The Chemist's Shop

by Richard Brumer

  “Absolutely. There was no way that Ross was capable of any type of cognition. He acted out of impulse.”

  “Would you say it was an irresistible impulse?”

  “It was,” Dr. Evens said.

  “How can you be so convinced, doctor?”

  “I have gained experience after treating several of my patients with the same issues. They could not remember the terrible deeds they had done until afterward. One of the patients, instead of seeing a blank space saw total darkness before he was aware of what he had done. Another saw the blue flame of a pilot light. Why these images? I don’t know.”

  “You have diagnosed these cases before?”

  “Yes, but not often. In Michael Ross’s case, he could not resist the impulse he felt. It consumed him. It was irresistible and he acted uncontrollably. That was it. There was no question in my mind.”

  “The defense rests, Your Honor.”

  “Will the prosecution offer a rebuttal?” Judge Jordan asked.

  David Weismann stood. “We will, Your Honor.”

  “In that case, we will adjourn this case until 10 a.m. tomorrow morning.”

  Michael returned to his cell.

  Chapter 29

  The events of the past months had drained Michael’s spirit. He fortified his resolve to honor his family by making an example of the evil crimes of one SS officer who, like other Nazis, inflicted torture and death on millions of innocent people. Many of those who died would have contributed so much to the world of science, medicine, literature, and music, but they’re dead and the families that could have come after them were never born. One third of the entire Jewish population were killed by the Nazis. There were so few Jews in the world, which made it a greater tragedy.

  The case was important to Michael. The Holocaust must never be forgotten. The Nazis could have been stopped if people were alert and paid attention. World War II didn’t have to happen, but human beings are just that, human, and busy with their own lives.

  Michael feared that the incomprehensible insanity that the Nazis unleashed on the world would be trivialized by future generations. It would be unimaginable, but it’s possible that some might say that the Holocaust never happened. New enemies could one day terrorize the world and hatred would raise its ugly head again with even greater force, and, like a snake, empty its venom upon humanity.

  Was what Michael did legal? He knew it wasn’t, but he couldn’t report Stern to the authorities as a war criminal because the lessons of the Nuremburg trials told him that, while a few were hanged, most of them went free after a short sentence. He couldn’t take a chance on Stern serving a year or two in prison, then being released and free. He had no choice but to end Stern’s life. When Stern was on trial in Michael’s garage, it was Stern’s turn to listen to Michael’s false promises that he would be freed, Stern’s turn to suffer sitting in his own excrement. It was Stern’s turn to be humiliated and Stern’s turn to know what it was like to be gassed the way so many millions of innocent people were by people like Stern.

  There was one important reason that Michael wanted to be freed, only one. Maybe there would come a time when he would be able to meet Erika and see Ilona in her eyes.

  ***

  Michael didn’t like the idea of stretching the truth in court. He was an honorable and caring person, but he rationalized that there must be times when people must strike out against evil in their own way, like the way Israel made an exception when they excluded Eichmann from Israel’s law against capital punishment. Those who did those evil deeds so long ago had to be punished using extreme measures. All they were able to do was hang him, an easy death with no suffering. Michael was only able to do the best he could by gassing Stern. Stern paid a small price, considering all the years he spent as a free man. Michael tried to be hard on him by making him sit in squalor and keeping him handcuffed, but that was not enough torture. Then again, he could never be like Stern. Michael could never be an evil person no matter how much he tried with Stern.

  He needed to be taken away from his thoughts and be with Ilona.

  Michael sat on his bed with his back up against the cement walls of his cell and turned off the world.

  ***

  My dearest wife,

  I long for you so much. My daydreams are filled with memories of our love. The years are piling up on me, and it won’t be long before we will be together again. I have never talked to you about Auschwitz because I would never want you to relive those agonizing times and feel the pain of losing our little girls in that lunatic asylum. Those years will haunt me forever, along with the guilt I feel for surviving.

  I can only imagine the pain you must have felt when you had to give in to Stern. I know you; you are a beautiful and loving woman. Please don’t feel that you have betrayed me. Prisoners in concentration camps are capable of understanding those things. If I ever have the opportunity to lay my eyes on Erika, I will only see you.

  You are my beautiful wife. Not just for now, but for all eternity, and we will share our lives again for always. And yes, I’ll keep your feet warm on those cold nights. I love you.

  Chapter 30

  Sheets of rain cascaded from the dark sky as crowds pushed their way into the courthouse, their umbrellas crashing against each other. Newspaper headlines blasted in large print:

  Trial May End Today!

  A few neo-Nazi skinheads paraded outside the courthouse carrying rain-soaked signs that read, “GUILTY,” but they were soon run off by the crowd. The court session began at 10:30 a.m. Dr. Evans was re-called to the stand and advised he was still under oath.

  Judge Jordan turned toward the prosecutor. “Counselor, your witness.”

  Weisman began his questioning.

  “Dr. Evans, the defendant, Professor Michael Ross, is an intelligent man and has had a brilliant teaching career. He has written several books on complex topics and has never demonstrated any behavior that would indicate any type of insanity. Would you agree? Yes or no?”

  “I cannot answer based on the limitations of a yes or no,” Evans replied.

