"A good description. So you did get to know him." Zachary sighed. "I can't see that moron convincing an entire jury – " "He terrified them. And you told him how to do that. He wasn't smart enough to work it out on his own. He was so close to blowing his temper and hurting those people."

"But he didn't. And that was your doing, wasn't it, Dr. Apollo? And yours was the only complaint. That's interesting, too."

"If the other two women hadn't died, I think they might have come forward. It would've been easier for a woman to admit what happened in that room."

"You make it sound like a rape."

"The assault took place in the jury bathroom," said Johanna. "But you already knew that. You planned it."

It was like a rape," said Victor Patchock. "You lose your manhood the first time he makes you back down. None of the men in that room would admit that Andy had them cowed. The votes changed with every ballot, one or two a day, till he had them all."

Hennessey looked up from his notebook, pen hovering, "But you say Andy never touched anyone?"

"Well… yeah, he did. It was MacPherson. Poor Mac. He went into the bathroom. It had two stalls. So nobody thought it was odd when Andy followed him in there. But then Andy slid under Mac's stall door. Oh, Mac, he was scared shitless – speechless, never called out for help. I always wondered how Andy knew he wouldn't scream like a woman."

"Practice," said Riker, who could see where this story was going. "He'd probably done it before."

Victor Patchock lowered his head. "Then Andy jammed this stinking, dirty snot rag in MacPherson's mouth. He spun the poor guy around and spread his legs. So Mac had to lean both hands on the wall to keep from falling. And that poor bastard still didn't know what was coming – not till he heard the sound of Andy's zipper coming down."

The little man squeezed his eyes shut. "Outside in the jury room, there wasn't much to hear – grunts, Andy laughing – and thumps – when his rear end hit the stall door." Victor Patchock beat his closed fist on the table, over and over, saying, "Thump, thump, thump," in the rhythm of a rape.

"So Andy comes back to the jury room with this big sloppy grin on his stupid face. MacPherson was in the bathroom another twenty minutes. When he finally came out, he wouldn't look anybody in the eye, just stared at the floor. He was shaking all over, dying inside, trying so hard not to cry. But then he did cry – real quiet, just tears. There was blood on the seat of his pants. Everybody knew what happened to him in there. Nobody ever used the bathroom again – except Andy. MacPherson changed his vote."

Andy Sumpter wasn't gay," said Ian Zachary. "This man was paying child support on three children."

"The rape wasn't about sex," said Johanna.

"Ah, the feminist party line. I know this cliche. Rape isn't about sex – it's about power. Is that the way you see it, Dr. Apollo?"

"No," said Johanna. "I thought it was probably about money. Or did you promise to make Andy famous? Oh, the things your fans will do just for a few minutes on the radio."

"Maybe Andy was your bitch, Dr. Apollo. You were always in control of that room. That's one thing the jurors agreed on when they talked to the media. They took their cues from you."

"I did my best to keep Andy from spinning out of control. He always wanted to use his fists, and it was a fight to keep him from hitting those people. So, in hindsight, he probably wasn't your best choice for intimidating that jury – always a second away from exploding. And this is what comes of amateurs like you dabbling in psychology."

"But you claim this no-neck moron thwarted the entire justice system. Stupid Andy swayed the whole jury."

"Andy came from the cave," said Johanna. "But you're right about one thing. It was my fault. Now I wish I'd just let him explode in that jury room, a room full of witnesses. He might've hurt one of them badly, maybe a few broken bones. But you never would've walked away from that trial as a free man."

"And, without that unanimous verdict, without your vote, Doctor, the Reaper would've had no motive to kill the jurors. All those people would still be alive."

When the other jurors were dying, Dr. Apollo kept us alive, me and MacPherson," said Victor Patchock. "She paid for everything. And she kept us from falling apart. But then – "

"Something happened," said Mallory prompting him. "Something changed?"

"I found out who the Reaper was. That damn lawyer, Fairlamb, ratted me out to Dr. Apollo. She was waiting for me in that underground parking garage. She took my gun away, but she was too late to stop MacPherson." He turned to Riker, saying, "I waited outside on the street, and then I followed you guys to that bar on Green Street. And there's poor Mac, a prisoner, jammed in that booth between you and Zachary."

"Who is the Reaper?" asked Agent Hennessey.

"He is," said Patchock, pointing to Riker. "He followed Mac to the garage that night. Later on, when I was leaving the bar, Riker was still waiting for Mac to come back from the men's room. Arrest him!"

Riker glanced at Mallory. She was not the least bit annoyed with the little man for wasting her time. And he knew why, or so he thought, but then she surprised him.

Mallory put one hand on Victor Patchock's shoulder, nails embedding in the material, just a gentle reminder that she was in control of him. And her voice was a monotone when she said, "I know you're holding back. Big mistake, Victor. Don't fool with me."

"I have to go to the toilet again."

When the door had closed upon the little man and his warden, Hennessey turned from one cop to the other. "Did you guys believe any of that?"

"The rape happened," said Riker. "I believed that much."

"No way," said the agent. "Dr. Apollo never mentioned an assault in her complaint."

"Of course not," said Riker. "Who would've believed her? You didn't. There were ten people on the other side of that bathroom door and a bailiff out in the hall. How could Andy Sumpter be stupid enough to risk it? The plan is so stupid it's damn smart."

"It did happen," said Mallory. "Andy needed cash, and some people will do anything for money." She turned to Riker. "But Victor did lie."

I heard the noise in the bathroom," said Johanna. "The other jurors had gone selectively deaf. So I went to the door to get the bailiff. The hall was empty. That's when I realized that you'd bought him off. He was the one who carried your instructions to Andy Sumpter. You not only arranged the rape, but you timed it with the bailiff. You wanted him gone while that assault was going on." Johanna addressed all her words to the dark window.

Even the girl in the lighted booth was a believer now, turning that way as if peering through the solid walls that separated her booth from the producer's.

"Excuse me, Doctor." Zachary rose from the console, walked around the Japanese screen and jammed a small camera up to the glass, illuminating the booth with a bright flash.

No one there.

He returned to his chair, behaving as if that had been a perfectly normal thing to do. "Go on, Dr. Apollo. You were giving me credit for suborning the entire jury."

She studied his more relaxed face. He was enjoying himself again. What a pity. But she could fix that. "You won't get away with jury tampering. And you won't be a media star anymore."

"Let's talk about your crimes, Dr. Apollo. After the trial, I sent you roses every day for a month. I'm sure you know why. I never doubted that the verdict was your work. By your own account, you kept Andy Sumpter from beating up those people. You, more than anyone else, helped to sway that entire jury. Oh, and one other thing – you voted not guilty. I'd say you earned your roses, Doctor."

"You won't get away with it."