The Secrets on Chicory Lane: A Novel(59)

“Uh, yeah. He had put up his artwork, and placed candles all over the house. I’m sure Dora helped him.”

“What was the food, refreshments, and that sort of thing?”

“There were a couple of new bottles of tequila and vodka he’d bought. He always kept wine in the house. Food, let’s see, we had turkey and stuffing, broccoli, and squash. We brought the vegetables. Eddie cooked the turkey.”

“So he had the presence of mind to decorate and prepare a meal for the festivities that night?”

“I guess so.”

“No further questions.”

Uh oh. That plainly obliterated Crane’s contention that Eddie wasn’t of sound mind.

The defense’s battery of medical experts took the stand next. In opposition to the prosecution’s doctors, three generic psychiatrists spent an entire day testifying. The first psychiatrist spoke about anxiety disorder and depression, claiming that Eddie was definitely suffering from both. Another doctor testified about how Zoloft and clonazepam work and what would happen to a patient if medications were to suddenly cease. Symptoms of withdrawal could cause emotional instability, and he might be a danger to himself or others.

The third psychiatrist talked about phobias. It was his opinion that Eddie suffered from something called pedophobia and tokophobia. The former referred to an irrational fear of children, especially infants. Someone with pedophobia would become agitated and anxious when around babies, although the phobia is not limited to that age group. The latter referred to a fear of pregnancy and childbirth. People with tokophobia were usually women, but men have also been known to be repulsed by the reproductive process.

“And you believe Mr. Newcott suffers from these phobias?” Crane asked the doctor.

“Yes, I do.”

“What causes phobias like these?”

“It’s usually due to something that occurred during an individual’s childhood.” The psychiatrist went on to spout a bunch of medical and psychological terms and theories that I’m sure went right over the jury’s heads. I’m not sure I understood it all. But the idea of pedophobia struck me as significant.

“So you believe that my client’s act of cutting his own child out of the body of the baby’s mother is a result of pedophobia?”

“I do.”

There wasn’t much Shamrock could do in his cross-examinations to shake the doctors’ testimonies. It was up to the jury to decide which physicians to believe—the prosecution’s or the defense’s.

It had taken two whole days to present Eddie’s defense, and I was afraid it was inadequate. Of course, Eddie didn’t take the stand. But what else could Crane have done? He trotted in the doctors and let them have their say. He established there was no devil worshipping component to the crime. It was clear that Eddie had indeed committed it, but what person in his right mind would do what he had done? Was Eddie “crazy” or not? It seemed pretty obvious to me.

Then, just when I thought the defense was about to rest, Crane called his last witness—none other than former police detective Jim Baxter.





24


“State your name for the record.”

“James Baxter.”

“You go by ‘Jim’?”

“That’s correct.”

“Please tell the court what your profession is.”

“I’m retired. But I was a law enforcement officer in Limite for forty-two years.”

“And what rank did you hold when you retired?”

“I was a captain. Prior to that I was a lieutenant, and before that I was a homicide detective. I started out in 1952 as an officer.”

Crane paused to let that sink in. “Very impressive, Mr. Baxter. Please tell the jury, do you know the defendant, Edward Newcott?”

“I do.”

“When did you first meet him?”

“It was July of 1966. He was eleven years old.”

“And you have kept in touch with him since then?”

“Not in quite a while, but I kept tabs on him through the 1980s. After I retired, we never spoke.”

“Could you please tell the court how you came to meet him?”

I prepared myself for some painful memories. To be frank, I wasn’t sure I could handle it. It was something I’d managed to block out of my life for years, with the help of the therapy I had gone through in the eighties. But of course, no amount of therapy could cause it to totally go away. Now, here was a reminder of that horrible summer unfolding in front of me. What was going to be the point of Baxter’s testimony? Why was Crane bringing this up?

“There was a case of a child abduction,” Baxter said. “We questioned Mr. Newcott at the time. He was a neighbor of the victim.”

“This was here in Limite?”

“That’s correct. It was the Truman Baby Abduction, as it was called in the newspaper at the time.”

“It was an infamous case in the history of the city, is that correct?”

“I suppose so.”

“Please give us the details.”

At this point, Shamrock stood and objected. “Your Honor, what is the purpose of this? This has no relevance to today’s case.”

Crane replied, “Your Honor, I’m attempting to establish that a traumatic event in the defendant’s childhood has bearing on who he is today.”