40

Ronald Oster was too young to be that cynical.

Maybe twenty-eight, with kinky flame-red hair and rampant freckles, he was soft around the middle and wore a vested blue suit one size too small.

I met him outside the county jail, off to one side, near the long line of women that forms every morning, waiting to visit prisoners. Some of the women looked at us but Oster paid them no notice as he gave me a long, hard look and kept smoking his British Oval.

“So why'd you change your mind?” he said.

“My own lawyer said you could force me. As long as I'm going to waste my time, I might as well get paid.”

He kept staring at me.

“Speaking of which,” I said, “my fee's three hundred seventy-five dollars per hour, portal-to-portal. I'll send you the bill and expect you to get it paid within thirty days. I also expect a contract from you to that effect within three days.”

I handed him my business card.

“So it's the money,” he said, thumbing his vest pocket.

“I'd rather not do it at all but if I have to, it sure isn't for the love of your client.”

He pressed the flat cigarette between his fingers. “Let's get one thing clear, Doctor. From this point on if you work for anyone on this case, it's for my client. Anything he says to you as well as anything I say to you about him falls under the purview of therapeutic confidentiality. Including this conversation.”

“Once we have an agreement.”

“We do. Though in terms of payment, I'm a civil servant. All I can do is go through channels.”

“Do your best- and one other exception. If your client threatens me in any way, it'll fall under Tarasoff and I'll report it immediately.”

That threw him, but he smiled. “Tarasoff applies to threats against third parties.”

“No one says it can't apply to the therapist.”

“I sense hostility, Doctor.”

“Self-preservation.”

“Why would my client threaten you?”

“They say he's murdered several times. I'm just talking theoretically, to make sure we're clear about the rules.”

“Do you get this clear with every attorney you work for?”

“I don't work much for attorneys.”

“I've heard you do lots of child-custody work.”

“When I do, I work for the court.”

“I see… so you're afraid of Mr. Muscadine. Why?”

“I have no specific fear of him but I'm careful. Let's say I don't come to the conclusions he wants me to. If he has murdered all those people, it's an indication he doesn't take well to disappointment.”

“Disappointment?” He flicked away the cigarette. “That's a mild way to describe loss of a vital organ.”

I looked at my watch.

He said, “Essentially, the man was raped, Dr. Delaware.”

“How does he claim it happened?”

“I'll let him tell you that. If I let him talk to you at all. Even if I don't, you'll get the contract and a check for your time today.”

“Meaning I already belong to you and can't cooperate voluntarily with the police.”

He smiled.

“Fine,” I said, looking at my watch again. “Far as I'm concerned, the less I have to do with any of this the better.”

He hooked a thumb in his vest. The line of waiting women inched past us.

“This,” he said, “may not work out.”

“Up to you.”

“I'm interested in your professional opinion because I think it's a clear case of mental anguish- like what battered wives go through. But I'm not sure, given your history with the police, that you'll render an impartial opinion.”

“If I get data, I'll render. If you want someone you can play ventriloquist with, I'm not your man.”

He looked at my card. “I hear a clear prosecution bias.”

“Have it your way.”

“You don't lean toward the other side?” he said.

“I keep an open mind. If you want a whore, drive down Hollywood Boulevard and flash a twenty.”

His freckles deepened in color and the skin between them turned pink. He gave a deep laugh. “That's good, I like that. Okay, you're my guy. Because his mental anguish is so obvious even you'll see it. And getting someone like you to testify to that will be all the more impressive. A police consultant.”

He held out his hand and we shook. Some of the women in line watched and I could only imagine what they were thinking.

“Let's go meet Reed,” he said. “And don't worry, he can't hurt you.”


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