Lucky Thirteen (22 page)

“Ray. How have you been?” she replied.

“Well, and you?”

“Great. I’m back at work where I belong.”

Even-toned, Ray asked,
“Dupree is behaving?”

“Perfectly
.” Larkin nodded. “He might even get the male lead in the spring musical review.”

“Well, if anybody can bring
out the good in him, it’s you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It is.”

Ooh! Take this!
She turned back to the prosecutor and asked in a sugary voice, “Robert, did we decide seven?” Her eyes cut to Ray.

Robert
gave a crooked smirk. “I’ll see you then.”

Ray flinched.

“I’m looking forward to it.” She walked away, head held high.

♣♣♣

There was a pregnant, uncomfortable pause in the room for several seconds after Larkin left
. Ray shook it off.

“LaFontaine, I think we have all the proof we need
.” He held up the folder triumphantly.

The prosecution
had already established the fact that Latrice had access to all the female victims’ medical files while working for their doctors. Latrice’s credit card purchases included thirteen wedding dresses. The ceremonial dagger matched as the murder weapon in all the female slayings. Twelve coven members could attest to the “necessary sacrifices.” In addition, they had the botched ritual on tape, along with the tape of Ray’s meeting with Latrice, as well as Raif’s and Larkin’s testimony. Now, Ray proudly pulled out the forensic and DNA reports.

LaFontaine read,
and a smile spread across his face. “Good stuff.”

The blood scrapings contained DNA from every female victim on the altar of the old monastery, which Latrice owned
. The altar had an etched groove where the women’s necks had lain and the blood drained to collect in a reservoir around the base of the slab. That accounted for the lack of blood on the garments. Coven members admitted to drinking a swallow of blood for empowerment.

Hair fibers found on the wedding dresses belonged to Latrice
. Blood specks on the robe Latrice had worn matched every victim. A garrote and a hand gun discovered in Latrice’s home were linked to two of the male slayings, and Latrice had frequently volunteered at the local missions and homeless shelters. The black SUV used in the hit-and-run belonged to Sabrina Hatch, one of the coven members. She had confirmed Latrice asked to borrow her car but told her to report it stolen.

“Reynolds, I think you’re a prick, but you really did your homework this time
. Good job.”

“
The feelings’s mutual, but let’s put that aside and lock this whacko away.”

“Agreed.”

Robert walked the detective to the elevator. Ray turned. “Larkin’s special,” he said quietly. “She’s innocent and sweet. She’s angelic. Don’t pull your philandering on her.”

“Reynolds, I don’t know what you did, or maybe it was what you
didn’t
do, to her, but thank you.”

A feeling of triumph coursing through his veins,
Robert LaFontaine returned haughtily to his office, and Raiford Reynolds angrily kicked over the standing ashtray outside the building.

27

Criminally Insane

T
h
e
state’s psychiatrist, the defense’s psychiatrist, and an independent psychiatrist interviewed Latrice Descartes, as well as the twelve coven members over a period of weeks before they released final reports. The general consensus regarding the women who had followed Latrice was that they were suffering the same kind of brainwashing that members of other cults, such as Jim Jones’s or Charles Manson’s followers, experienced. Additionally, the blood work came back to indicate a strong hallucinogenic combined with the hypnotic sedativ
e
Methaqualone in each one’s system. The only one who seemed to be letting go of her infatuation with Latrice and feeling remorse was Alicia Steen.

Judge LeVigne
ruled, “Gullibility does not negate responsibility in the deaths of twelve women. Nobody forced you women to drink a concoction that affected your minds. You are hereby bound over for separate trials within six months. You will be notified of your court date. I want Alicia Steen evaluated further. Miss Steen, I’ll see you in the morning at nine sharp.” He banged his gavel and dismissed.

Ray whispered to Chris who sat beside him in the courtroom. “Damn it. LeVigne means well, but those comments were stupid. Notice that the defense didn’t object, but
those words could be construed as bias upon appeal. My improvisation will be moot.”

“
Shh. We can hope and pray.”

The same afternoon, a
juvenile advocate met with Alicia Steen and asked for an immediate bench trial, not a simple hearing. The judge listened intently to arguments from both sides the next morning. He watched the child closely throughout the proceedings to get an accurate reaction from her about her involvement. During her trial, she broke down and told the court about her sexual abuse and desperation to feel safe, which is what Latrice offered her and her mother. “She said she’d make him stop forever,” the child sobbed. Turning her tear-stained face toward the judge, she said, “I think she planned to kill him. I can’t say I’m sorry for that.” Her next words came in gasps. “He…hurt…me…so…much.”

