Over the following days, Elliot and Olivia made no progress finding other witnesses who were willing or able to help them keep Janine in prison. The victims and their families wanted no part of it, and shielded themselves and others from the detectives' inquiries.
The date of the hearing arrived quickly, and Elliot and Olivia found themselves standing outside the room where the hearing was to take place early that morning, waiting for the others to arrive.
"Are we doing the right thing?" Elliot asked.
"What do you mean? We've got to keep that lunatic in prison." Olivia said.
"A lot of these kids are going to need long term care, though. They could really use that money, and the only way they're going to get it is if she's in a mental hospital, not in prison. And what about the families? They're going to need financial help to take care of their sons."
"I wish we could have it both ways, Elliot, but we can't. All the money in the world can't justify the risk of unleashing her on the public again. You know it's the right thing. And so does Crawford. That's why he's coming to testify this morning."
"I know. I just want to do more to fix this somehow. I couldn't help those kids before; I want to be able to do something this time."
At that moment, Elliot and Olivia could hear the board members approaching before they could see them. A few minutes after the arrival of the board, the detectives had watched as Janine, escorted by a guard and the Bishop, passed by as well. She didn't look at them, but kept her head bowed slightly until she was out of sight.
"Are you ready?" Olivia asked.
Elliot took a deep breath and nodded as he opened the door for her and then let himself in. They entered the hearing room in time to see the Bishop approach Louise, the head of the fact-finding committee, his arm outstretched in glad greeting. They obviously knew each other, as the woman assigned to lead the committee smilingly leaned in to his handshake and grasped his thick hands in both of hers.
"Louise, it's a pleasure as always. I swear you seem even more lovely every time I see you."
The Bishop continued to gush over her, obsequious almost to the point of sarcasm or parody. But if Louise noticed this overage, she did not give any sign. She continued to smile broadly, her cheeks turning a slight tinge of pink under the glow of his compliments.
Olivia made a quiet gagging noise audible only to Elliot as they continued along the wall of the small room to two of the chairs lining the perimeter. Even though the pardon committee was comprised of only three people, there was barely enough room at the tables for them, Bishop Ramey, Janine and one witness. All other seating was lined against the walls, away from the tables and for observation purposes only.
Elliot had asked Crawford to arrive early so that he could say what he wanted to say and then leave as quickly and painlessly as possible. It had not occurred to Elliot that the Bishop would not only have an introductory speech about Janine's childhood and the path that had brought her to her present fate, but also would take more than two hours to complete the speech. The prison rules did not allow visitors to smoke in the hallways, so the longer Crawford was kept waiting outside the room, the heavier his chain smoking burden became.
Although Elliot and Olivia had not known the specifics about what had made Janine what she was today, neither were they surprised. After all, most wolves start their lives as lambs. Born into privilege and opulence, the wealthy grandfather who had made Janine's lifestyle possible had also personally shaved her legs for the first time before her age met the double digits. He usually justified his increasingly horrendous abuse with passages from the Bible. Beatings were common, but the incestuous sex was even more frequent.
Finally, the family deemed it appropriate to send Janine away to a preparatory boarding school, and for the first time since she could remember, she was removed from the reach of her grandfather. The terrible, twisted feelings of love and hate festered within her, expressed as acts of random cruelty to her schoolmates and, on at least one occasion, her roommate's pet ferret, which was found skinned and disemboweled under the roommate's sheets. When questioned about whether she was responsible for the ferret's death, Janine denied any involvement and added for good measure, "Looks like my roommate got her period."
The ferret incident resulted in Janine's expulsion, but her family's money bought her way into enough schools to eventually allow graduation, despite many more expulsions. Her adult behavior was predictable, but none of this, to Elliot and Olivia, excused Janine from the horror she had inflicted on others.
At last, the Bishop wrapped up his story of Janine's life, and Louise and the rest of the panel stretched, checking their watches.
"Oh dear, it's almost lunch time. Do we have time to hear Mr. Brown? I hope he hasn't been waiting all this time." Louise looked to Bishop Ramey for his input, but Elliot spoke first.
"Actually, it might be a good idea to break for lunch. Everyone can come back refreshed."
Elliot imagined Crawford in the hallway, in the full grip of nicotine withdrawal by now, having been deprived of his cigarettes for hours. There was also the terrible anticipation, which certainly would have been eating at him all this time. A lunch break would give him a chance to replenish his nicotine levels and Elliot could talk to him, help him calm down before he had to describe his own personal hell to strangers.
Bishop Ramey was as fully aware of Crawford's predicament as Elliot. However, the Bishop had a different view of how to proceed.
"Please, I know everyone is eager to take a break, but this young man has been waiting patiently since I started my talking, and I would feel awful if we put him off any longer. I'm sure he won't take long. Then we can let him go home."
Louise frowned at the thought of postponing lunch, but agreed with the Bishop and sent one of the other members of the panel to retrieve him.