The Insanity Plea (32 page)

Knowing that he had no choice, Wayne
agreed and slammed the door on the way out. Duke called room service and ordered
the coffee, aspirin and dry rolls. Then he turned the shower to hot and picked
up Jeb, carried him to the bathroom and sat him in the tub, clothes and all. Jeb
yelled and tried to force his way out. All he got in return were two large
hands, shoving him back under the shower spray.

Brickman howled, “Dammit, Duke, at
least make it not so hot.”

Duke was sitting on the toilet and
took that as a sign that he was making progress; so he inched the handle back a
notch. When room service arrived, Duke turned off the water and tossed a hotel
robe to Jeb. “Put this on. Coffee’s here.”

After Duke tipped the bellman, Jeb
came out of the bathroom, still wearing his wet shirt and pants, only now with
a white robe over them.

“Dammit, Jeb. You’re still drunk. I
thought you’d have enough sense to take off those wet clothes. Here, drink
this.”

Jeb sat on the edge of the bed and
sipped the hot coffee.

Duke pulled a chair over to where he
was facing the psychiatrist and sat down. “Look, you little half-pint shrink. Dan’s
life is on the line. Wayne’s going to stall for two hours. By then, you’re
going to drink both of these pots of coffee and eat all six rolls on that
plate. I don’t care if you pee caffeine for the next two days. Then, you better
be sober or I’ll take a running start and throw you over that balcony. If
you’re lucky, you’ll land in the pool twenty stories down. If not, you’ll hit
the sidewalk. You clear on that?”

Jeb took another sip of coffee and
slurred, “I’m sorry, Duke. I should have let you take the Wild Turkey last
night. In two hours I’ll be fine. You’ll see. I’ll convince the jury that Dan
was insane. If I don’t, I’ll come back here and throw myself over the balcony.”

Wayne started the Navigator, put it
in gear and drove down the driveway to the exit where he had to stop for traffic.
As he waited, he pounded the dashboard with his right fist, punctuating each
hit with “Shit! Shit! Shit!”

When he was able to pull out onto the
boulevard, he was thinking that just yesterday he was complaining about how the
trial was going and the inequities of the judicial system. That was yesterday
and even then he was worried about the outcome. Never in his wildest
imagination did he consider that his most critical witness would be passed out
at the very time he was needed at the courthouse.

Now Wayne had about fifteen minutes
to come up with a plan to stall the start of evidence. He would have to rely on
Duke to come through with Dr. Brickman. Then he thought about the first meeting
with Jeb. He should have nixed the little guy then, no matter what Duke said. Instincts
are sometimes worth their weight in gold. If not heeded they might as well be
fool’s gold.

I got it, Wayne thought. I’ll call
Dr. Frederick Parke. The judge probably won’t let me do it, but it’ll cause an uproar
and a big fight, big enough to kill at least an hour. Then, if Duke’s not here,
I’ll come up with some oral motion. Trial lawyers are supposed to be able to
wing it.

Wayne parked at his mother’s house
and found it empty with everyone already at the courthouse. He hoofed it the
two blocks, said good morning to the deputy at the metal detector and elected
to run the stairs to the fourth floor. It was eight fifty-five when he entered
the courtroom, breathing hard and wiping sweat from his forehead.

Claudia saw him first and walked to
the back of the courtroom. He told her what had happened. Her eyes grew big. He
told her to tell Rita and Sarah what was going on and to alert him when Duke
came in. Then Barney entered, followed by Dan, now dressed in a blue blazer,
grey slacks and a white shirt, compliments of Sarah
. If he had a
tie,
Wayne
thought
, he could pass for a lawyer
.

Dan took his seat and Wayne explained
the problem. Dan frowned and his shoulders slumped. “Damn it, Wayne. I told you
that first day that Brickman smelled like a bootlegger’s still. Are you going
to be able to pull this off?”

Then, they got a slight break. Barney
conferred briefly with Casey, the court reporter and turned to counsel. “We
have a minor problem. One of the jurors has a sick kid. She’s dropping him by
her mother’s house, but is running thirty minutes late.”

