. And I hate dogs. She shouldn’t have come at me.”
    “What kind of a sadistic bastard are you? Is that how you get your jollies? Attacking a blind woman and a harmless dog? Listening to her life? Psychologically, it’s the sign of a weak character. I bet you jerked off while you were doing it.”
    “Sometimes,” he said with a dry laugh. “You should try it.”
    “I don’t need perversion to satisfy me, Mr. Collyer.”
    “Ah, yes, I heard that, too. You and the cop can really get it on. Good thing he can’t hear the noises you make. I was embarrassed listening to you.”
    Abby turned her head toward the passenger-side window to hide the flush rising on her face.
    “We put a listening device in your boyfriend’s wallet while he was a guest of Dr. Scanlon. Too bad. The old man looked forward to experimenting with him. I entertained some plans of my own. Quite a physical presence, your man. I envy you.”
    She started to speak, but the words stuck in her throat. At least she didn’t have to worry about unwanted advances. Or maybe she did. Abby had profiled Collyer as asexual. A man who got off on violence and sadism, dulling normal sexual appetites. Now she wasn’t sure.
    “Damn clever, taping Stewart, though. If I’d been you, I would have lied and kept an extra copy.”
    “Well, now I know I did the right thing.”
    Abby seethed as Collyer’s laugh echoed inside the car. It made her madder still to admit he was right. She should have kept a copy. Should have played on their field. Damn.
    “That’s why the bad guys win,” he said. “The good guys play by the rules.” His laugh turned into a hacking cough.
    “You should have given up smoking sooner. Sounds like it’s too late for you.”
    “Never smoked. It’s the result of chemical warfare. Worse than cigarettes.”
    “Hopefully.”
    He laughed again, and it pissed her off. The man was unflappable.
    “You’re all Stewart talked about, you know. I got sick of hearing your name.” He leaned closer. “If I may speak candidly, I’m a tad disappointed; I expected more.”
    Now Abby laughed at the too-obvious insult. “Sorry about that. Being an over-achiever, I hate to disappoint. But then, by your own admission, I’d have to have a penis to interest you.”
    “Oh, I go either way. I like variety. Different strokes. It’s what makes the world go round. Anyway, you’re not my type. Too skinny and flat-chested. Spooky though, that night in your yard when you looked me right in the eyes. Creeped me out, but it turned me on a bit, too.”
    “I should think a man of your skills would want more of a challenge. How macho can it be to turn the life of a blind woman upside down? A little beneath you, don’t you think?”
    “I’m impossible to insult, Mrs. Gentry, so don’t bother using psychology to bait me. Those tactics might work on your patients, but not on me. I have no feeling for that kind of thing.”
    “One must have a conscience to feel. I doubt you have one. And Mrs. Gentry is your employer. Let’s not confuse us. My name is Gallant. Dr. Gallant to you.”
    “Gentry, Gallant, it’s all the same to me. When this is over, you will be neither.”
    “Fear doesn’t work on me, Mr. Collyer. I’ve faced more fear than you’ll ever know, so if you think threatening me will turn me into a puddle of mush, think again.” She settled back into the seat, pleading with her body to stop shaking, knowing what a god-awful lie she told.
    “Brave words, Dr. Gallant. You have guts; I’ll give you that. I guess that’s what it takes to live the way you do.”
    “Damn right! And in darkness, Mr. Collyer, I see the light better than you.”
    “If you say so, ma’am.”
    Abby’s insides were shooting sparks. Why were those papers so important that people had to die? So many questions, and she wanted to learn the answers while her heart still beat.
    “So you must have bugged Stewart’s room to find out about the bank.”
    “That’s right. Technology is a wonderful thing. We tried for years to unlock Stewart’s brain. This time we sat back and let someone else do the deed. I staked a man there. He heard what we’d been waiting