Luke Rheinhart - The Diceman

down with what I tried to make seem suppressed fury. He released her.

I glared once briefly at each of the other two men and turned and left. With what must have been considerably less dignity than Peter or Matthew following Jesus, Linda followed.

Chapter Fifty-nine

[Being a questioning of Dr. Lucius Rhinehart by Inspector Nathaniel Putt of the New York City police regarding the unfortunate escape of thirty-three mental patients from a performance of Hair. Six of the patients are still at large.]

`Mr. Rhinehart, I-' `It's Dr. Rhinehart,' interrupted Dr. Mann irritably.

`Ah, excuse me,' said Inspector Putt, ceasing his pacing briefly to. stare back at Dr. Mann seated beside Dr. Rhinehart

on a low, ancient couch in the inspector's office. `Dr. Rhinehart, first, I must inform you that you are entitled to have a

lawyer present to rep-'

`Lawyers make me nervous.'

`- resent you. I see. All right. Let's proceed. Did you or did you not meet with Eric Cannon in the cafeteria of QSH

between the hours of ten thirty and eleven fifteen on August 12?'

`I did.'

`You did?'

`I did.'

`I see. For what purpose?'

`He invited me to see him. Since he was a distinguished former patient of mine, I went' `What did you talk about?'

`We talked about his desire to see the musical Hair. He informed me that many of the patients wanted to see Hair.'

`Anything else?'

'I shook the dice and determined that I would do everything is my power to take Eric and thirty-seven others to see

Hair.'

`But, Luke,' interrupted Dr. Mann. `You must have realized the incred -'

'Steady, Dr. Mann,' said Inspector Putt. `I'll handle this.'

He came and stood directly in front of Dr. Rhinehart, his tall, slender body leaning forward, his sharp gray eyes falling

coldly on his suspect. `After you decided to help Cannon and others to leave the hospital, what did you do?'

`I forged Dr. Mann's signature on letters to me and to several others and proceeded to effect the temporary release of

the patients.'

`You admit this?'

`Of course I admit this. The patients wanted to see Hair.'

`But,' but said Dr. Mann.

`Steady, sir,' interrupted the inspector. `If I understand your position now correctly, Dr. Rhinehart, you are now

confessing that you did, in fact, forge Dr. Mann's signature, and on your own initiative obtain the release to go to

Manhattan of thirty seven mental patients.'

`Thirty-eight. Absolutely. To see Hair.'

`Why did you lie to us before?'

'The Die told me to.'

'The…'

The inspector stopped and stared at Dr. Rhinehart. 'The die . . . .yes. Please describe your motivation in taking the

patients to Hair.'

'The Die told me to.'

`And why did you cover up your trail by forging Dr. Mann's signature and pretending to try to see Dr. Mann?'

'The Die told me to.'

`Your subsequent lying was 'The Die told me to.'

`And now you say-'

'The Die told me to.'

There was a very long silence, during which the inspector stared neutrally at the wall above Dr. Rhinehart's head.

`Dr. Mann, sir, perhaps you could explain to me precisely what Dr. Rhinehart means: `He means,' said Dr. Mann in a

small, tired voice, `that the dice told him to.'

`A cast of the dice?'

'The dice.'

`Told him to?'

`Told him to.'

`And thus,' said Dr. Rhinehart, `I had no intention of permitting any patients to escape. I plead guilty to forging Dr.

Mann's signature on trivial letters which, as I understand it, is of misdemeanor, and to showing poor judgment in the handling of mental patients, which, since it is universally practiced by everyone else associated with mental hospitals, is nowhere considered a crime of any sort.'

Inspector Putt looked down on Dr. Rhinehart with a cold smile.

`How do we know that you did not agree to help Cannon and Jones and their followers escape?'

'I will give my statements and, when you get close enough to talk to him again, you will have Mr. Cannon's statements,

which, however, will be inadmissible as evidence no matter what he says.'

`Thanks a lot,' the inspector said ironically.

`Does it not occur to you, Inspector, that in telling you that I forged Dr. Mann's signature, I may be lying because the

Die has told me to?'

'What-'

`That in fact my original statements of innocence may be the true ones?'

`What? What are you suggesting?'

`Simply that yesterday when I heard that you wished to question me again, I created three options for the Die to

choose from: that I tell you I had nothing to do with the order to go to Hair; that I tell you that I initiated the excursion

and forged the orders; and thirdly, that I tell you I conspired with Eric Cannon to help him escape. The Die chose the

second. But which is the truth seems to me to be still an open question.'

`But, but.'

`Steady, Inspector,' said Dr. Mann.

`But - What are you saying?'

'The Die told me to tell you that the Die told me to take the patients on an excursion to Hair.'

`But is that story the truth?' asked Inspector Putt, his face somewhat flushed.

Dr. Rhinehart shook a die onto the little coffee table in front of him. He examined the result.

`Yes,' he announced.

The inspector's face became redder.

`But how do I know that what you have just said `Precisely,' said Dr. Rhinehart.

The inspector moved in a daze back behind his desk and sat down.

`Luke, you're relieved of all your duties at QSH as of today,' said Dr. Mann.

`Thank you, Tim.'

`I suppose you're still on our board of management for the simple reason that I don't have the authority to fire you

from that, but in our October meeting -'

'You could forge Dr. Cobblestone's signature, Tim.'

There was a silence.

`Are there any more questions, Inspector?' Dr. Rhinehart asked.

`Do you wish to initiate criminal proceedings against Dr. Rhinehart for forgery, sir?' the Inspector asked Dr. Mann.

Dr. Mann turned and looked a long time into the black, sincere eyes of Dr. Rhinehart, who returned his gaze steadily.

`No, Inspector, I'm afraid I can't. For the good of the hospital, for the good of everyone, I wish you'd keep this whole

conversation confidential. The public thinks the escape was a conspiracy of hippies and blacks. For all we know; as Dr.

Rhinehart so kindly points out, it still may be a conspiracy of hippies and blacks. They also wouldn't understand why

all Dr. Rhinehart has done only constitutes a misdemeanor.'

`It confuses me, sir.'

`Precisely. There are some things we must protect the common man from knowing as long as we can.'

`I think you're right.'

`May I go now, fellows?' asked Dr. Rhinehart

Chapter Sixty

The Die is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed,

And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,

Though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.

I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my Die

Than to dwell in the tents of consistency.

For the Lord Chance is a sun and a shield

Chance will give grace and glory and folly and shame:

Nothing will be withheld from them that walk randomly.

Q Lord of Chance, My Die, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. .

from The Book of the Die

Chapter Sixty-one

`Your free will has made a mess of things,' I told Linda after explaining at length my dice theory. `Give the Die a try.'

`You sound like a TV commercial,' she said.

Nevertheless, Linda and I began living a dicelife together, the first full dice-couple in history. She knew she'd reached