Binding Ties

By the time Catherine had made her call, the doctor was already sitting down again, going over the contents of a file folder, her expression thoughtful.

'As soon as the judge signs the order,' Catherine said, 'it'll be faxed over.'

'May be a waste of time,' Dr. Royer said, eyes still on the file.

'Why?' Nick asked.

The doctor looked up and said, matter-of-factly, 'I don't see how Jerome Dayton could be your killer.'

'Why?' Catherine asked.

Royer nodded at the file before her. 'Jerome Dayton became a patient here about ten years ago. Long before I accepted my post at Sundown, by the way.'

Catherine said, 'Well, that tallies with what we know about Dayton-he would have been admitted ten years ago.'

'Yes. He was admitted as a paranoid schizophrenic.'

'Meaning,' Nick said, 'he heard voices?'

'That's only one of the symptoms,' Royer said. 'Hallucinations, both auditory and visual, can be symptoms of schizophrenia. But the patient can also suffer from delusions of persecution.'

'Was that the case,' Catherine asked, 'with Jerome Dayton?'

'Yes, he did have such delusions.'

Royer slowly scanned the file further. She read to herself for five minutes, flipping through pages.

Nick and Catherine waited patiently. Ten minutes more had passed before the dour nurse returned with the fax and placed it on Royer's desk. The nurse disappeared, Royer glanced at the fax, nodded, and returned to her reading.

Several minutes later she said, 'It appears Jerome thought his father was emasculating him, forcing him to have sex.'

Catherine said, 'Do we know these were in fact delusions?'

Nick picked up the thread: 'Were there examinations to look for signs of sexual abuse?'

'According to this file,' Dr. Royer said, 'there were indeed such examinations, and nothing was found to support the young man's claims. The father, Thomas, was, of course, one of the biggest contractors in the city at the time.'

Nick frowned. 'Since when is there a cure for schizophrenia?'

'Four out of five patients respond well to certain medication,' Dr. Royer said. 'In Jerome's case, Haldol helped him turn a corner. He was, according to the file, going through counseling and group therapy while he was here.'

Catherine's expression was troubled. 'So, he was under control…if not cured.'

'Yes.'

'And he was released?'

'He was,' Royer said.

Nick shook his head, disbelievingly. 'When was this?'

'Seven years ago.'

Nick sat forward. 'He was cured in three years?'

Royer looked at the CSI over the file. 'I've already said, he was not 'cured.' He was, however, on medication, and had his illness under control. According to the file, he made incredible strides once my predecessor diagnosed his problem. Jerome was even taking day trips and weekends with his parents.'

Catherine asked, 'Is that normal?'

The doctor smiled, the first time since the subject had changed to Jerome Dayton. ' 'Normal' is not a scientific term, Ms. Willows. And since you're a scientist yourself, you can guess how seldom the word 'normal' comes up around a facility like this…. No, such day trips are not 'normal,' but it's not unheard of either. Remember, Jerome was admitted voluntarily; he cooperated when his parents admitted him.'

Catherine, alarmed, asked, 'Could he have signed himself out?'

'That's possible, though the file doesn't specifically indicate as much…. Sometimes diagnosis and medication are all a patient needs to get on the road to recovery, Ms. Willows, and they get better at a remarkable rate. Sometimes spending time with family-day trips and weekends-can be beneficial to the healing process.'

'Seven years,' Nick said, shaking his head again. 'I can't believe no one knew this guy was back on the street.'

Royer shrugged. 'If he was a suspect in the CASt case, those murders stopped what, eleven years ago?'

'Ten,' Catherine said. 'He was admitted just before the last murder.'

'That's why I don't see how he can be your man,' Royer said. 'He's been out for seven years, and there have been no killings.'

'Until recently,' Catherine said.

'Granted,' the doctor said, nodding, 'until recently. But you're the criminalists-you tell me: Do serial killers normally take a seven-year hiatus?'

Catherine shook her head. 'No. But as scientists, doctor, we don't use the word 'normally' much in our work, either…. Do you know where we can find Jerome Dayton?'

Royer thumbed through the file. 'Ah, here it is…. Presumably, his parents. He was released into their custody.'

'The father's dead,' Nick said. 'Two or three years ago. Got lots of play in the press.'

'I remember that,' the doctor said. 'Mr. Dayton was something of a celebrity, at least locally. Then I can only assume Jerome Dayton is still with his mother.'

'Can we be sure he stayed on his medication?' Catherine asked.

'Reasonably sure. For the first several years, he did counseling, group therapy, and received his drugs here. Eventually, he started obtaining his meds from our sister facility, and this file stops. You might want to get the subsequent file from them.'

The doctor then carefully read the order.

'Everything looks good,' Royer said. 'Do you mind if I photocopy this file, before I turn it over to you?'

'Not at all,' Catherine said. 'No telling how long it might be in our hands.'

'Right…I wish we could have been more help, but everything I see here points at Jerome's innocence. And as you'll see, there are no violent episodes in his history, either.'

'Known history,' Catherine amended.

The doctor echoed that, then went out to get the file copied.

'I can't believe it,' Nick said to Catherine. 'This clown was released seven years ago, probably the best CASt suspect of all, and no one knew he was out!'

'Well…maybe it doesn't matter.'

'Doesn't matter?'

'Yeah, Nick. I mean, he was incarcerated here, when the last murder of the original CASt cycle went down.'

Soon Dr. Royer returned, and gave the original file to Catherine, who said, 'Thank you, Dr. Royer, for your time and effort.'

'We do what we can.'

When they were outside, Nick said, 'You remember the date of the Drake murder?'

'Well I've got it written down,' Catherine said, and took out her pocket notebook and showed him.

As he pulled out the Tahoe keys, he said, 'What does the file say for that date?'

Catherine riffled through, found it, and then looked at Nick with wide eyes. 'Oh…my…God. Jerome was on a weekend visit to his parents.'

Not knowing whether to feel nauseated or triumphant-and settling on a little of both-Nick said, 'Maybe we'd better go find Jerome Dayton, and see how well he's doing these days. You know, if the meds are doing the trick?'

'Why don't we,' Catherine said. 'We can cure him of one thing, anyway.'

'Yeah?'