whole.” He pressed his lips together for a moment. “I do remember him saying several times that he was ready to be done with people entirely, that animals behaved more rationally and in a way that would preserve their species as a whole, rather than destroying it.” Dr. Swift chuckled, though there wasn’t much humor in it. “I thought he was mostly joking, or just . . . venting. Although I have to say, I didn’t completely disagree with the sentiment. It’s easy to become cynical after studying societal downfalls year after year. Sometimes it feels like things never change.”
Mark offered a wry smile. He didn’t completely disagree with the sentiment either. He’d seen things in his line of work that made the idea of abandoning people entirely and living with wild animals sound appealing. People were hateful and cruel, vicious, and underhanded. But . . . but they were also capable of selflessness and acts of deep love and grace. Mark had to remind himself of that often. And the fact was, people needed other people in order to hold on to their own humanity. He didn’t need to be a social scientist to know that.
“So, you think Isaac Driscoll may have bought land far away from society because the work he did caused him to disdain people in general?”
Dr. Swift released a long breath and rubbed at his eye with one finger. “I can’t speak to his exact motives. Like I said, it’s been a long time since I’ve spoken with him. But . . . it doesn’t sound improbable to me.”
Mark nodded, reaching into his pocket and bringing out the small notebook. Inside, he’d placed a printout of a still frame of Lucas as he’d waited in the holding cell a couple of days before. He unfolded the printout and handed it to Dr. Swift. “Do you recognize this man?”
Dr. Swift regarded the picture for several moments before shaking his head. “No. Who is he?”
“A man currently living on Driscoll’s property. He says Driscoll allowed him to stay there after his parents abandoned him.”
Dr. Swift sighed again. “That sounds like Isaac.”
“How do you mean?”
“Isaac did a lot of volunteer work for social services programs. We did many studies on the foster care system—still do—and it was one of the areas of research that particularly bothered Isaac.”
Mark nodded. “Understandable.” The worse cases he’d worked on had involved kids. He could never desensitize himself to the idea of a child suffering in any way. And as far as Mark was concerned, if he ever did, that was the moment he’d know it was time to turn in his badge.
“What’s interesting is that he allowed this man”—he pointed to the photo of Lucas still on the table—“to stay on his property when he was only a child, but never alerted any authorities that he’d been abandoned.”
Dr. Swift stared down at the photo of Lucas for a moment before meeting Mark’s eyes. “Maybe to Isaac, the foster care system was a fate worse than living alone in the wilderness.”
“Do you think it’s possible he was really that far gone?”
Dr. Swift shrugged. “I’m only speculating.”
Mark nodded, pulling another picture out of his notebook. “What about this woman? Have you seen her before?”
Dr. Swift looked at the photo of the woman who’d been found dead in the bed and breakfast, and his brow furrowed. Finally, he shook his head. “Not that I can recall.”
Mark took the pictures from him, re-folding them and returning both to his notebook before reaching across the table to shake Dr. Swift’s hand. “Thank you for your time. Please, if you think of anything else that might shed light on this crime, give me a call. And my email address is on that card too if you’d be so kind as to forward me the results of the last study Driscoll was working on.”
“Absolutely.”
Mark turned to leave when he spotted a picture hung on the wall to the left of the door. He moved closer, studying it.
“The Battle of Thermopylae,” Dr. Swift said, coming up beside him and looking at the picture.
Mark glanced at him. “This same picture is hung in Isaac Driscoll’s house.”
Dr. Swift looked at him, a small smile on his lips. “In fact, Isaac is the one who hung this here so many years ago.” His smile grew. “Government buildings rarely invest in decorating, I’m afraid.” He looked back at the picture as Mark removed his notebook and jotted down the name of the battle the