“Teach them to look away?”
I nod. “The same principles of applied behavioral analysis that we use to help kids with autism could theoretically be used to create the disorder too.” It’s mind boggling to consider the possibility that someone would do that, but it’s entirely possible. Applied behavioral analysis is the longest-standing therapy we have for kids with autism, and despite all its controversy, there’s no denying its effectiveness at increasing desirable behaviors. “Kids respond well to rewards, and ABA is based on breaking desirable behavior into smaller steps and rewarding the child for completing each step along the way. It’s basic conditioning principles. You can condition any behavior you want if you work hard enough at it.”
“Why would anyone do that?” He shakes his head in disbelief. This case has taken its toll on him. There are bags underneath his eyes that weren’t there at the beginning of the week.
“I have no idea.” My reaction is similar to his, especially as a mom. I’ll never understand people who hurt kids on purpose.
“And who would do that to him?” That’s the most important question in all this.
“Genevieve was my first thought. Training him to respond in such a consistent and methodical way would take a huge amount of effort and time. She’s the only one who spends that much time with him.”
Detective Layne puts his elbow on the table and rests his chin on his hand. His eyes narrow and his forehead wrinkles as he considers the possibilities. “I’m not sure Genevieve makes the most sense. You’ve seen how she is with him. She practically worships that boy.” He waits a few seconds before continuing. “What about her husband?”
“John?”
He nods. “Up until six years ago, he was the other major person in his life, and he would’ve had just as much access to him as Genevieve.”
“I guess he could’ve been the one to do it. I just don’t really even think of him as being part of the equation.”
“Sometimes you have to think outside the box,” he says, and I’m not sure if he’s trying to teach me or insult me. Either way, he brings up a good point.
“Do we know anything about John?” I ask.
“Not really. Up until now, we haven’t had a reason to pay him any attention.” He sits back and runs his hands along the edge of the table. “Before we spiral too far down this hole, though, we need to make sure you’re right. I think you need to test him yourself and see what you can find.”
I was hoping he’d say that. “I’d love to test him and see how things play out.”
His belly rises with his deep breath. “We need to get Genevieve to let us do that. She has to do it on her own free will, though, because we have nothing on Mason or the case that would provide a compelling reason to have him undergo a full psychological evaluation. And even if we did, I wouldn’t be able to allow you to do it. I could request one be done if we had anything to base it on, but we’d have to get a forensic expert to be the one to do it.”
“I’ve given hundreds of evaluations in my career. For a while, psychological testing was the only thing I did. I’ve got hundreds of hours underneath my belt in all kinds of different settings.” I explained this to him before, but he must not have been listening.
He shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter. The court is only going to use experts they’ve appointed for something like this. The lawyers for each side would be the ones to hash it out. The district attorney doesn’t even listen to my recommendations half the time. He lets me give them out of protocol, but most of the time they work it out in front of the judge. So I’m not saying no because you’re unqualified, just because it’s impossible given how the system works.”
“So I would have to get her to just let me evaluate Mason because she agreed to it?” My brain works frantically to come up with any plausible reason that she might believe I need to test Mason.
“Yes, and we can’t let her know why we’re really doing it just in case she’s the one coaching him on the tests.”
“How do we do it? How do we convince Genevieve to let me evaluate Mason?” I have to get myself in a testing room with him. I just have to. This is so far out of my league, but I’m all in. I’m getting to the bottom of this no matter what.
He gives me a hands shrug. “Aren’t you supposed to be the expert on getting people to do what they don’t want to do?”
“I’m not that kind of psychologist.” I laugh. “I could appeal to her mothering side, maybe even her altruistic side? I just need something to offer that’s believable, and by the way, you should probably know that I’ve never been a good liar.”
“That’s what makes you believable.” He drums his hands on the table.
“What if I told her I was worried about his regression? That I wanted to see if the trauma had moved him backward? I could frame it like we were using the information to help his case in some way by giving it to you?”
“That might work.” He scrunches his face like he’s turning scenarios around in his brain. “You could tell her that if you showed Mason was experiencing ongoing damage, it would put enough pressure on the police to make it a top priority?”
“Isn’t that already the case?” There’s nothing else going on that warrants attention. This is the biggest crime Tuscaloosa’s had in over a century.