“This is definitely Gilbert’s work. I’ve been here almost as long as he has, and I am pretty well versed in his manner and style of writing. I would imagine that you have a thousand questions. So, let’s get started.”
Walter exhaled loudly as if he were about to begin an unpleasant chore. He opened the file and began to scan the information. “Your father came here about twenty-four years ago after being found incompetent to stand trial for homicide.” He paused after the word “homicide” and lifted his gaze to the young man across the desk. The word did cause some tension in Seven’s face but not quite as much as Walter expected. Seven assumed that if his father was locked up before he was born and had not been released in twenty-four years that the charge would be serious. However, hearing the word still caused an increase in the speed of his tapping left toes. Walter noted a slight change in the young man’s facial expression and determined that the information had been digested. He returned to the file folder. “He was arrested and charged with four homicides in four states. According to the file he is suspected of having committed many more, but the evidence was never developed to support more charges.” The second wave of information achieved the reaction that Walter expected.
Seven now had a puzzled and confused look on his face. “Walter, are you saying that my father is a serial killer?”
Walter closed the file folder and chose to provide Seven with his own amended version of the case. “Seven, Gilbert was a long-haul truck driver. He traveled all across this country and into Mexico. He was driving in Miami when a car cut him off and sent his semi off the side of the road, where it flipped on its side. Gilbert was seriously injured and was flown to a nearby hospital by helicopter. When the highway patrol began sifting through the wreckage, they found four bodies in the refrigerated compartment of the trailer. They all appeared to have been murdered. The state and federal officials traced the bodies to Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arizona. They were able to identify each of them, but