The Insanity Plea (38 page)

“Proceed then, Mr. Dan Little.”

Wayne took his seat and Dan picked up
where Wayne left off.

“Dr. Parke, let’s follow up on your opinions
about God and Satan. As I understand it, if I told you Satan made me do
something criminal, you would say I was sane, correct?”

“Right, Dan. That would show you knew
right from wrong.”

“Let’s see, then. If I said that God
made me do the same thing, say a murder, then you would say that I was insane. Did
I get that right?”

The witness thought for a moment and
then replied, “Right again. In my opinion, God would not order someone to
commit murder. So, it follows that you would be insane.”

Several jurors looked at each other
in confusion and then turned back to Dan.

“Now, if I told this jury that I
committed a murder under orders from the CIA or FBI or, maybe, aliens, would I
be sane or insane?”

Parke looked puzzled before replying.
“I suppose the CIA or FBI could convince someone to kill another person, but
when you put aliens in there, I’d have to say you would be insane.”

“How about if I said I killed out of
lust, sane or insane?”

“Sane, Mr. Little.”

“Just a moving target, right, Dr.
Parke. It’s whatever you say it is, or whatever you’re paid to say?”

“Objection, Your Honor.” Kate jumped
to her feet. “Argumentative.”

“Denied, Ms. Rasmussen. Mr. Dan Little
seems to have remembered his lawyer skills quite well.”

Anger once again broke through on
Dan’s face and the judge was poised for another outburst. It didn’t happen. Dan
maintained his composure. “You merely play God, Doctor, pronouncing sanity or insanity,
based on which side is paying your fee. That’s right, isn’t it, Dr. Parke?”

“Mr. Little, I only give my educated
opinion, but you are correct that I am called on frequently to make such a
judgment.”

“I almost forgot, Doctor, how much is
the county paying you to send me to the death chamber?”

“Mr. Little, I resent your tone.”

“Answer my question, sir,” Dan
commanded.

“$220,000,” Parke said softly,
refusing to look at the jury.

“Just a hired gun, aren’t you?”

Parke didn’t answer, but the eyes of
all fourteen of the jurors made it clear they got the message. Wayne looked at
his brother and concluded he could hold it all together long enough to bring
down Dr. Parke. Then out of the corner of his eye he noticed Felix nod at
Barney who quietly left the courtroom.

“Let’s change subjects, Dr. Parke.” Dan
picked up the DNA plastic bags and the lab results from his table and had them
marked as exhibits. “Now, I’m handing you two bags, one with a toothbrush and
one with clippings from an electric razor along with DNA results.”

Wayne stood beside his brother and
whispered something to him. Dan nodded and added, “And, Your Honor, we’re
prepared to tie in the chain of custody, if the court requires.”

“Not necessary at this time, Dan.” The
judge motioned for him to continue.

In the back of the courtroom Walter
Robinson was leaning forward, with his arms resting on the back of the bench in
front of him, his hands doubled into fists as he scowled at the psychiatrist.

“Dr. Parke, I’ll represent to you
that these samples came from your hotel room on Friday.”

Kate was on her feet again. “Your
Honor, Mr. Little’s team must have broken into Dr. Parke’s room. This evidence
should be barred.”

Felix thought a minute and replied. “Overruled,
Ms. Rasmussen. If you choose to file charges against anyone on Mr. Little’s
team, be my guest. We’ll deal with it later.”

“We had DNA testing done over the
weekend,” Dan continued. “And, Your Honor, if there is any question as to
authenticity, we have the scientist who did the testing on standby.”

Parke looked down at the bags in his
hands
. How could this happen,
he
thought.
 
He was so careful. Now he was
about to be exposed by a two bit lawyer and his schizophrenic brother. Time for
the backup plan. “I’m not an expert in DNA, Mr. Little.”

“Not asking you to be. Only want you
to be an expert in reading.”

