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Chapters (47)
  1. Title Page
  2. Contents
  3. Praise for In the Clearing
  4. Praise for Call Me Evie
  5. Dedication
  6. Prologue
  7. Part One: The Sociopath Test
  8. Chapter One
  9. Chapter Two
  10. Chapter Three
  11. Chapter Four
  12. Chapter Five
  13. Chapter Six
  14. Chapter Seven
  15. Chapter Eight
  16. Chapter Nine
  17. Chapter Ten
  18. Chapter Eleven
  19. Chapter Twelve
  20. Chapter Thirteen
  21. Part Two: Introspection
  22. Chapter Fourteen
  23. Chapter Fifteen
  24. Chapter Sixteen
  25. Chapter Seventeen
  26. Chapter Eighteen
  27. Chapter Nineteen
  28. Chapter Twenty
  29. Chapter Twenty-One
  30. Part Three: Retrospection
  31. Chapter Twenty-Two
  32. Chapter Twenty-Three
  33. Chapter Twenty-Four
  34. Chapter Twenty-Five
  35. Chapter Twenty-Six
  36. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  37. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  38. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  39. Chapter Thirty
  40. Chapter Thirty-One
  41. Chapter Thirty-Two
  42. Chapter Thirty-Three
  43. Now
  44. Chapter Thirty-Four
  45. Extract of The Last Guests
  46. Acknowledgements
  47. Copyright

‘I never liked to read,’ he says. Again, he has that pained expression, almost like he’s grinning through kidney stones, his lips pulled back and big yellow teeth exposed. ‘I’ve never been able to concentrate that long, you know. But I guess there’s no harm in trying.’

‘I think that would be healthy. Try to find a book you love; it can be a real boon for your sleep. And Joe, do you ever have negative thoughts during the day at your work?’

‘You ask me this every time and the answer is the same. Everyone has negative thoughts.’

‘And I’ll tell you again, Joe, the negative thoughts I’m talking about are thoughts of harming yourself or anyone else.’ If he doesn’t have any negative thoughts, it’s clear he’s disassociating at work.

‘I have negative thoughts every day. I have nothing but negative thoughts. That doesn’t mean I’m not happy. I am. And I would never harm myself.’

It’s eerie, vaguely ominous. I push on. ‘And other people.’

‘I can’t say I would never harm anyone else. It would be a lie.’

I study his face. He wears a dumb, unreadable expression. I let the silence settle but he is immune to awkwardness. ‘Can you elaborate on that?’

‘Well if someone was going to hurt my family, of course I would harm them, but it wouldn’t be because of negative thoughts.’

‘What are the negative thoughts about specifically, Joe? Anyone in particular.’

A flicker of irritation. ‘Well, I think about how some people exploit children or hurt each other, the usual stuff.’ I can’t explain why, let’s call it professional intuition, but I feel like Joe is lying to me.

•

At the end of the day, I walk down to where my car is parked and I see Adam Limbargo. He’s striding from one of the university office buildings toward a taxi.

‘Adam,’ I call, rushing to catch him. ‘Adam, hi.’

‘Oh,’ he says, with one hand on the door handle. ‘Margot, hi.’

‘I just wanted to say, I can’t give you specifics, but I have agreed to counsel Cormac.’

His brow creases. ‘I’m glad to hear, but look I’ve got to run.’ Then he’s dropping into the backseat of the taxi, and it’s pulling away from the curb.