‘If the older sister went to the chair for murder, wouldn’t the younger sister inherit her share of the estate too?’ one detective asked.

‘Wait,’ another officer said. ‘Everything about the younger sister’s life tells us she’s a good person.’

‘Stop thinking about good and bad,’ said the female detective who strongly suspected the younger sister. ‘Take the judgment out of it. Think in terms of happy and unhappy. The older sister likes to surround herself with happy experiences. Now think what we know of the younger sister. She fights injustice, condemns inequality, disapproves of spending money on fun, wants to destroy capitalism. All those things she’s putting her energy into are negative actions.’

‘But she does it all for noble reasons,’ somebody said. ‘To make the world a better place.’

‘I think she might genuinely believe that but, again, look at the words she chose to describe her activities. She could have said she helped the poor and supported the disabled. She didn’t, because she’s full of anger, and therefore much more likely to be the killer.

‘The simple truth is this: if we put our energies into anger, fighting, disapproval and condemnation, we’re unlikely to end up making the world a better place. The only way we can do that is by contributing our positive energy – our love, kindness and compassion. Many who are full of anger and hate, many who feel the need to be forever at war, attach themselves to undeniably good causes as a sort of disguise. “Look,” we say to ourselves. “That person must be doing it right, she’s spending all her free time attacking … whatever the particular appalling thing might be.” But no; if the impulse is an attack impulse, it can only do harm.’

It was decided that only the younger sister should be confronted in the first instance. Within five minutes of being told about the nonexistent proof that she’d murdered her parents, she admitted to the murders. Despite having more than enough money, she was terrified that some worst-case scenario would befall her for which her savings would prove inadequate. She killed her parents for her inheritance, hoping that would lessen her anxiety, and had no qualms about trying to frame her sister, whom she regarded as a decadent waste of space.

The group of detectives who solved the crime worked differently afterwards. As well as thinking about evidence, they tried to be attuned to positive and negative energies in those they interviewed. The result? Unsurprisingly, their solve rate hit a record high and stayed high thereafter.

Chapter 9

9

12/1/2015