Evil Genius: There Is One amongst Us

By Jeri Ann Orrick

How well do we ever really know anyone? How often have you been surprised by the actions and behaviors of someone who you thought you knew? Would you be able to recognize the murderer working at the desk next to yours or who lives across the street from you?

Elena was a typical working mother, striving to juggle the responsibilities of caring for her family while working full-time in a high-profile communications company as a systems analyst. A combination of detailed focus and curiosity leads Elena on a terrifying journey that starts as an investigation of her manager's inconsistencies and takes her on a path that leads her to become his next victim.

This book is a work of fiction; however, the description of antisocial personality disorder and its effect on those it touches are accurate. Read about Elena's exciting and eventually life-threatening search for the truth behind one dangerously disordered individual. This terrifying story is infused with information and insights about serious mental illness in general, including schizophrenia, and its ramifications for families, communities, and places of work.

Virginia Waters Ph. D Psychologist

Virginia Waters told me multiple times that writing evil genius is a public service.

--Jeri Ann Orrick

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798886541465

Book preview

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Evil Genius

There Is One amongst Us

Jeri Ann Orrick

Copyright © 2023 Jeri Ann Orrick

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2023

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously; and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

ISBN 979-8-88654-138-0 (pbk)

ISBN 979-8-88654-144-1 (hc)

ISBN 979-8-88654-146-5 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Decision

The Interview

Getting to Know You

The Workplace

The Overture

Intricate Plotting

Retaliation

Old Friends, New Friends

Moonlight Jaunt

Life Goes on

Preparing for the Strike

Preparation for the Cruise

The 1986 Murders

Back to Work (the Data Problem)

Drinking Problem

New Position

Veronica

Jenny

Network Task Force

Anonymous Letter

Old Behaviors

Carlos, the Professor

Matthew: The Midnight Ride

Carlos, the Sociologist

Matthew's Attempt: Peter

Matthew's Life

Unsolved Mysteries: FBI

Retirement

LBI

The Yacht

Epilogue

Appendix A

Excerpts from Mask of Sanity and A Beautiful Mind

Appendix B

Basic Underlying Structure of Human Personality

Appendix C

Cleckley's Clinical Profile of the Psychopath

Bibliography

About the Author

For Dr. Virginia Waters

The Truth

All truth passes through three stages

First it is ridiculed

Then second it is violently opposed

Third it is accepted as self-evident.

—Arthur Schopenhauer

Truth is like the sun you can shut it out for a time but it ain't going away.

—Elvis Presley

The pen is mightier than the sword.

—Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Introduction

This novel is a compilation of many people's life experiences. It is what I call fictionalized reality. I want to inform the public of the psychopathic personality and its traits. On the surface, they seem normal, pleasant, intelligent, harmless; but underneath, the psychopath is destructive and harmful. The character in this book is based on Hervey Cleckley's clinical profile presented in his seminal work, Mask of Sanity.

Also included is a profile of a psychotic disorder known as schizophrenia. I see the traits of psychopaths and schizophrenics as opposite extremes: each at one end of a continuum of mental illness. Both are disruptive to the individuals around them.

Also included to clarify personality theory is an article by the author on the basic underlying structure of human personality.

Chapter 1

The Decision

Every journey begins with a single step.

—Maya Angelou

Elena Morano wanted to be a mother for as long as she could remember. Her dream came true after her marriage to her husband, Tony Morano. They went on to create a family together with two sons born five years apart. Of course, she didn't know what the future held, but she wished the best for them, hoping their lives would be enjoyable and fulfilling, that they would get good education as their parents had done and lead successful lives. She recognized the value of every moment spent at home with them and felt blessed that she shared their formative years with them, witnessing every first. Already, they both loved sports—soccer and baseball. As the newspaper was delivered, they rushed to get to the sports page. She enjoyed attending her kids' sports events and serving as class mother. And motherhood also brought with it a set of wonderful friendships with a group of other stay-at-home moms with whom she played tennis and bridge and attended neighborhood parties with her family.

Steven counted to sixty in the car today on the way to Long Beach Island (LBI), Elena told her husband, Tony, as he returned from his job as district manager of marketing information systems at National Public Telephone (NPT).

Well, good for you, Steven. That's pretty good for a four-year-old. It looks like you're following in your big brother's footsteps.

Steven, math is almost as good as soccer, Matthew, now in fourth grade, chimed in, revealing his passion for the subject.

