Rage by Jonathan Kellerman Page B

TODDI
defense.”
    The
Other Dude Did It.
    “Going
to grant the split?” I said.
    “Not
unless I have to. How smart is Turner?”
    “Considerably
above average.” I gave him those numbers, too.
    He
said, “No diminished capacity, there. Adult comprehension?”
    “Intellectually,
he can reason things out. But he’s thirteen, which is an interesting age.
There’s some evidence that adolescent brains undergo changes at fourteen to
fifteen that lead to fuller reasoning capacity. Even with that, you know what
teens are like. Rationality takes years to settle in.”
    “Sometimes
it never sets in,” he said. “So you’re leaning toward juvey but you don’t want
to put it in writing because of the enormity of the crime.”
    “I
don’t think it’s a psychological issue,” I said.
    “What
is it, then?”
    “A
judicial question. What placement would approximate justice to the greatest
extent.”
    “Meaning
it’s my problem.”
    I
didn’t answer.
    He
said, “I know teens are stupid. The problem is if we gave teen criminals
special treatment, a lot of really vicious thugs would be getting off easy. And
nothing in my experience matches the viciousness of this crime. They worked
that poor baby over really bad.”
    “I
know. But you’ve seen Turner. He looks twelve. I’m trying to picture him at
Quentin or a place like that and it’s not a pretty thought.”
    “Small
and smart, but he murdered a two-year-old, Alex. Why the hell would a smart kid
do something like that?”
    “That’s
another question I can’t answer,” I said. “I.Q. and moral development are
separate issues. Like Walker Percy said, ‘You can get straight A’s but still
flunk life.’ ”
    “Who’s
he?”
    “A
novelist and a psychiatrist.”
    “Interesting
combo,” he said. “So you’re telling me I’ve got a dumb kid and a bright little
sociopath and they just happened to murder a two-year-old. Any other antisocial
history for either of them?”
    “Not
for Rand. Everyone who knows Troy describes him as cunning, and some people at
the project called him cruel. He’s got a history of threatening younger kids.
He’s also suspected of killing stray dogs and cats, but I couldn’t find any
facts to back that up, so maybe the rumor mill’s working overtime because of
the murder. One woman implied he’d molested her daughter but refused to talk to
me about it. Given his upbringing, I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s been abused,
himself.”
    I
gave him a capsule of both boys’ histories, including Rand Duchay’s head injury
during infancy. “If you’re looking for mitigating factors, you’ve got plenty.”
    “Prisoners
of biology?”
    “And
sociology and just plain bad luck. Neither of these two had much in the way of
nurturing, Tom.”
    “Which
doesn’t excuse what they did to that poor little girl.”
    “Not
in the least.”
    “Have
you picked up any possible motive?” he said. “Because no one’s put anything
forward— including the cops.”
    “From
what I can tell, the abduction was impulsive. The two of them were headed to
the park to smoke and drink when they saw Kristal wandering around. They
thought it would be fun to watch Kristal smoke and drink. She got sick, started
to fuss, threw up, and things got out of control. There’s no indication they
were stalking her.”
    “Bad
luck for that little girl,” he said. “Okay, so it’s your basic senseless crime.
I was hoping for something a little more . . . psychologically
illuminating. But no beef, you were up-front about no promises. Forget the b.s.
about cutting your fee. When the government wants to give you money, take
it . . . there’s nothing at all you can give me about
disposition?”
    “What
will happen if you certify them as adults?”
    “Initially,
they’ll get long sentences and go off to Quentin or a place like it. If I juvey
them, they’re off to the California Youth Authority, which, nowadays, isn’t all
that different from grown-up