All lawyers were accustomed to such
delays. Even someone like Kate could not be upset. Wayne nodded to the bailiff
and turned back to Dan. “Let’s hope her mother’s sick, too.”

About forty five minutes later Judge
Fernandez came through the hall door. All present rose and waited for him to
take the bench. As Felix surveyed the courtroom, he noticed the empty chair at
Wayne’s table. “Wayne, where’s your tall friend this morning?”

“Judge, he’s handling another matter
and should be here shortly. I’m prepared to go on without him.”

“Very well, then,” Judge Fernandez
replied. “How about the prosecution?”

Kate nodded her readiness.

“Everyone’s good to go. Bailiff,
bring in the jury.”

Wayne looked at the clock and turned
to Claudia. “Call Duke on his cell phone and see how he’s coming.”

Claudia nodded and left the courtroom
while the jury filed in.

“Your Honor, the defense calls Dr.
Frederick Parke as an adverse witness.”

All eyes again turned to Parke who
looked up from a journal he was quietly reading on the back row. Parke stared
at Kate. Certainly, this was not the game plan. A slight twinkle appeared in
the eyes of Fernandez. Then Kate stomped to her feet.

“Your Honor, he can’t do this. Dr.
Parke is our witness. We get to put him on.”

“Further, Your Honor,” Klein joined
his associate, “I’ve been handling criminal cases for twenty-five years and
I’ve never heard of such a tactic.”

Judge Fernandez hid his amusement and
turned to the jury. “All right, ladies and gentlemen. Looks like this is going
to take a while. Why don’t you folks go back in the jury room and have a cup of
coffee. Barney will let you know when we’re ready.”

After the jury left the room, Claudia
joined Wayne. “Duke says that he’s going to need until at least eleven. Every
time he turns his back, Brickman sits down and promptly falls asleep.”

Wayne nodded. The clock read
ten-fifteen.

Fernandez addressed the lawyers. “I’m
kinda in the same boat with Harry. I don’t recall this coming up before in one
of my cases. Course, it’s not often that the state is paying an expert to sit
in the courtroom and watch testimony. Wayne, don’t you have another witness so
we can avoid this fight?”

Wayne rose, conferred with Claudia
and then addressed the judge. “Not the point, Judge. We think this is a good
time for the jury to hear what Dr. Parke has to say.”

“Okay, I’ll give you guys a half an
hour to get on your computers and find some law; or, if you’re old fashioned
like Harry and me, you know where the county law library is. I’ll be in my
chambers, reading the sports section of the
Chronicle.
Holler when you’re ready.”

Kate bustled out of the courtroom on
her way to her office with Harry close behind. Dr. Parke caught up with them. “Why
can’t I just disappear? He hasn’t subpoenaed me. I don’t want Brickman testifying
after me. The jury needs to hear me as the last word in the case.”

“Can’t just have you disappear, Doc,”
Harry replied. “The jury already knows Wayne wants you as the next witness. We’ve
got to win this one with the judge. Go sit in my office and we’ll call you.”

Once the jury was gone, Wayne turned
to Claudia and Dan, “Claudia, don’t bother looking for any law. There really
isn’t any. It’s going to be a discretionary call for Felix and he’ll almost
surely go along with the prosecution. That’s okay. I just bought us a half an
hour. Then, I’ll filibuster until Duke gets here.”

Wayne walked to the back of the
courtroom, over by the window where cell reception was best, and punched in
Duke’s number. Jeb had now thrown up three times and seemed to be coming around.

It was close to eleven when the judge
returned to the bench. Harry and Kate were missing in action. Fernandez sent
Barney to tell them he was ready to hear arguments and make a decision. Barney
returned in five minutes, trailed by the two lawyers and Dr. Parke. He listened
to Kate cite procedural sections and a couple of cases that were fifty years
old. He was turning to Wayne for his reply when the back door opened. Duke had
Dr. Brickman sit on the back row and joined Wayne at counsel table.