  The Judge turned toward Evans and asked him to answer the question. “Did he or didn’t he?”

  Evans hesitated, “Yes, it’s true. His general behavior may not have shown a departure from his normal conduct but extreme emotional circumstances could alter his mental state significantly.”

  “Wouldn’t you say that could be true for everyone?”

  “Of course, but it was different for the professor. His feelings of guilt created periods of insanity within him.”

  “Dr. Evans, you claimed that Ross acted as a result of irresistible impulse and that his actions were uncontrolled. Is that correct?”

  “No, sir. I said his action was uncontrollable, which means he acted out of impulse and had no choice with respect to what he did. If his action were merely uncontrolled, it would mean he had the choice of exercising the act or not. In other words, uncontrolled involves a decision-making process. Uncontrollable means he acted without conscious thought.”

  Weisman scratched his head, shrugged, and paced back and forth in front of the witness stand, then turned toward Evans. “So, you’re saying that Ross acted on some kind of uncontrollable impulse?”

  “I am. He acted in a way that was consistent with an irresistible impulse, which resulted in the demise of the victim.”

  “Dr. Evans, you described a recurring dream that the defendant had during psychoanalysis. It was rich in detail. Did you keep a record of the dream?”

  “I did. I made a recording of it in the patient’s own voice on a Teac reel-to-reel tape recorder and listened to it several times in order to capture the nuances and emotions in his voice. A written record would state only the words he said on paper. That kind of record would have limited meaning for a psychiatrist because there would be no emotion associated with it. The tape was significant because it was an account of what he said combined with the emotions he felt. Under those circumstances, a psychoanaly
tic psychiatrist would be able to interpret it in a more meaningful way.”

  “How can you be so sure that your interpretation of his dream has the meaning you attributed to it?”

  “I have had advanced training in psychoanalysis and dream interpretation. When a patient has a dream, I teach him how to interpret its elusive symbols and how they relate to repressed events in his conscious behavior.”

  “I see,” Weisman replied, looking at his notes. “Is it possible that another psychiatrist would come to the same conclusions as you did with respect to your interpretation of Michael Ross’s dream?”

  “Yes, and highly probable if he had in-depth training in psychoanalysis.”

  “So, it would also be possible for another psychiatrist to arrive at an entirely different conclusion with respect to the same dream.”

  “Yes, it’s possible.”

  “Is it possible many psychiatrists would come to different conclusions?”

  “It would be highly unlikely,” Evans answered. “Perhaps they would disagree on a few points, but at the end there would be a consensus.”

  “But it would still be possible?”

  “To some degree, yes.”

  David Weisman took a deep breath and interrupted his questioning of Evans. He walked past the jury, his hand on his chin, and appeared to be in deep thought. Then he turned toward the witness.

  “You know, Dr. Evans, I have a feeling that your testimony was contrived by the defense to try to show that the defendant was insane at the time, taking advantage of a subset of the insanity defense which relates to irresistible impulse. The idea that he did it without thinking is absurd.”

  Brenda Coleman leaped to her feet and, in an authoritative voice, cried out, “Objection, Your Honor. No foundation, prejudicial, and an expression of the prosecutor’s personal opinion. Move to strike.”

  The judge turned to the jury. “The jury will disregard the comments made by Mr. Weisman.” Judge Jordan looked at Weisman. “You’re an experienced lawyer. Please don’t do that again.”

  Weisman continued his interrogation. He walked closer to the stand and faced Evans.

  “Doctor, do you think that what Ross did was planned in advance? Didn’t it have to be premeditated?”

  “Absolutely not! After examining the defendant, I concluded that Professor Ross’s actions were definitely not planned in advance and were in no way premeditated.” Evans looked directly at Weisman as he answered.

  “Based on your therapy sessions with the defendant, doctor, isn’t it possible that the defendant could have had a well-planned scheme to murder Harry Sanders, which continued over a number of days prior to the victim’s death?”

  “Based on my examination of Professor Ross, it would be unlikely. He was too impulsive to devise a long drawn out plan to kill Stern. His basic nature wouldn’t allow it.”

  “Is it possible that the defendant might have been lying in wait to take Harry Sanders prisoner and kill him?”

  “No!” Evans cried out. “It was impulsive.”

  Weisman paused. He had a slim grin on his face.

  “Are you aware of previous testimony that indicated that the handcuffs, owned by Michael Ross, were found on the wrists of the victim and attached to a strong pipe?” Weisman stared into Evans’ eyes.

  “I do know about the handcuffs.”

  “Would that information be consistent with your conclusion that the defendant acted as a result of irresistible impulse? How impulsive could it be if he took the time to lure the victim to the garage, find the box where the original owner had placed the cuffs, handcuff the victim to a pipe, start his car, and leave it running? With all the time it took to perform those actions, would it be rational to believe it could be done impulsively, without thinking?”

  “I maintain it was impulsive. Mr. Ross’s basic nature was that of a non-violent man, so the act of killing someone had to be repressed into his unconscious. In his mental state, time had a different dimension and that blank space in his mind could have lasted anywhere from a few minutes to an hour. When he arrived in town, his mental status changed, and he was once again connected to his conscious mind and remembered what he had done.”

