Джонатан Келлерман - When the Bough Breaks

It was ugly. A thick, raw red scar the size of a fat worm. A worm that had burrowed under her scalp and settled there. The skin around it was livid and lumpy, showing the results of bad surgery, devoid of hair.

“Now you know why I cover it!” she cried. “He did that to me! With a chain! Ronnie Lee Quinn.” She spat out the name. “A crazy, evil bastard. That’s the Daddy Daddy she’s cryin’ out for! That scum!”

“Now, now,” said Towle. He turned to us. “Do you gentlemen have anything more to discuss with Mrs. Quinn?”

“No, Doctor,” said Milo and turned to leave. He took hold of my arm to guide me out. But I had something to say.

“Tell her, Doctor. Tell her those were not seizures. They were night terrors and they’ll go away by themselves if you keep her calm. Tell her there’ll be no need for phenobarbitol or Dilantin or Tofranil.”

Towle continued to pat her shoulder.

“Thank you for your professional opinion, Doctor. I’ll manage this case as I see fit.”

I stood there rooted.

“Come on, Alex.” Milo eased me out the door.

The parking lot of the apartment complex was crammed full of Mercedes, Porsches, Alfa Romeos and Datsun Zs. Milo’s Fiat, parked in front of a hydrant, looked sadly out of place, like a cripple at a track meet. We sat in it, glum.

“What a mess,” he said.

“The bastard.”

“For a minute I thought you were going to hit him.” He chuckled.

“It was tempting. The bastard.”

“It looked like he was baiting you. I thought you guys got along.”

“On his terms. On an intellectual level we were good old boys. When things fell apart he had to find a scapegoat. He’s an egomaniac. Doctor is omnipotent. Doctor can fix anything. Did you see how she worshipped him, the goddamned Great White Father? Probably slit the kid’s wrists if he told her to.”

“You’re worried about the kid, aren’t you?”

“You’re damn right I am. You know exactly what he’s going to do, don’t you – more dope. She’ll be a total space cadet in two days.”

Milo chewed on his lip. After a few minutes he said “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it. I’m sorry I pulled you into it in the first place.”

“Forget it. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Nah, it was. I’ve been lazy, trying for an instant miracle on this Handler mess. Been avoiding the old wear-down-the-shoe-leather routine. Question Handler’s associates, get the list of known bad guys with razor-happy fingers from the computer and plod through it. Go through Handler’s files. The whole thing was iffy in the first place, a seven-year-old kid.”

“She could have turned out to be a good witness.”

“Is it ever that easy?” He started up the engine, after three attempts. “Sorry for ruining your night.”

“You didn’t. He did.”

“Forget him, Alex. Assholes are like weeds – a bitch to get rid of and when you do, another one grows back in the same place. That’s what I’ve been doing for eight years – pouring weed – killer and watching them grow back faster than I can clear them away.”

He sounded weary and looked old.

I got out of the car and leaned in through the window.

“See you tomorrow.”

“What?”

“The files. We have to go through Handler’s files. I’ll be able to tell faster than you will which ones were dangerous.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. I’m carrying around a huge Zeigarnik.”

“A what?”

“Zeigarnik. She was a Russian psychologist who discovered that people develop tension for unfinished business. They named it after her. The Zeigarnik effect. Like most overachievers I’ve got a big one.”

He looked at me like I was talking nonsense.

“Uh-huh. Right. And this Zeigarnik is big enough for you to let it intrude upon the mellow life?”

“What the hell, life was getting boring.” I slapped him on the back.

“Suit yourself.” He shrugged. “Regards to Robin.”

“You give regards to your doctor.”

“If he’s still there when I get back. This middle-of-the-night stuff is testing that relationship.” He scratched at the corner of his eye and scowled.

“I’m sure he’ll put up with it, Milo.”

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

“If he’s crazy enough to go for you in the first place, he’s crazy enough to stick with you.”

“That’s very reassuring, pal.” He ground the Fiat into first and sped away.

At the time of his murder, Morton Handler had been in practice as a psychiatrist for a little under fifteen years. During that period he had consulted on or treated over two thousand patients. The records of these individuals were stored in manila folders and packed, one hundred and fifty to a box, in cardboard cartons that were taped shut and stamped with the LAPD seal.

Milo brought these boxes to my house, assisted by a slight, balding, black detective named Delano Hardy. Huffing and wheezing, they loaded the cartons in my dining room. Soon it looked as if I was either moving in or moving out.

“It’s not as bad as it seems,” Milo assured me. “You won’t have to go through all of them. Right, Del?”

Hardy lit a cigarette and nodded assent.

“We’ve done some preliminary screening,” he said. “We eliminated anyone known to be deceased. We figured they’d be low probability suspects.”

The two of them laughed. Dark detective laughs.

“And the coroner’s report,” he continued, “says Handler and the girl were cut by someone with a lot of muscle. The throat wound on him went clear back to the spine on the first try.”

“Which means,” I interrupted, “a man.”

“Could be one hell of a tough lady,” laughed Hardy, “but we’re betting on a male.”

“There are six hundred male patients,” added Milo. “Those four boxes over there.”

“Also,” said Hardy, “we brought you a little present.”

He gave me a small package wrapped in green and red Christmas paper with a bugle and holly wreath pattern on it. It was tied with red ribbon.

“Couldn’t find any other paper,” Hardy explained.

“We hope you like it,” added Milo. I began to feel as if I were the audience for a salt-and-pepper comedy team. A curious transformation had come over Milo. In the presence of another detective he had distanced himself from me and adopted the tough-wiseacre banter of the veteran cop.

I unwrapped the box and opened it. Inside, on a bed of cotton, was a plastic-coated LAPD identification badge. It bore a picture of me like the one on my driver’s license, with that strange, frozen look that all official photos seem to have. Under the picture was my signature, also from my license, my name printed out, my degree and the title “Special Consultant.” Life imitates art…

“I’m touched.”

“Put it on,” said Milo. “Make it official.”

The badge wasn’t unlike the one I had worn at Western Pediatric. It came with a clasp. I affixed it to my shirt collar.

“Very attractive,” said Hardy. “That and ten cents might get you a local phone call.” He reached into his jacket and drew out a folded piece of paper. “Now, if you’ll just read and sign this.” He held out a pen.

I read it, all small print.

“This says you don’t have to pay me.”

“Right,” said Hardy with mock sadness. “And if you get a paper cut looking over the files you can’t sue the department.”

“It makes the brass happy, Alex,” said Milo.

I shrugged and signed.

“Now,” said Hardy, “you’re an official consultant to the Los Angeles Police Department.” He folded the paper and slipped it back in his pocket. “Just like the rooster who was jumping the bones of all the hens in the henhouse. So they castrated him and turned him into a consultant.”