One Strange Accident

by Kay Wyont

  “Go ahead, Roland.” Warren crossed his arms and glowered at Randy. “They’re obviously going to continue asking these inane questions, so let’s just humor them. Maybe if we do, we’ll get you out of here sooner.”

  “Thank you. Dr. Higgins? How do you explain that?”

  “Explain what?”

  Randy gritted his teeth. “Don’t play games. How do you explain what’s happened to your patients?”

  “As I’ve told you before, detective, I don’t have patients, I have clients. And I can’t explain it. Their choices are their own responsibility. It has nothing to do with me. I’m a psychologist, not a puppet master.”

  Danny cut in. “That brings up another interesting question, Dr. Higgins. Having graduated from one of the most prestigious colleges in this country, you could have a successful psychology practice. Why would you settle for running a weight-loss clinic instead?”

  Higgins’ eyes flashed at the underlying slight, but he was otherwise in control. “To each his own, Detective Beckman. I fail to see how that pertains to anything, but I’ll humor you. There’s more than one way to help a person, and I’ve chosen to help them through weight loss. There’s just as much psychology in helping someone lose weight as there is in trying to curb a psychosis, and there’s a greater degree of success.”

  “So, it has nothing to do with losing your license?”

  “I’m not the first doctor to have his license pulled, nor will I be the last.”

  “Probably not, but it seems a little strange for it to happen in several different states. Connecticut, Oklahoma, and Mississippi. Did I miss any?”

  “This has gone on long enough,” Wynn said. “Nothing you’re asking has to do with a drug charge.”

  “We think it does, Mr. Wynn, or we wouldn’t be discussing it,” Randy said. “Dr. Higgins, shouldn’t you get your own bad habits under control first? You’re hardly qualified to help someone kick an addiction when your own has caused you so much trouble. What’s that expression? Physician, heal thyself?”

  “Detective Monroe, you’re assuming there is any merit to my previous arrests. That’s what you cops do, isn’t it? Arrest someone on a trumped-up charge to justify your job. It doesn’t matter to you that you victimize innocent people and take away everything that matters to them. If you want to talk strange, let’s talk about why the police can’t just leave me alone.”

  “No, let’s talk about why your clients tend to end up committing homicide and suicide. You are the one taking everything that matters from innocent people.” Randy knew he was getting under the doctor’s skin and it was starting to show.

  “I’m quite positive I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Okay, then let me clear it up for you. A VIA bus driver drove his bus off an overpass, a kid ran his car into his favorite bakery, another kid drove his car into a bunch of elderly people at Fiesta Texas, a dentist crashed his plane into a school gym. All with a connection to your clinic. Need I continue?” Randy leaned back and stared at Higgins.

  “I can’t explain that any more than you can, detective, but it has nothing to do with me.”

  “I disagree.”

  “Then you’d be wrong. I know cops aren’t that bright, but you blundered around in my clinic and found nothing that could even remotely suggest I had something to do with all that.”

  “That was true.” Randy caught a glimpse of triumph in the doctor’s eyes. Don’t start celebrating too soon, you jerk. “At first. Of course, once we found your hidden room, things changed, even for us not-so-bright cops. Surely you can understand why, can’t you?”

  “Hidden room?” Wynn asked. “What are they talking about, Roland?”

  “Beats me.” Higgins’ cool reply was betrayed by the beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

  “Seriously, Dr. Higgins? I’ll give you credit. You did a good job fixing up that storage room. We almost missed the removable panel on the back wall. But somebody on our team knew just what to look for.” That’ll work, Randy thought. Gloria is sorta on our team.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about. But that explains a lot, doesn’t it?”

  Randy could almost see the lightbulb blink on in Higgins’ head, and he didn’t like it. “How so?”

  “If there’s a back way into my storage room, then the people at the beauty shop could have gotten in there.” Higgins’ bravado returned. “That LSD must be theirs. Where better to hide it than in my storage room?”

  “Well, that’s certainly one way to look at it,” Danny replied.

  “That’s the only way, detective,” Wynn said. “I assume you’ll be releasing my client since you can’t prove the LSD belongs to him.”

