With Malice (24 page)

I wanted to believe what she said, but I could tell by her expression that she wouldn't.

TELEVISION TRANSCRIPT FOR
CRIME WATCH WITH NINA GRIMES

(Theme music)

NINA: Good evening and welcome to
Crime Watch
with your host, Nina Grimes. We've got a guest in the studio with us tonight. Dr. Sharon Rubio, a psychologist, is here to discuss the possible motivations of Niccolo Landini, the young Lothario at the heart of the Simone McIvory murder scandal. With the news that the rental car belonged to Nico and that he was in Montepulciano at the time of the crime, it's raised people's interest in him and what his role might have been. Welcome, Dr. Rubio, and thanks for being with us.

DR. RUBIO: Thanks for having me, Nina. Always a pleasure.

NINA: What can you tell us about this Niccolo Landini character? What kind of guy is he?

DR. RUBIO: Well, first off, I should say that I haven't had the opportunity to meet with, or do any psychological testing with, Mr. Landini, so my thoughts are more general.

NINA: And let me be sure to tell our viewers that your inability to meet with Mr. Landini is certainly not your fault. Our producers reached out to him and his lawyers, and offered him several opportunities to come on the show and tell us his perspective, but he declined. Wouldn't even send us a prepared statement. For a guy who prides himself on being a sweet-talker—he's sure keeping mum now. Our show also offered to provide him with the chance to take a lie-detector test to clear his name—with one of the best examiners in the business, I might add—and he declined that as well.

DR. RUBIO: As with many crimes, it seems the core of this one is passion. I thought it would be useful to first talk about attraction. Most people seek out romantic partners based on finding someone they are attracted to who is around the same status level as themselves. For example, wealthy people tend to date other wealthy people, attractive people tend to be around the same level of attractiveness, and educated people tend to choose others who have similar amounts of schooling. We say that opposites attract, but the truth is we're much more likely to seek out someone similar to ourselves.

NINA: Then how do you explain the beautiful young woman who wants to marry an old man? The rooster with the spring chicken, as my grandma used to say.

DR. RUBIO: That's easy—I bet your grandma knew the answer. People are also attracted to someone who offers them something that they are either missing or seeking. What I'm saying is that a young woman may choose to date a much older man because she is seeking financial security, and the older man may be seeking youth and vitality. I can't speak about Mr. Landini directly, but I can say that choosing romantic partners who are both younger and less savvy than you can show a lack of confidence. That is, that the person selects individuals based on the comfort of being relatively certain that the individual will respond to their overtures. They don't know their own worth, so they set their targets lower.

NINA: So you choose someone who will think you're a big deal because they don't know any better?

DR. RUBIO: (Laughter.) That might be simplifying things, but generally is right. However, there is another reason someone might seek out a relationship with someone who is of lower status. The person may be seeking out someone who is vulnerable, someone they believe they can control.

NINA: Hmm—now, that doesn't sound good. What kind of person might do that?

DR. RUBIO: There are a couple of options. One is someone who might have narcissistic personality disorder. Now, this term can get thrown around—“Oh, that guy is a real narcissist”—but it is an actual psychological condition.

NINA: Tell us a bit more.

DR. RUBIO: Narcissistic personality disorder is characterized by a long-standing pattern of grandiosity, an overwhelming need for admiration, and often a complete lack of empathy toward others. People with this disorder often believe they are, for lack of a better term, the center of the world.

People with this condition often display snobby, disdainful, or patronizing attitudes. They're the kind of person who might make fun of someone who makes an error, and can be rude to people who are in service roles like cashiers or waiters, or they hijack a discussion at a dinner party to show off how smart they are.

NINA: That's interesting. A few of the students who were on the Adventures Abroad Program talked about how this Nico fellow was always lecturing them on history and art. Granted, that was his job, but they describe him as really overbearing, a know-it-all. He tended to talk down to them as if they weren't capable of understanding the things he knew.

DR. RUBIO: That would certainly fit with the disorder. Now, there is another kind of person who might seek out a vulnerable partner, and that's a psychopath.

NINA: Whoa.

DR. RUBIO: Yes, that's a diagnosis that certainly is alarming. These are individuals who might seem quite ordinary on the outside—and in fact are often described as quite charming—but are missing some key component of empathy. They tend to have rather shallow emotions, a sense of overconfidence; they tend to blame others for things that are their fault, and they're often selfish and have a predisposition to violence. Not that everyone who is a sociopath or psychopath will be violent. It's important to note that.

NINA: But they can be.

DR. RUBIO: Yes.

NINA: So let's take a look at Nico. He puts himself in a role where he gets to be the all-knowing guide, where he can show off what he knows to a bunch of impressionable young students. When we had one of the students on here, Brad, he talked about how charming Nico was. Then we know for a fact that this Nico pursued not only Jill, but also her friend Simone, without any remorse about what this might do to their friendship. Then when he was caught and lost his job, he blamed the girls and the program head, Ms. Ochoa, for being too puritanical. Then for reasons that we still don't know, he rented a car to follow these girls and when that car ended up in an accident, he got his friend to lie about it and lied to the police about where he was when the crime happened. Who knows if this case might have broken open sooner if he'd been honest from the get-go?

DR. RUBIO: It's certainly a troubling pattern of behaviors.

