The Insanity Plea (39 page)

“Your Honor, I have a question.” The
voice came from Rita who had moved to a place beside the swinging gate. Since
he had formally concluded the trial, the judge let Rita ask her question.

“Dr. Parke, what was in your closet
in Vail, and why the yellow scarves?”

Parke relished his moment on center stage
as he replied, “Rita, your interest in my closet is what led to the attempt on
your life. It will soon be known that closet holds mementos from each of my
killings. My hall of fame, so to speak. It contains the shorts and other items
from each of my victims, with a card showing the date and city where I acquired
them. As to yellow, my first victim, who has yet to be identified, wore yellow
shorts. Yellow became my favorite color.”

Judge Fernandez broke in. “Why
Debbie, Dr. Parke?”

“No reason, Judge. I was out hunting
and she was easy prey, like most of my victims.”

“You son of a bitch!” a voice
bellowed from the back of the room. Walter Robinson was on his feet and
charging toward the witness stand. “I paid you two hundred thousand dollars and
you’re the bastard that killed my Debbie!”

He burst through the swinging door. Three
jurors on the end jumped to their feet and started for the hallway door,
uncertain as to what was to come. Others stared in rapt fascination. Duke
attempted to stop Robinson but failed. He bulled his way to the witness stand
and grabbed Parke around the neck. Suddenly, Parke lifted a knee into
Robinson’s groin, causing him to break his grip. Seizing his chance, Parke
leaped up and bolted for the door.

Dan and Rita simultaneously saw what
was happening and raced after him. Rita threw herself at his feet as he reached
the exit. She missed. Dan leaped the rail and wrestled Parke to the ground with
the best tackle he had made in thirty years.

Judge Fernandez watched his courtroom
rapidly unraveling. When he realized that he had sent Barney away, he knew he
had to take control. He grabbed his gun and started pounding the bench with the
gun handle. “Order! Order in this court, or I’ll start using the other end of
this pistol!”

Then the back door opened and three
deputies, with Barney in the lead, picked up Parke and handcuffed him. As Parke
was being escorted from the courtroom, he turned, speaking to no one in
particular, but to everyone in the courtroom.

“You know, of course, that you’ll
never convict me. You see, I’m insane. I’ve had voices talking to me for years.
Dan knows how it is. Just ask him. I was able to ignore them until recently. I’ll
convince any judge or jury that I’m crazy. After all, the voices said they were
speaking for God and commanding me to commit these murders. It’s all there on
my computer.”

An eerie smile crossed his face as
Barney jerked him out the door.

The team assembled on Sarah’s front
porch, this time joined by Dan. Duke had retrieved three bottles of champagne
from the refrigerator, purchased just for this occasion and managed to spray
everyone on the porch when he opened the first bottle.

They all laughed, even Dan, as Duke
filled the glasses. When Dan led a toast to Wayne and Duke, Wayne accepted it,
saying. “Thanks, Dan. Only it was a team effort. Rita, how did you put it all
together?”

Rita shook her head as she replied,
“It took a little luck. When Parke tried to kill me, he said something about ‘my
lovely Latina lady’.” I was sitting in the courtroom on Friday and I was almost
sure it was him. Then I was out for a jog on Saturday morning. I hit that
bridge in Hermann Park and everything started to come back. The rest is
history.”

Dan walked over to where she sat,
pulled her out of her rocker and gave her a hug that brought tears to Rita’s
eyes.

“Now, I suppose is as good a time as
any to make an announcement. Hope we’ve got another bottle of champagne,” Wayne
said. “Rita and I are getting married.”

This time Sarah teared up, only they
were tears of relief and joy. “I’m not sure I can handle all of this in one
day. First, Dan’s a free man and now I’m going to have a daughter-in-law, and
maybe some grandbabies. Duke, go get more of that champagne.”

When Duke returned, Claudia took the
floor. “Well, since there’s going to be a wedding, we might as well make it
two. Duke, I accept all of your proposals over the past three years.”

Duke sat down the champagne and
picked his new fiancée up off her feet and waltzed her around the veranda. “Thank
you, darling. Let’s give Sarah a bunch of babies to play with around here.”

Three months later there was a double
wedding in Galveston.

Wayne, Duke and Claudia returned to
their respective law practices. Since Wayne didn’t need his condo any more, Dan
moved into it and started work as a paralegal at the Duncan law firm while he
explored options for getting his law license back.

Sarah worked in her flower gardens,
awaiting the first of many grandchildren.

While I hope you enjoyed my story, I
also would like for you to take away from this novel an insight into the
disgraceful plight of the mentally ill in this country. The Supreme Court’s
decision to free them unless they are a threat to themselves or others has left
most of the mentally ill with no place to go. Our national government, states
and cities refuse to provide sufficient funding to care for them. Likewise,
there is scant funding to find cures. All too frequently, they, like Dan, end
up on the streets. When one is charged with a crime, there is very little
justice for the mentally ill. I have no solution to this enigma. All I can do
is draw attention to it.

Last, I must point out that Dan’s positive
response to medication in my story is not the usual. Scientists and
psychiatrists continue to search for answers. For now, though, Dan’s response
must be considered the rare exception, not the norm.