Steven beamed at his accomplishment.

So how did the meeting with Tim go? Tony changed the subject as he asked Elena while the kids set the table.

Tim Donahue was the builder of a new condo being built on LBI that Elena and Tony had just purchased.

Well, she said it's going to be $2,000 more because we're the corner unit, and it requires glass doors to the deck, not just windows, and more kitchen cabinets for the wall where the door would have gone. She looked at him inquisitively.

How does that impact the budget? He did all the financial planning.

They had bought this house seven years ago in 1977 for $82,000, and now they were considering a summer place for the same amount.

Salaries have risen, and we can handle another mortgage. We're okay.

They had been vacationing on LBI since Matthew was a year old. They loved it and so did Cleo, their golden retriever.

They finished dinner, and the kids ran off to play Connect Four.

Elena took on a serious tone, saying, You know, it's been nine years since I worked. I left in 1975 to have Matthew. And now the kids are settled. And we have to start thinking about college tuition. Samuel next door got a football scholarship to USC, and it saves them $6,000 a year. In the early nineties, at current inflation rates, college tuition is predicted to be $60,000 a student. Steven is four and a half, and Matthew is nine… She hesitated. What do you think of me returning to the workforce now? I'm forty-one, and I read in the newspaper that IBM isn't hiring anyone over forty. I want full time. Part-time is less hours, but you wind up doing the same amount of work as a full-time employee.

I knew this day would come. I like having you home, and I think the kids do too. But I wouldn't interfere with you feeling fulfilled. The workforce is now 30 percent contractors, not employees. Would you go to a recruiting firm?

I guess. Whatever it takes. I could send some resumés out and see what response I get.

I will support whatever your decision.

So Elena followed the trend and went to a recruiting firm. Eventually they got her an interview with her former employer, NPT, in what was called a right-to-hire, where for a year you were a contractor. Then if both sides agreed, you are converted to an employee.

Elena remembered when she left in 1975 from her systems programming position when almost everybody was an employee. She had told her excellent project leader that she was leaving in five months because that was when her baby was due.

He had exclaimed in disbelief, You were going to get your fifty-five, a high-range second-level management position. She gave so much notice because her job responsibilities required two months of technical training and three more months of on-the-job training. She didn't think to say, I've been in this position for almost three years. I've earned it, because she was thrilled about her pregnancy and knew she would be a stay-at-home mom. She never did get that promotion.

Chapter 2

The Interview

Superficial charm and good intelligence.

—Hervey Cleckley, Mask of Sanity, Clinical Profile Trait 1

National Public Telephone (NPT) had fifty-two locations in New Jersey, but Elena's interview was not at any building she had worked in before. This new position was in a smaller building and off the main drag. She had no trouble finding it due to the excellent directions Rob Bogan, her recruiter, had given. Once she entered the building, she walked up the wide staircase and stopped at the security guard's podium on the next level. It was a secure building, and you couldn't get in without a badge. She had to be signed in.

Hi. I'm Elena Morano. I have an interview with Arnie Greco. He's a manager in message processing systems for new services.

Sure, I know Arnie. He picked up the phone and said, Arnie, I have an Elena Morano here for you. The guard paused. Okay. See you in a few minutes. The guard said what Arnie said. Sure, I'm expecting her. I'll be right down to sign her in.

Arnie appeared momentarily at the entrance to the foyer. He was an average-looking man of stocky build and medium height with brown hair and a bald spot on the crown. He was wearing a navy-blue suit. He stepped through one of the four large glass panel double doors and out into the foyer. The three steps, which ran across the whole width of the foyer, opened to a bright autumn day shining through the modern wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling glass windows like those in an atrium.

Hi, Elena. Arnie Greco here, he said, extending his hand and smiling.

They shook hands.

She responded, Glad to meet you.

The brightness lifted her spirits. She had no preconceived notion about him and felt comfortable with his average appearance. She felt a little self-conscious about her outdated navy-blue suit. It was the only suit she had. Even at work before she left, she was a systems programmer and wore dress down, including sneakers, which was the norm because she was in the computer room constantly. However, she thought her long-sleeved white blouse with tiny red polka dots was passable for the interview.