  “Not quite yet,” Randy said. “Maybe after you explain to us how anyone from the beauty shop could possibly get into that room when the door locks from your side. You even put an extra lock on there to keep them out. It seems to me they’d have a rather hard time getting in there.”

  “They’re obviously good at making secret doors.” Higgins fought on. “Maybe they have another entrance you didn’t find. They made it look like there was only access from my side. They set me up!”

  “Did they plant your fingerprints on the vials, too?” Randy forced down his frustration, but it rumbled deep within, threatening eruption. Looking at Higgins, he realized the doctor was probably feeling the same way. It was time to go in for the kill. “Where do you suppose they found an old-fashioned projector to play all those reel tapes in your secret room? People nowadays use their computers. Not you. We watched one of those films on your projector. Detective Beckman even sat in your special chair.”

  Wynn looked at the doctor in confusion, but Higgins’ silent scowl was trained on Randy’s face.

  “No comment? Well, let me tell you what we’ve concluded. It turns out LSD has been used in conjunction with psychological manipulation and hypnosis before. The apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree, does it? Is that projector the same one your father used when he studied brainwashing theory for the CIA? In fact, I believe you’ve bragged about his pioneering research in one of these articles, here.” Randy pulled out the newspaper interviews one by one and shuffled through them, noticing with satisfaction that Higgins appeared to be on the verge of boiling over. “Ah. Here it is. And I quote, ‘My father’s research for MKUltra was brilliant. Someone could apply the same techniques today, manipulate any number of people into committing heinous crimes, and those buffoons in law enforcement would have no idea who was involved’.” Randy set the paper down and looked at Higgins. “Who’s the buffoon now, doctor?”

  “Don’t answer that, Roland. I’d like a moment with my client, if you don’t mind.”

  “No problem.” Randy stood up to leave. “Come on, Detective Beckman. Let’s give them a few minutes. Maybe Warren can convince the good doctor that confession is good for the soul.”

  When they got to the other side of the glass, they found Chief Sanchez waiting with Frank. The chief jerked his thumb in the direction of the interrogation room. “Looked like you were enjoying yourself, Randy.”

  “You saw that, huh?”

  “Not all of it. I was watching some of the recordings from his laptop. There’s a series on ID called American Monster. Higgins is the perfect candidate for an episode.”

  “That bad, huh?” Randy turned around to study the doctor. You’ve ruined so many lives. Including your own. What drives someone like you?

  “That bad. He even programmed them to not remember his involvement. Too bad he didn’t program them to forget what they did if they survived. It’s going to be hard to live with.”

  “You don’t really expect him to confess, do you?” Frank quickly glanced at Randy, then turned his attention back to the window.

  “Nope. He thinks he’s too smart for that. He’ll try to figure some way out of this mess.”

  The chief grunted. “Let’s hope he doesn’t succeed. No telling what he’d do if he gets back
on the street.”

  “Do you think that could happen?” Danny’s eyes implored the chief to say it wasn’t so.

  “You never know. I’ve learned you can’t count on a conviction until you hear the jury foreman say, ‘Guilty.’ The phrase ‘Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched’ must have been coined by a DA.” Chief Sanchez chuckled at his joke.

  “It’s from Aesop’s fables, Chief.” Frank turned away from the window. “Of course, I don’t know if Aesop was a DA, so you might be right.”

  “Really, Frank?” Sanchez replied with a frown. “Save the apple polishing for someone who might buy it.”

  “Sorry.” Frank turned as red as Mr. Wynn’s tie.

  Randy leaned close to Frank and whispered, “The chief was joking, Frank.” Randy gave an over-exaggerated sigh of relief when he saw Mr. Wynn motion for them to come back. Perfect timing. “Come on, Danny. Let’s leave these two to duke it out.”

  “Maybe you should take Frank with you,” Chief Sanchez mumbled.

  “We’ll pass,” Danny replied. “We have enough trouble with Higgins. We don’t need him, too.”

