The Empty Chair (Lincoln Rhyme 3) - Page 83

"What, Lancaster?" The lawyer shrugged his narrow shoulders. "He'll get hurt. No getting around that. I don't know how bad. But he will get hurt. A boy like him's gonna be at the bottom of the food chain at VFDC."

"Can he be segregated?"

"Not there. It's all general population. Just a big holding pen, basically. The best we can do is hope the guards look out for him."

"How 'bout bail?"

Fredericks laughed. "There's no judge in the world'd set bail in a case like this. He's a bond-jumper waiting to happen."

"Is there anything we can do to get him into a different facility? Lincoln's got friends in New York."

"New York?" Fredericks gave her a genteel but wry Southern smile. "I don't think that carries much weight south of the Mason-Dixon line. Probably not even west of the Hudson." He nodded toward Dr. Penny. "No, our best bet is to get Garrett to cooperate then work out a plea."

"Shouldn't his foster parents be here?"

"Should be, yep. I called them but Hal said the boy's on his own. He wouldn't even let me talk to Maggie--his mother."

"But Garrett can't be making decisions on his own," Sachs said. "He's just a boy."

"Oh," Fredericks explained, "before the arraignment or plea deal's agreed to the court'll appoint a guardian ad litem. Don't worry, he'll be looked out for."

Sachs turned to the doctor. "What're you going to do? This empty chair test?"

Dr. Penny glanced at the lawyer, who nodded his okay to explain. "It's not a test. It's a type of Gestalt therapy--a behavioral technique that's known for getting very fast results in understanding certain types of behavior. I'm going to have Garrett imagine that Mary Beth is sitting in a chair in front of him and have him talk to her. Explain to her why he kidnapped her. I hope to get him to understand that she's upset and frightened and that what he did was wrong. That she'll be better off if he tells us where she is."

"And this'll work?"

"It's not really intended for this type of situation but I think it could get results."

The lawyer glanced at his watch. "You ready, Doctor?"

He nodded.

"Let's go." The doctor and Fredericks disappeared into the interrogation room.

Sachs hung back, got a cup of water from the cooler. Sipped it slowly. When the deputy at the front desk turned his attention back to his newspaper Sachs quickly stepped through the door of the observation room, where the video camera sat for taping suspects. The room was empty. She pulled the door shut and sat down, peered into the interrogation room. She could see Garrett in one chair in the middle of the room. The doctor sat at the table. Cal Fredericks was in the corner, his arms folded, ankle resting on a knee, revealing the height of his shoes' stubby heels.

A third chair, unoccupied, sat facing Garrett.

Cokes were on the table. The cans sweated with condensation.

Through the cheap, clattering speaker above the mirror Sachs heard their voices.

"Garrett, I'm Doctor Penny. How're you?"

No answer.

"It's a little warm in here, isn't it?"

Still Garrett said nothing. He looked down. Clicked the nails on his finger and thumb. Sachs couldn't hear the sound. She found her own thumbnail digging into the flesh of her index finger. Felt moisture, saw the blood. Stop it stop it stop it, she thought and forced herself to lower her hands to her sides.

"Garrett, I'm here to help you. I'm working with your lawyer, Mr. Fredericks here, and we're trying to get you a reduced sentence for what's happened. We can help you but we need your cooperation."

Fredericks said, "The doctor's going to talk to you, Garrett. We're going to try to find out a few things. But everything you say is going to be just between us. We won't tell anybody else without your permission. You understand that?"

He nodded.

"Remember, Garrett," the doctor said, "we're the good guys. We're on your side.... Now, I want to try something."

Tags: Jeffery Deaver Lincoln Rhyme Mystery
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