It wasn't often that so many of the Special Victims Unit gathered together for breakfast, and even rarer that Alexandra Cabot joined them, but this was a special occasion, a council of war, even though most of them weren't yet aware of it.
Benson and Stabler were there with their coffee and muffins, sneaking goo-goo eyed glances at each other which the others pretended not to see, while Huang frowned at either his Blackberry or his blackberry jam on toast. Cragen had a flaky bear claw and coffee, while Munch had a bagel with cream cheese and lox and Fin devoured a short stack of pancakes. Cabot had fresh fruit and a crispbread.
"—shoulda been there, man, it was classic. Total annihilation." Fin told Stabler. "Our man Munch here didn't leave enough of that doctor for the cleaners to bother sweepin' up. He woulda been tossed outa the Inquisition for being too nasty."
Cabot straighted up and delivered a line in a funny accent. "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"
Everyone stared at her for a split second. "Wasn't that a Monty Python line?" Benson asked incredulously.
"Hey, I watched their movies in college just like everyone else." Cabot defended herself.
"I don't think I've ever heard you make a joke before," Munch marveled. "Mark this one down on the calendar, folks, this is a historic occasion. And if I had been around during the time of the Inquisition, don't forget I would have been on the receiving end of the questioning, thank you very much. However, this is not why I asked you all to come in early this morning. The case of Samara Morgan brings with it some unique complications."
"We already know she was being abused at home." Cragen commented, setting down his coffee. "Dr. Weiss hinted at it, Benson confirmed it. and the hospital has physical evidence. She won't be going home with her parents any time soon, if ever."
Cabot said, "I don't believe I can make a criminal case against the Morgans at this time. Yes, Anna was abusing Samara, but she stopped when they entered a mental institution. That shows she's making a proactive effort toward her own recovery. This one is going to have to be settled in family court, and their goal is family reunification whenever possible. Unless there's an apparent reason to deny Richard Morgan custody of his daughter, Children's Services will send Samara home with him. The most they can do is insist that Anna take a parenting class before she returns home—if and when she gets better."
Munch shook his head. "Dr. Huang, perhaps it's time to share that recording—and your theory."
Huang brought out his digital recorder, and played it again. Some of those present had heard it; others had not, and only Munch knew Huang's prediction.
They listened. When it was done, nearly everyone spoke at once.
"So you're saying she isn't sane." Cabot began, while Stabler protested, "I've seen and heard a lot during my time on the force, but—."
"Where is she getting that idea from?" Benson asked.
Cragen said, " She's certainly articulate for a seven-year-old—."
Fin added, "I thought when I heard that last night that was just twisted—."
Huang's quiet intensity undercut the ruckus. "That is the voice of a future serial killer, a mass murderer who will seek revenge against a world that never listened to her or cared about her agony. At this point in time, we can still stop her. We can still save her."
"But she's only seven!" protested Benson.
"Jeffery Daumer was seven once." Huang replied. "So were David Berkowitz, Aileen Wuornos, John Wayne Gacy, and everyone you've ever arrested."
"How do you know?" Cabot leaned forward. "On what are you basing your conclusions?"
"First, she has a history of cruelty to animals—the worst of the triad of indicators, and she is the victim of child abuse. Next, she has no self-destruct mechanism.
"Wait: hear me out. Women make up over half the population, yet they commit only fifteen percent of all the violent crimes that take place in this country. That's because the same pressures that make a man explode usually make a woman implode. She will turn that anger and rage into depression and self-destruction. It may begin with eating disorders and self-mutilation, progress into addictions such as promiscuity, drug use, and relationships where their partners abuse them, frequently ending in suicide—even if it often doesn't look like suicide. Dying of drug overdose, murdered by an abusive partner they wouldn't leave, drunk-driving accidents, and so on.
"Samara Morgan has no such tendency—but she does think about harming others. She has all the rage and sense of aggrievement against the world that one usually sees in adult psychopaths. She knows right from wrong but she's also seen on a daily basis how hypocritical adults can be when it comes to living up to the standards they set. She's intelligent enough to know what not to do, how not to get caught. The average male serial killer is active for about four years. The average female serial killer is active for eight, mainly because of differences in method and motive."
"But for Christ's sake, she's still a little girl!" Stabler protested. "You can't say for certain what she will or won't do."
"Children's Services can't refuse to return a child to her parents because of what she might become when she grows up." Cragen stated. "I agree that it doesn't sound as though she should be returned to her parents, but you'll have to come up with reasons you can take to Family Court."
"How about if we can get her dad to own up that he knew about the abuse but didn't do jack about it?" Fin suggested. "That's depraved indifference right there."
"There's also the mass hysteria angle." Munch added. "Anna Morgan has paranoid delusions that Samara has psychic powers. She managed to infect most of the staff at Eola, so what are the odds she's convinced her husband too? That would be a good reason not to send her home with him."
"What kind of psychic powers?" Olivia hadn't heard about that angle as yet.
"Clay says Samara gets into people's heads and makes them see and do things." Stabler explained. "According to him, it starts with high-pitched noises, moves up to headaches, and escalates to hallucinations."
"From there it progresses to black-outs during which Samara makes people hurt themselves." Munch continued.
"This is significant." Huang's brow furrowed. "If it's at all possible, I want to interview Anna Morgan."
Munch's cell phone rang; answering it, he raised a finger, excusing himself from the table.
Huang continued. "According to Dr. Weiss, the Morgans live on a horse ranch, in as close to total isolation as possible. Anna home-schools Samara—that is, she does when she's well enough. Those are Petri-dish conditions for psychosis—."
"Wait a moment," Benson interrupted. "I heard a high-pitched noise and started getting a headache the moment I touched the door to Samara's room—and I didn't know anything about these delusions or the mass hysteria."
That statement quieted everyone for a moment. "There are any number of normal explanations for that," Cragen offered. "There's a lot of medical equipment in a hospital. An electronic device nearby could be responsible for both the sound and the headache. Some sounds give me a headache, I know that much. Did it go away?"
"Yes. Like someone flipped a switch and turned it off."
"There you go. Someone working in another room turned off the equipment." Cragen concluded.
Munch returned to the table. "That was Children's Hospital. At about 3 AM, Anna Morgan tried to force her way into the psych ward. The nurse on duty called security, of course. When they arrived, Anna parted the hair on one of the guards with a table lamp. He needed five stitches. Anna is now at Belleview, so if you want to interview her, Doctor Huang, there's your chance."