have a witness on tap?”
“That’s still to be determined,” Blackburn said. “At this point, all we know is that she was present at the scene.”
He gave them an abbreviated rundown of the morning’s events, leaving out the incident with Tolan, but making it clear that Jane wouldn’t be easy to crack.
“What made you take her to Baycliff? Don’t we usually go to County with this kind of thing?”
“No offense to the doctors at County, but I’ve had some previous experience with Tolan, and they’re minor leaguers compared to him. The woman is clearly disturbed and I needed the best. I doubt many people here would argue there’s anyone better. Not in this half of the country at least.”
“That may be true, but the man’s wife was one of Vincent’s victims, for godsakes. You do realize this is the one-year anniversary of her murder.”
Surprised, Blackburn glanced at his watch. November 15th. Jesus. He hadn’t even thought of that.
Now Rossbach spoke up. “Considering the conflict of interest, we’d better get her transferred out of there as soon as possible.”
“My thinking exactly,” Escalante said.
“Has anyone asked Dr. Tolan how he feels about this?”
All eyes turned to Sue Carmody. Her question was directed at the entire group, but Blackburn knew it was meant for him. Bitch.
“I haven’t had a chance to tell him,” he said. “We’re meeting as soon as I’m done here.”
“What I’m suggesting is that a conflict of interest doesn’t necessarily preclude Dr. Tolan from working with us on this. Maybe he’d rather stay on board.”
Rossbach snorted. “He’d have to be a friggin’ masochist.”
“Well, I’ve worked with him too,” Carmody said. “Probably more than anyone here. And he once told me that the reason he left private practice and took the job at Baycliff was because of what happened to his wife.”
“How so?” Escalante asked.
“He said he wanted to get dirty. Spent too many years listening to neurotics complain about their cheating wives and their overbearing mothers, when what he really should be doing is trying to stop people like Vincent before they get started. Said he wanted something good to come from his wife’s murder. I can’t think of anything better than catching her killer.”
The chief assistant district attorney cleared his throat and said, “You’re forgetting the legal implications. If any of this winds up in court, a defense attorney’ll have a field day. He could impeach Tolan in about two seconds flat.”
Carmody shook her head. “I’m not so sure about that. Tolan has a solid reputation. Renowned therapist. Bestselling author.”
“That was before his wife was murdered.”
“He’s done some pretty remarkable work since then. I’ve seen it firsthand. And ask any of the ADAs who have called him as a witness. He’s pretty spectacular on the stand. Conflict or not, putting Tolan in a witness chair would likely work to our advantage no matter what some overpaid defense attorney throws at him.”
Several heads around the table nodded, but Rossbach didn’t seem convinced. “I still think it’s a bad idea. Besides, we don’t want to put all our eggs in this one basket. What if this woman never opens up? What then?”
Escalante frowned. “Nobody’s suggesting we put limits on the investigation. I want every possible avenue explored. That’s what you’re here for. But this woman could very well be our only tangible link to Vincent, and I think it behooves us to pursue this angle vigorously.” He looked at Carmody. “Detective, I want you and Blackburn to follow up on this.”
Say what?
Carmody looked just as shocked as Blackburn felt. “Sir?”
“You two were partners before you transferred to Homicide, right?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then it makes sense to partner up again. We need all the help we can get on this. Does that work for you, Detective Blackburn?”
A couple of thoughts raced through Blackburn’s
“That’s still to be determined,” Blackburn said. “At this point, all we know is that she was present at the scene.”
He gave them an abbreviated rundown of the morning’s events, leaving out the incident with Tolan, but making it clear that Jane wouldn’t be easy to crack.
“What made you take her to Baycliff? Don’t we usually go to County with this kind of thing?”
“No offense to the doctors at County, but I’ve had some previous experience with Tolan, and they’re minor leaguers compared to him. The woman is clearly disturbed and I needed the best. I doubt many people here would argue there’s anyone better. Not in this half of the country at least.”
“That may be true, but the man’s wife was one of Vincent’s victims, for godsakes. You do realize this is the one-year anniversary of her murder.”
Surprised, Blackburn glanced at his watch. November 15th. Jesus. He hadn’t even thought of that.
Now Rossbach spoke up. “Considering the conflict of interest, we’d better get her transferred out of there as soon as possible.”
“My thinking exactly,” Escalante said.
“Has anyone asked Dr. Tolan how he feels about this?”
All eyes turned to Sue Carmody. Her question was directed at the entire group, but Blackburn knew it was meant for him. Bitch.
“I haven’t had a chance to tell him,” he said. “We’re meeting as soon as I’m done here.”
“What I’m suggesting is that a conflict of interest doesn’t necessarily preclude Dr. Tolan from working with us on this. Maybe he’d rather stay on board.”
Rossbach snorted. “He’d have to be a friggin’ masochist.”
“Well, I’ve worked with him too,” Carmody said. “Probably more than anyone here. And he once told me that the reason he left private practice and took the job at Baycliff was because of what happened to his wife.”
“How so?” Escalante asked.
“He said he wanted to get dirty. Spent too many years listening to neurotics complain about their cheating wives and their overbearing mothers, when what he really should be doing is trying to stop people like Vincent before they get started. Said he wanted something good to come from his wife’s murder. I can’t think of anything better than catching her killer.”
The chief assistant district attorney cleared his throat and said, “You’re forgetting the legal implications. If any of this winds up in court, a defense attorney’ll have a field day. He could impeach Tolan in about two seconds flat.”
Carmody shook her head. “I’m not so sure about that. Tolan has a solid reputation. Renowned therapist. Bestselling author.”
“That was before his wife was murdered.”
“He’s done some pretty remarkable work since then. I’ve seen it firsthand. And ask any of the ADAs who have called him as a witness. He’s pretty spectacular on the stand. Conflict or not, putting Tolan in a witness chair would likely work to our advantage no matter what some overpaid defense attorney throws at him.”
Several heads around the table nodded, but Rossbach didn’t seem convinced. “I still think it’s a bad idea. Besides, we don’t want to put all our eggs in this one basket. What if this woman never opens up? What then?”
Escalante frowned. “Nobody’s suggesting we put limits on the investigation. I want every possible avenue explored. That’s what you’re here for. But this woman could very well be our only tangible link to Vincent, and I think it behooves us to pursue this angle vigorously.” He looked at Carmody. “Detective, I want you and Blackburn to follow up on this.”
Say what?
Carmody looked just as shocked as Blackburn felt. “Sir?”
“You two were partners before you transferred to Homicide, right?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then it makes sense to partner up again. We need all the help we can get on this. Does that work for you, Detective Blackburn?”
A couple of thoughts raced through Blackburn’s
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