mean is, I still don't know for certain what happened here or in Hunter's Point.'
'if you knew for certain that Darius was the rose killer, would you still represent him?'
'We have a system in America. It's not perfect, but it's worked for two hundred years and it depends on giving a fair trial to every person who goes through the courts, no matter what they've done. Once you start discriminating, for any reason, the system breaks down. The real test of the system is when it deals with a Bundy or a Manson, someone everyone fears and despises. If you can try that person fairly, then you send a message that we are a nation of law.'
'Can you imagine a case you wouldn't take?' Sloane asked. 'A client you might find so repulsive that your conscience would not let you represent him?'
'That's the question you confront when you choose to practice criminal law. If you can't represent that client, you don't belong in the business.'
Betsy checked her watch. 'Look, Nora, that's going to have to be it for today. I've got to make certain Martin's bail is posted, and my mother's watching Kathy, so I've got to leave the office a little early.'
'Kathy is your daughter?'
Betsy smiled.
'I'd like to meet her.'
'I'll introduce you to Kathy soon. My mom, too.
You'll like them. Maybe I'll have you over for dinner.'
'Great,' Sloane said.
'Lisa Darius is waiting for you in your office,' Ann said as soon as Betsy walked in. 'I hope you don't mind. She's very upset about something and she was afraid to sit in the waiting room.'
'That's okay. Does she know Martin's going to be released on bail?'
'Yes. I asked her how the judge ruled when she came in and she said you won.
'I didn't see her in court.'
'I called her about the court appearance as soon as you told me to.'
'I'm sure you did. Look, call Terry Stark at Darius Construction,' Betsy said, writing down the name and phone number. 'I told him how to post the bail a few days ago. He'll need a cashier's check for one hundred thousand. If there are any problems, buzz me.'
Betsy did not recognize Lisa at first. She wore tight jeans, a blue turtleneck and a multicolored ski sweater.
Her long hair was pulled back in a French braid, her emerald eyes were red from crying.
'Lisa, are you all right?'
'I never thought they'd let him out. I'm so scared.'
'Of Martin? Why?'
Lisa put her hands to her face. 'He's so cruel. No one knows how cruel.
In public, he's charming. And sometimes he's just as charming with me when we're alone. He surprises me with flowers, jewelry. When he wants to, he treats me like a queen and I forget what he's really like inside.
Oh God, Betsy, I think he killed those women.'
Betsy was stunned. Lisa started to cry.
'Do you want some water?' Betsy asked.
Lisa shook her head. 'Just give me a moment.'
They sat quietly while Lisa caught her breath. Outside, a winter sun was shining and the ground was so crisp and brittle, it seemed you could crack it into a million pieces. When Lisa spoke, her words came in a rush.
'I understand what Andrea Hammermill went through. Taking it, because you don't want anyone to know how bad it is and because there are good times and… and you love him.'
Lisa sobbed. Her shoulders shook. Betsy wanted to comfort Lisa, but not as much as she wanted to learn what Darius had done to her to put her in this state, so she sat stiffly, waiting for Lisa to regain her composure.
'I do love him and I hate him and I'm scared of him,' Lisa said hopelessly. 'But this… If he…'
'Wife-beating is very common, Lisa. Serial murder isn't. Why do you think Martin may have killed these women?'
'It's more than beatings. There's a perverted side to… to what he does. His sexual needs… One time… This is very hard for me.'
'Take your time.'
'He wanted sex. We'd been to a party. I was tired. I told him. He insisted. We had an argument. No. That's not true. He never argues. He he…'
Lisa closed her eyes. Her hands were clenched in her lap. Her body was rigid. When she spoke, she kept her eyes shut.
'He told me very calmly that I would have sex with him. I was getting angrier and angrier. The way he was speaking, it's the way you talk to a very small child or someone who's retarded. It enraged me. And the more I screamed, the calmer he became.
'Finally he said, 'Take off your clothes,' the way you'd command a dog to roll over. I told him to go to hell. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor. He hit me in the stomach. I lost my air. I was helpless.
'When I started to breathe, I looked up. Martin was smiling. He ordered me to take my clothes off again in that same voice. I shook my head. I couldn't talk yet, but I was damned if I was going to give in. He knelt down, grabbed my nipple through my blouse and squeezed. I almost blacked out from the pain. I was crying now and thrashing around on the floor.
He did it to my other nipple, and I couldn't stand it. The horrible thing was how methodical he was. There was no passion in it. And he had the tiniest smile on his face, as if he was enjoying himself immensely but didn't want anyone to know.
'I was on the verge of passing out when he stopped.
I sprawled on the floor, exhausted. I knew I couldn't fight him anymore.
The next time he ordered me to, I took off my clothes.'
'Did he rape you?' Betsy asked. She felt queasy.
Lisa shook her head. 'That was the worst thing. He looked at me for a moment. There was a smile of satisfaction on his face I will never forget. Then he told me that I must — always submit to him when he wanted sex and that I would be punished anytime I disobeyed him. He told me to get on all fours. I thought he was going to take me from behind.
Instead, he made me crawl across the floor like a dog.
'We have a clothes closet in our bedroom. He opened the door and made me go in, naked. He said I would have to stay there without making a sound until he let me out. He told me I would be severely punished if I made any sound.'
Lisa started sobbing again.
'He kept me in the closet all weekend without food.
He put in some toilet paper and a bucket to… to use if I… I was so hungry and so scared.
'He told me that he would open the door when he was ready and I would immediately have sex with him or I would go back. When he opened the door I just crawled out and… and did anything he wanted. When he was through with me, he led me into the bathroom and bathed me, as if I was a baby. There were clothes laid out on the bed. Evening clothes. And a bracelet. It must have cost a fortune. Diamonds, rubies, gold. It was my reward for obedience. When I was dressed, he took me to a restaurant for a lavish dinner. All evening, he treated me like a queen.
'I was certain he would want me again when we got home. It's all I thought about at dinner. I had to force myself to eat, because I was nauseous thinking of what was coming but I was afraid he would do something to me if I didn't eat. Then when we got home he just went to sleep and he didn't touch me for a week.'
'Did he ever do anything like that to you again?'
'No,' Lisa said, hanging her head. 'He didn't have to. I learned my lesson. If he said he wanted sex, I did what he wanted. And I received my rewards. And no one knew, until now, what I've been going through.'
'Did you ever think of leaving him?' Betsy asked.
'He… he told me if I told anyone the things he did, or tried to run away, he would kill me. If you heard the