17

In his time as a True Crime writer, Byron had interviewed many people, many of them disturbed or troubled in some way. In these interviews, he would often run up against what he called The Breakdown, to the point where, due to the pressures of telling him their story a person would hit an unknown well of feelings and just… shut down, usually in a maelstrom of tears. They always recovered but it was at a point that Byron always hated, even dreaded. 

The young murderess across the table from him was showing all the signs of The Breakdown being imminent—from closing her eyes, to taking deep breaths and biting her lip. For a fleeting second, he considered standing up and hugging the girl, drawing her into his arms and holding her close until she got it all out. He wondered if anyone had done this for her, this little but important thing, and figured that no one had. Murderers didn't tend to get such luxuries. Though h