Dan hesitated while he debated whether
to use the DNA testing from the attack on Rita and turned to Wayne for advice. Wayne
told him to save the results from Rita’s attack for now. They could ice the
cake with it later if necessary. Dan stared at the DNA results from the Hermann
Park attack, finally concluded his brother was right and carefully laid the
report on the table in front of him. Then he went to the evidence table and
found the key with its attached DNA report. “Dr. Parke, would you compare the
DNA results from the blood on this key found at the scene of Debbie Robinson’s
murder with your DNA?”

Parke stared straight ahead, saying
nothing, almost as if he hadn’t heard the question.

“Well, Dr. Parke, since the cat’s got
your tongue,” Dan said as he walked around to stand beside the witness, “let me
read the results of each and maybe you can tell me if I read them accurately?”

As Dan started reading, Wayne turned
on the overhead projector and displayed the two DNA reports side by side so the
jury could compare them.

When Dan finished, Parke nodded his
head, still saying nothing.

“They match, don’t they? And, Dr.
Parke would you tilt your head just a little so the light is better on your
left cheek.”

Parke refused to move his head as his
eyes darted from Dan to the jury and back to Dan again.

Finally, the judge intervened. “Dr.
Parke, please do as Mr. Little requests.”

Parke finally moved his head
slightly.

The jurors stared intently at the
witness as Dan continued. “There’s a thin line running down your left cheek,
isn’t there, Dr. Parke? Looks like you put a little make-up on it this morning.
Was that to hide the remnants of an old scar?”

Parke refused to speak.

“How many innocent, mentally ill
people have been imprisoned or sent to their deaths as a result of your
opinions, Dr. Parke? One? Ten? Maybe a hundred or more, Dr. Parke? Answer me,
Dr. Parke!”

Parke stared at the clock on the wall
above the jury box as beads of sweat began to pop out on his forehead. Judge
Fernandez quietly reached under his robe and laid his pistol on the bench.

Dan decided he would try a bluff. “Dr.
Parke, would it surprise you to learn that the prints taken from your running
shoes back at the hotel match footprints leaving the scene of the attack on Ms.
Contreras in Houston’s Hermann Park?”
 

The witness barely nodded his head as
he looked around the courtroom, paying particular attention to the doors and
windows before he focused on Rita. Rita stared back with a sense of
satisfaction when she realized he had fallen for Dan’s bluff. They hadn’t even
looked at Parke’s running shoes on Friday.

Dan pressed on, “By the way, Dr.
Parke, if we check your travel schedule over there in that big folder, we’d
find that you were in Galveston, lecturing at UTMB on the day of Debbie’s
murder. In fact, you stayed at the San Luis, didn’t you?”

“Probably, Mr. Little.”

“Not probably, Dr. Parke!” Dan
shouted. “It’s a fact, isn’t it?”

Before the judge could bring down his
gavel at another outburst from Dan, the witness replied, “Yes, Mr. Little, but
I need to explain.”

“Explain, Dr. Parke? Explain what?”

Parke tried to gain control of himself
as he turned to face the jury. “Now that I think about it, I distinctly recall
that I didn’t run on that trip. I had come down with the flu and almost
cancelled the engagement. In fact, I had to ask a colleague at UTMB to call in
a prescription for antibiotics. Yes, yes, I’m quite certain of that, ladies and
gentlemen.”

Dan stood at the counsel table and
faced the jury. “Come on, Dr. Parke. Do you take these people for fools? What’s
the name of the colleague? Where was the pharmacy?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Little. I just don’t
remember. And, Dan, I’m not calling these people fools. Why should they believe
you instead of me? I’m the trained psychiatrist. You’re the one trying to
convince them you’re a raving lunatic.”

A look of confusion clouded Dan’s
face as he searched for his next question. Wayne came to his rescue. He
whispered to his brother. “Focus back on the evidence. Don’t get into an
argument with him. Ask him about the key.”

Dan nodded and walked to the witness
stand where he picked up the bag containing the key. “What about the key, Dr.
Parke? Your DNA is on it.”

