Patterson, James - Alex Cross 1 - Along Came A Spider

“How many sessions have you had with Gary Murphy?” he asked me now. Gary Murphy, not Soneji.

“We had fifteen sessions over a period of three and a half months.”

“Enough to form some opinions, I trust?”

“Psychiatry isn't that exact a science. I would like to have had more sessions. I do have some preliminary opinions. ”

“Which are?” Nathan asked me.

“Objection!” Mary Warner rose once again. She was a busy lady. “Detective Cross has just said he would need more sessions to form a final medical opinion.”

“Overruled,” Judge Kaplan said. “Detective Cross has also stated he has some preliminary opinions. I'd like to hear what those are.”

“Dr. Cross,” Nathan continued as if none of the interruptions had occurred, “unlike the other psychiatrists and psychologists who have seen Gary Murphy, you've been intimately involved in this case right from the start-both as a police officer and as a psychologist. ”

The prosecutor interrupted Nathan again. She was losing her patience. “Your Honor, does Mr. Nathan have a question to ask?”

“Do you, Mr. Nathan?” Anthony Nathan turned to Mary Warner and snapped his fingers at her. “A question?-no sweat. ” He turned back to me.

“As a police officer involved from the very beginning of this case, and as a trained psychologist, can you give us your professional opinion of Gary Murphy?”

I looked at Murphy/Soneji. He appeared to be Gary Murphy. At this moment, he looked like a sympathetic and decent man who was trapped in the worst possible nightmare that anyone could possibly imagine.

“My first feelings and honest impressions were very basic and human. The kidnapping by a teacher shocked and disturbed me,” I began my answer. “It was a profound breach of trust. It got much worse than that. I personally saw the tortured body of Michael Goldberg. It's something I will never forget. I have talked with Mr. and Mrs. Dunne about their little girl. I feel as if I know Maggie Rose Dunne. I also saw the murder victims at the Turner and Sanders houses.”

“Objection!” Mary Warner was on her feet again. “Objection! ”

“You know better than that. ” Judge Kaplan froze me with a very cold look. “Strike it from the record. The jury is instructed to disregard. There is no proof that the defendant is involved in any way with the events just mentioned.”

“You asked for an honest answer,” I said to Nathan. "You wanted to hear what I believe. That's what you're getting.

Nathan was nodding his head as he walked to the jury box. He turned back toward me.

“Fair enough, fair enough. I am sure we'll get absolute honesty from you, Dr. Cross. Whether I like that Honesty or not. Whether or not Gary Murphy likes it. You are an extremely honest man. I won't interrupt your honest opinion, so long as the prosecution doesn't. Please go on.”

“I wanted to catch the kidnapper so badly that it hurt. All of us on the Hostage Rescue Team did. It got very personal with most of us.”

“You actually hated the kidnapper. You wanted to see whoever it was punished to the maximum allowable by law?”

“I did. I still do,” I answered Nathan.

“When Gary Murphy was apprehended, you were there. He was charged with the crime. You then had several sessions with him. What do you believe right now about Gary Murphy?”

“I honestly don't know what to believe right now.”

Anthony Nathan didn't miss a beat. “Then there is reasonable doubt in your mind?”

Mary Warner was wearing a spot into the ancient floorboards of the courtroom. “Suggestive. Leading the witness ' ”

6 “ne jury will disregard,” said Judge Kaplan“Tell us what your feelings are at this moment about Gary Murphy. Give us a professional opinion, Dr. Cross,” said Nathan,

“There's no way yet for me to know if he is Gary Murphy-or Gary Soneji. I'm not sure if two personalities do exist in this man. I believe there is a chance he could be a split personality.”

“And if he were a split personality?”

“If that were true, Gary Murphy could have little or no conscious idea about the actions of Gary Soneji. He could also be a brilliant sociopath who's manipulating every one of us. You, too.” “Okay I can accept those parameters. So far, so good,” Nathan said. He had his hands in front of his chest as if he were holding a small ball. He was obviously working to get a tighter definition out of me.

“This concept of doubt seems pivotal, doesn't it?” he continued. “This is the whole ball game. I would therefore like you to help the jury make their important decision. Dr. Cross, I want you to hypnotize Gary Murphy!” he announced. “Here, in this courtroom. Let the jurors decide for themselves. And I have the fullest confidence in this jury and their decision. I have all the confidence in the world that when these people see all the evidence, they'll arrive at the right decision. Don't you, Dr. Cross?”

Along Came A Spider

CHAPTER 62

HE FOLLOWING MORNING two simple red-leather armchairs were brought in for the session between Gary and me. To help him get relaxed, more oblivious to his surroundings, the room's overhead lighting was dimmed. Both of us were miked. Those were the only extra touches allowed by Judge Kaplan.

An alternative to this would have been a videotape of our session, but Gary said he believed he could be hypnotized inside the courtroom. He wanted to try. His lawyer wanted him to try.

I had decided to conduct the hypnosis as if Soneji/ Murphy were in his cell. It was important to block out some of the obvious distractions inside the courtroom. I had no idea if this would work, or what the outcome might be. My stomach was in knots as I sat in one of the armchairs. I tried not to look out into the courtroom audience,. I didn't appreciate being on stage, but especially now. In the past, I'd used a simple verbally suggestive

336 technique with Gary. We began the courtroom hypnosis in that same way. Hypnosis isn't nearly as complex as most people think. “Gary,” I said, “I want you to sit back and try and relax and we'll see what happens.”

“I'll do the best I can,” he said, sounding as sincere as he looked. He was wearing a navy blue suit, crisp white shirt, striped rep tie. He looked more like a lawyer than his own lawyer.

"I'm going to hypnotize you again because your lawyer feels it may help your case. You've told me that you want that help. Is that correct. II

“Yes, it is,” Gary said. “I want to tell the truth... I want to know the truth myself.”

“All right, then, I'd like you to count backwards from one hundred. We've done this before. Feel yourself relaxing with each number. You can begin to count. ”

Gary Murphy began to count backwards.

“Your eyes are starting to close. You feel much more relaxed now... in a sleeping state... breathing deeply,” I said in a voice that got quieter and quieter, almost a monotone.

The courtroom was very nearly silent. The only sound was a thick, vibrating hum from the room's air conditioner. Gary finally stopped counting.

“Are you comfortable? Is everything okay?” I asked him.

His brown eyes were glassy and moist. He appeared to have slipped fairly easily into the trance. There was no way to be certain.

“Yes. I'm fine. I feel good.”

“If you want to stop the session, for any reason, you know the way back out of this.”

He nodded softly as he spoke. “ I do. I'm okay, though.” He seemed to be only half listening.

Under all the pressure and the circumstances of the trial, it didn't seem likely that he could be faking this.

I said, “At another time, in a past session, we talked about your waking up at the McDonald's. You told me that you 'woke as if you'd been dreaming.' Do you remember that?”