Dialogues
Page 7
“He jerked bolt upright like a steel rod had replaced his spinal column. Then he dropped the files he was carrying and just crumpled to the floor.”
“Did you then place him in the chamber with the others?”
“Yes.”
“What can you tell me about what you were thinking, or how you were feeling, when you saw all six of your coworkers in the gas chamber, paralyzed and slowly dying?”
“I didn’t feel a thing, Doc. I just wanted to get it over with.”
“Did you feel any hesitation or doubt about what you were planning on doing?”
“Nope. Not one bit. And I’m sure that’s going to go into your report and be highlighted in yellow, right?”
“What makes you think that, Tory?”
“No remorse. That must mean I was crazy, right? Only someone who is completely insane could rationally plan out six murders and carry them out without even blinking, right?”
“Not necessarily. You could be feigning indifference. You could be lying to me.”
“I suppose that’s true. And if you find me competent, and then a jury thinks I was insane, then I will have essentially gotten away with murder, right?”
“Tell me the truth, Tory. Did you have any misgivings about what you were going to do next? Any at all?”
“Like I said, Doc. It didn’t bother me a bit. All I wanted to do was get it over with.”
11
Dr. Baraku Bexley
Judge Gerard Becker
“Good morning, Your Honor.”
“Good morning, Dr. Bexley. Please come in. Have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
“How’s the family?”
“They’re terrific, Judge, and thanks for asking.”
“I always liked your wife. Halle was one of the best law clerks I ever had. What’s she doing now?”
“She has a practice in Madison. Family Law. She switched from Corporate some years ago.”
“Good for her. Give her my best, will you?”
“I will do that, sir, and thank you.”
“So. Tory Troy. The Waterbridge Animal Shelter murders.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Where are you with her?”
“I’ve made some progress with the evaluation interviews, Judge.”
“Anything you can share with me now?”
“I can tell you that I am leaning toward declaring her competent, sir. We still need to delve deeper into a few areas, and I have some tests to administer, but so far I have not seen convincing evidence that she is incapable of standing trial and participating in her own defense.”
“She is forthcoming with you?”
“Very much so. Once in a while we touch a nerve and she clams up, but she’ll usually open up to discussing the trigger topic at a later session.”
“Loren is making quite a bit of noise about this case.”
“Ah, Brawley. Did you see him on AM Live last week with Dane Lyman?”
“Yes, I did, and you won’t be seeing Brawley Loren on TV again.”
“You issued a gag order?”
“I did indeed.”
“I think that’s for the best. He should not be out there trying to stir up public opinion and polluting the jury pool.”
“My thoughts precisely.”
“Anything else, Judge?”
“Off the record, Bex. Was she crazy when she did it?”
“I don’t think so, Judge. And I don’t think she’s crazy now. Her motives might be a little twisted, but that’s a long way from being incompetent to stand trial.”
“Well, I’ll leave it in your good hands. I will not seek to speak with you again about this case until you issue your competency report and we meet in court to either set a trial date or institutionalize Ms. Troy.”
“Okay, Judge. I’ll keep your office informed of my progress.”
“Thank you, Bex.”
“You’re welcome, Judge. My best to Cynthia.”
12
Dr. Baraku Bexley
Mrs. Viviana Troy
“How nice to see you again, Mrs. Troy.”
“Hello, Doctor. Nice to see you too. How’s Tory?”
“She’s as good as can be expected. She is managing all right in the hospital, although she has lost a little weight.”
“Oh, my. Is she not eating enough? Do they not feed her? Should I send her food?”
“Oh, no. The institutional food system is much like the military’s, Mrs. Troy. The motto is, take all you want, but eat all you take. They don’t allow wasting food. So plenty of food is available to Tory. I just think she doesn’t have much of an appetite lately, which is perfectly understandable.”
“I suppose.”
“Would it be all right if we talked again?”
“About Tory?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“All right.”
“Before we start, do you have any questions for me? Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Did she do it, Doctor?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m afraid she has admitted committing the murders and has gone into detail as to how she carried them out.”
“Could she be lying to you?”
“Yes, I suppose so. But she has quite a bit of verifiable information that no one but the killer would know.”
“Then why isn’t she being sentenced to prison … or death?”
“Because we are a long way off from the final resolution of her case. First I have to determine if she is mentally fit to stand trial. If I decide that she is, then she will go on trial and I’m certain her lawyer will plead not guilty by reason of insanity. And then it will be up to the jury to decide if she was insane when she committed the crimes.”
“We couldn’t afford our own lawyer.”
“Yes, I know. The court appointed one for Tory as soon as she was indicted. Carolyn Payne. She’s really quite good. If this goes to trial, Tory will be in good hands.”
“I only met her for a minute. Will I be able to speak to her at some point?”
