Show of Evil

'Yes.'

'And these tendencies wouldn't be immediately obvious to the psychiatrist, would they?'

'Usually the symptoms of abnormal behaviour are what put the patient into treatment in the first place.'

'I didn't ask you that.'

'What are you suggesting?'

'That perhaps someone you were treating may have had mental problems far more severe than - '

Her cheeks began to colour and her tone took on an edge. 'You really don't think much of my ability, do you, Martin?'

'Of course I do!'

'You didn't even use me as a witness in the trial.'

'You served your purpose, Molly. Hell, if it weren't for you…' He stopped, realizing where his thought was heading.

'If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be in this fix, is that what you were going to say?'

'No, no, no.' He shook his head. 'I'm responsible for the problem, nobody else.'

'Then stop implying - '

'I'm not implying anything!'

'You're implying one of my patients is this killer of yours.'

'No, we think it's possible, that's all. Do you still have the tapes you made with Stampler?'

'Yes, I do.'

'Where are they?'

'Under lock and key.'

'Where?'

'In my office.'

'May we see them?'

'What are you trying to prove?'

'May we see them, please?'

She got up and opened the door to her private office. The walls were lined with oak book cabinets with glass doors. They were filled with reports, files, and near the end of one shelf the Stampler tapes, twenty-three of them, each in his own black box with the date on the spine. There were also several locked file cabinets.

'I also keep audiotapes of most of my interviews,' she said with a touch of sarcasm. 'They're in the locked files.'

'Do you ever leave them open? You know, during the day when you're getting stuff out of them?'

'The tapes have never been out of this office.'

'Have you ever discussed them with anyone?'

'I've discussed the case, in strictly medical terms.'

'No details on, for instance, the Altar Boys?'

'Absolutely not. Never. They're confidential. And they're invaluable as a research tool.' She stopped, her brow bunched up in a scowl. 'You're questioning me as if I were on the witness stand and I resent it!'

'I'm trying to figure out how the copycat killer knew about Linda and Alex. The tapes are a very logical possibility. Did you ever mention anything about the motive for Rushman's murder to - '

'You know I couldn't do that even if I wanted to. I have a responsibility to my patient. You're asking me to violate confidentiality.'

'Don't play games with me, Molly,' Vail said, and anger was creeping into his tone. 'This isn't about shrink-patient relationships, it's about slaughter. Not just murder - slaughter! Stampler is a mass murderer. Want a list? Shackles. His brother. Mary Lafferty, his old girlfriend. Some guy in Richmond, we don't even know his name, for God's sake. Rushman, Peter Holloway, Bill Jordan. Alex Lincoln, and poor little Linda Gellerman trying to make sense out of a screwed-up life in some little nowhere town. Count 'em up, lady, that's nine - that we know about! Don't tell me about confidentiality when