I put my phone away. I didn’t answer Beth. I didn’t have to. She knew I’d seen the picture, and she’d probably guessed every thought that went through my head as I stared at it. She knew she had me as obsessed as ever.
Be careful, Michael had said. Be safe.
The sweet girl in that photo had stood by and done nothing after her father was killed, after her mother somehow died in the fallout, after two men were shot point-blank on their way home from work. She had known who the killer was, and she had done nothing about it. She had even gone to trial for capital murder to cover her sister’s crimes.
Why? I wondered. What was so compelling about Lily Knowles that would make Beth go to such lengths to protect her?
What if I found out Esther was a murderer? What would I do?
The right thing, of course. I’d do the right thing.
But I didn’t know what that was anymore. Maybe I had never known.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Excerpt from trial transcript, People v. Elizabeth Greer, February 1978
Prosecution examination of Dr. Oliver Da Sousa, psychiatrist
CHARLES MANKOWSKI （prosecuting attorney）： Dr. Da Sousa, did you examine the defendant, Miss Greer?
OLIVER DA SOUSA: I did not.
MANKOWSKI: But you have given advice on other cases similar to this one?
DA SOUSA: Yes, I have worked extensively with the criminally insane, including women who are criminally insane.
MANKOWSKI: What were your conclusions when presented with the facts of this case?
DA SOUSA: In my opinion, these murders were committed by a woman who is mentally ill, possibly delusional, and has a pathological hatred of men.
RANSOM WELLS （defense attorney）： Objection.
JUDGE HEIDNIK: Overruled. I’ll allow it for now. Dr. Da Sousa, please continue.
MANKOWSKI: Thank you, Your Honor. Dr. Da Sousa, you were saying that the murderer in this case is mentally ill.
DA SOUSA: Yes. It is my assessment that this person, this woman, has violent tendencies brought on by fantasies in her mind. She is dissociative, sociopathic, and possibly psychotic.
MANKOWSKI: How would such a person appear to the people around her? Would she appear as normal?
WELLS: Objection.
[Disruption in courtroom]
JUDGE HEIDNIK: Order.
WELLS: Objection.
[Disruption ceases]
JUDGE HEIDNIK: I will allow the question since it calls on the doctor’s expertise. Dr. Da Sousa, please continue again.
DA SOUSA: Okay. Thank you. Yes, such a person can appear as normal to the people in their lives. They can even appear to be successful and charming when they choose to. It’s a form of camouflage for them. But underneath the surface, this woman would be very angry, would feel out of control.
MANKOWSKI: Have you studied Miss Greer, and this case, even though you haven’t examined her directly?
DA SOUSA: Yes, I have.
MANKOWSKI: And what is your conclusion?
DA SOUSA: Given that both of her parents died violently, Miss Greer, or such a person like her, could be dissociative. Possibly even sociopathic. It could have started from an early age.
WELLS: Objection.
JUDGE HEIDNIK: Sustained. The jury is asked to disregard that question and answer.
MANKOWSKI: Okay, we’ll return to the woman who committed these murders. Dr. Da Sousa, you have said that it’s your professional opinion that this murderer, whoever she is, could appear normal?