Judge LeVigne read the reports and reviewed the child’s background
. He sent Alicia to a juvenile facility to be treated for mental illness until she turned eighteen, at which time the case would be reviewed to determine what, if any, further action was warranted. His suspicions confirmed from the scant information Baker had obtained, Ray stayed long enough to hear her verdict before he filed the paperwork to arrest Alicia’s father and have  her two siblings taken into protective custody.

On the other hand, the mind of Latrice Descartes was complicated and convoluted
. There was no disagreement among the psychiatrists that Latrice was guilty of multiple counts of murder, but there was a great deal of disagreement about the degree of mental illness the woman suffered and how her case should be adjudicated.

Attorneys for both the prosecution and the defense sat down with all three psychiatrists
. After reviewing the physical evidence and hearing the psychiatrists’ reports, Latrice’s public defender convinced his client to plead guilty and seek the judge’s mercy in sentencing in a bench trial. He told her a jury would be much harsher than Judge LeVigne. Mr. VanDevere, the defender, was surprised at the ease of his persuasion. He had to wonder what this ingenious, but insane, woman was up to. He honestly wanted her locked away because he was afraid of her. After only three weeks of testing and interviewing, Latrice Descartes waived her right to a trial by jury and appeared before Judge LeVigne in a bench trial. She pled guilty and begged for mercy.

The state’s psychiatrist believed Latrice
to be a sociopath with no conscience and a menace to society. LeVigne read the file presented by the state. His scratchy voice grunted, “Criminally insane—a mental defect or disease that makes it impossible for a person to understand the wrongfulness of his acts or, even if he understands them, to distinguish right from wrong. Defendants who are criminally insane cannot be convicted of a crime, since criminal conduct involves the conscious intent to do wrong—a choice that the criminally insane cannot meaningfully make.” He motioned Dr. Culpepper to the witness stand. “You are under oath,” he reminded the man. “Talk to me. This psycho-babble means little to me. Say it in English. Is this woman mentally competent to stand trial?”

“It’s arguable.”

“Don’t jerk me around. Tell me your diagnosis.”

“Very well
. I have determined that Latrice’s upbringing with a very strict military father did influence her need to control and dominate as she was dominated. However, her mother’s secret involvement with a satanic cult to which she exposed her daughter and the decadent sexual practices of the group jaded and corrupted Latrice’s idea of perfection. Her overexposure to so many cultures helped to confuse her understanding of religion because she didn’t have guidance or formal religious foundation in the standard realm of religion although her father required her to attend mass every Sunday.” He looked at the judge to see if he was being clear. LeVigne waved both hands in a forward sweeping motion for the doctor to continue.

“
In her distortion, Latrice created her own religion in which she is the supreme authority. Her misinterpretation for the need for cleansing through blood sacrifice prompted her foray into black magic and ritual sacrifice. She feels no remorse for her actions. Indeed, she voiced her intent to continue purification of America and will have to start over because the process is ‘cyclic and must be done in stages at the given times.’ Those are her direct words. In addition, she repeatedly mentioned her mother’s warning not to use a twin. Mother seems to have vanished back to Transylvania.”

“Please,” grunted the defender
. “Objection. For the record Mrs. Descartes was deported before anyone was killed. Her visa expired sometime ago.”

LeVigne nodded
. “Miss Descartes’s mother is not on trial. Sustained. Tell me about the defendant.” The judge held up a finger and spoke to the bailiff. “It’s freezing in here. Check the thermostat. Now, Doctor, go on.”

Dr. Culpepper nodded
. “The only emotion she seems capable of is rage. She is obsessed with finishing what she started. I recommend that Latrice Descartes be declared criminally insane and be confined to an institution for the rest of her life. I would recommend capital punishment for her crimes if the
U.S. Constitution
allowed the execution of the insane. The State of Louisiana would certainly desire the ultimate sentence.”

“So,”
the judge asked, “you think she’s insane?”

“Yes.”

“Is she capable of standing trial?”

“Not at this time.”

“Step down. Rousseau, your turn. Don’t forget you’re under oath as well.”