“Of course. I’m sure Ms. Payne will be in touch to set up a series of talks with you.”
“Is there anything I can do now?”
“I’m afraid not, Mrs. Troy. Your daughter is in the middle of a process, and it must play out. All you can do is wait and try not to worry.”
“Can I ask you one more question?”
“Of course.”
“Did Tory do what she did because I never told anybody about what her father was doing to her?”
“There’s no real way of knowing that, Mrs. Troy. But you should not blame yourself for what has happened. Tory is an adult, and she made the decision to do what she did on her own.”
“Yes, I know. It’s just that I wonder what would have happened if I had reported my husband to the police and stopped what he was doing.”
“It’s impossible to know, Mrs. Troy. Your husband might have snapped and killed you both. You must take comfort in knowing that you did what you thought was best at the time. It does no one any good to second-guess decisions like that. I have known many women who have been in similarly traumatic situations and have reacted exactly as you did. All right?”
“Yes, I suppose.”
“Good. Now can we get to my questions?”
“Yes, I’m sorry for wasting so much time on this.”
“Not at all. I am happy to do what I can to put your mind at ease as best possible.”
“Thank you.”
“Could we talk about Tory’s high-school years, please?”
“All right. She was very popular all through high school. She had many, many friends.…”
13
Tory Troy
Dr. Baraku Bexley
“Before we begin, is there anything you’d like to talk to me about, Tory?”
“Yes. I don’t like you talking to my mother about all this.”
“Can’t be helped. Next?”
“Why not?”
“Tory, I am going to speak to your mother whenever I feel I need to, as well as anyone and everyone else in your life who might be able to help me better understand you. There is nothing you can do or say to change that, and so I suggest you put it out of your mind.”
“What happened to the animal shelter?”
“It’s closed. Since the day of the murders.”
“For good?”
“Probably not. I think it will eventually reopen.”
“What about the animals?”
“All the animals that were at the shelter when the staff were killed were euthanized. All new drop-offs are being referred to the Easton shelter.”
“People aren’t going to get back in the car and drive to Easton. They’re just going to leave the animal on the porch of the shelter.”
“Yes. That has been happening. But every afternoon, a van from the Easton shelter drives by and picks up any abandoned animals left there. Anything else?”
“Did any of them … did …”
“Yes?”
“Did any of the people I worked with have their funerals yet?”
“Two. Marcy and Ann. The others are next week.”
“I don’t suppose there’s a chance I could go to any of them, is there?”
“Assuming the judge would even grant you dispensation for a custodial field trip, do you think you would be welcome at the funerals of the people you killed?”
“Probably not.”
“Do you sincerely want to go to their funerals? Explain your thinking to me.”
“Oh, I don’t know. It’s just that it seems kind of rude for me not to be there. After all, I did work with the people.”
“Tory, do you realize how irrational such a comment sounds? You are exhibiting a disconnect between the reality of what happened and your perception of those events.”
“Maybe I am crazy, eh, Doc?”
“Let’s move on, shall we?”
“Fire away.”
“The last time we spoke, you expressed your desire on the day of the murders to get it over with as quickly as possible.”
“Yes.”
“Can you tell me what happened after you successfully paralyzed all your coworkers with Pavulon? According to my notes, you dragged them all into the gas chamber.”
“That’s right.”
“Were they all conscious?”
“Well, their eyes were open, but it actually was like they were asleep.”
“After you had them all in the chamber, then what did you do?”
“I stepped out of the chamber, closed the door, and bolted it.”
“And then?”
“And then I did exactly what I told you we did when we did the animals.”
“Could you indulge me and go through it again, please?”
“No. Check your notes.”
“That’s not being very cooperative.”
“Tough.”
“Okay, then. Let’s move on. After the timer went off and you knew they were all dead, what did you do next?”
“I opened the door.”
“And?”
“I stood there looking at them for a little while. That’s how I got caught.”
“Yes, could you talk about your arrest, please?”
“Well, it seems as though my timing couldn’t have been worse. At the precise moment that I opened the door and I could see their six bodies on the floor, Tommy walked into the room.”
“How did he get in?”
“He has a key to the shelter. He came by to pick up his CD player. My luck, right?”
“You had locked the door?”
“Yeah.”
“So then what happened?”
“I think he said, ‘Fuck!’ kind of under his breath. I turned around and saw him standing there staring at the bodies. He then looked at me and his face was as white as your shirt. Before I could do anything, he ran out the front. I saw him fumbling with his cell phone. Within minutes the place was surrounded by cops.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing. They stormed in, I did what they told me to do, and here we are.”
“You did not attempt to flee?”
“Why would I?”
“Many people might reflexively try to get away.”
“Have you ever watched The West Wing, Doc?”
