Jonathan Kellerman – Monster

“Any reason to stop?” said Milo.

“If he killed that woman on the freeway, he’s miles away.”

“And if he didn’t?”

“Fine-exactly-got to go, need to supervise.”

“Sure,” said Milo. “Do your thing.”

Outside the main building, the fireflies continued to dance, fragmented sporadically by the downslanting beams of circling helicopters. Milo yelled at a guard to get us out of there.

He and I and the sheriff’s detectives reconvened in the parking lot, next to the unmarked. The white coroner’s van was still in place, as were the squad cars and a pea-green sedan that had to be Banks and De la Torre’s wheels.

Banks said, “So what’s the theory here? This Orson, or whatever his real name is, snuck in somehow and got Peake loose? What’s his motive?” Milo flourished an open palm in my direction. “Unclear,” I said. “It may have had something to do with

Peake’s original rampage. Crimmins and Peake go way back. It’s possible-now I’d say probable-that Crimmins was involved somehow. Either by directly urging Peake to kill the Ardullos or by doing something more subtle.” I described the long-term conflict between the Crimminses and the Ardullos, described Peake’s prophecies. “Money,” said

De laTorre.

“That’s part of it, but there’s more. The root of all this is power and domination-criminal production. Orson- Derrick Crimmins-sees himself as an artist. I think he views the massacre as his first major creative accomplishment. He’s been working on something called Blood Walk. At least three people associated with the film are dead; there may very well be others. I think Crimmins has reserved a role for Peake, but I can’t say what it is. Now he’s decided it’s time to put Peake in the spotlight.” “Sounds nuts,” said De laTorre.

Banks looked back at the yard. “Funny ’bout that, Hector.” To me: “So Crimmins is crazy, too? They hired a psychotic to work here?”

“Crimmins comes across as a classic psychopath,” I said. “Sane but evil. Sometimes psychopaths fall apart, but not usually. Fundamentally, he’s a loser-can’t hold on to money, can’t stick with anything, has had to take jobs that he considers below him. On some level, that enrages him. He takes out his anger on others. But he’s fully aware of what he’s doing-has been careful enough to shift identities, addresses, pull off one scam after another. All that spells rationality.”

“Rational,” said De la Torre, “except he likes to kill people.” He stretched both wings of his mustache, distorting the lower half of his face. Releasing the hair, he allowed his lips to settle into a frown. “Okay, now Peake. Basically, you’re saying he was a head-case blood freak who turned into a vegetable here because they overdosed him. But for him to cooperate in the escape, he’d have to be significantly better put together than a summer squash. You think he could’ve been faking how crazy he is?”

“The guys on Five do it all the time,” said Milo.

“And rarely succeed,” I said. “But Peake’s a genuine schizophrenic. For him, it wouldn’t be a matter of either-or, it’d be the intensity of his psychosis. At an optimal level, it’s possible Thorazine made him more lucid. Clear enough to be able to cooperate in the escape. Crimmins could have played a role, too. He was a significant figure in Peake’s life. Who knows what fantasies his showing up on the ward could have stimulated.”

“The good old days,” said Milo. “Like some damn reunion. And once Crimmins got here, he’d have seen right away how rinky-dink the system was. Pure fun. Betcha he had keys to every door within weeks. We know he floated overtime on Peake’s ward.

Meaning he could wear his badge, drop in whenever he wanted, arouse no suspicion.”

He shook his head. “Peake must’ve seen it as salvation.”

“Crimmins dominated him before, knows he’s passive,” I said. “Slips him a knife. No one bothers to check Peake’s room for weapons because he’s been nonfunctional for sixteen years. Crimmins cues Peake that the time’s right; Peake sneaks up on

Dollard, cuts his throat, leaves on the staff elevator. Dollard was a perfect target: lax about the rules. And if he was involved in a drug scam with Crimmins, that would be another reason to hit him. You asked Swig if Dollard had access to the drug cabinet, so you were thinking the same thing. Or maybe Crimmins sneaked in and did the cutting himself. Showed up on the ward during the staff meeting, knowing he had only Dollard to contend with.”

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