NINA: Is it possible that he rented this car to follow the girls and get them to change their story so that he wouldn't be in trouble with the university? I mean, if he were angry and saw the girls as the ones to blame for his trouble . . .

DR. RUBIO: As I said, I haven't had the chance to meet with Mr. Landini, so I couldn't really speak to his motivations.

NINA: But someone who has these conditions that you described, they would be capable of something like taking a violent action to protect themselves, wouldn't they?

DR. RUBIO: Certainly.

NINA: Well, that does give us a lot to think about. Now if only Mr. Landini would be willing to speak openly, we might be able to clear all of this up. We'll be back after this commercial break to talk about how to keep your loved ones safe on vacations.

EXCERPT FROM THIRD POLICE INTERVIEW WITH NICCOLO LANDINI

Date: 24 May  Time: 13:30

Florence Police Department

Present: Niccolo Landini, Detective Salette

Original transcript in Italian, translated to English by Stoker and Mills Translation Services, New York, New York

DETECTIVE SALETTE: So when you said in our last meeting that you never saw the girls again, that was a lie, wasn't it? You rented the car to go to Montepulciano. Were you going to see Jill or Simone?

NICCOLO: It wasn't a lie. I didn't see them. Yes, I rented the car to go to the town, but I never met up with them. I went to apologize. When I got to the town, I realized I didn't know what to say, so I took a walk to clear my head. I left the car parked outside their hotel. I was so scattered that I left the keys in the car.

DETECTIVE SALETTE: A walk. Did anyone see you?

NICCOLO: If I had known what would happen, then I would have made certain to have an alibi, but alas, I did not. When I heard of the accident and that it involved my car, I left. I didn't want to be involved. And I wasn't. I didn't see either of them.

DETECTIVE SALETTE: Your friend indicated that you didn't want to see them to apologize, but rather because you were upset about losing your job, and you wanted them to speak to the program head so that she would take back her decision.

NICCOLO: Do you know how it will look on my school record that I was fired from this job for being “sexually inappropriate”? I want to go into teaching. No one will hire me.

DETECTIVE SALETTE: So you were angry.

NICCOLO: Of course I was angry. This is my career. And it is over because of some stupid kiss with a girl who wanted to make her friend jealous? Two little girls who play games with each other over who is better than whom? It's bullshit. (Pause.) I don't think I should answer any more questions without my lawyer.

INTERVIEW TERMINATED

Evan bounded into the conference room like a kid in a bouncy castle. He clapped his hands together. “We've got some good news,” he declared.

“Thank God,” Mom said. “It's about time.”

“So the news about Nico being with both girls and his lies about the car has changed the focus of the coverage. If there's anything the media hates, it's some perv who abuses kids.”

“We're only a couple of years apart,” I pointed out.

Evan shook his finger in my face. “No. He's an adult in a position of power and authority who manipulated young girls for sexual purposes. The media company we hired—”

I sat up. “What you do mean, media company?”

My parents exchanged a glance. “We thought it would be best to bring someone on to represent your interests,” Dad said. “Someone who could make sure your perspective is out there too, spin things, so to speak.”

“If it's my interests, how come I wasn't even told?” I asked. “You keep treating me like a child. This situation involves me. You can't keep shutting me out when it's information you don't want to share. First there were the pictures, now this.”

Dad's nostrils flared. “You want to be an adult? Well then, we're trying to change the story that you're a selfish, insecure slut who murdered your best friend over some guy.” Dad's voice bounced around the small room. “The whole world basically thinks you did it, and if we don't figure out a way to fix this, then your butt is going to be in jail for a long time. So maybe you could appreciate how we're trying to help you instead of back-seat-driving this.”

I was shocked. He'd never spoken to me like that before. Dad ran his hand over the top of his head. Everyone else in the room was silent, suddenly fascinated by the tabletop, unable to meet my eyes.

“I know you guys have done a lot,” I said, my voice coming out tight and small. I wanted to explain that he was misunderstanding what I had said. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate everything, but I needed to be a part of the decisions being made. They'd stepped in and were managing every aspect of my life, but it was
my
life. I was the one who was going to have to live with whatever happened, so they couldn't shut me out with the excuse that they didn't think I could handle it.

“Do you?” Dad said. “Your mom lost her job, she's had to move to an apartment to get away from the media, your stepmom and I had to open a line of credit against our home to cover these costs. Your mom coordinates everything, including trying to make sure that you have just the right kind of juice because you don't like the kind they serve here.”

I winced. I hadn't asked my mom to buy me the Tropicana we always had at home, I'd simply said that I couldn't stand the stuff in the cafeteria. It had pulp in it. I hated how the threads of pulp would stick in my throat. Thick strands of fruit hair. When I'd mentioned it, she'd brought in a carton of Tropicana and put it in the patient fridge on the ward with my name written in Sharpie on the side. Then I realized I'd missed the important thing.

“Wait, you lost your job?”

Mom glared at my dad. “I didn't
lose
my job. The company felt that it might be better for everyone if I took a leave. Just until things with you are settled. It's worked out perfectly; it's given me more time to be here.” Mom smiled as if she were glad about how things had fallen into place, but I could tell the truth behind her fake smile. Her boss didn't want the mom of a murderer working there. That's the kind of thing that can be bad for business.