Dr. Rousseau, the psychiatrist for the defense agreed that Latrice was criminally insane, but she sought leniency for the person she perceived as a victim of her upbringing and harsh war-mongering influence
. The vapors of her breath hanging in the air, Rousseau said, “She herself has been brainwashed into thinking that only blood would cleanse America. I ask that Latrice be committed until such time that she be diagnosed sane.”

Listening to the procedures, Ray muttered to Chris, “Which would be never.”
He shivered. “Damn, it’s as cold in here as at the monastery.”

The FBI agent whispered, “Spirit world?”

“Shit.” Ray’s stomach roiled.

The judge glared
toward law enforcement, prompting silence. LeVigne asked, “So, am I to understand, you think Miss Descartes is not competent to stand trial?”

“No, she’s not Your Honor.”

“You would declare her insane?”

“Yes.”

“Step down. Petra.”

Dr. Petra, an independent psychiatrist appointed by Judge LeVigne, diagnosed Latrice as a sociopath
. He took the stand when the judge called him forward. LeVigne asked, “Well, do you concur with the other two? What do you mean when you say she’s not a psychopath?” He tapped the file in front of him.

He nodded
. “Yes, Your Honor, I agree that her harsh, unstable childhood might have warped her perception of reality, but she poses a terrible danger to society. She is not psychopathic. A psychopath often feels guilt and shame. She has no conscience, which played perfectly into her military duties. Uncle Sam won’t tell us what she did, but I’d put money on her being an assassin. The government cannot acknowledge sanctioned murder. They used her mental illness for their own purposes and then turned her loose on society. I tried to read her psychological history from the Marine Corps. Half of it is blacked out.” The psychiatrist shrugged. “She transferred often and was assigned to ‘other agencies’. That could explain a lot.”

The psychiatrist took a deep breath after his diatribe and went on after noting the defense attorney whispering to his client. “
She is a consummate sociopath with the ability to see what a person needs and to become that thing, which is how she manipulated thirteen men into doing her bidding and convinced twelve women she could save them from their circumstances. She is obsessed with completing her task, and she will kill again. I recommend her incarceration in a maximum security facility for the criminally insane for life. Dr. Rousseau is overly optimistic to think Miss Descartes will ever be declared sane.”

“Is she competent to stand trial?”

The doctor shook his head. “She has no concept that what she did is wrong.”

“Yes or no?”

“No.”

“Insane?”

“Absolutely.”

Judge LeVigne reviewed all the evidence
. He listened to every word and dismissed the group until three in the afternoon.

As they waited Ray asked the defense attorney, “What did she say to you while Petra was testifying?”

“You know I can’t tell you that. I’ll say this, if her mother comes back to the States, the U.S. government could be looking at a lawsuit.”

Steve Journey, standing with
Ray, said, “If it could be proven the military capitalized on her illness and made her worse, they could be held liable.”

“You think?” Chris asked.

Journey shrugged. “Possible, but a long shot.” He fidgeted. “Honestly, I think she’s been hired as a mercenary, maybe by someone with underworld ties, since she got out. A paid assassin can make a
killing
.” He chuckled softly.

“Bad pun.” Ray grunted, “Real
underworld
ties.”

“That too,” agreed the agent.

When court reconvened, Judge LeVigne requested that Latrice stand with her lawyer. He shivered. “Why is it so damned cold in here?” He addressed the defendant with a measure of respect for her past service to her country. “Master Sergeant Descartes, do you have anything you’d like to add before I make my ruling?”

“No, Your Honor,” she replied, her voice low and gravelly
, her breath visible like ice crystals on the air.

“All right, then
. I pronounce retired Master Sergeant Latrice Descartes criminally insane. You are hereby sentenced to incarceration conditionally for the rest of your natural life in a maximum security facility for the criminally insane. However, I will see you one year from today to be re-evaluated since
The Constitution
requires you to be given the chance to be cured. If, and I emphasize
if,
you are declared sane and competent to stand trial, there will be a trial. Bailiff, take her into custody to await transport.” He noted in his calendar. “Schedule transport for the Monday before Thanksgiving, November 24
th
, seven P.M. Court adjourned. I need a hot toddy.”

The moment Latrice left the courtroom, the temperature leveled.

Detective Raiford Reynolds, Agent Christine Milovich, Prosecutor Robert LaFontaine, Raiford Gautier, and Larkin Sloan left the courthouse feeling both relieved and victorious. Two of the other FBI agents and Brian Baker gloated with them. Journey’s brow creased. “It was too easy.”