Corked by Cabernet

Twenty-one

TWO murders in two days. Derek would be thrilled to hear this news. Thank God it was too late to call him in New York. It was already eleven o’clock in Napa when Nikki walked back to their house, and with the three-hour time difference, she doubted he’d even be awake. Police were still busy at the hotel, and Nikki hated that she had not heard from Simon and Marco.

Once inside her home, and with Ollie at her side, she gave a deep sigh of relief. She set the folders on the kitchen counter and bent down to hug the dog, who looked at her like she was crazy but enjoyed the attention all the same. “Hi, kid. How’s it going?” Nikki patted his head.

Ollie wagged his long tail. Nikki went to the cupboard and took out a can of wet food and fixed him a bowl to eat. She then poured herself a glass of wine, sliced off some cheese, and put a piece of bread in the toaster. While the bread was toasting, she tried to call Simon and then Marco and got no response. She then went out into the garage and located the box with the books her aunt had given her and pulled a few out that looked chock-full of information. If she was going to stay up reading, then not only would she get to these applications, she could refresh her memory of what constituted a sociopath and a psychopath. She would do that first because reminding herself about what makes up the behavior and mind-set of a killer might help her when reviewing the applications.

A few minutes later, feet on the coffee table, bread and cheese in hand, and Ollie next to her on the couch, Nikki started flipping through a book called The Mind of a Killer. She found the definitions of a sociopath and a psychopath.

Both personalities have no empathy for others. Neither feels remorse or guilt. They are self-serving and seem to lack any conscience. They routinely disregard rules, social mores, and laws, unmindful of putting themselves or others at risk. Sounded like a wonderful type of human being-just like Derek’s first wife, come to think of it.

Nikki went on to read that the sociopath was less organized in his or her demeanor, nervous and easily agitated-someone likely living on the fringes of society, without solid or consistent economic support. A sociopath was more likely to spontaneously act out in inappropriate ways without thinking through the consequences. A psychopath would think them through and figure out how to get away with it.

Nikki took a sip of wine. Was there anyone she could think of in the group who was steadily nervous or could be considered living on the fringe of society? Kensington did not strike her as nervous, but of all these people, she could see him having a solid lack of empathy. How about consistent economic support? Everyone who was a member had that. They had to in order to be able to afford the membership fee.

She gave Ollie a pat on the head and read further, learning that a psychopath tends to be extremely organized, secretive, and manipulative. The outer personality is often charismatic and charming, hiding the real person beneath. Though psychopaths do not feel for others, they can mimic behaviors that make them appear normal. Upon meeting, one would have more of a tendency to trust a psychopath than a sociopath.

Okay, now that could fit almost anyone because all someone had to do was put on a good act. And what better outlet to do it in? Who would think that anyone involved in an enlightenment group would be a psychopath? It was a good cover. Robinson was sure that the killer was a man, but there was Sierra Sansi to consider. She was a martial artist, had done some acting, dated Iwao’s nephew. Nikki had seen enough photos to prove that. She’d been drunk-or had she?-the other night. Was Sierra Sansi putting on an act for her family and the entire world? Was the young woman more than just confused and a little messed up? Was she, in fact, a psycho?

There was more information about the psychopath that could fit Sierra. “Listen to this, Ollie.” Ollie lifted his head. How she loved this dog. “ ‘Because of the organized personality of the psychopath, he or she might have a tendency to be better educated than the average sociopath, who probably lacks the attentive skills to excel in school. While psychopaths can fly under the radar of society, many maintaining families and steady work, a sociopath more often lacks the skills and drive for mimicking normal behavior, making seemingly healthy relationships and a stable home less likely. From a criminal standpoint, a sociopath’s crimes are typically disorganized and spontaneous, while the psychopath’s crimes are well planned out. For this reason, psychopaths are harder to catch than sociopaths, as the sociopath is more apt to leave ample evidence in his or her explosions of violence.’”

“What do you think of that? Could be we’ve got ourselves an old-fashioned psycho here at the winery. Speaking of psychos, I wish the boys would call me.” She leaned her head back against the couch and closed her eyes. It was almost midnight, and she couldn’t help drifting off.

She wasn’t sure if it had been fifteen minutes or fifty, but just as she’d started dreaming, Ollie jumped off the couch and gave one of his low growls startling her awake. He slinked toward the front door. “What is it, boy?”

He gave another growl and Nikki knew that someone was lurking outside her home.