Devil's Waltz Part 63

DET. STURGIS: She's not yours?

MR. JONES: No. Even though I've raised her as if she were. All the responsibility but none of the owners.h.i.+p.

DET. MARTINEZ: Whose is she, then?

MR. JONES: Who knows? Her mother's such a compulsive roundheels, jumps anything with a- In pants. G.o.d only knows who the father is. I sure don't.

DET. STURGIS: By "her mother" you're referring to your wife? Cindy Brooks Jones.

MR. JONES: Wife in name only.

MR. TOKARIK: Chip- MR. JONES: She's a barracuda, Detective. Don't believe that innocent exterior. Pure predator. Once she snagged me, she reverted to type.

DET. STURGIS: What type is that?

MR. TOKARIK: I'm calling this session to a halt right now. Any further questions are at your legal risk, Detective.

DET. STURGIS: Sorry, Chip. Your legal beagle, here, says zip the lip.

MR. JONES: I'll talk to whom I want, when I want, Tony.

MR. TOKARIK: For G.o.d's sake, Chip- MR. JONES: Shut up, Tony. You're growing tedious.

DET. STURGIS: Better listen to him, Prof. He's the expert.

MR. TOKARIK: Exactly. Session ended.

DET. STURGIS: Whatever you say.

MR. JONES: Stop infantilizing me-all of you. I'm the one stuck in this h.e.l.lhole. My rights are the ones being abridged. What do I have to do to get out of here, Detective?

MR. TOKARIK: Chip, at this point there's nothing you can do- MR. JONES: Then what do I need you for? You're fired.

MR. TOKARIK: Chip- MR. JONES: Just shut up and let me get a thought out, okay?

MR. TOKARIK: Chip, I can't in good conscience- MR. JONES: You don't have a conscience, Tony. You're a lawyer. Quoth the Bard: "Let's kill all the lawyers." Okay? So just hold on . . . okay . . . Listen, you guys are cops-you understand street people, how they lie. That's the way Cindy is. She lies atavistically-it's an ingrained habit. She fooled me for a long time because I loved her-"When my love swears that she is made of truth, I do believe her, though I know she lies." Shakespeare-everything's in Shakespeare. Where was I . . . ?

MR. TOKARIK: Chip, for your own sake- MR. JONES: She's amazing, Detective. Could charm the bark off a tree. Serve me dinner and smile and ask me how my day had been-and an hour before, she was in our marital bed, s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the pool man. The pool man, for G.o.d's sake. We're talking urban legend here. But she lived it.

DET. STURGIS: By "the pool man" you're referring to Greg Worley of ValleyBrite Pool Service?

MR. JONES: Him, others-what's the difference? Carpenters, plumbers, anything in jeans and a tool belt. No trouble getting tradesmen out to our place-oh, no. Our place was Disneyland for every blue-collar c.o.c.ksman in town. It's a disease, Detective. She can't help herself. Okay, rationally, I can understand that. Ungovernable impulses. But she destroyed me in the process. I was the victim.

MR. TOKARIK: (unintelligible) DET. STURGIS: What's that, Counselor?

MR. TOKARIK: I register my objection to this entire session.

MR. JONES: Suppress your ego, Tony. I'm the victim-don't exploit me for your ego. That's my problem in general-people tend to take advantage of me because they know I'm fairly naive.

DET. STURGIS: Dawn Herbert do that?

MR. JONES: Absolutely. That folderol you read was absolute fantasy. She was a dope addict when I found her. I tried to help her and she paid me back with paranoia.

DET. STURGIS: What about Kristie Kirkash?

MR. JONES: (unintelligible) DET. STURGIS: What's that, Prof?

MR. JONES: Kristie's my student. Why? Does she say it's more than that?

DET. STURGIS: Actually she does.

MR. JONES: Then she's lying-another one.

DET. STURGIS: Another what?

MR. JONES: Predator. Believe me, she's old beyond her years. I must attract them. What happened with Kristie is that I caught her cheating on a test and was working with her on her ethics. Take my advice and don't accept anything she says at face value.

DET. STURGIS: She says she rented a post office box for you out in Agoura Hills. You have the number handy, Steve?

DET. MARTINEZ: Mailboxes Plus, Agoura, box number 1498.

MR. JONES: That was for research.

DET. STRUGIS: What kind of research?

MR. JONES: I've been thinking of a possible project: p.o.r.nography research-recurrent images in an overly organized society-as a form of ritual. Obviously, I didn't want material sent to my home or my campus office-you get on pervert lists, and I didn't want a flood of garbage coming in. So Kristie rented the POB for me.

DET. STURIGS: Any reason you didn't rent it yourself?

MR. JONES: I was busy, Kristie lived out there, and it just seemed convenient.

DET. STRUGIS: Any reason you rented it under the name of Ralph Benedict, M.D.? A physician who's been dead for two and a half years and just happened to have treated your wife's aunt for diabetes?

MR. TOKARIK: Don't answer that.

DET. STRUGIS: Any reason you had medical apparatus s.h.i.+pped out to that post office box using Ralph Benedict, M.D.'s name and medical license number?