Once down the dark corridor, they entered the first office on the right. It was a small, square, windowless room with white walls. A bookshelf contained many white plastic binders and stood opposite the desk against the wall. Arnie motioned for her to sit in the nondescript chair in front of the otherwise empty wall as he quietly closed the door part way. Whatever Arnie pictured his office to be, it wasn't evident to anyone but him. Then Arnie sat at his desk and swiveled his chair sideways to face Elena.

Your resumé jumped out at me because I see you worked for National Public Telephone before, he began. I'm in a hurry to find someone for the job because I ain't got too much time. I need someone right away.

She noticed his language, and that should have been a red flag from the beginning. I'm available now, she said. Yes, I took their ten-week initial computer programming trainee course in 1970 and passed. I was then assigned to write code for COBOL programs for applications systems centrally developed for the National Operating Companies (NOC).

Yes, National Public Telephone has divested the NOC this year, Arnie interjected.

My husband, Tony, also works for the company, and we talk about it all the time. It's a time of great change. She paused. I also wrote test cases for the unit testing of the programs I wrote, she continued.

Arnie appeared thoughtful as he pursed his lips and nodded his head. I need an analyst to do the test plan for the billing.

Then I became the project leader for the Service Attitude Measurements system and did program specifications, design, modifications testing, and production support. There were no analysts. The programmer was the client interface.

So you are familiar with receiving requirements from the client? How are your writing skills? Arnie asked.

I love writing. I did documentation, and as a systems programmer in my last two years, I wrote technical memos to the programmers, worked with the JCN personnel, and maintained the operating system.

Arnie elaborated, So we are still National Public Telephone, and we have to bill long distance usage. My district manager, Bud Fowler, purchased a billing system from Cincinnati Public for one million dollars. We are in the process now of using it to bill long distance. He paused. But I am the manager of new services.

So it's not long distance? she asked.

No. The new service you're interviewing for is called Network Defined Software, known by the acronym NDS. It is going to be the flagship service for large business customers in the new competitive environment. It's groundbreaking territory, and there are more new services coming down the pike. He took out a binder from the shelf and threw it up in the air, letting out a sigh in a dramatic gesture. It contained an element of grandiosity that surprised Elena. We are analysts! he exclaimed.

So I won't I be a programmer?

No. You will be a systems analyst in a data processing district and have a lot of client contact for the requirements. Then you will write up the system requirements for the programmers and do the test plan. Bud's district has both the programmers and analysts for message processing systems (MPS).

Message?

We get the data off the network. A message is a record generated for every phone call made on the network. The network has two purposes in life. The first is call setup. The second is to generate a record of the phone call called a message. We named the records call detail. It's how we rate and bill. We bill in arrears. It's the most important data in the corporation. Every department wants a copy. We send files downstream daily—about eight million records in each file. Also, there may be some travel required with this position. We have installations in Pittsburgh, Virginia, Florida, and Kansas City. Would you be available a few days a quarter or as needed?

Sure. I think I could work that out.

How are you at public speaking?

Well, I taught computer courses at the Community College and Radio Shack.

So, Elena, do you think you are interested? Let your recruiter know. I have a couple of other interviews, and I ain't gonna be making a decision for a few weeks. And then maybe I'll be giving your recruiter a call. Thanks for coming in.

Elena drove home feeling satisfied with her performance. She knew she was lucky that they were hiring.

Tony was already home.

Hi, babe. How did the interview go? he asked.

Okay, she replied. Pretty good. Arnie seems excited and enthusiastic about the challenge. He is easy to talk to and was good at explaining the description of the job responsibilities. It seems like a good fit. There's a lot of work in billing in data processing.

I'm sure there would be. We're taking it over from the NOC.

There's also some travel to other locations, which could take me away from home.

Sure, that's understandable. We'll deal with it as it comes up. We have family as a support system. Well, good luck. He squeezed her hand and smiled.

Knowing her as he did, she sensed he realized her trepidation.

The boys appeared in the kitchen after returning from the backyard playing soccer.

Mom, if you take the job, how will it affect us?

Matthew asked, Will I still have soccer?

Yes, weekends will be the same. You'll just have to go to the after-school program, and Stephen will go to the local church day care center.

It was 1984 and Elena lived in a neighborhood with almost 100 percent stay-at-home moms. One woman had returned to teaching when her son was five. But most planned to be home for a while.

One of her last daily duties as a stay-at-home mom was to take her children to the book fair at the middle school. Although Steven didn't read yet, he loved