The Tower

Chapter 31

The Ressler Institute's main building was mostly experimentation labs and classrooms. The doctors themselves enjoyed a small cluster of offices a few blocks away. It looked almost like a park; thin walkways threaded around open quads filled with lush vegetation. Beside the complex, a small brook made its way over a bed of gray rocks pushed into the soil.

A thick wooden directory stuck out of the pavement beside the parking lot. Jade ran his finger down it until he saw the listing he wanted: "Dr. Kim Tai Yung. Ph. D. A-18."

"Looks like we're here," Travers said as Jade strode up the narrow walkway and barged into the waiting room. He was a practiced barger, Travers thought as she followed him in, realizing she actually admired him for it.

He walked past several children reading Highlights for Kids and Dr. Seuss, and banged on the glass partition separating the receptionist from the waiting room.

The woman slid the glass over and peered out angrily.

"I need to see Dr. Yung. Now," Jade said, flashing his badge.

"Do you have any idea what his schedule is like this week?"

"Do you have any idea how little I care?"

Her head reared back. "Well, he's in with a patient. You can't just-"

"I can just whatever I want. And I suggest-"

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Travers said, sidestepping Jade as she pulled him back by his elbow. "We're FBI, you see, and we're in the middle of an intense manhunt. I realize that the doctor must have a tight schedule, but we really need to see him as soon as possible."

"Immediately," Jade added.

The receptionist glared at Jade, then turned a smile to Travers. "I'll let him know you're here."

"Thank you," Travers said.

The kids in the waiting room stared uneasily at them. After a minute, a young East Asian man led a small boy who had been crying out into the waiting room, where a concerned mother folded him in her arms. Jade rolled his eyes.

"Hey, pal," Jade said to him. "We need to get in now to see the doctor."

The Asian man wore a pair of corduroys and a pin-striped shirt with no tie, unbuttoned at the top. A pair of silver-framed glasses perched neatly on his nose. His hair was slightly disheveled, but it didn't look messy. Jade calculated the man to be in his early twenties.

The man chuckled softly. "And everyone's schedules should bow to your needs?" he asked. "The doctor spends weeks working with children to get them to the point of catharsis. The point which you so gracelessly interrupted."

"Well, why don't you tell the doctor we'll make it up to him later. I'm sure he'll forgive us," Jade said.

"I'm afraid that's not possible."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm the doctor. And I have an unforgiving nature."

Travers closed her eyes. Jade looked over at her, than back at the doctor. "You'll have to excuse my colleague," Travers said. "If it's any consolation, I have to work with him."

Dr. Yung smiled and nodded at her gently. "I can imagine it's quite taxing."

He ushered them down a hallway and into an office.

"Well, how was I supposed to know?" Jade whispered roughly to Travers. "He looks like he's not old enough to shave."

Although the room they entered was dark, it didn't have a heaviness to it. An open window allowed a breeze to move through the room, carrying with it the smell of the foliage outside. Jade and Travers sat down on a brown leather couch, and the doctor took his place on a large, comfortable chair.

A poster of the yin and yang symbol hung on the wall behind Jade and Travers. In the darkness of the yin curled an immense dragon with red and orange limbs unfurled. Its glaring eye doubled as the white circle of the symbol.

Dr. Yung cleared his throat and spoke, hiding whatever anger he might feel under the calmness of his voice. "Needless to say, I hope that the matter before us is an important one."

"We're here about Allander Atlasia. I'm Jade Marlow. I'm in charge of the investigation."

"Yes." The doctor leaned back in his seat, arms crossed. "My office manager mentioned something about your waving a badge."

"Actually, there are several matters we'd like to speak with you about," Travers said.

The doctor was silent.

"First of all, if you're one of the prison psychologists, why are you here treating kids?" Jade asked.

"Because you cannot study criminals without starting with children," Dr. Yung replied. He chuckled. "I have a private practice, Mr. Marlow. Since I spend most of my time with the prisoners, I like to treat children on the side. More optimistic." He twirled the point of a letter opener against his thumb. "Now if the details of my practice are sufficiently clarified, perhaps we could get down to business?"

"Uh… gentlemen? Maybe I could offer a different approach," Travers said. She caught Dr. Yung's eye and nodded. "Jennifer Travers."

