The Psychopath: A True Story(28)
After a short time, Juan decided something was very wrong. Bill had no money to pay him, nor to buy anything for the restaurant. Bill said that his passport and wallet had been stolen which had delayed things further. Juan started to investigate. He stayed back at the hotel one day when Bill and Amabel went out and searched through everything that Bill possessed. He found nothing incriminating but Juan couldn’t shake the suspicious feeling.
Then one day Bill left his backpack behind and Juan looked through it. Inside he found documents, a dozen credit cards under different names, and two passports, one fraudulent and one under the name of William Allen Jordan. He looked the name up on the Internet and was horrified to see pictures, articles and information about this international con man and serial sexual predator.
That was when Juan looked me up and contacted me by email, asking if I would talk to his sister. I agreed immediately and she and I started to talk. Amabel was very shaken but I explained that it was nothing she had done, nor had she deserved to be treated this way. I let her tell me her story and helped her to see along each step of the way what was true and (mostly) what was not.
Amabel’s family rallied around and took her out of the hotel that night, leaving behind all her belongings, including her computer, her clothes and documents.
Initially Amabel told Will that she had family problems and would be back with him shortly. Then she spoke to the hotel owner and arranged to pick up her stuff when Will was out. She got everything except her passport and birth certificate which Will Jordan had in a file in his backpack.
Amabel went to Interpol and the police but no one was interested and they just sent her away. Finally a police officer took an interest in the fact that Will Jordan still had her passport and thought they could arrest him for theft, but as soon as the police were involved Will Jordan disappeared. Amabel received her documents back by post.
Will Jordan initially called and texted Amabel to try to talk her round. He promised that he had his reasons for doing what he had done and everything was not as it seemed. He even promised to send proof but it was never forthcoming.
The whole relationship with Will lasted just over a month but the devastation Amabel feels will last a lifetime. The first few weeks after Will left, Amabel felt afraid all the time. She felt like she was being followed and that he might suddenly appear and try to hurt her. When she realised that this was not his style and that he would probably never contact her again she started to relax, but still felt very insecure. She felt ashamed and very sorry for herself and her family.
Amabel and her family had to pay around $4,000 in fines to the real estate company to break out of the contract for the apartment.
It would take Amabel a long time to trust anyone again. Each time she was presented with the opportunity to develop a relationship she would wonder if the person she was attracted to had bad intentions and what might go wrong. She and I remain friends and continue to stay in touch. Another stranger that I have never met, across the other side of the world, but one with whom I share a complete understanding of what we each went through.
After July 2010 and Amabel, everything went silent and the flood of new victims stopped. I knew that either Will Jordan had changed his name to stop people finding out about his past or he was in jail again. However, it was inevitable that someday someone else would get in touch. It was only a matter of time.
THE HYPNOTIST
Having had such success as the author of a memoir, I wanted to try my hand at writing a novel – currently still a work in progress, It involves regression hypnosis. It is a thriller involving regression hypnosis, so I started research into hypnotism as I needed to understand the process to include in the book. I contacted a couple of hypnotists to ask if I could interview them and also if they would hypnotise me and let me record it for research purposes. Of these, one encounter stood out.
When the hypnotist opened the door, there was a nice-looking chap with salt-and-pepper hair, good figure, average height. Just a normal bloke. But instantly our hands touched I felt a chemical attraction and it was obvious he felt it too. He had an intense look in his eyes and held my gaze intimately. I shook off the feeling, thinking how obvious I was making it that I was attracted to him – and got on with the interview. We talked about his background. He had initially been in the police force but had become disillusioned by the lack of positive change he was able to make in the community and how society seemed so dark. So he next went into a seminary and studied theology, becoming a minister for a while. However, he didn’t feel that he was doing much good there so left and became a social worker instead. After years of doing that he had studied hypnotism and found he was passionate about how much it helped individuals overcome difficult issues and make real changes in their lives. Finally he had found where he belonged.
I was fascinated. All the while the man was talking he looked at me with those intense eyes. I was so drawn to him and instinctively felt a huge connection but at the same time mentally quite detached. This man was quite clearly a psychopath. I was even more fascinated because I could now see it so vividly. His focus on me was intoxicating. He talked about himself but it came across like he was trying to impress me. His body language was reflective of mine as he mirrored my movements, and he subtly complimented me on various things. He was starting to love-bomb me.
Knowing what I did now I could see what was going on. I could certainly feel the pull of this man but my understanding of how psychopaths work protected me like a shield.