Excerpt from ’Jade Murder Without Remorse” by Sari Lantana(penname) (available on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Google, Booktango and all ebook

I hadn’t heard from Jade in quite some time, so was not surprised to hear her

voice on the phone.

“Dr. Cohen, I am having some problems dealing with my paranoid feelings,” Jade said with just the hints of fear in her voice. “I keep thinking someone is not only following me but is privy to my most sacred inner thoughts.”

“Jade,” I said in a conciliatory voice, “you know we talked about this previously

and I explained to you that these perceptions are not unusual in a person with

psychopathic tendencies. If you are not doing anything that would get you into

trouble, just ignore these delusions and get on with your life. Are you still driving the truck in North Dakota? You haven’t called me in a while so why don’t you fill me in on your life and what you are doing?”

“Well,” Jade laughed, “I recently got married again to a terrific man who is the

owner of the oil company where I am working. He is the man of my dreams and

we are very happy together. I am still driving the truck although he would like me to quit doing that. I really haven’t considered stopping my job since I trained so hard to learn the ropes during truck driving school. My new skills may come in handy some day.”

I recoiled in horror at the thought of Jade with a new husband. “What are your

plans for the new man in your life? Don’t you think that it is dangerous to be

married again to someone because of your aberrant tendencies? “

“Don’t worry so much, Dr. Cohen,” cajoled Jade. “If anything were to happen to

Jim, it would not be at my hands. I can tell you, for sure, that I have learned from the lessons of the past.” Jade knew this statement to be true because she was learning new skills every day in her quest for wealth.

“If you really believe someone is watching you,” I warned, “don’t do anything to

your new husband. What if your thoughts are not in your imagination and you are in someone’s crosshairs?” I wanted to put a healthy fear into Jade’s heart so she would not commit anything untoward. None of the former murders could be pinned to Jade and I knew that she was too smart to be caught if another death occurred. Jade had told me about snowmobiling with friends while the men, and some of the women, including Jade, hunted for game. I didn’t like the thoughts of guns being anywhere near Jade.

“Be careful while you are around firearms,” I cautioned. “They’re very dangerous and accidents can happen! Don’t forget that snowmobiles can be hazardous also, in the wrong hands.”

“Dr. Cohen, you know that accidents never happen around me. Accidents only

happen around fools and you know that I am no fool!”

Somehow, this pronouncement did not reassure me but Jade was unwilling to talk any longer and concluded the phone call. There was nothing that I could do now that would change the course of the future but I did have an idea that was already developing in my mind and that I had put partially into play. But Jade, as intelligent as she thought she was, had no inkling of my ideas to stop her future course of action. I just hoped that I would not be too late to prevent the death of this present husband or others in the impending progression of Jade’s life. Jade was confident in having the ability to develop and carry to conclusion her schemes. However, after listening to her confide in me, I knew that I would have the strength to thwart her. A true psychopath feels impervious to all outside threats but she did not consider me a hindrance. I planned to take advantage of her feeling of omnipotence, giving her no indication of my abilities. I felt that I could dangle her from a string and manipulate her according to my desires.

It is possible that I was assuming too much power in trying to influence her life

but I welcomed the challenge. But, as it turned out, I was no match for Jade.