Crossing her legs delicately, she leaned back in her chair. "Why don't we forgo the pissing contest and remember we're dealing with a serious matter here. We need your help, Doctor, before more people are killed."

Jade and Dr. Yung looked at each other sheepishly.

"Now, how familiar are you with Atlasia?" Travers asked.

"Very. I'd say he was my reason for going into psychology."

"Excuse me, Doctor?"

He laughed. "I'm sure you weren't expecting that response at all. My father treated him when he was a child. Dr. Pan Yung."

Jade nodded in recognition. "Of course. The only psychologist who got anything from him as a kid. That was your father?"

"Yes. They had excellent rapport. I was in high school when my father was treating him. Of course, I shouldn't have known that, but the case was highly publicized. I found out watching the eight o'clock news. I saw reporters forcing their way into his office."

"Can we interview your father?" Travers asked.

"He passed away," Dr. Yung and Jade said at the same time. Jade shook his head regretfully.

"I'm sorry," Travers said. The doctor nodded gracefully.

"So why was Allander the reason you went into psychology?" Jade asked.

"Well, I must confess I exaggerated slightly for dramatic purposes. But it was worth it to see the looks on your faces." He chuckled kindly. "It was during this period that I became interested in my father's work. He studied the effects of trauma on children, but I was interested in studying those who perpetrated the acts themselves. As you can see, my practice ended up being a mix of these two goals."

"Were you surprised to see Allander when he got transferred to Maingate?"

"Well, he was already there when I arrived, but I wasn't surprised." He stopped for a moment and thought. "It was a strange coincidence, but I wasn't surprised. Many of the abused become abusers. I just try to break the cycle."

"So you think that Allander's experience as a child led him to be a criminal?" Travers asked.

The doctor laughed. "I only wish it were that simple. A lot of children have endured much worse and put their lives back together." He paused, then caught himself. "Well, not worse, perhaps, but for a longer period of time. Some children are molested for months, years."

"You think Atlasia's experience is one of the worst you've ever seen?" Travers asked.

Dr. Yung rubbed his hand across his forehead. "I don't know how, exactly, I should rank them, Agent Travers. Is forced oral sex worse than a prolonged whipping?"

Travers's eyebrows raised and her mouth tightened.

"I'm sorry," Dr. Yung said. "That wasn't fair."

Travers nodded and indicated he should continue.

"My father's files were confidential; they were destroyed after he passed away. However, I do know that Allander was a very precocious youngster at the time of the incident. He remembered everything. It was a horrific molestation-the extent of what he was put through we can only imagine. We do know there was forced oral and anal penetration. Some of the… objects found in the room where he was kept…" The doctor's voice trailed off for a moment as he recalled the crime-scene photos. "Well, let's just say that what purpose they served is well beyond the reach of my imagination. When I first saw Atlasia about six years ago, he dismissed those events as insignificant."

"Insignificant?" Jade asked.

"What a psychologist does, Mr. Marlow," Dr. Yung said, tilting back in his chair and pressing his hands together, "is listen to the spaces between the words. Allander is bright enough to hold together on the surface, but he's in turmoil. I fear he never put those problems to rest."

"Evi-fuckin'-dently," Jade said.

Dr. Yung continued, ignoring Jade's interruption. "You see, people develop by grappling with their unconscious, their darker half. The shadow. It consists of all their deepest desires and fears. We're all made of good and evil, of both parts. The yin and yang." He gestured to the poster on the wall behind Jade and Travers. "Most people are a blend of both sides. But some, some people allow one side to take over."

"What do you mean 'take over'?" Travers asked.

"They are devoured," the doctor said darkly, "by their shadow."

"So Allander has a problem differentiating reality from his fantasies?" Travers asked.

"Not exactly. He can differentiate between the two, he just has nothing holding him back from acting on his wishes. His shadow is no longer held in check by his persona, or superego. So it roams free."

"A runaway libido with no brakes," Jade mused.

The doctor looked surprised. "Yes, Mr. Marlow. Something like that. I'm afraid I can't be more helpful, but Allander was quite guarded, particularly when he spoke to me. I'm sure you've found that in the tapes."

