Evil Genius Read Free Page A

minute.
    "Yes," he replied at last.
    "Because there's only one way to find out if you do," Thaddeus went on. "You can only tell whether you've mastered a system if you isolate and identify its weakest point. If you knock that out and the whole system collapses, then you know you've got a handle on it."
    Cadel absorbed this advice silently. Across the room, Thaddeus watched his pale little face grow perfectly still.
    Satisfied, Thaddeus once again picked up his newspaper.
    For the next five months, Cadel worked and waited. Every spare moment was spent riding the rails, and at last, one afternoon in May, he spied a particular signal light being repaired. He got out at the next stop, and while his nanny was buying mints at a newsstand, he phoned Sydney Rail with the news that there was a bomb planted in a certain subterranean station. Then he went home to watch TV, which was full of stories about terrible rail delays affecting the entire Sydney network. Though no one had been hurt, on some lines commuters had been forced to wait for up to five hours.
    The next day, Thaddeus asked Cadel if the train chaos had had anything to do with him.
    "No," said Cadel.
    "Are you sure?"
    "I'm sure." Cadel had a very small mouth and innocent eyes. Although he was now eight years old, he hadn't grown much. Thaddeus looked at him thoughtfully for a while before nodding.
    "You should never admit to anything," he said. "Denial is the second rule after 'Don't get caught.' You must always remember that, Cadel."
    Cadel didn't even nod. He was being cautious.
    "One way of making sure you don't get caught is by leaving the scene of the crime," Thaddeus continued. "If you keep concentrating on the railways, somebody's going to make a connection one day. You realize that, don't you? You're going to have to get interested in something else."
    Cadel blinked.
    "After all, you've proved your mastery," Thaddeus pointed out. "What else can Sydney Rail possibly give you? Nothing. You should move on to another challenge. The road system, perhaps."
    Cadel's eyes narrowed. Previously, he had accepted Thaddeus as being simply part of his life. Now, for the first time, he questioned the psychologist's motives. What exactly was he up to?
    "Do you tell Stuart and Lanna about anything we say in here?" Cadel asked.
    "Of course not." Thaddeus spoke dismissively. "Why should I?"
    In response, Cadel gazed at him until Thaddeus uttered a short laugh.
    "Of course, you're free to doubt me on that," Thaddeus conceded. "I wouldn't trust me, either, if I were you." Whereupon he resumed his reading, leaving Cadel to turn things over in his head.
    The following week, after much thought, Cadel asked Thaddeus another question. "Are you really a psychiatrist?" he wanted to know.
    "A psychologist," Thaddeus replied jovially. "Yes, I really am. Haven't you seen all my degrees? I specialize in 'troubled youth.'"
    "Then why are you letting me use your computer when I'm not meant to?"
    "Because I think it's good for you."
    "Better than talking?"
    At this, Thaddeus cast aside his newspaper. He was sitting on the crimson couch, his long legs stretched out in front of him. Folding his hands across his stomach, he fixed Cadel with a bright and curious look.
    "Why? What do you want to talk about?" he inquired softly.
    "I dunno." Cadel had watched enough television to understand that certain things were to be expected in a psychologist's office. "Shouldn't I talk about my parents?"
    "Who aren't really your parents."
    "No," Cadel agreed.
    "Does that bother you?"
    "No."
    "Why not? Because you despise them?"
    Cadel lowered his chin a fraction, as he always did when he was feeling defensive. He looked warily at Thaddeus from beneath his fringe of curls.
    "I don't despise my parents," he said flatly.
    Thaddeus smiled. With a cracking of joints, he rose to his full height, which was considerably more than Cadel's.
    "Don't bother lying to me, Cadel."
    "I'm not."
    "Do you think I don't know contempt when