Page 94 of Precise Justice

“What for, he’s a dinosaur. They’re dying off,” Melissa said.

“Bull. She likes it. The most she’s gotten in a year,” Lucy whispered just loud enough for Melissa to hear her.

“Yeah, there’s that, too,” Melissa said.

“All right, I want you to set up in Conference Room C. I’ll tell the others,” Jefferson said.

“Please tell me you’re not going to set up a tipline eight hundred number for people to call in to confess,” Lucy said.

“Not yet,” Jefferson said. “Besides we have maybe enough time before the next killing before it starts on its own.”

Andrea Brie, Doctor of Psychology, school psychologist for Sanger Middle School, unlocked her office door and went in. Another day in a job she loved helping children.

Andy, as she is commonly called, had her morning paper tucked under her arm. She also had a briefcase full of homework in her hand.

Her office windows faced west and the shades were drawn because of yesterday’s sunset. She opened them then poured herself a cupof freshly brewed coffee, thanks to whomever it was that thought of putting a clock on a coffee machine.

At her desk, as was her normal habit, she opened the paper while sipping the coffee. The A section, front page story almost jumped off the page at her. Serial killer on the loose in large font, bold lettering.

Of late, for some reason she could not explain, the deaths of Priscilla Powell and Alice Griebler had been tickling her mind as if forcing her to think about them. Now, it seems, there was at least one, and probably two, maybe three more. The one for sure catching her attention again was Philip Friedman.

As she was reading the story of the Klaw Hammer killer, the light, totally out of the blue, came on in her head. The connection. Priscilla, Alice, and Friedman. The transgender affirmation of Robert Craig-Powell. But who was this James Smith?

In the very last paragraph of the story, there was a minimal reference that this James Smith was suspected of involvement of sexual assaults, including the assaults of transgender women. An anonymous source within the police department had given this information to the reporter. It was also made abundantly clear that Smith had never been arrested or convicted.

Andy, of course, knew of the brutal attack and gang rape of Robbie. Horrified, she stared at the front page. Could it be possible? And what was her obligation? Robbie had been a patient years ago. Even that long ago she was still covered by the doctor-patient privilege. But, is this?

If a doctor has a credible and imminent threat of serious harm to an identifiable person, the privilege can be broken. Does Dr. Brie have such a credible and imminent threat to report? That was the question.

Andy stood and refilled her coffee. While doing this, and after, she paced around her office. At first she admitted to herself that she did not have the threat she needed. What she had was mere speculation and conjecture. Was that enough?

Ten minutes into her pacing, it suddenly occurred to her that the answer was yes. Or, at least, likely enough. Because the identifiable person on whose life was at risk was herself. WasRobbie seeking revenge upon the people she holds responsible for her trans life? It’s not at all unreasonable. Robbie murders, first her mother then Alice, Dr. Friedman and was James Smith part of the assault and rape?

There is also the surgeon although Andy could not remember his name. What about the surgical team?

It finally dawned on her that there could easily be quite a number of names on the list. A stab of panic and fear sent a shiver through her with this realization.

“Too many lives at risk,” Andy said out loud. “I have to call the police.”

At precisely 9:00A.M.Lucy’s desk phone rang. After a very brief conversation, maybe a minute, Lucy concluded it by saying, “We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

Melissa, who had been listening asked, “Who, what, hey, tell me…”

“Let’s go,” Lucy said. She then leaned down almost to Melissa’s ear whispering, “That was Robbie Powell’s school psychologist from Sanger Middle School. She wants to talk to us. Says she may have some information.”

Fifteen minutes turned into almost a half-hour. No matter, Dr. Brie was still available.

“Okay, Dr. Brie…” Lucy started to say when they were all seated in her office.

“No, Detective, please, Andy. Everyone, even the students call me, Andy.”

“Okay, Andy, what do you have for us?”

“I’m not sure about this. Technically, Robbie is still a patient and our talks are privileged. A significant exception, of course, being future harm to herself or others.”

Get on with it, Melissa thought.

“I don’t believe Robbie ever really wanted the trans affirmation procedure. I’ve always felt a little guilty about it,” Andy said.