Blood Men: A Thriller

“What exactly does ‘in a way’ mean?”


“It means I don’t actually know anything about the robbery itself, not in those kind of terms.”

Schroder wonders if everybody who has a first and last name starting with the same letter is going to be a thorn in his side. Benson Barlow. Jonas Jones. Theodore Tate. “Then why are you here? To offer a profile?”

“Not exactly,” Barlow says, leaning forward. “Twenty years ago I was the psychiatrist who examined Jack Hunter.”

“Which one?”

“Well, both, actually.”

“And which one are you here to talk to me about? Jack Jr.?”

“Mostly, though he’s Edward now. It was one of the first things he did when he was eighteen—legally change his name, though since the age of nine he wouldn’t answer to anything other than Edward. Jack Sr. suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. He heard voices and he believed he was being controlled by them. Or it. It was only the one voice, and he called it the darkness.”

“Come on, that was a line of BS they tried feeding to the jury. Nobody bought it.”

“It wasn’t bullshit, Detective. It’s a real mental illness that people genuinely suffer from. It makes them think delusional thoughts. It can make you think you’re being followed, chosen by God for a quest, it can make you think you’re being watched by your neighbor or by the media. It can make you believe you’re being controlled by an external source.”

“And Jack Hunter thought he was on a quest for God?”

“Well, no. He thought there was a real darkness living inside him that needed to see blood to stay happy.”

“Then he thought right. I don’t see what this has to do with the robbery.”

“Paranoid schizophrenia is a hereditary condition, Detective. What Jack Sr. has, there’s a chance that Edward might be struggling with the same illness—perhaps only to a minor degree, something that can be treated with medication. But considering the numerous traumas the boy went through at an early age, his current loss may compound the situation into something more serious. All those years ago when he was my patient, he told me things—things that make me worry about him. I fear for him, and for what he’s capable of.”

“What kind of things?”

“I can’t tell you what he said. Those sessions were private.”

“So you’ve come here to tell me you can’t tell me anything?”

“No. I’ve come here to tell you that Edward Hunter is potentially a danger to himself, possibly to others. Genetically, he’s like his dad. Emotionally, I think they’re the same. Edward stopped being my patient when he turned eighteen and I haven’t seen him since, but from what I’ve learned over the last few days it’s obvious he was living a very stable life in an environment he was comfortable with. But now things have changed. The death of his wife is a trigger, Detective. It’s a huge red flag and I’m telling you, there’s serious potential there for him to be a dangerous man, perhaps even as dangerous as his father.”

Schroder picks up a pencil and rolls it between his fingers. “So what is it you want me to do? I can’t go and lock him up to satisfy your suspicion of him. Why don’t you get him in for some sessions?”

“I’ve tried. I’ve been leaving messages but he won’t return them.”

Schroder doesn’t blame him. He wouldn’t return the messages either. “So what do you want?”

Barlow shrugs. “Ideally, I want Edward to get help. There are medications that can keep him under control.”

“You’re assuming he has what his dad has—and even that’s assuming his dad had anything other than a taste for blood.”

“Even so,” Barlow says, dismissing him and standing up as Schroder’s office phone starts ringing. “I’ve done my professional duty. Ethically and legally I have to warn the police if I have a patient who I believe to be a danger to others or themselves, and that’s what this is—it’s a warning.”





chapter sixteen