“Good,” said Catheryn.
“Nonetheless, I want you and the kids to stay in Santa Barbara till this thing’s over.”
“Why? Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“Just do it, Kate.”
“Don’t give me orders, Dan.”
“Please, Kate. Stay away till he’s in custody.”
“And when will that be?”
I hesitated.
“A few days?”
“I don’t know.”
“A week? A month?”
“I don’t know.”
“So we’re supposed to stay up here forever? I have rehearsals beginning soon, and Arthur’s New Year’s Eve party is coming up. And school for Ali and Nate resumes the first week in January.”
“Kate, I was in this guy’s house. I went through his desk. He’s been doing research on us. Both of us.”
A long silence. “The danger is over, right?”
“Yeah, but I still think it would be better if-”
“I don’t want to hear what you think. I just want to be absolutely certain the children are safe. Are they?”
“Kate…”
“Are they?”
“Yes,” I answered reluctantly. “As I said, Carns isn’t going anywhere. Not without a police escort.”
“Fine. That’s all I need to know.”
Another uncomfortable silence. Tentatively, I attempted to shift gears. “Kate, about Christmas-”
“Not now,” said Catheryn, cutting me off.
“Will there be a better time?”
“I don’t know. I only know that I have some thinking to do. In the meantime, don’t call me anymore. I’ll let you know when I’ve arrived at a decision.”
“A decision? A decision on what?”
But by then Catheryn had hung up.
Two hours after setting out from West LA, I finally pulled to a stop outside the UCI Neuropsychiatric Center in Orange County. I hadn’t slept more than a few hours since Friday. My back ached, my head throbbed, and my outlook on life had definitely hit a new low.
Leaving my car in a red zone, I entered the California College of Medicine building. This time I ignored the waiting room receptionist and proceeded directly to Dr. Berns’s office. After rapping on the door, I stuck my head inside. I found Dr. Berns sitting at his desk. “Detective Kane,” he said, closing a chart he’d been reading. “Twice in two weeks.”
I stepped in and shut the door.
Berns regarded me closely. “Have you looked in the mirror lately?”
“No.”
“Take my advice. Don’t.”
I passed a hand over the rough stubble on my chin. “I’ve been busy.”
“I can imagine. I’ve been following your case on the news. I was sorry to hear about that reporter being attacked. It does add an intriguing aspect to the case, though.”
“Oh? What?”
“It appears from recent events that the killer is willing to strike at anyone he perceives as a threat to his self-image. Since our last conversation, that thought must have occurred to you.”
“A little too late,” I said. “Look, Doc, I apologize for bothering you again, but I called because I need to pick your brain one more time.”
Berns leaned forward. “Concerning the killer, I assume. Has the unit made any progress?”
“Some,” I answered, deciding not to disclose my dismissal from the task force. “It seems the longer the investigation goes on, the more I’m getting to know how this guy thinks. To him, this is a big contest. Thrust, parry; move, countermove. He’s playing a goddamned game.”
“Like you are?” asked Berns.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That outthinking a criminal is a kind of game for you, too.”
“I didn’t come here to discuss my views on police work.”
“So what did you come to discuss?”
I hesitated, wondering how to phrase my inquiry. Should my visit to Berns ever come to light, any mention of my illegal search of Carns’s house could prove disastrous. Though I had repeatedly pondered the problem on the drive to Orange County, I still hadn’t reached a solution. Now, as I began to question the wisdom of my visit, I noticed that something had changed about the psychiatrist. It took a moment to figure it out: no cigarettes. “You kick the nicotine habit?” I asked, buying some time.
Berns sighed. “Not yet. My wife wants me to give it up. It’s supposed to be one of my New Year’s resolutions. I’m doing a test run before making any promises I can’t keep.”
“How’s it going?”
“Rotten,” Berns responded irritably. “But I’m sure you didn’t come here to talk about my smoking, either. What is it you want?”
I shifted from foot to foot. “This may seem like a real basic question,” I said finally, “but what does it take these days to pull off an insanity defense?”
“In California?”
“Does it make a difference?”
“Absolutely,” answered Berns. “There are diverse legal criteria for insanity. For example, the Durham Rule asks whether a crime is the product of a mental disease or defect. The American Law Institute Model Penal Code adds volitional language to that definition, things like not being able to conform to the law or being subject to irresistible impulses. And of course there’s the M’Naghten Rule, named after a famous English case tried in the mideighteen hundreds. Different states, different rules. Some states like Idaho don’t even allow an insanity plea.”
“Let’s make it California.”
“Ah, California.” Berns said. “California law follows narrow M’Naghten guidelines for defining legal insanity. Which, by the way, differ from those generally accepted by the medical community.”
“What are these, uh, M’Naghten guidelines?”
“Basically, M’Naghten says that for something to be a crime, the criminal must realize the nature of the act, and he must know that it’s wrong.”
“Realize the nature of his act,” I repeated. “So if the guy thinks his gun’s a banana or he’s killing Satan or whatever, he gets off?”
“Not quite. As I said, there’s also the issue of the criminal knowing his actions are wrong.”
“So if a criminal tries to conceal his crime, that would indicate he knows it’s wrong-making him sane, even if he is a fruitcake.”
“It’s a bit more complicated than that, but yes. Bottom line, having a severe sociopathic personality disturbance doesn’t necessarily make someone legally insane.”
“Pulling off an insanity plea sounds tough.”
“It is. Especially in capital cases.”
“But it’s done. What are the courts buying these days? Multiple personality?”
Berns smiled for the first time since my arrival. “Contrary to what you see in popular fiction, juries are extremely skeptical of a multiple-personality-syndrome defense. Besides, the condition is extremely rare. In fact, many clinicians doubt its existence entirely, not to mention the dilemma it poses the legal system: What do you do with the personalities who weren’t involved in the crime?”
“Charge them with harboring a fugitive,” I suggested.
