“Peter Caldwell didn’t die of a medical condition.”
“No, and Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a mental illness that is extremely rare. I don’t believe this is specifically what we’re dealing with here—I bring it up because of the reason behind the illness. It is solely for attention. Where some people will fabricate stories about grand adventures or accomplishments to the point that they will create false narratives that they believe—pathological liars—someone who suffers from Munchausen will create false illnesses in those in their care in order to gain attention. However, in this case Peter was extremely healthy. I’ve reviewed his medical records and he was rarely sick, statistically less than most children of his socioeconomic position. Yet I think the underlying cause—the need for attention—is the primary reason for his death. Secondarily, there is the complete disassociation of Mrs. Caldwell from her son.”
“What do you mean by disassociation?”
“In all of her interviews and in the psych eval, not once did Mrs. Caldwell express any emotions related to questioning about Peter and his death. She did not once refer to Peter as our son or my son. She never asked police during the three interviews she had before her arrest what happened to Peter. She never asked about the autopsy or what the police were doing in their investigation—the only person she appears to have shown any emotion toward was her husband. And even then, as the clip showed, she didn’t mention Peter by name or even by association as their son. The subject of the sentence was ‘they’ meaning the police.”
“No further questions, the state reserves the right to redirect.”
The judge allowed the defense to cross-examine.
“Dr. Kincaid, psychology is not a real science, is it?”
“It’s sometimes called a soft science, but it’s based on research and observation, like all sciences.”
“But human beings are complex. They don’t all react to the same situations in the same way.”
“Correct.”
“So Mrs. Caldwell’s seemingly cold or haughty interview with the police could be a defense mechanism because she felt attacked.”
“I do not think so.”
“But that’s just your opinion.”
“Correct, my opinion based on years of experience.”
“You showed eleven minutes of interviews out of more than three hours.”
“I viewed all recorded interviews and read every transcript.”
“So we’re relying on what is essentially your nonscientific opinion.”
“Objection,” the DA said. “Dr. Kincaid’s credentials have already been stipulated by the defense. I can read them for the record.”
“Withdrawn,” the defense said. “Dr. Kincaid, the original psych evaluation indicated that there were no clear signs that Blair Caldwell was capable of killing her son.”
“Let me read the conclusion.” Dillon flipped a few pages. “According to Dr. Opner, ‘After spending two hours with Mrs. Caldwell, I’ve determined that there are no clear signs as to her guilt or innocence. This observation is due in large part to the fact that four weeks has passed since Peter Caldwell’s murder and the stages of grief manifest in different ways. At this point, I would say that Mrs. Caldwell is in the denial stage. She is cool, refined, polite, but not willing or able to discuss her son’s murder.’”
The defense counsel said, “Because she was grieving.”
“She could have been. I wasn’t there during the evaluation.”
“No further questions.”
“Redirect?” the prosecutor said. He stood. “Dr. Kincaid, based on the evidence, would you concur with the lead detective who testified yesterday that Peter Caldwell’s murder was premeditated?”
“Yes.”
“Why do you believe it was premeditated?”
“For all the reasons Detective Jackson said, and one more: whoever killed Peter had to grind and dissolve the Valium that was used to incapacitate him. Based on the coroner’s report, the drugs were originally in pill form. They had to be crushed, dissolved in water, then administered to Peter. Nothing was found in the house with any residue. That means the killer brought the drug into the house already prepared to be used.”
“Would that mean that Mrs. Caldwell is not guilty? After all, she didn’t even have a prescription for Valium.”
That was good, Max thought—already working to destroy one of the key defense arguments.
“It doesn’t go to her guilt or innocence,” Dillon said. “It’s a fact. It means that every step of this murder was planned including preparing the drugs, how long it would take to get to the Caldwell house, take Peter to the sand pit, bury him, then disappear. It was planned carefully, down to the minute. The amount of drugs in his system was excessive. They would take approximately ten to fifteen minutes to affect an adult, shorter for a child. The drugs were administered in sweetened water. That still wouldn’t have masked the bitter taste, and suggests that the killer was someone Peter trusted. The babysitter testified that she heard Peter cough and use the bathroom. When she went to check on him, he was back in bed. I would postulate that he was already drugged at that time, and the killer was hiding in the adjoining bathroom. Such a theory fits the timeline established by the police and the medical examiner.” Dillon sipped water that was at the podium.
“So my question has been from the beginning, who has a motive? Who would go to such lengths to kill Peter Caldwell? Someone who simply didn’t want Peter to exist. The crime had no passion, no anger or rage or hesitation. It was cold, methodical, and carried out to the letter—as it was planned.”
*
Max couldn’t find John during the break. Her cameraman was following her because she had a scheduled two-minute clip to air live.
She was worried about John—his expression during Dillon Kincaid’s testimony had changed from stoic to disbelieving to pain-filled. She didn’t want him to do anything stupid. She wasn’t as worried about him killing Blair as she was about him hurting himself. Maybe that’s what Dillon had meant last night. She sent David a brief text message that she needed his help to track down John.
The docket after the lunch break was for a computer expert. Max knew the only reason to bring in a computer expert was to confirm what had originally been Lucy Kincaid’s theory that Blair Caldwell knew the details of Justin Stanton’s murder and copied them—all except for the stuffed animal because that wasn’t in the public reports.
“Max, we need to do this now. Ben is yelling at me.”
“Fine,” she said and looked around. She pointed to a corner of the second floor. “That should be sufficient.”