Like This, for Ever

slow circle, rubbing her temples all the while.
    ‘How about if, whoever this kid is, his mother has a lot of boyfriends, is even on the game,’ said Mizon. ‘He’s going to view the sexual act in a very negative way. Maybe he’s been sexually abused.It could all add up to a child who views sex as inextricably linked with the adult condition and as something to be avoided.’
    ‘Susan?’ prompted Dana.
    The profiler turned to face the group.
    ‘Sadly, that scenario is all too common,’ she said. ‘Most sexual offenders will have an early history of sexual abuse or disturbing sexual experiences. Our killer isn’t a sexual offender, though.’
    ‘Well, what if he’s afraid of the responsibility of adulthood?’ said Mizon. ‘What if he’s made to feel guilty for not being a breadwinner yet? You can see it, can’t you? “When are you going to do something useful with your life instead of taking from us all the time?”’
    ‘You’ve given this a lot of thought,’ said Richmond.
    Mizon’s eyes dropped to her lap.
    ‘But I doubt either of those factors would be enough,’ said the profiler.
    ‘What if there’s more than one?’ said Anderson. ‘This is South London. We have some pretty dysfunctional family units.’
    Richmond was silent.
    ‘Is it possible?’ asked Dana.
    ‘Everything’s possible,’ said Richmond. ‘Whether it’s likely is another matter. I can think of no documented cases where a fear of entering the adult world has led to a child taking extreme measures to prevent others from doing so.’
    ‘You think Gayle’s wrong, don’t you?’ said Dana.
    ‘She isn’t wrong,’ said Stenning, turning to face them again. ‘Come and look at this.’
    ‘What turns children into killers?’ asked Lacey.
    ‘Nothing,’ Evi replied. ‘They’re born that way.’
    Lacey took a moment to process the answer she really hadn’t been expecting. ‘That’s a bit radical.’
    ‘You’ve not had much to do with kids, have you?’ said Evi. ‘The average two- or three-year-old will get into a murderous rage on a regular basis – screaming, kicking, hitting.’
    ‘That’s just a tantrum,’ said Lacey.
    ‘And what’s a tantrum but an expression of completelyuncontrollable rage?’ said Evi. ‘You put the means to do serious harm into the hands of a toddler in the middle of a full-blown tantrum and the chances are he’ll use it. Children are passionate little creatures, capable of the same strength of feeling as adults, and they have the same dark impulses that we have. The question you should be asking me is what
stops
children killing.’
    ‘OK, what stops children killing?’
    ‘Social conditioning, mainly done by loving parents, within a calm and stable home environment,’ said Evi. ‘The child learns that the world doesn’t revolve around him alone, that others have feelings and rights, too. Most importantly, he has to learn that if he acts on a violent impulse, there will be consequences. But no one should underestimate how much effort goes into this. Conditioning a small human being takes a huge amount of work.’
    Lacey stood in the shelter of the conservatory roof, looking out at foliage that seemed to slump under the weight of the rainwater. Each drop that fell into the garden bounced off leaves and branches, sometimes more than once, multiplying the sound of the rainfall. Her tiny patch of lawn had turned to mud already.
    ‘That all makes perfect sense,’ she said. ‘And I can see how lots of children don’t get the chance to learn those lessons. But wouldn’t that mean we have a whole load of juvenile delinquents?’
    ‘Well, I think some people would argue that’s exactly what we do have,’ replied Evi. ‘There are people who will tell you that a major part of our society is facing meltdown because parents are opting out of the social responsibility of bringing up their kids to know right from wrong.’
    ‘It’s that simple?’
    Evi gave a small laugh. ‘Nothing ever is.’
    ‘Evi, if I’m right that the killer is a child, he can’t be a young one. Anyone under the age of ten or eleven just wouldn’t have the strength or the independence of action. Is that fair?’
    ‘Sounds sensible. Killers under the age of ten are almost unheard of. Do you have a particular child in mind?’
    Frankly, out of the father and the son, I’d be more worried about the son.
    Do you think they’re together? Barney and Huck.
    ‘Yes,’ Lacey said. ‘His name is