Seeking Evil (Looking Into The Mind Of A Killer Series) (21 page)

“
Detective Garner?
”
Clearly confused, he addressed John.

Rick spoke up.
“
I'm
Agent Garner, actually. This is my partner, Agent Delaney. May we come in?
”

The gray
-
haired man glanced from Rick to John. Something registered as
he gave John the once over,
but he stepped back and let them inside.

“
I was just in the middle of reviewing some cases.
”
John
sent Rick a
'
what the fuck
'
look
.

Doctor Baldwin saw it and grinned.

“
I see you
’
ve
been told
the reason I was fired from Brookhaven. Well, I
’
m working in
the
private
sector
now.
”

“
I see.
”
John wondered how the man
ha
d kept from losing his license.

“
I
’
m in the process of suing Brookhaven for
wrongful termination
.
”
He showed them to a small office and indicated that they should have a seat.

“
With all due respect, Doctor, if you didn
’
t fight the charges against you when you were fired, how
come you're suing
them now
?
”
John had to ask the obvious.

“
Because I wanted out of that hell hole. I
’
d seen things
there
that no human being should see. When I brought
the list of wrong-doings
to the board they told me I was overreacting.
”

“
So you
’
re saying they fired you to shut you up. Must have been one hell of a list
,
”
John challenged.

“
It was. The list was long indeed. Patient abuse. Over
-
prescribing drugs. Falsifying patient records to make it look as if they were getting better when in truth that wasn
’
t the case.
”

“
Is that what happened with Jericho Lewis.
”

“
Oh yes.
”
The doctor nodded.
“
Although for a while, I had hope for him. I
even
recommended him for work in the office for a bit.
”

Baldwin
’
s assessment didn
’
t
sit
well with John.
“
What can you tell us about Jericho Lewis?
”

The doctor hesitate
d
.
“
As I told Agent Garner, I can
’
t be identified as the person who spoke to you concerning this patient. I
’
m filing a wrongful termination lawsuit against the institute. If they found out I talked to you…
”

“
Doctor, I need to know what you can tell us about Jericho Lewis. I don
’
t give a damn about outing you to anyone. He
’
s killed seven people already. And he won
’
t stop until he
’
s gotten the person he wants. I don
’
t intend on letting that happen. But I need your help
,
”
John countered.

The doctor expelled a
weighty
sigh.
“
Those bastards. Those foolish, foolish bastards. I tried to tell them. And what did they do? Replaced me with an incompetent
‘
yes
’
man and drummed up false charges against me to make me seem
disreputable
.
”

He shook his head.
“
You see, I was the original
psychiatrist
assigned to Lewis
’
case when he arrived at the institute. From our first session together, I saw the potential for much evil in him. I warned the board if they let him free, he
’
d not only kill again, he
’
d do it repeatedly. The man is a sociopath
. He has no
conscience
, no sense of right or wrong
.
”

Rick had been busy scribbling notes.
“
Obviously the courts agreed with you when he was sentenced to Brookhaven. I
’
ve read the court records. The judge recommended Jericho Lewis never be set free.
”

The doctor nodded.
“
Yes. They had to sedate him on high doses of Desyrel Trazodone for a month before I could even see him, much less get him to talk to me somewhat rationally. When he did, all he could talk about was his wife. He was like an injured animal. He spoke as if she were still alive. I tried to get him to accept the fact that he
’
d killed her, and hopefully
,
come to some type of terms with it, but he insisted she was still alive. He said she talked to him.
”

If Lewis thought his wife was still alive then how did he explain her organs being used as transplant, John wondered.
“
So he never admitted he killed her. How do you think he found out about her organs being used to save other lives?
”

The doctor smiled.
“
For a time, after several sessions, Lewis actually
began
to show improvement.
Oh not that I'd ever recommend his release, but
so much so that I
did favor him being
allowed to
help
in the office. That is, until I discovered he
’
d been using my medical license to check out patient records. When I confronted him with this, he said he needed to find out where they
’
d taken his wife.

