When The Bough Breaks

"Here's something else. Officially the coroner says it's impossible to fix a time of death for Bruno. The heat inside the house screwed up the decomposition tables - with the flack they've been getting they're not willing to go out on a limb and take the chance of being wrong. But I got one of the young guys to give me an off - the - record guess and he came up with ten to twelve days."

"Right around the time Handler and Gutierrez were murdered."

"Either right before or right after."

"But what about the differing m.o."s?"

"Who says people are consistent, Alex? Frankly there are other differences between the two cases besides m.o. In Bruno's case it looks like forced entry. We found broken bushes under a rear window and chisel marks on the pane - used to be a kid's room. Glendale P.D. also thinks they've got two sets of heel prints

"Two? Maybe Melody really saw something." Dark men. Two or three.

"Maybe. But I've abandoned that line of attack.

The kid will never be a reliable witness. In any event, despite the discrepancies, it looks like we might be on to something - what, I don't know. Patient and doctor, concrete proof that they maintained some kind of contact after treatment was over, both ripped off around the same time. It's too cute for coincidence."

He studied his notes, looking scholarly. I thought about Handler and Bruno and then it hit me.

"Milo, we've been held back in our thinking by social roles."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Roles. Social roles - prescribed sets of behaviors. Like doctor and patient. Psychiatrist and psychopath. What are the characteristics of a psychopath?"

"Lack of conscience."

"Right. And an inability to relate to other people except by exploiting them. The good ones have a glib, smooth facade, often they're good - looking. Usually above - average intelligence. Sexually manipulative. A predilection to engage in cons, blackmail, frauds."

Milo's eyes opened wide.

"Handler."

"Of course. We've been thinking of him as the doctor in the case and assuming psychological normalcy - he's been protected, in our eyes, by his role. But take a closer look. What do we know about him? He was involved in insurance fraud. He tried to blackmail Roy Longstreth, using his power as a psychiatrist. He seduced at least one patient - Elaine Gutierrez - and who knows how many more? And those putdowns in the margins of his notes - at first I thought they were evidence of burnout, but now I don't know. That was cold, pretending to listen to people, taking their money, insulting them. His notes were confidential - he never expected anyone else to read them. He could hang it all out, show his true colors. Milo, I tell you the guy comes across like your classic psychopath."

"The evil doctor."

"Not exactly a rara avis, is it? If there can be a Mengele, why not scores of Morton Handlers? What better facade for an intelligent psychopath than the title of Doctor - it yields instant prestige and credibility." "Psychopathic doctor and psychopathic patient." He mulled it over. "Not buddies, but partners in crime."

"Sure. Psychopaths don't have buddies. Only victims and accomplices. Bruno must have been Handler's dream come true if he was plotting something and needed one of his own kind for help. I'll bet you those first sessions were incredible, the two of them hungry hyenas, checking each other out, looking over their shoulders, sniffing the ground."

"Why Bruno, in particular? Handler treated other psychopaths."

"They were too crude. Short - order cooks, cowboys, construction workers. Handler needed a smooth type. Besides, how do we know how many of those guys were deliberately misdiagnosed like Longstreth?"

"Just to play devil's advocate for one second - one of those jokers was in law school."

I thought about it for a minute.

"Too young. In Handler's eyes a callow punk. In a few years, with degree in hand and a veneer of sophistication, maybe. Handler needed a businessman type' for what he wanted to pull off. Someone really slick. And Bruno appears to have fit that bill. He fooled Gershman, who's no idiot."

Milo got up and paced the room, running his fingers through his hair, creating a bird's nest.

"It's definitely appealing. Shrinker and shrinkee pulling off a scam." He seemed amused.