MR. TOKARIK: Don't answer that.

DET. STURGIS: Any reason you had insulin and Insuject insulin-delivery systems, such as the one we found in your hand in your daughter's hospital room, s.h.i.+pped to that post office box in Ralph Benedict, M.D.'s name?

MR. TOKARIK: Don't answer that.

MR. JONES: Ridiculous. Cindy knew about the POB, too. I gave her my spare key. She must have used it for that.

DET. STURGIS: She says she didn't.

MR. JONES: She's lying.

DET. STURGIS: Okay, but even so, why'd you use Benedict's name to get the box? It's your name on the application form.

MR. TOKARIK: Don't answer that.

MR. JONES: I want to-I want to clear my name, Tony. In all honesty, Detective, I can't really answer that one. It must have been subconscious. Cindy must have mentioned Benedict's name-yes, I'm sure she did. As you said, he was her aunt's doctor, she talked about him a lot, and it stuck in my mind-so when I needed a name for the box, it just popped into my head.

DET. STURGIS: Why'd you need an alias in the first place?

MR. JONES: I already explained that. For the p.o.r.nography-some of the stuff I received was really disgusting.

DET. STUGIS: Your wife says she knew nothing about the box.

MR. JONES: Of course she does. She's lying. Really, Detective, it's all a matter of context-seeing things in a different light, using a new lens.

DET. STURGIS: Uh-huh.

MR. TOKARIK: Now what are you pulling out?

DET. STURGIS: I think it's obvious. This is a mask.

MR. TOKARIK: I fail to see- MR. JONES: No big deal. It's from the carnival-Delta Psi's carnival. They dressed me up as a witch. I kept the mask for a souvenir.

DET. STURGIS: Kristie Kirkash kept it. You gave it to her last week and told her to keep it.

MR. JONES: So?

DET. STURGIS: So I think you put this on when you injected Ca.s.sie. So you'd look like a woman-the wicked witch.

MR. TOKARIK: Ridiculous.

MR. JONES: I agree with you there, Tony.

DET. STURGIS: A souvenir, huh? Why'd you give it to Kristie?

MR. JONES: She's a Delta Psi. I thought the sorority would like to have it.

DET. STURGIS: Considerate.

MR. JONES: I'm their faculty adviser. What's the big- DET. STURGIS: You have a thing for your students, don't you? That's how you met your wife, isn't it? She was your student.

MR. JONES: It's not unusual-the teacher-student relations.h.i.+p . . .

DET. STURGIS: What about it?

MR. JONES: Often . . . sometimes it leads to intimacy.

DET. STURGIS: You tutor her, too? Your wife?

MR. JONES: As a matter of fact, I did. But she was hopeless-not very bright at all.

DET. STURGIS: But you married her anyway. How come? A smart guy like you.

MR. JONES: I was smitten-"this spring of love."

DET. STURGIS: You met in the spring?

MR. JONES: It's a quotation- DET. STURGIS: Shakespeare?

MR. JONES: As a matter of fact, yes. I fell deeply in love and was taken advantage of. A romantic nature. My bete noire.

DET. STURGIS: What about Karl Sobran? He take advantage of you too?

MR. JONES: With Karl it was different-with him, ironically, I wasn't naive. I knew what he was, right away, but I felt I could help him channel his impulses.

DET. STURGIS: What did you know he was?

MR. JONES: Cla.s.sic antisocial sociopath. But contrary to popular belief, those types don't lack consciences. They merely suspend them at their convenience-read Samenow. As a police officer, you really should. Where was I? Karl. Karl is very bright. I was hoping to direct his intelligence in a constructive manner.

DET. STURGIS: Like murder for hire?

MR. TOKARIK: Don't answer that.

MR. JONES: Stop sighing, Tony. That's ridiculous. Of course not. Did Karl actually say that?

DET. STURGIS: How else would I know about him, Prof?

MR. JONES: Ludicrous. But he is a sociopath-don't forget that. Genetic liar. At worst I'm guilty of underestimating him-not realizing how truly dangerous he was. As much as I didn't respect Dawn as a human being, I was horrified to find out she was murdered. If I'd known, I'd never have written that letter to Karl's parole board. Never have . . . Oh, my G.o.d.

DET. STURGIS: Never have what?

MR. JONES: Talked idly to Karl.

DET. STURGIS: About Dawn?

MR. TOKARIK: Don't answer that.

MR. JONES: You're sighing again-it's very wearisome, Tony. Yes, about her, as well as other things. I'm afraid I must have thrown out idle comments about Dawn that Karl must have misinterpreted horribly.

DET. STURGIS: What kinds of comments?

MR. JONES: Oh, no, I can't believe he actually- How she was hara.s.sing me. He misunderstood. G.o.d, what a horrible misunderstanding!

DET. STURGIS: You're saying he misunderstood your comments and killed her on his own?

MR. JONES: Believe me, Detective, the thought makes me sick. But it's an inescapable conclusion.

DET. STURGIS: What exactly did you tell Sobran about Dawn?

MR. JONES: That she was someone from my past who was bothering me.