Page 132 of The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
Psychopaths lack empathy. If anyone is totally cut off from psychic or any other sort of connection, it should be psychopaths.
Oliver Menzies
True, they don’t process emotion the way neuro-typical people do. Yet they have an acute understanding of how those who experience empathy behave. They recognise love, sympathy, guilt and obligation, without feeling any of those complex emotions themselves. They understand what drives others to act and exploit it accordingly. What if ‘empathy’ in psychopaths is simply replaced by this ‘sixth sense’ for how others behave? THAT’S a scientific basis for something otherwise unexplainable by logic.
Amanda Bailey
By the time we know someone is a murderous psychopath, they’ve had years of trial and error dealing with the empathetic world and a lifetime to hone their observational skills.
Oliver Menzies
I know that. But Gabriel is different. This is what I’m wrestling with, Mand. See, meeting Gabriel PROVED to me there’s something special about him. That there are people and events that defy rational explanation. I know I’m smart. I’m not easily fooled. So there must be something in it. If you’d met him, you’d understand.
Amanda Bailey
But he refused to meet me.
I emailed the London Fire Service press office to ask about David Polneath. Jayden Hoyle replied with the below, 30 July 2021:
TO:Amanda Bailey
DATE:30 July 2021
SUBJECT:Re: The late David Polneath
FROM:Jayden Hoyle
Dear Ms Bailey,
Thank you for your email regarding Mr David Polneath who was sadly declared deceased at the scene of a fire at Belgrade Mansions on 27 July. I am very sorry for your loss and understand he was a dear friend and close colleague with whom you were working.
Unfortunately, his flat is still cordoned off and the police haven’t yet released it. They await the findings of the Fire Investigation Unit who will ascertain whether the blaze was suspicious. I have attended the residence myself and can confirm that no paperwork and no electronic appliances are extant. The entire apartment has been totally gutted by the conflagration, which began in the lounge and was pulled through the rooms by a series of flashovers and draughts that channelled the fire horizontally from the front window to the rear doorway. Luckily the residences on either side and above were not affected. Whatever Mr Polneath was working on for you, I am afraid it is lost.
I am sorry to have no more positive news for you at this time.
Yours,
Jayden Hoyle
Public Relations
London Fire Service
WhatsApp messages between Ellie Cooper and me, 30 July 2021:
Ellie Cooper
Everything OK, Mand?
Amanda Bailey
All good. Thanks, Ellie.
Ellie Cooper
It’s just you’ve gone quiet on the transcription front. Are all your interviews done?
Amanda Bailey
