Chapter 7 - Chapter 6

# Chapter 6
AYANDA

A beat of silence passes while I let his words settle. The insistent ticking of the clock on the wall and the warder's sudden cough steal my attention for a moment. My mind reels as images of Vusi as a ten-year-old boy flood my mind.

It dawns on me that Justice is right. I am out of my depths. The cold-hearted killer in front of me has just told me in a detached voice about how his mother forced him to slaughter a kitten. What am I supposed to say to that?

Hayi, I shouldn't be here. I'm not cut out for this job.

My eyes flick down to the recorder.

"Have you got any other questions for me today, ma'am?"

Swallowing, I try to gather myself. "Is that why you think you are the way you are?" Motioning with my hand, I continue, "A serial killer."

"Do I think I have been sentenced for the murder of fourteen women because my mother made me kill a kitten?" He keeps watching me intently, and I want to unzip my skin and run for the door. The question feels juvenile.

"I think anyone can be made into a killer given the right circumstances."

"You were only a child—"

"But I was an adult man when I kidnapped those women."

Chewing on my cheek, I sigh and look out the window at the darkening clouds. "You wouldn't have killed those women if it weren't for how your mother treated you."