Jonathan Kellerman - Time Bomb

Latch had radicalized her fast. She got arrested with him regularly, dropped out of school, lived in splendid Telegraph Avenue squalor. To the press, the irony was irresistible: In Hollywood circles, Fritz Brundage had long been regarded as a crypto-fascist- a prime mover behind the McCarthy-era blacklist and a passionate union-buster. The media covered his daughter’s wedding as if it were hard news. Latch played to the cameras, enjoying his role as First Radical. Soon after the wedding he took Miranda to Hanoi, recorded messages for the Viet Cong exhorting GIs to desert their posts. The networks were there with open mikes. The Latches returned to the United States topping the Ten Most Hated List, fielding death threats and possible prosecution for sedition.

They went into seclusion at a ranch owned by the old man. Somewhere up north. People wondered why Fritz had given them sanctuary. The government decided not to prosecute. There were rumors of Fritz’s calling in markers. Latch and Miranda stayed out of the public eye for five years, until Fritz died, then emerged, the heirs to a fortune. Freshly barbered and mature. Apologetic for Hanoi, self-proclaimed “democratic humanists,” eager to work within the system.

A move to the West Side of L.A., a couple more years of good works- environmental activism, groceries for the homeless, charity camps for disadvantaged youths- and Latch was ready for the electoral process: a City Council seat vacated by the car-crash death of a well-loved incumbent with a well-hidden drinking problem and an abhorrence for delegating authority. No designated successor, a sudden vacuum filled by Latch. And some generous monetary transfers from the former Brundage estate to the party’s coffers.

The only protests against Latch’s nomination came from veterans’ groups. Latch met with them, ate crow, said he’d grown up, had a vision for the city that transcended partisan politics. He ran against token opposition. Regiments of college students went door-to-door in the district distributing potholders and talking clean air. Latch won, made an acceptance speech that sounded downright middle-of-the-road. Miranda seemed content to host political teas.

She photographed well, I noticed. Kneeling on the beach scraping tar off an oil-slicked pelican.

End of montage. The anchorman offered a two-sentence review of the racial tensions at Hale. More shots of crying kids. Worried parents. A long view of the empty schoolyard.

The tail end of the story was an interview with a portly, white-bearded psychologist named Dobbs, billed as an expert on childhood stress who’d been enlisted by the School Board to work with the children. That held my attention.

Dobbs had on a three-piece suit that looked as if it had been woven from Shredded Wheat, and toyed with a heavy-looking watch chain as he spoke. His face carried a lot of loose flesh and he pursed his lips a lot, which made him look like a rubber Santa mask gone sour. He used home-grown jargon that made my head reel, talked a lot about crisis intervention and moral values- had plenty to say about how society had lost its moral fiber. I kept waiting for him to hold up a book jacket.

The phone interrupted his spiel.

“Dr. Delaware?”

“Speaking.”

“This is Linda Overstreet. You gave me this number, so I figured it was all right to use it.”

“Sure, Linda. What’s up?”

“Have you by any chance been watching the news?”

“Got it on screen right now.”

“So you saw him- Dobbs.”

“In all his tweedy glory.”

“He’s lying, believe me. No one called him in on anything. I know because I spoke to the Board this afternoon and they hadn’t gotten themselves in gear yet.”

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. What I do know is that Dobbs has got connections with the Board. So he probably assumed they’d give him the okay, just went steamrolling ahead on his own.”

“What kind of connections?”

“A couple of years back, after one of the earthquakes, he presented a very slick proposal to the Board: crisis intervention free of charge, at several schools- including the one where I was in training. What he actually ended up doing was having his assistants administer computerized tests to the kids and hand out brochures. Nothing hands-on. Couple of weeks later, some of the parents started getting phone calls informing them the tests had shown their kids to be suffering from severe emotional problems. Strongly advising them to bring the kids in for individual therapy. Those who resisted got follow-up calls, letters, not-so-subtle pressure. Funny thing is, all of the ones who were followed up lived in high-priced ZIP codes.”

“The poor get poorer and the rich get therapy?”

“Yup. The Board got a few complaints about the hard sell, but overall they were pleased with Dobbs because he hadn’t cost them a dime and they got testimonials from some of the parents of the kids who went for treatment, saying it had been helpful.”

“Are his credentials on the level?”

“Far as I know.”

“Hold on for a second. I’ll check.”

I went into the library, got an American Psychological Association directory, and came back on the line.

“What’s his first name?”

“Lance.”

I thumbed to the D’s, found a bio on Dobbs, Dr. Lance L., and skimmed it. Birthdate in 1943, Ph.D. 1980, in educational counseling from a land-grant college in the Midwest. Internship and postdoctoral training at a drug rehab center in Sacramento. State license in ’82. Director of Cognitive-Spiritual Associates, Inc., since ’83. Two addresses: West L.A. and Whittier.

“Looks bona fide,” I said.

“Maybe, but with assistants doing all the work, what’s the big deal if he himself is qualified? I see him as a self-promoter- the kind who loves to see himself on screen.”

“This is L.A.,” I said. “People demand more than their fifteen minutes of fame.”

She laughed. “So you’re not ticked off?”

“Why should I be?”

“You do the work; he takes the credit. Seems to me I spend half my time dealing with ego stuff, stepping on toes. Guess I’m sensitized to it.”

“My toes feel fine.”

“Okay,” she said. “I just wanted to keep things straight. If Dobbs’s people show up, I’ll handle it.”

“Thanks. And thanks for calling.”

“Sure.”

Silence.

I said, “How’s everything going at school?”

“Good as can be expected.” Her voice broke. “It’s just starting to sink in, how close we all came… what a mess the whole thing is.”

“How’re you doing?”

“Oh, I’ll survive. What I’m really concerned about is the kids. I talked to a few of the teachers and the feedback I got on your sessions was positive.”

“I’m glad.”

“How do they look to you- the kids?”

“Scared. But nothing abnormal. What’s encouraging is that they seem able to express it. You and the teachers have obviously done a good job over the past two years.”

“What are they scared of, specifically?”

“The youngest ones are concerned about separation from their parents, so you may see some school phobia and increased absenteeism from them. The older ones talked more about pain and suffering- trying to imagine what it felt like to be shot. Some discussion of death. Some anger’s starting to come out, too, which is good. Anger and fear are incompatible in kids- one drives out the other. If they can harness their anger and focus it, it’ll help them feel more in control in the long run.”

“Anger heals, huh?” she said. “Maybe I should try it.”

“Maybe,” I said. “Though I have to be honest: With adults the fear-anger thing isn’t that clear-cut.”