of prior deterioration. In addition, genetics are on our side. His grandmother and his father - '
Cadmus shot out of his chair.
'Stay away from that angle, Horace! We'll be dragged through the muck enough without getting into that!'
Souza straightened his thick legs, stood, and faced the younger man. His eyes glinted with anger, but he spoke softly.
'Forget about privacy for the foreseeable future, Dwight. You're a public figure now.'
'I don't see why - '
Souza cut him off with the wave of a hand.
'Go home and rest, son. You've been under tremendous strain.'
Cadmus protested, but feebly.
'I want to know what's going on. He's my - '
'And you will. The doctor and I need to talk about technical matters. When we've reached a meeting of the minds, you'll be the first to know. Now, go and get some sleep. I'll have Tully drive you home.'
End of discussion.
The attorney went behind his desk and pushed a button. Moments later the chauffeur appeared. Souza gave the order, and Cadmus followed Antrim out the door.
When we were alone, Souza shook his head pityingly. 'You should have known his father,' he said, 'a great, snorting bull of a man. Chewed up life and swallowed it whole.' He paused. 'Sometimes I wonder if blood isn't like wealth, growing progressively more dilute with each new generation.'
He pressed another button and summoned a smart-looking young woman in a feminised version of a business suit.
'Some tea, please, Veronica. Coffee for you, Doctor?'
'Tea would be fine.'
To the secretary:
'A full pot, dear.'
'Certainly, sir.' She removed the pitcher from the china tea set, handling it as if it were spun sugar, and walked out. Souza walked her departure before returning his attention to me.
'As I was saying, there's no lack of data to back up a dim cap. I'm not asking you to go out on a limb.'
'You've got Mainwaring,' I said. 'Why do you need me?'
'I'll use Dr. Mainwaring's testimony if I have to, but there are problems with him as a witness.'
'What kinds of problems?'
He chose his words.
'First and foremost, the boy escaped while under his care, which will leave him open to a good barbecuing by the prosecution.'
He stood, hooked his fingers in his suspenders and began orating in a deep, theatrical voice:
' 'Dr. Mainwaring, you've just stated that Mr. Cadmus is incapable of distinguishing right from wrong. If that's so,
how in the world did you allow him to get loose? To run amuck and commit two ghastly murders?' Pause for dramatic emphasis, during which I'll object vociferously but the damage will have been done. The jury will view him as lacking good judgment, and his testimony will work against us.'
When I was sure the performance was over, I said:
'You referred to 'problems', in the plural'. What else?'
Souza smiled as if to say 'You caught me.'
'Over the years Dr. Mainwaring has acquired a reputation as a defence psychiatrist, one who puts forth biological theories that excuse a multitude of sins. Those theories haven't always met with agreement by other experts or juries.'
'In other words, he's a whore who's been on the losing side too many times.'
'In other words.'
'Why, then, was he the one treating Jamey?' The anger in my voice surprised both of us.
'There's been no error committed, Doctor. He's very well regarded as a clinician. As a legal expert, however, he leaves much to be desired.'
The secretary knocked and came in with the teapot. She poured two cups and brought them to us on a silver tray, poured cream for Souza, which I declined, and left.
The attorney sipped. The delicate cup was a mismatch with his fleshy hand.
'You, on the other hand, Dr. Delaware, would be an asset to our team.'
'I'm flattered,' I said, 'but it doesn't make sense. I have no experience in criminal cases, I'm far from an expert on psychosis, and I told you how I feel about the insanity of defence.'
Souza looked at me warily through swirls of steam.
'I suppose,' he said, 'that candour is called for.'
'Without it we have nothing further to talk about.'
'All right. Candour it is. First, let me emphasise that when I talked about checking you out and learning your credentials were first-rate I was being truthful. I've found
out quite a bit about you: You received your doctorate at twenty-four, wrote an important textbook at twenty-nine, could have been a full professor by thirty-four. You were at the peak of an outstanding career when you dropped out. You've been described to me repeatedly as brilliant but stubborn, often to the point of obsessiveness. The brilliance is important because it means you can quickly fill the gaps in your knowledge. The obsessiveness appeals to me, too, because it means that if I can get you over to my side, you'll be one hell of a gladiator. But in all truthfulness there's no shortage of psychiatric expertise at my disposal, and even if you join my team, I may call on others to augment your testimony.'
He leaned forward.
'There are, Dr. Delaware, factors other than your professional attributes that are relevant to my strategy. First of all, you treated Jamey years ago, before he became psychotic. I have no doubt that if I sit on my hands, the prosecution will try to get you on their team, to have you testify that the boy had his wits about him and was perfectly in control. They'll use your testimony to support their claim that his psychosis is a fabrication of recent vintage; the insanity defence, some kind of legal stunt. As you mentioned, the layman is suspicious of psychiatric testimony, so the burden of proof will be upon us. I'm going to have to show that the roots of madness were laid long ago. You can play a valuable role in that regard.
'Second' - he smiled - 'you have ties to the police; you've consulted to them. You even have a personal relationship with one of the investigators on this case, Detective Sturgis. That will allow me to paint you as a law- and-order man, a hardhead who's unlikely to be fooled. If you feel capacity was diminished, it must be so.'
He replaced his cup in its saucer.
'Simply put, Dr. Delaware, I want to co-opt you.'
'You're talking about pitting me against a friend. Why should I do it?'
'Because you care about Jamey. You drove out at three-thirty in the morning in response to his plea for help.
Scepticism notwithstanding, you know he's sick, not evil. And you couldn't live with yourself if he met his death and you hadn't done all you could to prevent it.'
'Death? They haven't executed anyone in this state for a long time.'
'Come now, Doctor. You don't really believe the boy would survive the penitentiary, do you? He's crazy. Suicidal. As I was saying before Dwight got all huffy, self-destruction runs in the family. Within weeks he'd find a way to open his veins or hang himself with a bed sheet. I'm plenty concerned right now about his confinement at the jail, but at least Mainwaring's providing one-on-one care. In San Quentin the only personal care he'd get would be a nightly anal battering.' He lowered his voice. 'He needs to be in a hospital. And I'm asking you to help me get him into one.'
I took a moment to digest everything he'd said, then told him:
'You've put me in a difficult position. I need to think about it.'
'That's fine,' he answered quickly. 'I don't expect you to decide on the spot.'
'If I agree to work with you, Mr. Souza, it will have to be on my terms. I have a strong aversion to doing