  Before the detectives had a chance to sit down, the lawyer started talking. “Gentlemen, I’ve instructed my client that this interview is over, so he won’t be answering any more questions. We’ll see you in court.”

  Randy wasn’t surprised. “That’s your call, Mr. Wynn, but we’ll be amending the charges, as I’m sure you’ve figured out.”

  “I have, and we’ll be requesting bail. I’ll also be filing a motion to have the evidence you found excluded.”

  “On what grounds?”

  “According to my client, the storage room you found belongs to the beauty shop, so your warrant didn’t allow you to search there.”

  “That would be true,” Danny said, “if we hadn’t written the warrant to cover the clinic and any rooms that might be connected to it.”

  Higgins’ eyes narrowed. “Why would you think to do that?”

  Danny’s nervous swallow was audible. Randy could have hit him, but that would have made the situation worse. Higgins could not be allowed to see they had something to hide, and he could not be allowed to connect their foresight to information from Gloria. Gotta play this cool.

  Randy waved off the question like a troublesome bug, observing the doctor’s reactions from the corner of his eye while he directed his answer to Wynn. “It was a pain to get that second warrant and come back the next day. We wanted to get in there as soon as we discovered its existence, but even dumb cops like us know better than to move without covering our bases.” Now, Randy turned his eyes on Higgins. “You’re not the first underhanded crook we’ve dealt with.” Higgins bristled at being called a crook. Perfect. Hopefully the insult will keep his mind off Gloria.

  Wynn stood. “I can assure you, this isn’t over. Don’t worry, Roland, I’ll get you out.”

  “Good luck with that.” Randy opened the door and ushered in a waiting policeman to take Higgins away. Wynn followed behind as Higgins was escorted back to his cell.

  The four cops watched them go. When they were out of earshot, Chief Sanchez said, “Good save, Randy. I think the doctor bought your story.”

  Danny smacked himself in the forehead. “I can’t believe I almost gave it away. I’m so sorry.”

  “Not to worry, Danny. I probably would have said the same thing if you hadn’t. But when Higgins gave you that look, I knew we had a problem. I hope you’re right, Chief. He’s not stupid.”

  “No, he’s not, but like I said, you’re smarter.” The chief grinned and clapped Randy on the shoulder. “Just another shining example of my own brilliance, since I’m pretty sure you outsmarted him and proved me right.”

  Randy rolled his eyes as the others laughed, but inwardly he was pleased at the compliment.

  EIGHTEEN

  First thing the next day, Chief Sanchez joined Randy and Danny as they went to Gloria’s house to update her. Sitting in her comfortable kitchen drinking coffee, Chief Sanchez said, “I’m glad to finally meet you, Gloria. I’ve heard a lot about you, and I personally wanted to thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, Chief Sanchez,” she replied, blushing.

  “You can relax, Gloria, at least for a while,” Randy said. “The doctor won’t be getting out anytime soon. He was arraigned this morning, and the judge denied bail.”

  “Did he confess to drugging Saul?”

  “No, but we didn’t expect him to. It’ll all come out during the trial, though. Saul’s name will be cleared then. I’m sorry you have to wait, but unfortunately there’s nothing we can do about that. At least we got him, and the evidence is overwhelming.”

  “Can you by any chance tell me more than you could before? I’d love to know what’s on those tapes.”

  Randy shook his head. “Nope. You’ll have to wait for that, too. We still can’t discuss the case.”

  “Even with me?”

  “Especially with you.”

  “Why? I probably know almost as much as you do.”

  “You won’t get any argument from me,” Randy replied, chuckling. “But, you might be called as a witness. The less you get from us, the better.”

  “Oh, my! I didn’t even think about that. What will they ask me? I’m not sure I want to admit I was investigating him on my own.”

  “We don’t want you to admit that either,” the chief said. “I talked to the DA, and he agreed not to call you as a witness. The evidence is enough on its own.”

  “Well, then, why would I have to testify? You lost me.”

  “That’s nice for a change,” Randy replied, laughing. “We’re usually several steps behind you.”

  “The DA won’t call you, but the defense probably will,” Chief Sanchez explained.

