Sebastian sat quietly, almost sheepishly, in the psychologist's office. This was perhaps Jim Moriarty's silliest plan to date, but since Sebastian could not provide an alternative plan that did not involve hostages and/or arson, this one had to do. As per usual, this was the kind of plan that Jim could have easily done himself, but naturally, he claimed to have more important things to do. So instead, he sent Sebastian.
The man sitting opposite Sebastian was not the target. If anything, he was an innocent victim, tangled up with the wrong men. But somewhere in his room, tucked away in a specific book, was something that Jim needed. There was no need to use force. For this situation, stealth was better. The longer it took for anyone to realize the book was gone, the better. If Sebastian were to break in and steal it, the book would be the first thing these people would look for. So stealth it was.
For this appointment, Sebastian was Tim Ellicot, a struggling musician with relationship troubles. Until Sebastian could find a way to get the psychologist out of the room, he would have to play the part.
The therapist shifted in his seat, rousing Sebastian from his train of thought.
"Uh, sorry." He muttered. "What was the question?"
"It's ok, Tim. You need time to really think about this. I know this is a tough issue to face. I asked you how long you've felt trapped in the relationship with Denise." The therapist put on his most patient face, but it was not too convincing.
"About six months, maybe? I don't know…" Sebastian was never one for acting.
"You said earlier that she wants to get married. Is she pressuring you about this?"
"No, not really." Sebastian tried his hardest to keep the conversation on track, but he couldn't help but scan the bookshelves, looking for the book he needed. "Danielle's talked about it, but-"
"Danielle?"
"Yeah…Shit." Sebastian took a second to realize his mistake. How could he get something so simple as a name wrong? Jim would eat him alive for fucking this up. Before he could reach for his gun to salvage this situation, the therapist spoke.
"So there's another woman then?"
Sebastian sighed in relief, hoping it would come across as more of an uneasy, thought-gathering motion to the therapist. He nodded, wondering when this mind-numbingly dull situation would end.
"It must be tough, juggling two women in secret. Would you like to talk about it?"
Sebastian was struck with an idea. He put his head in his hands, and forced his voice into a high-pitched, almost hysterical whine. "I just don't know what to do anymore!"
The therapist looked taken aback for a moment, then smug at this new breakthrough of emotion. He gave Sebastian a pat on the shoulder. "It's ok to cry, son. It happens to the best of us."
Sebastian took this as a cue to take his performance to the next level. Head still hidden in his hands, out came the sobbing. The body-wracking, I-think-I'm-going-to-burst-a-capillary type of sobbing. He pretended to calm himself slightly, before choking out the next move in his plan. "I'm so sorry. Do you think I could have a moment alone?"
The therapist sat back in his chair. "Of course. I'll go make some tea."
The very second the door closed, Sebastian was on his feet, scrambling over chairs to get to the bookcase. He had maybe 3 minutes at the most, so he had to move fast. Frantically, he scanned the spines of the books on each shelf, looking for a black book with gold lettering. He pulled out several, before shoving them back in place after reading the title. He tried to keep them all in this original places, since the whole idea of the plot was that nothing looked out of place. On the fourth shelf down, Sebastian found the book he was looking for. He yanked it out, and shifted the books to either side slightly, to cover the gap the missing book had left. Not bothering to flick through the book, he shoved it in the backpack he had brought with him. He slung the bag over one shoulder, and charged through the door into the waiting room. He looked at the therapist, making a pot of tea in the corner, declared that he would not be returning to complete the session, and strode out of the building, not looking back.
Outside, one of Jim's cars was waiting for him. He sat in the back, and said nothing to the young, weedy little driver that regularly chauffeured him between jobs. Once the therapist's office was out of sight, Sebastian pulled the book out of his bag. Historical Perspectives of Abnormal Psychology, the gold letters on the cover read. Out of curiosity, Sebastian flicked through the pages. Nothing of note stuck out to him. There was no written additions, no highlighting, not even a page tucked away somewhere. Jim had purposely kept him in the dark about what exactly was in the book, so Sebastian was not surprised by this. A particular word caught his eye, and he flicked back to the page. It wasn't a code, or a secret message, just an ordinary title.
Chapter 13: Hare's Psychopathy Checklist Revised.
This triggered a thought in Sebastian's mind. The word psychopath had been thrown around plenty of times in relation to Jim Moriarty, but it seemed like a go-to word for "crazy" these days. Was he actually a psychopath? Sebastian skimmed the text. Apparently, some person called Hare had come up with a checklist of twenty traits that a prototypical psychopath would have. Just from a quick read of the list, plenty of past experiences with Jim sprang to mind.
A/N: From here on in, each chapter will be a short, somewhat self-contained story based on each of the traits on Hare's checklist.