Jade leaned forward and put his hands on his knees. "Let's get into specifics, Doctor. Atlasia has made a number of Freudian references that I'd like some input about. He seems really proud of the fact that he's in touch with his unconscious, that he can see all the parts he's made of. And he's not afraid to act on his desires-the real way, not through sublimation. He's very aware of the difference, which I think is bad news. And he also said he's seen 'what there is in every little boy,' but if he's talking about the Oedipal complex, I'm not really sure why."

Travers helped Jade fill in the blanks as he presented the entire case, beginning to end. They showed the doctor photos of the crime scene at the house, and Jade played him the segment from the tape of Allander's interview that he thought was significant.

For a long time, the doctor didn't say anything. He picked up the photographs and examined them closely. "You said that the girl claimed that Allander spoke of parents, educators, and the law, correct?"

Travers nodded.

"Well, none of them stepped in and protected him when he was a child, when he was in need. So this is his payback. On the tape, he references Freud, discusses probing his unconscious and coming up with the truth-the truth that everyone should see, but doesn't. Allander has made his own diagnosis of society. Like Freud in Civilization and Its Discontents. And he's made a diagnosis of himself."

"What is that diagnosis?" Travers asked.

"That he can see man's true nature and act upon it. He feels that others cannot. They can't see their true needs, just as they could not see that he was in need as a child. He's gouged out their eyes to illustrate that. He's written it on the bodies.

"And the pattern starts with the family. This may be a stretch, but maybe he arranged the bodies to mimic his parents. They have a healthy relationship, you've said. Maybe he's mocking that by posing the bodies in an embrace. He's portraying them as being happy in their ignorance."

"Ignorance is bliss," Travers said.

"Yes. Very appropriate cliche."

Jade was quiet. Something was not fitting all the way. Something was missing.

"So it all comes down to Mom," Travers said. "Seems like it always does. Remember Kemper in Santa Cruz?"

Jade nodded. "Fed his mother's larynx down the garbage disposal. Also Rivers, the Tower survivor. He got his mother."

"With Atlasia, it's not just his mother," the doctor said. "Atlasia's anger was directed toward both parents. He included the father in the posing."

"And the gouging," Jade said. "Well, we have full surveillance on the Atlasias."

"I don't know if that's a concern." The doctor shook his head. "I agree with you that he references the Oedipal complex-'what there is in every little boy'-but serial killers almost always displace. They rarely kill the people they're really furious at. They pick others and vent their anger on them. It's easier."

"Warden Banks told me that you hold on to drawings the prisoners make when they have Sketch Duty. I'd like to see some of Allander's."

"Sure, sure," the doctor said. "Though I don't know how useful they'll be to you."

He excused himself and returned a few minutes later with three drawings under his arm. He unfurled them on his desk. "We have only three of Atlasia's," he said.

The first drawing showed an enormous clown holding an uprooted tower under its face. A woman flopped carelessly out of a small window beneath the clown's curling fingernails.

The next picture was a sketch portraying hands. The first set of hands faced one another horizontally, fingers closed, fingertips a few inches apart. The hands were expertly drawn, right down to the lines in the palms. Beside them were two hands that seemed to be pointing at each other. The last image on the sheet was a solitary hand, its fingers together and thumb apart, pointed upward at a forty-five-degree angle.

The final drawing was an intricately detailed picture of a mountain range shaped subtly like the curves of a woman. Although it was at first difficult to notice the corporeal suggestion, there was something immediately erotic about the work. The drawings were made with crayons, but their clarity was exceptional. They were clearly the work of a skilled hand.

"The clown, of course, recalls the clown masks of his childhood captor," Dr. Yung said.

Travers nodded. "How about the others?"

"Well, this really isn't my forte," the doctor said. "But I find the mountain range interesting in how it incorporates female sexuality into the earth."

"Like it's the basis for everything," Travers said.

"Yes. That from which all else springs. An Earth Mother of sorts."

"How about that one?" Jade asked, pointing to the sketch of the hands.

"For that one, Mr. Marlow, your guess is as good as mine."

After studying them for a few more minutes, Jade rolled them up. "Mind if I hold on to these?"

"Not at all, Mr. Marlow, that's why I brought them."

Jade stood up. "Well, I'll definitely be in touch." He extended his hand. "About that little mix-up in communication…"

"A mix-up, was it?" Dr. Yung smiled and took his hand. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful. I'll take some time with it, think it over. I'm usually more insightful once I've sat with something for a while. Why don't you call me later this week?"