“Actually, yes. It’s one of the few TV programs I do watch.”
“There was an episode during the first season about a deranged woman who jumped the fence around the White House and was immediately taken into custody by the Secret Service.”
“Yes?”
“Well, later, one of the agents said something like, ‘If they jump the fence, they’re going to jail. How they behave when we get to them will determine how long they go away for.’”
“Your point?”
“I’m answering your question about why I didn’t try to get away. When cops point guns at you and tell you to freeze, you obey. Without discussion. My mama didn’t raise no fools, Doctor Bexley.”
“Kudos to Viviana Troy.”
“You betcha.”
“What was going through your mind as you were being arrested?”
“What do you mean?”
“What were you thinking about … what was your state of mind?”
“I wasn’t scared, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“That’s not what I was asking, but why did that come immediately to mind?”
“What do you mean?”
“When I asked about your state of mind, the first thing you thought to deny was fear.”
“So? What does that mean?”
“You spoke about your absence of fear instead of the presence of guilt, or remorse, or sadness.”
“Yes.”
“Did you not feel any sense of loss? These were people you had worked with for quite some time. You knew them. Did you consider any of them personal friends?”
“Yes … no … I don’t know … I suppose.”
“And yet you executed them, and then did not feel any regret over their passing. At your hand.”
“Yes.”
“Could you explain this to me?”
“Explain it?”
“Yes. Tell me why you think you were so detached after killing these people.”
“I don’t know.”
“Are you sure?”
“What do you mean, am I sure? You think I’m lying to you?”
“No, not lying. But I don’t think you are being completely forthcoming with me.”
“Well, I am.”
“Tory, please listen carefully. You must be honest with me. If you dissemble or lie, I cannot help you.”
“Oh, you’re here to help me?”
“In a sense.”
“How?”
“By uncovering the truth about your mental state. My findings will determine your future, Tory. Whatever happens, your fate should be based on the truth.”
“The truth shall set you free.”
“So they say.”
“I understand.”
“So, could you tell me a little more about how you were feeling after you executed your coworkers and as you were being arrested?”
“Like I said, Doc. I wasn’t afraid. And that’s that. That’s all I remember about my feelings as they were slapping the handcuffs on me.”
“Well, then, let’s move on.”
“Fine with me. But one thing, Doc.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t want you talking to my mother about all this.”
14
Defense Attorney Carolyn Payne
Seneca Stone
“Thank you for taking my call and agreeing to see me, Miss Payne.”
“You’re quite welcome, but I must tell you I cannot discuss either the case or Ms. Troy with you.”
“I understand. But you can listen, right?”
“Yes, I can listen.”
“Teresa was my lover. She was my partner. She was my entir
e world.”
“I am sorry for your loss. I did not know that Teresa had a life partner.”
“For four years. Almost five.”
“I see.”
“I know what you’re thinking.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’ll bet Tory told you that Teresa was a whore, right?”
“I told you, Ms. Stone, I cannot discuss the case or my conversations with Ms. Troy with you.”
“Well, she wasn’t.”
“What is it you want to tell me, Ms. Stone?”
“That if that bitch doesn’t die from a needle in her arm, I’ll kill her myself.”
“You shouldn’t say something like that to me, Ms. Stone. I am an officer of the court.”
“I don’t care.”
“If I report this, you will be in for an enormous amount of trouble.”
“Yeah, well, you’d have to report it first, wouldn’t you?”
“And what makes you think I won’t?”
“I don’t really care if you do or you don’t. That bitch is doomed, one way or another.”
“Okay, Ms. Stone, that’s it. This meeting is over. I am going to interpret your threat toward Ms. Troy as an emotional outburst without true intent. However, I can tell you this. If Ms. Troy is found competent to stand trial, and she does go to trial, and she is subsequently institutionalized, and she is later found dead in her bed, your name will be immediately given to the police. Do you understand?”
“Fuck that bitch.”
“Good day, Ms. Stone.”
15
Tory Troy
Dr. Baraku Bexley
“We need to talk about euthanasia, Tory.”
“What about it?”
“We need to talk about what it is, and how you feel about it.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so. Please, Tory, would you humor me just once and play along?”
“Why, Doctor Bexley—a chink in your professional armor? A pinch of insecurity?”
“Hardly. I’m just a little tired today, Tory.”
“Oh, okay, then. What do you want to know?”
“I’d like you to talk to me about your euthanasia sessions. As many of them as you can remember.”
“I worked there over a year, Doc. That’s a lot of Fridays.”
“Yes, I understand. But I am quite interested in the sessions that remained in your memory.”
“They all blend together.”
“Yes, that would be expected, but I am sure there are some milestone sessions that you still think about. Let’s start with your very first Friday session as a euthanasia technician.”