wisdom on my desk?”
“Soon.”
“Soon
is better than the alternative.”
* * *
I sat
down to write my report, starting with the easy part— the crime scene, the
background information, the test results. But even that was a struggle, and I
hadn’t gotten far when Lauritz Montez called me.
“How’s
it going, Doctor?”
I
said, “Have you changed your mind about my talking to Rand?”
“Maybe,”
he said. “My client cooperated fully the first time, didn’t he? You’ll make a
point of stressing that, right?”
“I’ll
do my best to be unbiased.”
“Look,”
said Montez, “the motion was Weider’s idea. You know what she’s like.”
“Actually,
I don’t.”
“Whatever,”
he said. “You do remember Rand cooperating fully.”
“I
do.”
“Good.”
His voice was tight. “He’s pretty depressed.”
“That
doesn’t surprise me.”
“Poor
kid,” he said.
I
didn’t answer.
“The
reason I’m calling, Dr. Delaware, is that Weider just put in for a bifurcated
hearing. Do you understand what that means?”
“She
wants to split Troy’s defense from Rand’s.”
“She
wants to screw me— screw Rand. I thought we were all on the same page
but she’s pulling a fast one, shifting to blaming it all on my client so her
little sociopath can get easy treatment. I thought you should be alerted.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m
serious,” he said. “The truth is obvious.”
“What
truth is that?”
“A
basically good, really stupid kid got caught up with a cold, cruel murderer. I
know you’ve been back to 415 City, I know everyone told you that.”
I
said, “What can I do for you, Mr. Lauritz?”
“I
respect your expertise and want to maintain open communication. No offense
about the motion to deny you access, okay? If you really want to talk to Rand,
fine. He’s remorseful. Consumed with remorse.”
I
didn’t answer.
“So,”
he said. “Are you going to be seeing him again?”
“I’ll
give you a call.”
I
didn’t.
He
never followed up.
* * *
Three
days into writing the report, I phoned Tom Laskin. “This isn’t working very
well.”
“What
isn’t?”
“I
told you at the outset that I might not be able to come up with meaningful
recommendations, and that’s what’s happened. If you want to reduce my fee,
fine.”
“What’s
the problem?”
“I
can’t produce clear data to help you with your choice. My personal preference
would be juvey certification because they’re kids and lacked adult capacity.
But I’m not sure I’d sleep well if I was responsible for that decision.”
“Why
not?”
“The
act was horrendous and I doubt making them C.Y.A. wards for a few years will
rehab them.”
“Are
they still dangerous?” he said.
“Would
they do something that bad again? On his own, Rand Duchay probably wouldn’t.
But if he hooked up with someone dominant and violent, it’s possible.”
“Any
remorse on his part?”
“He
seems to have some,” I said. “Was he thinking like an adult at the time of the
murder? No. Would that change in five years, or even ten? Probably not, given
his intellectual level.”
“Which
is?”
I
quoted the test results.
Laskin
whistled. “What about Turner?”
“Smarter—
a lot smarter. He’s got the ability to calculate and plan. Sydney Weider’s
going to claim Rand Duchay initiated the crime and her client was an innocent
bystander. The forensics say that’s not true, but Rand did admit striking
Kristal, and his size could work against him if you didn’t know better.”
“I’m
still on the remorse issue,” said Laskin. “Turner have any?”
“He
talks about sin, claims to be reading the Bible, has a couple of theology
students offering moral support. But I doubt there’s any serious insight there.
He denies he ever touched Kristal despite the fact that Kristal’s skin was
found under his fingernails.”
“Weider
sent me an impassioned request for bifurcation. Looks like just another
“Soon.”
“Soon
is better than the alternative.”
* * *
I sat
down to write my report, starting with the easy part— the crime scene, the
background information, the test results. But even that was a struggle, and I
hadn’t gotten far when Lauritz Montez called me.
“How’s
it going, Doctor?”
I
said, “Have you changed your mind about my talking to Rand?”
“Maybe,”
he said. “My client cooperated fully the first time, didn’t he? You’ll make a
point of stressing that, right?”
“I’ll
do my best to be unbiased.”
“Look,”
said Montez, “the motion was Weider’s idea. You know what she’s like.”
“Actually,
I don’t.”
“Whatever,”
he said. “You do remember Rand cooperating fully.”
“I
do.”
“Good.”
His voice was tight. “He’s pretty depressed.”
“That
doesn’t surprise me.”
“Poor
kid,” he said.
I
didn’t answer.
“The
reason I’m calling, Dr. Delaware, is that Weider just put in for a bifurcated
hearing. Do you understand what that means?”
“She
wants to split Troy’s defense from Rand’s.”
“She
wants to screw me— screw Rand. I thought we were all on the same page
but she’s pulling a fast one, shifting to blaming it all on my client so her
little sociopath can get easy treatment. I thought you should be alerted.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m
serious,” he said. “The truth is obvious.”
“What
truth is that?”
“A
basically good, really stupid kid got caught up with a cold, cruel murderer. I
know you’ve been back to 415 City, I know everyone told you that.”
I
said, “What can I do for you, Mr. Lauritz?”
“I
respect your expertise and want to maintain open communication. No offense
about the motion to deny you access, okay? If you really want to talk to Rand,
fine. He’s remorseful. Consumed with remorse.”
I
didn’t answer.
“So,”
he said. “Are you going to be seeing him again?”
“I’ll
give you a call.”
I
didn’t.
He
never followed up.
* * *
Three
days into writing the report, I phoned Tom Laskin. “This isn’t working very
well.”
“What
isn’t?”
“I
told you at the outset that I might not be able to come up with meaningful
recommendations, and that’s what’s happened. If you want to reduce my fee,
fine.”
“What’s
the problem?”
“I
can’t produce clear data to help you with your choice. My personal preference
would be juvey certification because they’re kids and lacked adult capacity.
But I’m not sure I’d sleep well if I was responsible for that decision.”
“Why
not?”
“The
act was horrendous and I doubt making them C.Y.A. wards for a few years will
rehab them.”
“Are
they still dangerous?” he said.
“Would
they do something that bad again? On his own, Rand Duchay probably wouldn’t.
But if he hooked up with someone dominant and violent, it’s possible.”
“Any
remorse on his part?”
“He
seems to have some,” I said. “Was he thinking like an adult at the time of the
murder? No. Would that change in five years, or even ten? Probably not, given
his intellectual level.”
“Which
is?”
I
quoted the test results.
Laskin
whistled. “What about Turner?”
“Smarter—
a lot smarter. He’s got the ability to calculate and plan. Sydney Weider’s
going to claim Rand Duchay initiated the crime and her client was an innocent
bystander. The forensics say that’s not true, but Rand did admit striking
Kristal, and his size could work against him if you didn’t know better.”
“I’m
still on the remorse issue,” said Laskin. “Turner have any?”
“He
talks about sin, claims to be reading the Bible, has a couple of theology
students offering moral support. But I doubt there’s any serious insight there.
He denies he ever touched Kristal despite the fact that Kristal’s skin was
found under his fingernails.”
“Weider
sent me an impassioned request for bifurcation. Looks like just another
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