Parke nodded his head and answered. “The
night before Debbie’s murder I had a nightcap at a bar next to the hotel. I
struck up a conversation with a young lady. It was late when we left so I
walked her to her car. She was trying to get her keys from her purse and dropped
them. I picked them up. One of them must have been her apartment key. That had
to be Debbie, Mr. Little.”

By now Dan was two feet from the
witness and spoke quite softly. “What about the blood on the key, Dr. Parke? It’s
your blood on that key, Dr. Parke. It came from that scar on your face, Dr.
Parke, didn’t it?”

Silence.

“Wayne, put that other DNA blood
report on the overhead.” When his brother did, Dan continued. “This lady on the
front row is Rita Contreras. She was savagely attacked in Hermann Park in
Houston and nearly died. She managed to scratch the attacker. His blood was
under her fingers. Look at that report. It’s your blood. You tried to kill her.
You are The Runner. Admit it, Dr. Parke!”

The psychiatrist knew he was trapped.
He looked at the jury and saw looks of disbelief and anger in their faces. Parke’s
forehead glistened with perspiration. He turned to the judge as he rose.

Time to execute Plan B, he thought.
 
He always said that he could convince anyone
of anything. Now was the time.

 
Felix was about to reach for the pistol when
Parke addressed the court, “Your Honor, I would like to say something to you
and the jury, and to you, too, Dan.”

“Objection, Your Honor!” Kate yelled.

“Ms. Rasmussen, you get control of
yourself. I’m going to let Dr. Parke here say whatever is on his mind unless
Dan objects.”

Kate turned and tried to storm out of
the courtroom. Harry Klein grabbed her and whispered, “Look, you got us into
this. My political career is probably over because of you. I’m not about to
take the fall alone. Sit your ass down and keep your mouth shut.”

“Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen,
I’m a meticulous man. I’ve planned everything. I even planned for just this
sort of contingency. Dan, you didn’t kill Debbie. You were just at the wrong
place at the wrong time. I’ve been studying serial killers for nearly thirty
years. There’s nothing I don’t know about them. I just finished a fifty year survey
of serial killers and how they got away with their murders. Took me two years. It’s
to be published soon. The more I studied their methods, the more I was certain
that if they could get away with multiple murders, I could, too. As a
scientist, I laid out plans for my own case study.”

“Hold on there, Dr. Parke,” Judge
Fernandez interrupted. “Before you say anything more, I need to do two things. On
my own motion, I’m dismissing the charges against Daniel Little.”

Stunned looks filled the courtroom. Dan
and his team managed to keep their composure although Sarah began to weep
silently.

“Then, Dr. Parke, I have a duty to
warn you that we are still on the record and you’re stepping into dangerous
territory. Harry, read him his rights.”

Parke turned to face Harry Klein. “Not
necessary, Mr. Klein. I’ll waive my Miranda rights. I have other ways of
dealing with this situation.” Parke even managed a smile as he spoke. “I think
that the world needs to know what I accomplished and how I got away with it. Ladies
and gentlemen of the jury, I’ve been writing on this subject for thirty years. Now
that the mystery of The Runner has been solved, law enforcement authorities and
psychiatrists around the world can evaluate my research with a whole new
perspective. I will certainly cooperate. Who knows? Maybe my studies will help
them catch other killers.

“Look, I got paid $220,000 to convict
Dan for something I did,” he continued. “Funny thing, Your Honor, is I probably
would have gotten away with all of the killings except for Ms. Contreras here,
the lovely Latina lady on the front row.” He nodded to Rita as every eye in the
courtroom turned to look at her. Rita stared back at the man who had tried to
kill her, hatred in her eyes. “Five more seconds, my dear. That’s all I needed
before those two football players arrived. Five more seconds and you wouldn’t
be here.” Parke looked back at the judge. “I was worried about her from the day
I saw her in my study in Vail. She’s probably the only one with the knowledge
and computer savvy to put all the facts together. Just last week I was jogging
and ran into her on the street. I could have finished the job then, but I chose
not to. Probably the only mistake The Runner made in his career.”