Betrayal

'What were the areas most affected?'

'Well, most obviously affected were speech and memory, although there were also some coordination issues early on that cleared up more or less on their own.'

'So how did these memory problems manifest themselves?'

'Well, at first, just after the surgery, of course, he remained pretty much continually unconscious for three weeks-in fact, I believe they kept him in an induced coma until they were confident that he'd gotten sufficiently well to handle consciousness, although I'm not a hundred percent sure of that. I wasn't on his medical team. I'm not a doctor. But when I first encountered Evan, he had what I'd call severe memory and cognition issues. He didn't know where he was, he thought I worked for the CIA, he didn't know what had happened to him exactly. But mostly, he didn't have a vocabulary.'

'No vocabulary at all?'

'At first, very little. But then over time, as the healing progressed, he recovered the use of most common words.'

'Was this a natural event?'

'To some degree, yes. But a lot of it was a matter of training the brain again, or relearning what he'd once known. We used flash cards, just the way you would if you were learning a new language, and Evan made really remarkable progress, especially compared to many others of our patients who never recover their ability to talk or to reason.'

Washburn nodded. 'Even with all this progress, how long did Evan remain in therapy with you at Walter Reed?'

'Nearly six months.'

'Six months. And during those six months, while he was progressing so well, did he also suffer from blackouts?'

'I'm not sure exactly what you mean by blackouts.'

'Periods when he could not recall what he'd done or where he was. As you described when he'd first come out of surgery.'

'Ah. Well, yes. They were not infrequent.'

'Not infrequent. So they were common?'

'Yes, but that's always to be expected in a case of traumatic brain injury.'

'And how long could a blackout period last?'

'Again, it would vary. I remember a time with Evan, this was after three or four months of therapy, when he woke up one morning convinced that he was in Baghdad. He didn't understand why there was snow outside when it was summer in Baghdad. I thought it was a serious enough setback to bring it to the attention of the doctors, but he woke up on the third morning and was fine.'

'He didn't think he was in Baghdad anymore?'

'No. He knew he was in Walter Reed. He picked up just where he'd left off in terms of his recovery.'

'But for those three days, he was different?'

'As far as he was concerned, he was in Baghdad.'

'I see. Now let me ask you this, Mr. Ray. After Evan woke up, realizing that he was in Walter Reed and not in Baghdad, did you ask him about his memory of the time he'd imagined he was in Baghdad? In other words, did you ask him about his memory of his past three days?'

'Yes, I did. He remembered none of it.'

'None of it?'

'None. In fact, he thought I was playing a joke on him. Those days were just gone, as though he'd never lived them.'

'Thank you, Mr. Ray. Ms. Whelan-Miille, your witness.'

'Mr. Ray, did Ron Nolan visit Mr. Scholler at Walter Reed?'

'Yes, he did. I met him on that occasion.'

'Did you play a part in their conversation?'

'Not really, no.'

Mills went right on. 'Would you describe Evan's demeanor after Mr. Nolan left?'

'He was very upset and angry to the point of tears. I remember distinctly that later he developed a migraine headache so severe that he had to be sedated for a time.'

Mills stood still for a moment, wondering how far she could push this point. Surely, if she got Ray at trial, she could take Evan's anger and jealousy further, but today she didn't want to overplay her hand. She knew he'd be there for her if she needed him at the trial.

'Thank you, Mr. Ray,' she said. 'No further questions.'

Because she was on the People's witness list, Tara wasn't allowed in the courtroom. Now, at five-fifteen, in the jail's visiting room, she bit her lip and tried to keep up a brave smile every time she met Evan's eyes.

And then they were at the window that would be theirs for today, one chair on either side of it, the hole in the Plexiglas through which they had to talk. It was by now all so familiar, and still so awful. But Tara wasn't going to concentrate on the bad. She could take her cues from Eileen, upbeat and positive. 'I saw you on TV in a coat and tie.'

'I thought I told you. I get to look like a regular person in court.'

'You look like a regular person now.'

'If you took a poll, I bet most people would say I look like a regular jailbird, what with the jumpsuit and all. What'd they say about things on TV?'

'They said it was a mixed day. What do you think?'

He shrugged. 'There's no jury yet, so really none of this counts, but it didn't feel too mixed to me. This prosecutor woman is pretty tough. She's pounding on the drinking theme.'

'Why does she want that so much?'

'Everett says it's all positioning for the jury. They're not going to be disposed to like or believe a drunk. Whereas if I'm suffering from PTSD and blacking out, then I'm a wounded war veteran with a mental illness who's caught in a terrible situation he didn't really create, and the sympathy flows like honey. I know, it's a little cynical. But the point is, if we get the PTSD, then to some extent it explains the drinking. Not that I'm using that as an excuse for myself. The drinking, I mean.' He lowered his gaze for a moment. 'I still don't know what got into me that night, why I didn't just go home with you.'

'Did it ever occur to you that maybe what Mr. Washburn's arguing is actually true and not cynical after all? That your physical brain wasn't healed yet so you weren't completely rational-your cognitive powers just weren't all there. And you put PTSD on top of all that, I don't see how a jury could ever get to first-degree murder.'

'Well, let's hope.' He fell silent, seemed as if he were about to say something, but held it back.

'What?' she asked.

He drew a breath and let it out. 'At lunch today, Everett said that I might want to start thinking about if I wanted to take a plea bargain after this hearing phase if the judge doesn't let in the PTSD.'

'A plea bargain? Why? He's been saying all along we were going to win.'

'Apparently it's not such a sure thing without the PTSD.'

'Well, why wouldn't the judge let it in?'

'I don't know. Everett didn't even think it would be an issue until Tollson ordered the hearing this morning. But now it is, and if we lose it…' He lifted his shoulders.

'What would you plead to?'

'Second-degree murder. Everett thinks he could talk them into dropping the gun charge.'

'So how long would that be?'

He hesitated for a beat. 'Twelve to life.'

Tara's head dropped as though she'd been struck. After a minute she looked up again, her eyes brimming with tears. 'If you do plead, isn't that admitting you did it?'