Death Match by Lincoln Child Page B

with iron-gray hair, closely cropped. “Thank you, Robert,” the man said to the hovering Vogel. Then he closed the door and wordlessly motioned Lash toward the center chair.
    Lash complied, feeling disbelief as the man attached clips to his fingertips, fitted a blood pressure cuff to his wrist.
    The man moved out of Lash’s vision for a moment. When he returned, he was holding a red cap in one hand. A long, rainbow-hued ribbon cable was affixed to one side. Dozens of clear plastic discs, each about the size of a dime, had been sewn into the cloth.
Two dozen, to be exact
, Lash thought grimly. He recognized it as a “red cap,” adult headgear for the Quantitative EEG test, or QEEG, which monitored the frequencies of brain activity. It was usually used for neurological disorders, dissociation, head trauma, and so forth.
    This was not like any psych interview he had ever heard of.
    The man injected conducting gel into each of the twenty-four electrodes, attached the cap to Lash’s head, and fitted ground leads to each of his ears. Then he returned to the table and attached the ribbon cable to the laptop. Lash watched, the cap on his head feeling uncomfortably snug.
    The man sat down and began typing. He peered at the screen, typed again. He had not shaken Lash’s hand or acknowledged him in any way.
    Lash waited, numb, feeling exposed and undignified in his hospital gown. He knew from experience that, at heart, psych evaluations were often battles of wit between shrink and patient. One was trying to learn things that, many times, the other did not want to have known. Perhaps this was just some unique form of that game. He remained silent, waiting, trying to clear the fatigue from his head.
    The man shifted his gaze from the laptop to the folder on his desk. Then, at long last, he lifted his head and looked Lash directly in the eyes.
    â€œDr. Lash,” he said. “I’m Dr. Alicto, your senior evaluator.”
    Lash remained silent.
    â€œAs senior evaluator, I’m privy to a little more background information than Mr. Vogel. Information, for example, that would indicate your prior job no doubt familiarized you with a lie detector test.”
    Lash nodded.
    â€œIn that case we’ll dispense with the usual business of demonstrating its effectiveness. And are you also familiar with the neurofeedback device I’ve placed on your head?”
    Lash nodded again.
    â€œAs a clinician, you’re probably curious about its use in this environment. You know lie detectors only measure heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and so forth. We’ve found the factor-analyzed data from the QEEG an excellent complement. It allows us to go far beyond the normal ‘yes’ and ‘no’ responses of a lie detector.”
    â€œI see.”
    â€œPlease keep your arms motionless on the armrests and your back straight. I’m going to ask some baseline questions. Answer only yes or no. Is your name Christopher Lash?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œDo you currently reside at 17 Ship Bottom Road?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œAre you thirty-nine years old?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œNow I’m going to show you a playing card. Whatever color it is, red or blue, I want you to tell me the
opposite
color. Understand?”
    â€œYes.”
    Alicto picked up a deck of cards, withdrew a red card, held it up. “What color is this card?”
    â€œBlue.”
    â€œThank you.” Alicto put the deck away. “Now then. Have you completed today’s tests in as honest and complete a manner as possible?”
    The man was looking at him with a quizzical, almost dubious expression. “Of course,” Lash said.
    Alicto looked back down at the folder, let the silence build a moment. “Why are you here, Dr. Lash?”
    â€œI should think that would be obvious.”
    â€œActually, it’s not obvious at all.” Alicto flipped over some pages in the