“He’s as ready as he’s ever going to
be,” Duke whispered.

“Your Honor, I recognize it’s a close
call. Let me save you having to make the decision. I’ll withdraw my request to
call Dr. Parke and, instead will call Dr. Jerome Brickman.

Just as I suspected,
Fernandez thought,
Wayne had a
witness problem. Shit, if he’d just asked, I would have delayed things long
enough to get his expert here.
“Okay, get the jury. We’ve wasted most of
the morning.”

Dr. Brickman walked to the front of
the court. Duke would handle the direct examination. Jeb was dressed in a tan
business suit, blue dress shirt and a bright green bow tie. He carried a large
brown briefcase. He stopped in front of the jury box, set down his briefcase
and bowed to the jury. Then he moved two steps forward and bowed to the judge. As
he completed the second bow, his right hand was in the air, ready to take the
oath.

Wayne looked on with amazement when
nearly every juror smiled at the little man. Duke elbowed Wayne as if to say,
“I told you so.”

After swearing to tell the truth, Jeb
placed his briefcase on the witness chair, clicked open the clasps and withdrew
one thick file, marked as the records on Daniel Little and a smaller one
identified as journal articles. After he placed them on the stand, he closed
the briefcase and placed it on the floor. Then he poured himself a cup of water
and took a seat. Folding his hands in his lap, he looked at the jury and
smiled.
Damn,
Wayne thought,
quite a show for a guy that was passed out
three hours ago.

“Tell the jury your name.”

“I am Jerome Earl Brickman. My
friends call me Jeb.

“Doctor, you bowed to the jury and
the judge. That’s a little unusual for an expert in a court of law. Can you
explain?”

“Glad to, Mr. Romack. I grew up in
Georgia, just outside of Atlanta. My daddy was a World War II fighter pilot. My
mother was a British nurse. Some of your daddies may have been in that war,
too.”

Three of the jurors nodded in
agreement.

“He talked my mama into moving to
Georgia after the war, but she made me learn how to bow proper. Said I might
meet the queen some day. Never met the queen, but bowing is my way of showing
respect for this court and these folks on the jury.”

Most of the jurors nodded their
understanding. Duke walked to the evidence table and picked up a copy of Dr.
Brickman’s resume and displayed it on the overhead.

“Doctor, let’s start at the present. How
are you currently employed?”

“I am proud to be a professor at the
University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. I have been affiliated
with that university for more than twenty-five years. Before that I did my
medical school at Emory in Georgia and residency in psychiatry there, too. My
fellowship in forensic psychiatry was at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Some years
ago, since I was involved in forensic psychiatry, I went to night school in
Houston and obtained a law degree. In fact, that’s where we met, Mr. Romack.”

Duke flipped the page as he continued,
“I see, Dr. Brickman that you have lectured extensively on the definition of
insanity at various seminars around the country and have testified before
various state legislative committees.”

“Correct, sir. I have always had a
particular interest in schizophrenia and bi-polar disease. That led me into the
study of legal insanity. In fact, if you go to the next page, you will see that
I was on a committee that recommended an insanity definition to the Texas
legislature after Mr. Hinckley attempted to assassinate President Reagan. I
might add that I dissented from the committee’s recommendation.”

Kate was on her feet. “Objection,
Your Honor. Whether Dr. Brickman agrees with the Texas definition of insanity
is irrelevant. We, all of us, including the jurors, are bound by that
definition.”

Judge Fernandez peered down at the
witness. “That last comment is stricken and the jury should not consider it for
any purpose. Dr. Brickman, please keep your personal opinions to yourself.”

Duke returned to his seat. Wayne
thought that little bastard actually got it all together, and, besides that, the
longer he is on the stand the more his Georgia drawl disappears and he is
beginning to sound like James Bond. Amazing.

Duke pushed his chair back so that he
could stretch out his long legs and absent-mindedly rubbed his bad knee. One
juror elbowed his neighbor and whispered that he was there the night Duke blew
out the knee.