I know you will all share my excitement at having Sam Sinclair back for another interview. The fourth volume of his V-Logs will be out very soon and he has popped in to chat about it.

Hi Sam. It’s been ages, how have you been?

Hello. It’s been a year I think. Wow doesn’t the time go quickly? I’m fine, keeping busy with work as usual.

You look great; you haven’t aged a day. What’s your secret?

Thank you. I’m afraid I can’t claim it’s all down to good genetics. I do have to make an effort to look after myself. I work out every day if possible, and visit a dermal optimiser a couple of times a year. As you get older, it gets harder and takes more effort to keep looking good.

You’re right, I know exactly what you mean. Now, you have a new V-Log coming out very soon don’t you? What is it called and can you outline it for us?

It is called Fetish, and yes, it should be available within a week or two. This case took me back to my home world, Sigma Prime, and had me working back at Headquarters just like before I went freelance. In a nutshell, we found ourselves with a serial killer working my home city and my boss called me home to help apprehend him.

So you got to spend some time at home. That must have been nice after all those years of quick flying visits.

To be truthful, it was weird being back home for so long all in one stretch. After eleven years freelance, working the shipping lanes out there in the void of space, being grounded and working a desk at Headquarters again made me feel like I’d had my wings clipped. I only realised the difference my job had made to me when I had to try to blend back in to an office environment with the team and all the Headquarters rules and regulations. Those very rules and regulations are the main reason I went freelance in the first place, and to be back under their strict control again was frustrating at times.

So tell us about the serial killer. What made him so special that your boss called you back? That has not happened before, has it?

You’re right, it hasn’t happened before. There were a couple of reasons he called on me. First, I was nearby at the time and was able to get home quickly. Second, this killer was one of those who only appear perhaps once in your lifetime. He was so dangerous and his crimes, so awful that my boss decided he needed someone he felt totally comfortable with at his side on this one. We know how each other thinks, how each other is likely to react. We have a deep friendship and level of trust that enables us to work almost as one person, with two independent but harmonious minds working together.

You are friends on a personal level away from work aren’t you?

Yes. Whenever I’m home for a visit, I always spend time over at his home with him and his family. I lost my parents when I was a child, and I’ve always thought of my boss and his family as the nearest thing to my own family. They have always treated me like their son and the bond we have is one of love and deep trust. I couldn’t be any closer to my natural parents than I am to my boss and his family. This bond we have is a great comfort to me when I’m away for weeks and months at a time.

You say this killer was exceptionally bad. Can you be more specific as to why and how?

Well I don’t want to give anything important away to spoil it for anyone, but his killings were exceptionally gruesome and violent. The level of savagery was something I have not witnessed before, none of us had. It started out with the death of one of our own law enforcers from Headquarters, but quickly escalated into something horrendous. It almost cost me my life at the end.

What? You almost died? Can you explain?

I almost became his last victim. It was only by superb teamwork, and a bit of luck, that I was saved and he was captured in time.

Were you injured? Are you okay? What happened?

I had a couple of broken fingers and some bruising but that’s all.  I wasn’t too physically hurt but I do have psychological scars that will always be there because of what he did. I can’t tell you what happened or it will spoil it for readers, but that experience changed me permanently.

Changed you how?

His crimes were so awful, like you can’t imagine. I’m much more aware of how life can really mess with a person’s mind than I ever was before this happened. We all hear about folks who have a tough upbringing and we feel sympathy for a moment, but we don’t realise just how much those traumas can change a person for the worse. No child is born evil. It’s life and interaction with other people that can make what is an innocent child, a blank slate, grow into the most hideous of monsters. Life makes these people the way they are; their experiences, the people they interact with on a daily basis. That’s why such dreadful crimes happen; because life screwed with someone’s mind. Knowing this has made me much more aware of how I conduct myself with others. I care deeply about the influence I could be having on someone when I talk with them and touch their lives. It doesn’t stop me being an effective law enforcer of course. If anything it enhances it.

I realise how precious each moment is now, and I make much more of an effort not to waste any of them. People can be taken away from you in the blink of an eye and the rest of your life without someone you care about is a very long time. Believe me, I know. I try to make the most of every moment with those I love now, just in case I lose them. I have had years of regret at all the things I didn’t do or say with those I’ve loved and lost in years past, and I don’t want to experience that anymore. Every moment of time that passes can never be regained. It’s gone for good so I try to make the best use of each one. You never know how many more moments of life you have left, so I don’t want to waste any, in case it’s my last.

It also made me aware of the potential for evil in all people. This case brought me into close contact with the results of the most unspeakable acts of violence from the most tormented of minds. I really did not want to know such evil exists and how easy some people can hide it from you. Now I do know and I worry for those I love. Those I love now worry for me a little more than they used to, and it makes me angry that we have been left with this legacy of fear.

This case gave me nightmares for a few months after it finished and I still have them from time to time. I also have a dread of enclosed spaces that I never had before.

So some of the fallout could be described as positively enhancing your life. Not all of it is negative.

Indeed not. I feel that the way this case affected me is mostly positive and I’m grateful to have this new insight. I look upon it as a little bit of extra payment for the suffering this case caused.

I’m so glad you’re okay and not permanently damaged by whatever happened.

I’m fine, really. Thank you.

Apart from this case, how are things in your life? Are you still single? Are you still the same Sam as always?

I’m still single, but there have been one or two personal changes. I’ve moved home for one thing. I sold my apartment and bought a dilapidated house and had it restored and redesigned. I now live just a mile from my boss and the family. It’s in the countryside on the outskirts of the city, so things are quieter there. I’m more social now too. I make an effort to get together with friends whenever I’m home, and I keep in touch with them while I’m away. I never used to do that. I always used to keep myself detached from people to avoid the stress and difficulty of being an absent friend, but again, this case changed my way of thinking about that. I’ve also changed in regard to the way I treat women.

Oh? You’ve always been a bit of a ladies man, if you don’t mind me being candid.

I don’t mind. You’re right, I was very much like that. I like to think I’m a lot more respectful now, and more of a giver rather than just a taker when it comes to ladies. Yet again, it was this case that caused this change. The ramifications of those events were huge and affected so many people, not just me. I lost some friendships through it, and others were strengthened because of it. I’m angry at the loss of friendship, but happy at all the positive changes.

I hope you never have to experience such a traumatic case again Sam.

I seriously doubt I will. Something like this is thankfully very rare and the chances of a similar event happening again is  very slim. Thank you for your concern. This was truly a life changing event.

So Fetish will be out in a week or two?

Yes, it will be available very shortly.

Thank you so much for coming to chat again. I always enjoy meeting you. Don’t leave it so long next time.

You’re very welcome, always. I promise I won’t leave it so long.