  David Weisman paced and shook his head.

  “Dr. Evans, did you ever consider that Ross did plan to kill Harry Sanders because he held him responsible for the death of his family, of which there is no proof? Isn’t it reasonable to think that this was a crime of revenge, pure vengeance, and that Ross was lying in wait to commit this crime? He lured Sanders to his home, took him to the garage, handcuffed him, turned on the car engine, and left him there to die.

  “Ross had the motive to murder Sanders and he had plenty of time to do it. There were too many time-consuming events that had to take place. Would you say that a person’s state of mind, in a murder case, should be judged by only one man?”

  “I don’t know about only one man, but in this case, the evidence is obvious.”

  “Obvious, Dr. Evans? Tell me, is psychiatry an exact science?”

  “You know it’s not. Why even ask the question?”

  “The witness will answer,” the judge intervened.

  “It’s not a quantitative science, but the findings of psychoanalysis can be meaningful and are accepted universally.”

  “Thank you for your opinion, doctor. No further questions.”

  Judge Jordan asked, “Ms. Coleman, a rebuttal?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.” She approached the witness stand. “Dr. Evans, could you please summarize your findings for the jury?”

  “Ms. Coleman, I have spent many hours with Michael Ross. My copious notes relating to his mental state have been submitted to the court. Based on Professor Ross’s numerous therapy sessions with me, there was no question that the victim was Hans Stern, an SS officer in the German army.

  “When Michael first met Sanders at the pharmacy, he was not able to make the connection. However, when Sanders entered Ross’s home for a planned game of chess, the man’s laughter triggered a response from the professor. He now saw Sanders as Stern, an evil man who pointed the way to the gas chamber for his young daughters and was responsible for the death of his wife at Auschwitz.

  “Then his mind went blank and stayed that way until he arrived in the town of Oneonta. Through psychological testing, Ross showed that he is not a violent man, but in that volatile emotionally charged moment with Sanders, he demonstrated an uncontrollable response and killed who he believed was the Nazi SS officer, Hans Stern.”

  Brenda looked directly at Evans, then glanced at the jury.

  “Is it possible that Michael Ross, without realizing what he was doing, went through the process of handcuffing Sanders to a pipe and gassing him? Wouldn’t that take time?”

  “It did take time, but his actions were motivated by passion and an obsession to lash out at this man. He was driven and moved at lightning speed and had no memory of what he had done. The notion of time itself has a different value when a man’s mind is compromised. When he reached town, he remembered he had killed Stern.”

  “Well, how do you know that Professor Ross’s actions hadn’t taken place over several days?”

  “That would be highly unlikely. I examined Mr. Sander’s medical records. They showed that he took several heart medications. They were all in his system at the proper levels when he died. The records also showed that residuals of the longer acting drugs were in his body for several days. I can’t believe that anyone planning to commit murder would think of those incidentals. Mr. Sanders had to be taking these medications on his own.”

  “Dr. Evans, Professor Ross is a pharmacologist and a pharmacist, an educated man. Why wouldn’t he think of giving Sander his prescription drugs every day so that they would show up in his lab results?”

  “As I said, tests showed that the medications had been taken consistently for several days prior to the victim’s death. I agree with the cardiologist’s report that Sanders had severe cardiovascular disease a
nd died as a result of a heart failure with no indication of undue stress. His body just gave way as it would if he had died in his sleep.”

  “Objection, Your Honor. The witness is not here to determine the victim’s cause of death.”

  “Objection sustained. The jury will disregard the witness’s reference to the cause of death. Continue with your questioning, Ms. Coleman.”

  Brenda took a deep breath. “It is a fact, doctor, that you are not here to determine the victim’s cause of death, only to provide a psychiatric evaluation of the defendant with respect to his mental state at the time of the deceased’s death. During your early testimony, you indicated you have another specialty in addition to your license to practice psychiatry?”

  “I do,” Evans replied.

  “And what are your specialties?”

  “I am a board certified cardiologist and psychiatrist in the states of New York and Massachusetts.”

  “Was your cardiology training a valuable asset in evaluating patients with mental disorders?”

  “Yes, indeed. There is a clear association between depression, other compromised mental states, and heart disease.”

  “Thank you for enlightening me, Dr. Evans. If you remember, Judge Jordan intervened and admonished Mr. Weisman when he briefly alluded to the idea that you and I entered into some kind of scheme to create events that were false in order to delude the court into believing that Professor Ross was insane at the time. Is it true that you and I had this kind of understanding?”

  “Absolutely not. We had no contact other than you informing me by subpoena that I would be called as a witness. With respect to Michael Ross’s state of mind at the time of the victim’s death, Mr. Ross was insane based on his inability to control his action.”

  “Dr. Evans, would you please connect your conclusion of Ross’s mental state to the amount of time it would take for him to prepare for his action.”

  “Yes, of course. Irresistible impulse means that his response that triggered his action had to take place immediately, but something compelled him to require Mr. Ross to gas the victim just as his daughters were gassed in the concentration camp. It would be symbolically important and would take no time. Just turn on the engine.