Payne and Bell recognized Keyes’s threat as the mind control of an experienced criminal. Payne had learned it at Quantico and heard variations in countless confessions. “You’ll regret it.” “I’ll hurt you.” Neither is: “I’ll kill you,” and that gives a victim hope. The best criminals always leave that window open, because it makes manipulating and controlling someone so much easier. And victims often believe, fatally, that they’ll be let go.