“
Oh yes
,
”
h
e added to
John and Rick's
skeptical exchange.
“
Well, needless to say, after that, he was no longer allowed in the office. Or at least on my shift.
It was at that time, I started receiving thinly veiled threats from him during our sessions. A
s a precaution
,
I dug around in his background. I wanted to know what I was up against.
I discovered that
Jericho Lewis worked as a carpenter for a living, but I found a record of where he
’
d applied to the
Naval
Academy
. They did an IQ test and the man was a genius. You
’
d think most colleges would be anxious to recruit such a candidate but the
Naval
Academy
rejected his application. Of course, his files were sealed but I was able to talk to the recruiter privately. He told me Lewis scared the hell out of him. He quit his job soon after. He
’
d started receiving threatening calls.
”

Rick glanced up from taking notes.
“
He believed Lewis was behind the calls.
”

“
Yes, in his mind there was no doubt. He was so rattled that he later left the state. I lost touch with him soon after.
”

“
Why
’
d
Lewis
kill
his wife
?
”
John wondered aloud.
“
Clearly he adored her.
”

The doctor took a moment to answer.
“
He never expressed any reason for doing it. As I
’
ve said, he never admitted to the crime, and I often wondered if this wasn
’
t some ploy cooked up by his legal team to get him off. After he was released, well, I feared the worst,
that he would come after me.
I never connected the killings to him. I should have, though. After all, Brenda was stabbed to death
, her body
discovered later
in that same park. I found out through a family member of Brenda
’
s that she was scared of him as well. His mental condition had been deteriorating for a while. She sent a note to the family. They received it after her death. She accused him of abusing her for years. Her medical records backed up those claims. In the note, she said she had finally gotten the courage up to do something about it. The family believed she was going to leave him. She
’
d hinted at someone new in her life, perhaps someone from the neighborhood, seeing as Brenda didn
’
t work. My guess is that is what sent him in
to
a rage and ultimately caused
him to
murder
her
.
”

As interesting as all of this was, John knew time was quickly running out on them and they still didn
’
t have a clue where to find Lewis.
“
Doctor, we need to find him before he kills again. Can you tell us anything about where he might be hiding?
”

The doctor considered this.
“
As I
’
ve said, he refused to talk about his wife
’
s murder, or anything related to the crime. Most of our discussions were about abstract things like world conditions, sports. I do remember he had a passion for movies. Not what you
’
d expect, he preferred westerns. The Duke was his idol. He
’
d
seen
ever
y
one of his movies and could recite them by heart. John Wayne
’
s work was one of the few movies the institute allowed the patients to see.
Jericho
was in heaven.
It
’
s not much, I realize.
”
The doctor picked up on the
growing
frustration in Rick and John.
“
I
’
m sorry. Really, I wish there were more, but as I
’
ve said, Lewis was an enigma. He kept his secrets close.
“

Resignation weighed heavy as John got to his feet, feeling as if they
’
d wasted precious time they didn
’
t have.
“
Thank you for seeing us, Doctor.
”

“
There is one more thing. I don
’
t know if it will help you, but last year, Lewis checked himself back into the hospital. He said he needed more treatment. Needless to say, his new doctor was thrilled. He thought it proved everything I said was wrong. I saw it a
s
suspicious at best. Lewis hated his time at Brookhaven. He
’
d never come back without reason. I made my doubts known very vocally. I was fired. Shortly afterward, I found out someone had been accessing patient records again using my medical license. I couldn
’
t prove it, but I was certain it was Jericho Lewis.
”

The
d
octor nodded, his glasses slipping from his forehead. He smiled briefly and positioned the glassed on his nose.
“
Ah,
I wondered where these had gone.
”

Once they said their goodbyes, John took the keys from his partner who relinquished the control reluctantly
to his pride and joy
.
“
Not much to go on, is it?
”

John had to agree.
“
No, but I guess it
’
s something. Call Ryan. Have him check all the theaters that show old movies. See if John Wayne
’
s playing anywhere.
”

*
*
*
*
*

What did she see in
him
? He had nothing to offer her. He watched his rival pick through pieces of his past and wondered if he would beg for his life, or accept the inevitable. The thought of it pleased him.
Soon.
Their time would come
soon
.