  “Why, Chief? I didn’t see him do anything.”

  “Exactly. The defense will want you to testify that you never saw any funny stuff going on, which you didn’t, since it happened when you were gone. Hopefully, they won’t find out your connection to Saul. If it does come out, tell the truth, just be careful. There should be no harm in saying you recognized the clinic’s name when you applied. I’m not trying to put words in your mouth, but no one would blame you for not mentioning Saul, because you were still grieving.”

  “That’s true to a certain extent, and I did see the ad for a receptionist. That’s when I got the idea. I told him my son and husband had both died, I just never mentioned Saul’s name,” Gloria replied. “I didn’t on purpose, because I didn’t want to discuss Saul’s death with him. I can be completely honest, as long as I don’t embellish the truth. I didn’t want to discuss it because I knew how dangerous that might be, but I sure won’t put it that way.”

  “We were wondering something, Gloria,” Danny said. “When Saul was a kid, was he ever able to get away with anything? Or were you always on to him?”

  “No, he pretty much toed the line. He was thoroughly convinced I could read his mind.”

  “He was probably right,” Danny replied. “I told them the other day I’d have liked you for my mom. If I ever got in trouble, you’d figure a way out.”

  “It’s not too late if you want me to adopt you, Danny. I can still whup you into shape.” She appeared to be sizing him up for a whipping that very moment.

  Danny’s eyes got huge and his hands shot up. “No, that’s okay, Gloria. You’re a nice lady, but I’ll pass.”

  “I figured.” Gloria turned her attention to the Chief.

  “You probably want to rethink that offer. He’s pretty much impossible to whip into shape. Lord knows Randy and I have both tried.”

  “Thanks for the warning. How long do you think it’ll be before the case goes to trial?”

  “That’s one thing we’ve never been able to predict, but I’m pretty sure it won’t be until next year,” Chief Sanchez replied. “Don’t spend all your time worrying about it.”

  “Oh, I won’t. But I must prepare. I’ll write down any q
uestions I think the defense might ask, so I can answer without lying on the stand.”

  “You’ll be more prepared than Higgins!” Randy laughed.

  “What do you think the DA will ask me? On TV, the DA always preps the witness. Will he let me know what he’s going to ask?”

  “A part of the game plan is to not ask you any questions at all. He may need you to refute something Higgins claims, but he doesn’t think that’ll happen. The less time you spend on the stand, the better. But, he’ll prep you. The big thing is to answer any questions honestly, but don’t get tempted to add anything to your answers. Keep them simple. That way you won’t slip up and say too much.” Chief Sanchez patted her arm. “You’ll pull it off.”

  Gloria narrowed her eyes and studied the chief. “You think Dr. Higgins might retaliate. Even with him behind bars, you don’t think I’m completely safe, do you?”

  “We have to consider all the possibilities, but it’s not something to worry about right now.” Randy said. “When we brought Dr. Higgins out in handcuffs, you even had me convinced you were surprised to see him being arrested. Use that same skill on the witness stand, and Dr. Higgins will have no reason to suspect anything. If we thought for even a second you wouldn’t be safe, you’d be in witness protection before you could blink. We want you to stay safe as much as you do. Heck, maybe more. No telling when we might need you to go undercover again. You’re better at that than anyone I know.”

  “Thank you, but no thank you. Like I said, my investigating, or spying as Danny calls it, days are over.”

  “Well, I wish we could tell him everything you did to stop him, but that just isn’t in the cards,” Randy said. “And I wasn’t kidding about the Citizen Hero award, but that will have to be in a private ceremony without press coverage, too. Sorry. You deserve public credit, but it’s not worth putting you at risk.”

  “I don’t need any awards. You’re giving me way too much credit. You were already on to him, and if you hadn’t shown up when you did, I probably wouldn’t have come forward when I did. God only knows what he’d have done to Robert.” Gloria sighed. “So, as much as I appreciate your compliments, you’re the ones who should be getting all the credit. I just told you about the room. You figured out the rest.” She looked at the chief. “You have two really good detectives, Chief Sanchez.”