Roger sat on his small prison cot, neatly arranging the countless pages of painstakingly handwritten notes before him. They were in numerical order at the moment, though he could also alphabetize them by topic or cross-reference them by technique used - by heart. That sort of knowledge is what you acquire when you've been sitting in a 12 foot by 12 foot cell for the last 14 years. His notes were on a very specific topic: he had feverishly studied all the advances against cancer in the past fifty years, and, through the superhuman effort he replaced the routine of a normal, non-incarcerated person with, he solved the riddle. He found the chromosome that makes people susceptible to attacking their own bodies, leaving them cancer-ridden and dying a painful death. Once he isolated it, he knew he had information that any government, any individual on the planet would give him anything for. Which, unfortunately for everyone else on the planet, put him in a bargaining position that you are loathe to give to a serial killer.
Roger is, in fact, a serial killer. Though he discovered the cure to one of humanity's prime miseries, he spent his early years wreaking sadistic havoc on his hometown in Arizona. Born an unbelievably intelligent sociopath to a modest middle-class rural family, he was treated well by his parents and two siblings. By all accounts, he excelled in school and could only be faulted by his excessive pride in himself and his accomplishments. There was certainly no suspicion of his dangerous mental condition within his family, friends, or schoolmates. No one would find about Roger's tendencies until his first girlfriend, Melinda, disappeared on a gloomy December morning.
That semester Roger was studying medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He excelled in his classes, even the toughies like molecular biology. It seemed like no math equation could stump him; no mix of chemicals was beyond his ability to pull apart again. He spent his time outside of classes working hands-on in groundbreaking research with professors and showing off his trophy girlfriend, Melinda. A classic Scottsdale-bred 5'8, 115 pound blonde, usually balanced precariously on high heels and walking around campus with her sorority sisters, Melinda did truly care for Roger.
Roger is, in fact, a serial killer. Though he discovered the cure to one of humanity's prime miseries, he spent his early years wreaking sadistic havoc on his hometown in Arizona. Born an unbelievably intelligent sociopath to a modest middle-class rural family, he was treated well by his parents and two siblings. By all accounts, he excelled in school and could only be faulted by his excessive pride in himself and his accomplishments. There was certainly no suspicion of his dangerous mental condition within his family, friends, or schoolmates. No one would find about Roger's tendencies until his first girlfriend, Melinda, disappeared on a gloomy December morning.
That semester Roger was studying medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He excelled in his classes, even the toughies like molecular biology. It seemed like no math equation could stump him; no mix of chemicals was beyond his ability to pull apart again. He spent his time outside of classes working hands-on in groundbreaking research with professors and showing off his trophy girlfriend, Melinda. A classic Scottsdale-bred 5'8, 115 pound blonde, usually balanced precariously on high heels and walking around campus with her sorority sisters, Melinda did truly care for Roger.
