Four: Searching
Dr. Huang left Hans in the interrogation room, with a glass of water to allow him some time to recover, and so he could go and speak to the other detectives and disccus their options.
"Well, what is your opinion based on Hans' testimony?"Captain Cragen asked Huang.
Huang turned back to look at his patient for a moment, going over what he had just heard and how to evaluate it. The man was clearly in distress, and traumatized from his time in imprisonment. He had no memory of his previous life, and no one to turn to for help.
"Hans has been through a lot. Severe trauma...being captured and tortured in such a way can play havoc with a man's mental state..."
Detective Fin glanced at Hans, and then returned his attention to Huang, "Do you think he is playing us with his story about losing his memory?"
Dr. Huang shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "No, Dr. Fisher has already confirmed that Hans suffered a head injury and he is suffering from amnesia.."
"Can he regain it?" Elliot asked.
"Maybe over time...he is already having flash backs. But the problem is that he is only remembering his time in the prison, and nothing from before that."
"What do you suggest we do?" Cragen asked.
"I suggest we start look for clues based on Hans' testimony. We need to separate the fact from fiction in his memories; some of this could be his own imagination, produced by the mind when placed under such stress.
The detectives all began to work on Hans' testimony, listening to his words again and again on the tape to see if they had missed anything. But they could not find anything useful.
Four hours went by, and still, all their previous cases were coming up blank. But could a man have really made up such a horrific tale? They could not afford to leave such a thing to chance.
Fin was starting to get frustrated. On a whim, he typed "the man in white" into his computer. He did not think it would return anything. So he was very surprised when the computer returned...
"Guys, I think I found something!" Fin shouted.
The other detectives gathered around Fin's computer and he showed them what he stumbled across.
"Look, I typed in the phrase; "the man in white." It's what Hans said in the interview. All these documents came up."
The detectives when back to their desks and pulled up the same information on the computers.
Olivia was looking through the material. She couldn't believe her eyes. "The man in white" was not a figment of Hans' imagination...he was very real. According to these documents, "The man in white" was a serial kidnapper. He would hold people and torture them to almost the point of insanity. There had been over a hundred victims in the past twenty years. He had never been caught, yet...
"Does anyone see what I'm reading?" Munch asked.
"Yeah, this "Man in White" is not part of Hans' imagination," stated Fin.
"No, he definitely real." Elliot chimed in.
"So what now?" Munch asked.
"I'm going to talk to the Captain and see what he wants to do." Olivia said. She got up from her desk and headed to the Captain's office. He wasn't in there, so she headed to the interrogation room. Captain Cragen was standing in front of the one way mirror, looking into the interrogation room. Watching Dr. Huang work with Hans.
"They're still at it," observed Olivia standing next her captain.
"Huang been trying to get Hans to remember something from before his imprisonment."
"And any luck?"
"Not so far." Cragen turned to Olivia and asked, "Did you get any information?"
"Yes, Hans' "Man in White is real." Olivia handed Cragen the paper she had printed out. He took it and read it silently for a moment before turning back to Olivia.
"So we have lead." Cragen stated. He turned back to the people inside the interrogation room.
"Let's try a different approach." Huang suggested. He placed a small circular sliver mirror in front of Hans. "What do you think is clear about yourself. For example you have dark brown hair"
Hans looked at his reflection for a moment before he spoke. "I have hazel eyes. I might be 30- 36 years old. I have a German accent."
"You see, we just found out what country you are from."
"Yes, I believe I just did."
Back behind the mirror the other detectives had joined Cragen and Olivia.
"Captain, we found something disturbing concerning "The man in White." Elliot handed the Captain the paper, who read it instantly, and looked up sharply. "We have to place him under police protection." Cragen said.
"Why?" Olivia asked.
"Because "The Man in White" is not just a kidnapper...he's a serial killer as well. Anyone that ever escaped from him and his men ended up dead before they could give evidence."
"So we must protect Hans', and make sure that this "Man in White" can't get to him before we figure this thing out," Olivia said.
Dr. Huang and Hans were coming out of the interrogation room. Huang was giving him reassuring words. They both stopped when they saw the detectives standing before them.
"Hans, how would you like to stay in a nice apartment?" Cragen asked.
Hans thought about for a moment then said. "What's the catch?"
"No catch at all."
"Very well."
"Good! Olivia, Elliot and Fin are going to take you there."
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