‘Come in,’ Grant said.

Jessica walked into his office, and he shut the door behind her and indicated the seat in front of his desk.

‘So what can I do for you?’ he said, walking around the desk and taking his own seat.

‘I had an idea for what I want my thesis to be about. I thought maybe we could discuss the concept.’

‘It’s very early to be thinking about that, Jessica.’ He noticed a flash of unease on her face at him quashing her enthusiasm. ‘But it’s good that you’re so keen. So what’s it about?’

‘Murder.’

Grant felt himself tighten up, though he should have guessed this would be the case.

‘That’s a pretty wide subject.’

‘Well, not just murder. I want to really challenge the common thinking of what makes a person take another’s life.’

‘Nature versus nurture?’

‘Yeah, I guess.’

‘That’s a pretty vast subject too.’

‘I know, of course it is. The debate has been going on for… like, ever.’

‘So what’s your take going to be?’

‘I want to explore whether some people really are just born that way.’

Grant nodded, though he was having a hard time figuring how her ‘take’ on the subject was in any way intriguing or different.

‘Are there some people,’ she said, ‘who, no matter what their upbringing, what happens to them in life, would still end up as killers?’

‘I’d say that happens a lot,’ Grant said. ‘Many murders are simple crimes of passion. Seemingly normal and otherwise law-abiding citizens flip.’

‘No, that’s not what I’m getting at. Those sorts of murders are caused by pressure, and they are usually just one act, at one time. What about people who have no pressure? No motivation like revenge or hate, or even any other real causal factors?’

Grant interlaced his fingers and sat back in his seat while he studied Jessica for a few moments. She held his gaze the whole time.

‘Well, what do you think?’ Grant asked.

‘I really don’t know. I don’t know the subject as well as you do yet. But I was hoping you could help me. Teach me.’

‘Do you want to know what I think, or what I’d be prepared to write down in a scientific paper? The two answers might be surprisingly different.’

Jessica looked slightly put out by that response.

‘What you really think,’ she said.