“I’m a workaholic, doctor.”
“You should try to do something about it,” Rudge said with what sounded like genuine concern. “That’s no way to live. I’ve treated more than a few overly-ambitious men for whom work had become the only interest in their lives. An obsessive attitude toward work can destroy you.”
“Dr. Rudge, what is your medical specialty?”
“Psychiatry.”
“I suspected as much.”
“You’re the executor?”
“That’s right. I presume you heard all about his death.”
“Just what the newspaper had to say.”
“While handling some estate matters, I discovered that Mr. Frye had been seeing you regularly during the year and a half prior to his death.”
“He came in once a month,” Rudge said.
“Were you aware that he was homicidal?”
“Of course not,” Rudge said.
“You treated him all that time and weren’t aware that he was capable of violence?”
“I knew he was deeply disturbed,” Rudge said. “But I didn’t think he was a danger to anyone. However, you must understand that he didn’t really give me a chance to spot the violent side of him. I mean, as I said, he only came in once a month, I wanted to see him at least once every week, and preferably twice, but he refused. On the one hand, he wanted me to help him. But at the same time, he was afraid of what he might learn about himself. After a while, I decided not to press him too hard about making weekly visits because I was afraid that he might back off altogether and even cancel his monthly appointment. I figured a little therapy was better than none, you see.”
“What brought him to you?”
“Are you asking what was wrong with him, what he was complaining of?”
“That’s what I’m asking, all right.”
“As an attorney, Mr. Rhinehart, you ought to be aware that I can’t give out that sort of information indiscriminately. I have a doctor-patient privilege to protect.”
“The patient is dead, Dr. Rudge.”
“That doesn’t make any difference.”
“It sure as hell makes a difference to the patient.”
“He placed his trust in me.”
“When the patient is dead, the concept of doctor-patient privilege has little or no legal validity.”
“Perhaps it has no legal validity,” Rudge said. “But the oral validity remains. I still have certain responsibilities. I wouldn’t do anything to damage the reputation of a patient, regardless of whether he’s dead or alive.”
“Commendable,” Joshua said. “But in this case, nothing you could tell me would damage his reputation one whit more than he damaged it himself.”
“That, too, makes no difference.”
“Doctor, this is an extraordinary situation. This very day, I have come into possession of information which indicates that Bruno Frye murdered a number of women over the past five years, a large number of women, and got away with it.”
“You’re joking.”
“I don’t know what sort of thing strikes you as funny, Dr. Rudge. But I don’t make jokes about mass murder.”
Rudge was silent.
Joshua said, “Furthermore, I have reason to believe that Frye didn’t act alone. He may have had a partner in homicide. And that partner may still be walking around, alive and free.”
“This is extraordinary.”
“That’s what I said.”
“Have you given this information of yours to the police?”
“No,” Joshua said. “For one thing, it’s probably not enough to get their attention. What I’ve discovered convinces me–and two other people who are involved in this. But the police will probably say it’s only circumstantial evidence. And for another thing–I’m not sure which police agency has primary jurisdiction in the case. The murders might have been committed in several counties, in a number of cities. Now it seems to me that Frye might have told you something that doesn’t appear all that important by itself, but which fits in with the facts that I’ve uncovered. If, during those eighteen months of therapy, you acquired a bit of knowledge that complements my information, then perhaps I’ll have enough to decide which police agency to approach–and enough to convince them of the seriousness of the situation.”
“Well….”
“Dr. Rudge, if you persist in protecting this particular patient, yet more murders may occur. Other women. Do you want their deaths on your conscience?”