way.
Gold cleared his throat. 'Well, not to get overly technical, we have done a number of studies on eyewitnesses, as you all know, and the results are not only that they are notoriously unreliable but that they actually 'see' and 'remember' those things which they are preconditioned to see. If they are shown videos of a traffic accident, for instance, and are personally inclined to believe that women are worse drivers than men, given the least bit of ambiguity in what they see, they will identify the driver who has caused the accident as a woman. That's a very simple example, of course. Any skillful questioner can plant suggestions in their minds as to specific details of the scene and they will soon parrot what they were told, convinced that it was what they saw. A rather extensive study of this phenomenon was done at Princeton, where Johnson was able to make her subjects swear they saw and heard things that never happened. They can be shown pictures of people embracing and interpret them as acts of violence, if they have been lead to believe that's what they will see. Most common, of course, is the identification of a perpetrator as being a member of whatever race the spectator identifies with criminal acts. Whites are notorious for believing all black men are dangerous, and consequently 'seeing' all dangerous men as black.
'Of most interest to us in this case, of course, are those examples in which the questioner can make the witness remember' things that did not happen. It is not difficult to do, and the witnesses are by no means stupid or pliable people. It is simply a matter of playing into their preconceptions as to how things are apt to happen, or supplying details that they missed but that their minds tell them should be there. It is easier still if the ideas are planted before the witnesses see the event. If the scene is dark, if details are obscure and the witnesses have been told to watch for a man with a knife, they will 'see' a man with a knife, no matter the facts of the event.
'Now these are ordinary people with no ax to grind beyond ordinary prejudices and preconceptions. Cooper is a very stupid man with a strong desire to believe that he is a killer. Such a notion enhances his self-esteem-and indeed actually gets him the esteem of others within the prison system, where he has spent a good deal of his life.
Again, without getting technical, the more people he thinks he killed, the better Cooper feels about himself. To be simplistic about it, we all know high school athletes whose exploits become more and more heroic in the telling the further they get from the event until by the time they're in middle age or beyond they themselves actually believe their stories of past glory. They have convinced themselves through repeated telling.
'With Cooper, we have a man who could have been convinced through repeated telling that he did something which in fact he never did. I stress the could because right now we really don't know what happened.
But given Cooper's need to believe the worst about himself, given his prolonged isolation with Swann, given an apparent cleverness on Swann's part — .' Gold trailed off, not wanting to reach the dangerous conclusion aloud.
'Well, hardly the sort of thing to convince a jury', Hatcher said, 'but helpful in a speculative way.' His fear, of course, was that it was precisely the kind of thing to convince a jury, just exactly the sort of vagary that in the hands of a skillful attorney could turn into a weapon of doubt with which to pry the case wide open. Juries were acquitting people right and left with not much more to justify their verdict than what Gold had just said. There was a predisposition to innocence abroad in the legal system that Hatcher found alarming. He did not dare to risk such an outcome while Beggs stood to lose face.
'What do you think, Withers? This is your line of work,' Becker asked.
Withers had been hoping that no one would address him at all. It seemed the sort of conference in which no participant was going to win.
'I'm sure Dr. Gold has done his research well,' Withers said noncommittally. 'There are always some inconsistencies in anyone's confession. That's just human nature. All I did was point out a few in Cooper's case.
That doesn't necessarily mean anything.'
'Oh, good, then there's nothing to worry about,' Becker said.
Hatcher improved the crease in his pant leg.
'Actually, John, I must agree with you. There really is nothing to worry about-we have the killer in custody, no question in my mind about that.
But there are always naysayers. There are always those who would ruthlessly manipulate the legal system to their own ends. Naturally, in the interest of justice, we would like to squelch those voices before they begin. We must have the appearance of justice as well as justice itself. In order to assure that appearance in this case, we feel that it is best to have this man Swann in custody as well.'
'Don't you have him in custody now?'
'Actually, he has been released from prison.'
'What asshole did that?'
'It was considered the best way to assure his cooperation.'
'What stupid son of a bitch gave the order to release Swann?'
'There's really no point in fixing blame in such cases, John. An error seems to have been made; we need to correct it.'
'Sure, but what kind of a head-up-his-ass dufuss would let that little shit go in the first place?'
Hatcher adjusted the crease in the other pant leg. The others in the room watched, transfixed, to see if he would avoid the knife poised to take its pound of flesh.
'Decisions of this kind are complicated, but ultimately I must take responsibility for all the actions of my people.
It would be cowardly to do otherwise.'
Becker was not yet satisfied.
'You're the asshole, then?'
Hatcher lifted his head and forced a smile as wintry as a February night.
'Yes, John, if you want to think of it that way. I am the asshole.'
Hatcher looked at no one but Becker and his voice had the regulated tone of a metronome.
'I suspected you were,' Becker said. He heard Karen's angry exhalation of breath. 'But it's nice to hear you confirm it.
He smiled broadly. Withers thought it was the first genuine expression of any kind that he had seen since his arrival. Becker looked, briefly, like a happy man.
'I'm glad you are pleased,' said Hatcher. 'Now, John, the Bureau needs you to do something. Swann has disappeared completely. We have been unable to get any trace at all on his movements since he left prison.
Inasmuch as you have had a rather lengthy interview with the man, and given your great expertise in these matters, and since although you failed to detect the nature of his deception during that interview you did most likely gain some insight into his character, the Bureau hopes-most ardently hopes-that you will assist us in finding him.'
Becker had known it was coming from the moment that he heard that Swann had escaped. There seemed no way to avoid the final confrontation that Swann had provoked in the first place by sending his letters to Becker.
Having fooled Becker during the interview had only pushed the ultimate outcome to the point of inevitability.
'I will need a few things,' Becker said.
Hatcher was surprised at the ease of victory. He had expected much more resistance.
'Of course we will give you whatever you need.'
'I want this to be the end of it,' Becker said. 'I never want to work for you again. I don't want you to forward mail to me, I don't want you to call me, or speak of me, or think of me. I want to be taken off indefinite medical extension and dropped from the Bureau roster as if I were dead. This is the end of it-forever.'
Hatcher did not hesitate. He knew he could always renege later. Becker was far too valuable an asset to relinquish forever. Hatcher had built his career in part on Becker's triumphs and had no intention of stopping now, although another triumph in the Beggs case might well put him beyond the need of Becker's heroics. In any event, it was a contingency to deal with in the future. For now, the only thing that mattered was Becker's cooperation.
'As you say, John. It will be as you say.'
'You mustn't think I trust you,' Becker said.
